The Mumbai Ride

As office took over my life,going out on long ride during weekends started feeling like a hassle. Never the less , traveled a lot in Mumbai . Took the Avy to Colaba, Marine Drive, through Worli. I'll still say because of the independence from public transport, I was able to experience Marine drive late at night.

The experience is very peaceful and relaxing,helping me unwind after the pathetic 55 kms ride through the city. Once while returning back to Thane , accidentally we took a deserted road(Gorbandur Road),which has the reputation of wild animals showing up.But the good part was I only knew about it. I was praying all the way, & couldn't enjoy the ride completely.

My ride to Bandstand was event less. Couple of rides to Versova to my cousin's place was traumatic, so was Goregaon ride.

Mumbai roads are a pain, not because of their construction, but because of choking traffic & high volume of traffic @ odd hours. Does not let you ride peacefully. In my umpteenth ride to the Andheri office, The eastern expressway is a pleasure. Kanjurmarg to Seepz is a pain in the ass , hands & all over.

The monsoons have put a dampener to my spirits, forsaking the bike for safety.The good part of todays extra small ride was, I discovered a peaceful place to ride my bike in the night(ofcourse it had to be there somewhere,its a airforce base area).

Once monsoons are done with , I would like to pt on biking gear with vigor.

The Avy Experiece

It almost 8 months & I must confess it has been an exhilarating experience owning the bike.Except for a few minor niggles touch wood it has not bothered me . Since my last post, I have rode a lot specially early in the new year. I was clocking 1000 kms a month. My fortnightly visits to Pune being the reason.

But as luck would have it, with increasing work pressure and no good reason to visit Pune my NH-4 rides slowed down & since last month the monsoons have almost put a halt to my riding plans.

During one of my visits to Pune , we happened to go to Lavasa. I have been to Lavasa earlier on my kinetic(Hayabusa), but this time the feeling was different, with a big hearted monster @ my disposal i was thrilled to bits.

The curves were a treat , fast ones though . Being a conservative rider I was limiting my turning speeds in the 40-60 kmph range.

While we were returning from Lavasa @ around 7-7:30 in the night, the road was completely foggy.The high beams and the blinkers were pressed into use.After a tiring ride which started at 4:30 in the evening and finishing late in the night, I gave my Avy a well deserved rest for the night ,as we had a NH-4 trip, the next day.

Pune-Thane 21st Nov 10

26 years ago on this very day a petrol/diesel-head was born. Since childhood he was surrounded by revered brands like “Bajaj” the “Fiat” and others. He simply looked forward to a day when he could own one.

I nursed a feeling right from my engineering days to buy an Avenger (then Eliminator). But as my fate would have it got back to Kolkata and my overprotective parents. My dad told me to drive our lovely Indica.

But it seems the stars remembered my feelings & I got my Black Avy on 21^st Nov ’10. Till that time I was scooting around Pune in the amazing Kinetic Honda (Hayabusa). With nil experience on motorbikes, I took the delivery and with help of my friend Ujjwal got the bike home.

Then the ordeal started, I had to at least get a feel of the bike before I started on NH-4 to Thane in the evening. I went around Model Colony to show off (actually was trying to learn riding the bike).

We were supposed to set off at 2:30 p.m. but as always, we took off at 4:30. I was riding along with Subhajit. Trust me learning what I should have done when I was 18 is a tough task. My decision to buy it from Pune (it saved me a 4 grand) added to the complexity.

We took the Aund road instead of the Baner one (trust me I regret it). I can describe the road simply in two words 1) Pathetic Traffic 2) Chaos. We rode very slowly till 5:15 (new bike& rider) .When the heavens opened up. We took shelter & 45 minutes were wasted.

As the rain eased up, we took off again but it was drizzling all the way long. This time around I asked Subhajit to take the wheel (Opps!! Handle) because I got shit scared while maneuvering through the traffic. I required some time off to ease my nerves L .

While Subho was riding (around 15-20 kms) it was constantly drizzling, & the cold winds were not making his task nor mine any easier. But the scenery more than made up for our misery. Green Fields/Ghats/Mountains with Grey skies & Lightening serving as the backdrop (what else do you want on a highway ride).

In case you don’t know two & three wheelers are not allowed on the expressway (I hope it changes). So we had to take the more scenic NH-4. While we were moving along, we met with a huge traffic jam (caused by an overweight & overturned container) which robbed our half an hour.

After we crossed the scene, Subho asked me to ride because the chilly wind coupled with the drizzle froze him .We kept chugging along. It was my turn to freeze, the shoulders, legs & the fingers were numb.

We braved through to Lonavala bazaar. We had to take a long break. 1^st 15 mins passed off getting the blood circulation going again (Had to hold the vessel in which water was being boiled). After numerous cups of tea, pakodas & jalebis, we set off again. This time around it was bit easier as the clothes had dried off.

15 mins after we left Lonavala I met with my next challenge. Taming the Khandala ghats@ night & to add to the complexity the expressway traffic also shares the road in this section. But somehow I managed it satisfactorily since Subho advised me to go ultraslow in this section (Even a kid on a tricycle would have overtaken me:D).

Once off the Khandala ghats we got an extremely long stretch of plains. We were on NH-4 cruising @40kmph which was only lit by the moonlight & the bike’s high beam. Traffic was as scarce as finding affordable housing in Mumbai. With rock playing on the mobile phone I felt like riding for another 100k.

As all good things come to an end, we came to the Khapoli exit & asked a couple of people the way to Navi Mumbai. At 9 o clock Sun night I hoped the streets would be clear, but as my luck would have it was choc a bloc.

At around 10:30 we took a break in front of the TMC office. (Mainly because of soar bums & answering a few phone calls). After the break and losing our way couple of times finally we reached our guest house at 11:30 p.m.

Looking back at this ride I feel (with better understanding of bike riding w.r.t. 21^st Nov) it was crazy, but it got my adrenaline pumping & for me that matters.

It sounds very foolish but I can proudly say “I learnt biking on a National Highway.”

Cheers

Krishnayan