Tripppaaaa

"a lot of planning happening. have mentioned it a few times to near ones. now that the time is coming near - it is dawning that this really is happening. haven't thought of it much - for there really is no point - have left it to the last day and the last moment - will take each day as it comes, for such a long ride there is only SO much that you can plan."

 - my thoughts on December the 12th

Today being 26th January - Republic Day of India - after being sobered down by some Covid variant for last couple of days; I have decided to take a break. Take a break from Prison Break (on Hotstar) and get down to typing it up; as its exactly three weeks since our return and any further delay, I run the risk of loosing on details or might just trash the idea of writing etal.

Did Goa in Feb 2020; did not want to repeat it so did Rann of Kutch in Feb 2021; did not want to repeat it so planned to do Kanya Kumari in Dec 2021. Having done these trips, it was an established fact that Street Glide Special motorcycle is for long tours and owning one makes one think of long trips at least once to twice a year. Mal and I finally got down to it and made the bookings a month prior, with all bookings having FOC cancellation option. Weather wise end of the year is the best time to visit South India plus for me work there is less push and pull during these months. The plan was spread over 18 days starting from 18th Dec and finishing on 5th Jan. Spread of days was considerable and having thought it through a month in advance, we had to take into account the UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES factor. 

Plan

Sonia's grandfather fell sick shortly thereafter. Within no time - I mean in a matter of few days - a cracker of an old gentleman (93 years) went from interactive meetings to dead silent. I kept recalling, all the conversations that I had been having with him over the years and especially in the last days; wherein he was active alert one day and just moved on the next. Reminder of how fickle life is.

pre ride Service

That reminder, which did sober me up to realities of road wasn't the best of mindsets to start such a long ride with. Distance to be covered was considerable, the land was new and it was just the two of us; no group, no backup. We had to be thick. Pre-ride I handled the logistics planning and did all the bookings; while Mal took care of technical tips. Every now and then we would meet up and discuss what new we should consider doing/not doing and most of suggestions came from Mal as he took the pain to go to websites and read/see how solo riders prepped for long rides. 

Mal washing em up

The spare that we took along for Just In Case scenario included - Puncture Kit, Air Pump, Harley Battery Pack, Tool Kit, Ellen Key set, Quart of Mobil Oil, WD40, Duct Tape, Colin Spray and then GoPro paraphernalia which had spare batteries, mounts, charger, laptop, battery pack - I think that's that for the bike. On human front, while I carried only jaggery (GUDD), Mal carried ORS packets along other JIC medications. Got the bikes serviced, took them for a short spin to see everything worked and parked them at Mal's place - the ride's start point. 

ready to go

It had started getting real nippy like a week prior to our start date. Weather made sure - just like every year - that Chandigarh Ajmer stretch is an actual stretch. Sonia and kids saw us off and into the freezing fog we rode.

warm send-off with Tea

There is not much to say for the earlier part of ride. Like I said I did not start with a great mindset, plus with overcast conditions and the repetition of Chandigarh Ajmer route, did not really do the trick for me. Since we had separate GoPro's on each helmet, I was least interested to operate or even learn to operate the thing. Mal bought himself a new one and borrowed other from Gaurav. While my buddy was really all in, I was more like - OK another thing to do - one more thing off my list. 

Geared up

In hindsight I find that, what was clear to me was the fact that - when time allows one, when life (by life I mean circumstances) allows one; they should JUST DO IT. The mindfuck we all are in does stop us giving one phony reason or another, but we need to push through it and do what is possible. Having done it in the past, I can say that their exists within a certain awareness that allows me to see through false projections of mind and makes me re-calibrate every now and then. The all time push from Mal to keep living it; a consistent reminder that keeps the train chugging. 

Day 1 - near Hisar

Hard part is only till the time you hop on the bike - moment you do, you realise how fun riding is and how skewed the system is - working slowly and slyly, veering you off one mm at a time from what you love to do. And believe you me, that is so not the way I thought or felt half a decade ago - I would just wake up and take off. Further reinforcing the saying - Do what you can do, When you can do.

Day Two - 3 hours out of Ajmer

So day two, second half onwards was when we started peeling off warm layers and made place for them in side saddles until our return days. My memory is quite photogenic - I remember stretches and then I compare to what it was to what it is - it gives me joy, although I say to myself it is futile - why bother the mind, yet I haven't foregone the habit. The stretch from Udaipur to Samalaji - my OH my - what a treat it is to traverse on this beautiful piece of tarmac. Wide six lane highway, without any off tracks for solid 130 or so kms. One thinks, what a sight these machines would be for anyone seeing them on those long turns - must be quite a picture. Perils of being on the rider end !! 

