BoP Ride to Nepal - I

The past few years, since my last long ride and blog (Rann of Kutch in December 2016) have been full of change and growth. I shifted cities a couple of times, did some freelance work, went to Scotland for a year to study and returned, got a new job and shifted back to Delhi-NCR after almost 8 years. Each phase was filled with lovely memories, fantastic people and of course, teeth-gritting frustrations and anxieties. Motorcycling took a backseat for a bit, although I did go on short-rides whenever I could, including one in Visakhapatnam with a local club called Vize Roys Bullet Club.

When I returned from Scotland, tentative plans were being made in BoP for Rider Mania 2020, to be hosted by Friends of Royal Enfield (FORE) in Pokhara, Nepal. I was in touch with Dips and Nishant about my plans. I became a 'tentative' when my job got finalized in Gurgaon and I moved here. The BoP Rajsamand Ramskulls ride in December served as a test-ride for me, to get me back into the motorcycling groove. From then on started the process of convincing my new manager and other bosses at the workplace. Frankly, I didn't plead or cajole much, but I did continually pester all of them. After some discussion, I was told I could get a full week off, but no more, which meant I'd have to return without attending RM. This was always a possibility in my head and I jumped onto it. I wanted to go on the ride first and foremost, RM or no RM!

A word on Nepal as a destination - I had Nepal in my sights since I started long distance motorcycling in 2009. It took me some time to get the confidence to even attempt such a ride, but even then, any plans I made kept getting cancelled. Once, an entire group of riders I was in touch with backed out, then political turmoil caused a destination change 3 days before and a third plan never took off from the ground. This time, things looked brighter and I was determined to make it too.

Preparations started in December. The primary focus was getting my rain gear sorted. While I owned an excellent astronaut-themed rainsuit, well-tested in South and West India, it was no good for this ride. The jacket had no warm lining and was too tight to be worn over multiple layers, so I purchased a large one in Decathlon. I also ordered rain-covers for my shoes, and bought surgical gloves to be worn inside my winter gloves for additional warmth.

Dates: 18th January to 26th January 2020

Route taken/Places visited: Gurgaon-Tanakpur-Mahendranagar-Chisapani-Butwal-Waling-Pokhara-Kathmandu-Sonauli-Ayodhya-Agra-Noida-Gurgaon

Riders:

1. Ankit Gupta - Silver RE Classic 350 - Alag starting point wala
2. Anupam Ghosh - Black RE Classic 350 - Doctor saab
3. Ashok Rana - Black RE Electra 4S - Helmet nai utaarne wala
4. Diptinder Singh Chhabra - Black RE Electra 4S - Peeke josh mei aane wala
5. Krishnatreya Brindavanam - Silver RE Electra 5S - Paise maangne wala
6. Nishant Jha - Black RE Electra 4S - Gaali galauj karne wala
7. Sanat Kumar - Orange RE Interceptor - Dheere chalane wala nausikhiya
8. Vikas Chawla - Sleet RE Himalayan - Ditch maarke jaldi jaane wala 
9. Zahiruddin Saifi - Black RE Classic 350 - Dikhne mei Nepali

Total distance traversed: 2,625 kms

DAY 1 - 18th January: Gurgaon to Tanakpur

The plan was to start at 4.30 AM from the Ghazipur Toll Plaza, and cross the border on the same day. This plan went for a toss when we saw the thick-as-soup fog in the morning. I had to start off at 3.30 AM to reach the meeting point on time, but the fog forced me to stick to a speed of 40 kph throughout. Despite this, I was in a great mood. Apart from the excitement of the ride, I was happy that it wasn't raining, which would have definitely caused me to stay in and start later. 

Having crossed 3 state borders (Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh), I reached the meeting point and found that most of the group had already gathered there, with the exception of Ankit and Sanat. As we waited for them, we got a message on our WhatsApp group that they were ahead of us, at the Dasna Toll Plaza. This was a little frustrating for us, since being together would have eased the decision-making process. We rode slowly to the Dasna Toll Plaza, a scary task when you are wearing spectacles that mist up every few seconds in the fog. Making it worse is the pollution - the water droplets hanging in the air are actually very dirty and within no time, my little spectacle-cleaning cloth was rendered dirty and unusable. We stopped as per the Google Maps location, unsure as we couldn't spot any toll plaza near us. While we waited for word from Ankit, Sanat and Vikas (who had lost us in the fog and gone ahead to meet them), we discussed Ashok's fancy helmet that had a large water-resistant patch on the visor, which made it very comfortable and easy to see for him. This is why he refused to even lift the visor!

We reached our full strength soon. Nishant drew upon his impressive dictionary of expletives to  roundly abuse Ankit for not meeting us at the starting point; turns out it was a honest mistake from the latter's side, as he missed it among all the messages in the WhatsApp group. Peace was made and we turned out attention to the puri-sabzi that Sanat had brought. Sanat was riding with us for the first time and this was also his first ever long distance ride, that too on an Interceptor! We enjoyed the delicious food out there in cold. I 'allegedly' took a larger chunk of the food and Nishant was given yet another opportunity to show off his vocabulary. 

The fog showed no signs of abating. We now knew that we couldn't cross the border in time and did not see any reason to push ourselves either. The key principle during this ride was to enjoy, instead of mile-crunching. Accordingly, we rode slowly and stopped for an extended breakfast at Garhmukteshwar. This was also the start of the ride's accounts book and I duly took charge. This was a role I had recently taken over. I have always donned this cap in every friends' group but never in BoP. All you need, apart from basic calculation skills, is the ability to be shameless. You need to be able to demand money multiple times and not be fazed by the abuses directed against you. No hubris, but I am almost made for this role.

Post breakfast, the sun rose, even if the fog stubbornly clung onto the ground. This made the going easier and we managed to increase our speed a bit. The day's destination was now changed to Tanakpur. Lunch was at a dhaba in a town called 'Kiccha'. The last dregs of the fog had disappeared by now and it was an effortless ride to our night-halt - Hotel Raj Shree in Tanakpur, 357 kms from home. After freshening up, we began our first and only full-strength BBB (Beer, Bullet and Bakchodi) session in the night, as Vikas and Anupam would turn back the next day from the border. The highlight of the night, apart from the jokes and the camaraderie, was the fresh, piping hot gulab jamun that the hotel manager got for us in the end. 

Link to Part II