“Always have courage
and listen to your heart if you wish to realize your dreams and do act like a
child when we get your hands on the thing that you have been waiting for long.”
One day while in office I was checking through an article on
road trips a serious traveler should ride in India. I always wanted to do some
crazy stuff like this. Suddenly my fellow colleague called me from behind and
asked “Hey Aamit lets plan a road trip to Bandipur and Madhumalai Wildlife sanctuaries,
I heard riding there is fun “. I felt like God was actually going through my
thoughts and sends me a messiah in form of Rahul as if “Aamit it’s the time to
start your own Bike stories J
“.Even nightmares of spending the long weekend travelling and enjoying seems
like a wish come true. So all of a sudden plans were made.
Pune -> Bangalore -> Mysore -> Bandipur National
Park -> Madhumalai wildlife sanctuary -> Bangalore -> Goa -> Pune
Total around 3000 Km covering 4 states, 2 wildlife
sanctuaries and a land of Firangi Charms…
Sheer thought of doing a 3000 km in 10 days was giving me
shivers but then what’s the point of living a life in a monotonous way.
Earlier we were 2 bikers but then suddenly it came to my
mind let’s get 1 more biker and reveal our plans to him. If he is intelligent
enough then he will be in. So finally there comes Shantanu our 3rd
and final biker. We feared if he could ride all the way and make it safely.
Plans were set and so it was the time to start our shopping
and buying all the necessary stuff and getting our bikes ready for the long
tour. Bikes were serviced; Riding gears ready, card and cash ready.
All of a sudden the climate changed in Pune before 2 days of
our trip. It went cloudy with small whiskers of rain but it won’t let us change
our plans and then finally the day big day arrived .We the 3 bike musketeers
were ready along with our bag packs and luggage tied to our bikes. At the dawn
of Saturday 15th 4:30 pm IST we left our places to start our own
saga of Bike story. It was cloudy then and we prayed that we don’t face any
rains during our ride.
There are two types of people in the world one who drives a
motorcycle and other who don’t. We were the first kind. We crossed Pune and the
weather started to change and cold breeze on high way was making me feel as to
why a dog sticks his head out of a car window. As we reached Ghats before
Satara it started to rain, slowing us down. We didn't stop until we reached
Kolhapur our favorite Pit stop “MC Donald’s “. It was the time to fill your
stomach and then continue riding till the morning until we reach Bangalore.
Till Kolhapur the road was decent enough to ride, some
places it was worst and some places the roads were awesome. After we had our
meals we started again on our bikes and got it refilled at gas station just
crossing Kolhapur. We were wet due to rain that accompanied us from Ghats till
we reached Nipani.
After Kolhapur the roads turned out to be awesome and our
bikes roared like a tiger and ran like a top-notch horse that was making his
seasonal debut. According to Patrik Dempsy “if biking is your passion, set
aside time to enjoy a good ride” and we were doing the same, riding nonstop for
2 hours at an average speed of 120 on highway. I would suggest all serious
riders to at least try riding on this Karnataka highway. We again stopped at
Hubli after the toll and clicked few pics #selfieof3bikemusketeers.
It was then 12:30 AM and the skies were clear in Karnataka.
The breeze was cool and was trying to dry us. It was time to start again until
out bikes run out of fuel. While crossing Chitradurga (Karnataka), a poor fellow
(cat) tried to cross our line. There is a saying according to Indian mythology “If a black cat crosses your path, spit and rub your foot through it; then walk backwards five steps and bad luck will not come to you” but that fellow didn't knew that when a biker is crossing don’t try to act smart even if you are quick in your reaction time and mythology is with you. Luckily she survived even after coming below the huge wheels.
At 5:00 AM we again stopped for some liquor for our bikes and some water for us. We were very close to our final destination i.e. Bangalore around 150 km and the roads were clear like the skies. We decided that now we will only stop after reaching Bangalore and halting at the United Breweries Limited – Kingfisher world. At 8:00 we reached United Breweries Limited – Kingfisher world and it took 9:30 to reach the place where we could rest our severely aching butt after the long ride. Bangalore roads and traffic are terrible. It took around 2 hours to reach the place after entering Bangalore. In total 900 km covered and we were safe and sound at a place near Manyata IT park Bangalore but the story is still not over for now. Much more to come ;)