Day 2 - Udaipur Samalaji stretch

Day 3 was easy start with lot of trucks, their horns and smoke to accompany. Before we started this ride, Mal found that the infotainment system on my model of bike supported Apple CarPlay. So while getting service done at Himalayan Harley workshop, tech saw a couple of videos on YouTube and made in-house adaptor to enable Apple CarPlay. Throughout the ride CarPlay was used and it was a new thing to learn as days went by. Was pretty impressed, when the console displayed warning of crash ahead with explicit mention of time delay of +17 minutes. While I was high on having discovered this feature, we entered Mumbai around middle of the day (worst time to cross Mumbai) and soon thereafter got separated. Apparently, there was another CarPlay discovery which made us cross the city in three hours with a clash in directions from Google which led us astray.  

Day 3 start - Bharuch

CarPlay message on infotainment screen

Finally having re-grouped and wrapping our head around the probable cause of malfunction, discovered that Apple CarPlay does not support riding directions; it only supports driving directions. Now that might not mean anything in larger part of the country; but when you are travelling from Mumbai to Pune - driving directions will take you through Mumbai Pune expressway (where 2 wheelers are not allowed), whereas riding directions will take you from the old Mumbai Pune highway; which goes through Lonavala. Comprende ?

Day 4 leg

Day 4 was to be the day when we would venture into new lands - and we did. Previous experience had established the fact that populace south of mid India was less aggressive and showed more respect towards your ownership of machine, as compared to north. Driving etiquette, road and weather conditions were to be explored further. 

KA and some shade

Entered Karnataka much to the glee of officer in charge of Covid-19 test centre; the one who wasted no time handing his phone to colleague to capture the moment he stood by a man and & his machine. Covid-19 of course was never discussed or asked and shortly thereafter we were motioned to move forward. Belgaum has now been re-christened as Belagavi and the real fun begins once you cross it; the road just opens up. Six lane with service road on both sides along the entire length of highway with minimal traffic to traverse through - what an experience !! It was to be one of the many stretches that lay further, where the Cruise Control feature in motorcycle would be aptly used. I can say this now with authority that, with three years of ownership of this motorcycle in North India, Cruise Control feature was used for only 5% of the riding time, with the balance 95% been used in this ride in South India. Such is the difference in road conditions, traffic and to some extent driving sense. WOW. 

Day 4 END

Hubli seemed like a quiet quaint town, where the hotel was easy to approach (thanks to our planning). Peg - Peanut Masala - Chilli Chicken (boneless dry) - Daal Roti; every day routine that made me realise why I am doing what I am doing. Thank you.

Fortune Park Hubli parking

Day 5 was to be the day of excited discovery. I can't repeat enough, as to how awesome the roads were and how amazing the traffic was to us - it was unbelievable to find such riding conditions in our country. Continuing with my education about Harley Davidson Cruise Control; what it basically lets you do is - you sit on a sofa which is going through space at 85kph, you have favourite music playing out loud while hot/cold wind is blowing on your face, you are one with all elements of nature within that expanse, getting yourself a real time tour of life. JINGLE BELL JINGLE BELL JINGLE ALL THE WAY, O WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE WITH CRUISE CONTROL ON HAAARLEYYY....YAY. 

Exuberant is the word. 

Day 5

Hubli Breakfast Hall

Cruise Control it is

Hydration stop

A lot of development has/is happening in this part of the country. Found the Bengaluru bypass stretch (which charges toll on 2 wheelers as well) no less than I-5 of the US of A. Mighty impressed with this section of Karnataka roads - wind mills, mountains and everything here is so GREEEEN. 85kph is the speed to ride at - when you are free from road stress you so much enjoy this machine. For that matter Harley Davidson is the ultimate cruiser, when you ride it like one. Not to mention that thanks to our new found riding style we did record 500km in one tank ! 

count the GREEN

Need not say more about National Highway 48

so rejuvenating

Day 6 in green country involved passing through kilometres on road with Palm and Coconut plantations all along ! Weird as it was, few kilometres air was hot and few kilometres later it was not. Post Salem, for the longest duration of ride, there seemed no habitation along the highway. Even if few hutments came into sight they somehow appeared to merge with the landscape. Madurai was another South Indian town where you would get a lot of stare but no common language. A couple of locales stopped by us on our routine roadside halt, one of them nodded his head like a bubblehead and said - TRIPPAAA

Day 6

Greenery Stop

Since we were good on time - we moved out to see the famous Meenakshi Temple. Apparently, this time of the year is festive season in South India which continues for like three months. People put massive garlands on their cars, they apply the same concoction on their car as they have on forehead, themselves are dressed bare chested wearing only a black Lungi underneath; lot of religious fervour down South. No footwear - that had us baffled for the longest of times - it was so strange to see as many people on their two wheelers - bare footed - first of its kind ! At the temple there were many restrictions - wear mask, take off slippers, deposit mobile phone - with all the rush and so much black clothing/color around, we decided to keep going inside for another time and instead just do the perimeter or Parikrama as one calls it. 

Meenakshi Temple

The temple is beautiful.

@MeenakshiTemple

Day 7 we had to leave early since we had planned to go to Rameshwaram - Dhanushkodi and then reach our final destination - Kanya Kumari. 

way to Dhanushkodi

Madurai had started to wake from its slumber as we rode into the sunrise with beeline of coconut trees along the highway. About 80 kms on NH44 we took a detour and were on a single road, but good road. 

enroute Rameshwaram

for the record

Very scenic all along. Rameshwaram bridge is a sight to behold - ocean on both sides, boats and all that sea activity it was nice to see all that blue after all that land. Onwards to Dhanushkodi, where the land ends - traffic drops to minimal and is only touristy. Much like my experience at Dhordo (Bhuj); their it was white salt on both sides of narrow road; here it was ocean on both sides. Such sights ignite that excitement in me, wherein I just want to jump in joy of what I am witnessing wishing all those whom I know, could see/experience what I am seeing/experiencing. The spike in emotions though short-lived; makes me feel alive and is totally worth it.

Sea both sides

@dhanushkodi sir

almost made it to Lanka

Thanks to Google maps, we knew that road from Rameshwaram to Kanya Kumari involved a significant stretch of single road along the coast. This made us goes through hinterland Tamil Nadu, as we made our way past villages negotiating speed breakers all along. That is tiring. Pressing clutch, down shift then up shift every now and then. To compensate we had some beautiful scenes coming along with certain road stretches running along delta/arabian sea. In the middle of nowhere, we stopped at an eatery and polished off two plates of chicken fried rice for lunch - it was so deliciously Yum for the place where it was. 

can't be bothered when eating

About 100k short of destination we rejoined the highway and then it was home stretch all through. What stood out in this part of ride was wind mills. 50k short of Kanya Kumari, for kilometres along NH44 you can see windmills on both sides of highway for as far as your eyes can see. What a sight it is ! Huge blades, right along the highway - it was surreal. 

approaching KK

NH44 ends on the southern tip of India from where you are onto the beach. Our stay being on the beach itself, we parked our bikes and shook hands for a picture with Mal exclaiming "OH INDIA MUKK GYA"

Finally - India Mukk Gya

The evening at Kanya Kumari - my mood was ecstatic. Called up home - spoke with everyone - I was happy to speak with everyone from KK and everyone was happy to speak with me reaching safely in KK - Good Times. The religious people with all the black dresses, were their in hordes but the evening called for a drink outside, than in the room. We had scoped a place not far from our stay while making our way in. Walking to the joint is all I remember. Had a drink too many - I guess the day called for getting a bit out of discipline !

I like this screenshot

one down how many to go ?..... many to go

Deserving

Actual Route

I was so in sleep when Mal woke me at 4 in the morning; he had been up since 2 thanks to all the alcohol ! Feedback from few locales at Dhanushkodi and ride duration on google maps suggested that coastal ride from KK to Kochi to Mangalore would involve passing through settlements which meant Clutchfuck. Drowsy and all alcoholy, I was like lets stick to original because I didn't want to apply my head in that state; but in the end sense prevailed and there was a logic to what he was saying. We cancelled bookings that we could and made new bookings at Salem and Hubli; we were taking the same route back. Re doing is always easy. 

Kanyakumari beach - morning view

Peaceful Stop - Hangover yet to subside

Lunch Enroute Salem

While planning from home we had shortened our legs as we approached KK citing unknown road conditions and accumulated tiredness from ride. Having seen road conditions and physical state we both were , shortened 3 night stay to 2 nights, took a turn from Belagavi for Amboli and reached Goa on 27th.

Amboli break

Sonia and Mal's girl flew into Goa on the same day and it seemed quite a while since we last saw them; which was on the day of departure. Got a new haircut done - one that had been making rounds in my head for a while - my first out of town haircut. This time we hung around Morjim and Arambol Beach - lot of Russians and lot of sun. Goa routine is universal - however Goa New Year's on the beach was a first for all of us. Lot of dance, lights, music and firecrackers as we entered 2022. Girls flew back on 2nd and we commenced our return from Goa.

L-R: Mal, Self, Sonia

Local transport

for the frame

Nothing specific to mention about our return, except that the mood is a bit low key for the trip is coming to an end with every passing day. Typical ride day routine would be - waking up at 5, one of us would make coffee while other would use restroom - scroll through day's map and refresh road conditions, play a game or two, pack stuff and adios. Have breakfast or pick the packed one, clear last evening's tab, mount the bag and get on road. Reach hotel - check in - take turns to take shower - while one is in shower other orders Ice Bucket, Coke and Peanut Masala. Discuss the day and plan for next day, discuss/bitch about hotel - dinner and good night. The day we were in mood (which was almost everyday), Gulab Jamun with ice cream would be the last order.

last order

Alas the trip would not have been without its shade of adventure. Last leg of journey from Ajmer to Chandigarh and we started receiving advisory on WhatsApp about the expected deluge - of all the 18 days of perfect weather it had to be the last day. With many ifs and buts in our minds, we started our journey and 13 hours later all soaked to the last thread on our bodies - we finally completed the circle, but with a postscript that we ain't riding in the rain again.

4 cups of tea were heavenly

It was cold and it had been raining in Chandigarh since morning. Clothes were dripping and so were my boots. Since it had gone dark and was raining, for longest duration of the day's ride we rode without glasses which were now red with dirt. But it all vanished, when we saw girls had ordered a cake and were all ready for the reception party. That touched.

Culmination

From start to finish, odometer meter reading went from Kilometre 25251 to Kilometre 32695 - a difference of 7444 kilometres. Safe to say that it's time for service again.

TRIPPAAA.... as one local from Karnataka rightly mentioned, just finished like that. The Tripppaaa was silent, subtle, didn't cause anxiety; it just whisked by without us even noticing it. Truly a blessed experience. Maybe sometime in life I might be able to say that after that trip, this and this changed in me - today all I can feel is stable, firm resolve for change. What change ? Which change ? - I don't know.

TRIPPAAAA.... somewhere in Karnataka

Checkout @hinjewadi

Couple of things that I think I did pick up. Most important - MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. You ride at the speed that serves you the best, never forgetting that you are doing it for fun and that it should remain that way, irrespective of what any loony on the road might try to do. Just mind your business. 

Second is speed. Riding at 85kph is a totally different experience than riding any faster, and especially so when you are on a longer expedition. The stress free character of this particular speed - wherein you can control the bike at any given point in time; is such a great load off the head. You are able to enjoy the scenery, the people, the absurdity that happens on and off the road - simply put, you are able to soak in more and enjoy more.

Closet

You see here is the difference. We realised that one might have the most expensive car around, a car that would be many a times the cost of our motorcycle, but when it goes on the road not many would be able to comprehend or appreciate the sight - however - in case of a bike like ours, there was not a single person whose face muscles didn't flex into a smile as they relished the sight of two Harley Davison Street Glide Special motorcycles ride by, in tandem. At times when Mal would be ahead, I would observe from rear people mimicking his ride position - be it high held arms on ape bar or extended legs on footpegs. People just loved it.

off we go

Ton of credit to Malvinder. Right from technical prep to fine tuning the ride as we went along. I remember this one time when we were going from Dhanushkodi to KK, we had to pass through a lot of villages and that entailed going through 2 speed bumps per village - one at start and other at end. Pressing that clutch time and again, gets to you after a while. Me being me - who has the tendency to rush so I can get through uneasy part as soon as possible, would then tend to rush. After about an hour of this, we routine stopped at a shade around nowhere - had water and sat. Malvinder in his mature fashion subtly said "SURDY AAPA GHAR TO BAHUT DOOR HAN....THODA ARAAM NAL" - that's it. Countless times he would give a nudge here and there keeping me on track, keeping the ride stable and eventless. Mal is the man who is credited for making me experience actual fun of riding - which for the record lies at 85kph. Thank you.

Safe to say that most of my experience can't be expressed in words, but then its March the 3rd and I need to close this circle. It's a blog not a book. Thankful to everyone who had us in their thoughts as we went around mapping the roads and thankful to life for giving us opportunity to live through this experience. 

Thank You

until next time