BoP Ride to Nepal - II

DAY 2 - 19th January: Tanakpur to Chisapani

Compared to the hyper-early start the previous day, we were more relaxed today. Our plan was quite fluid from hereon - we had a lot of days in hand and we could stop wherever we wanted to, no bookings were made. The primary focus today was to reach the border as soon as we could, as we anticipated long queues and lots of checking. Reaching the border was straightforward, we were less than 20 kms from it.

As we were packing up and ready to move, I had a minor scare as I couldn't find my keys. A frantic 10 mins later, I found them in my jacket pocket, that I had actually packed away. We bid our farewell to the hotel staff and moved towards the border. The first checkpoint we encountered on the Indian side was that of SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal). We were probably the first set of RM riders they had come across, although over the next week, they'd come across many more heading towards the event. They were a little hesitant to let us through when they saw the Bulls on Parade flags on our bikes, until we reassured them that there were no political connections and it was a club flag. A few hundred meters later, we were at the Nepal border!

This was quite significant, we were riding our motorcycles on international soil for the first time! During my year in Scotland, I had tried a lot to go on a ride. Sadly, the costs were highly prohibitive and it was much cheaper to rent a car for a road-trip. I was making up for that now though, riding my own bike outside India. We all took a couple of pics here. Anupam and Vikas were turning back and heading to Delhi, so we said our goodbyes and wished them godspeed. Now reduced to 7, we rode ahead and reached the checkpoint on the Nepal side.

We were first greeted by a guard who informed us that we could exchange currency right there. While INR (locally referred to as 'IC' - Indian currency) is widely accepted in Nepal, some outlets refuse to deal in them. Furthermore, the acceptance of ₹500 notes varies, with some being completely against it and others hesitantly accepting it. Thus, as a backup option, we all got a couple of thousand rupees exchanged there and proceeded to get our permits. We found the entire place to be surprisingly vacant, there was no queue and the clerks in the office worked quickly and efficiently. I got a permit (called 'bhansar') for 9 days, while others got it for 15 days. Nishant and I had proactively gotten international calling packs activated on our phones. The others went to get their local SIM cards, which took a long time. In the meantime, Wanderers Motorcycle Club (Dehradun chapter) 'wandered' in and we spent time chatting with them. They had grand plans of reaching Nepalgunj that day, something we were doubtful of since it was midday already.

We hit the road again and stopped for lunch soon. Nishant's tradition was to have the local delicacy on the first day of an international trip and we duly stopped for momos and wai-wai noodles in the next village. My own tradition is to have locally manufactured beer wherever I go and peel off the label for my collection. Unfortunately, they only served Tuborg. We had many more days though! The momos were good but I liked the wai-wai more. After spending some time here, we made a move towards Chisapani, our night's halt.

Chisapani had one big hotel - Siddhartha Resort. It's a beautiful piece of property on the banks of River Karnali, but the rates were a bit steep online. We tried to find cheaper accommodation but didn't like them much, although one guy did put in a lot of efforts to get us to stay. Ankit was our in-house rate negotiating expert and was sent ahead to get us a deal in Siddhartha. He did indeed get us a sweet deal and we headed there. We procured 'supplies' for the night - Barasingha, Tiger and Gorkha beer, i.e. 3 new stickers for my collection! Right before our BBB started, the Wanderers MC we had met at the border earlier rode in. So much for Nepalgunj! After a memorable and fun-filled session and dinner, we went to sleep.

DAY 3 - 20th January: Chisapani to Butwal

Two days had passed and we rode around 490 kms total, which is less than the distances we cover in a single day and we also hadn't really seen anything. We decided to make amends and ride in a more disciplined manner to Butwal. The route was through Bardia National Park. Personally, I love forest rides. Compared to the riding in majestic mountains or facing the mighty sea, forest rides have an aura of tranquility and relaxation, especially in the mornings.

We left early and reached the checkpost at Bardia. There were patches of fog in between, but it was mostly a smooth ride. At Bardia, the rules are very strict - you cannot cross the speed of 40 kph and you have to reach the next checkpost at a certain time only. I had come across similar rules in Tirupati, where a time limit is imposed to ensure people don't ride/drive too fast. We stuck to the speed limit and it was a very soothing ride through the misty and quiet forest. We didn't stop at all, due to the danger of wild animals. Still, I kept an eye out for elephants, having witnessed a little scare many years ago while riding in Anamalai forest when a mischievous elephant mock-charged an Indica driver who was too impatient to wait.

Hereon, we had an incident-free ride. We all had a lot of trepidation about Nepal's roads, having heard that they were horrible. It was partly the reason we had such a flexible plan, as we had factored in bad roads throughout. However, the roads were super smooth throughout the ride. There were a few bad patches of course, but for the most part, the roads were excellent. Long distance motorcyclists would agree with me here - we either want roads resembling slabs of butter OR we want rocks/gravel/sand/mud/streams. Everything else in the middle is unacceptable. The good quality roads also had very less traffic and whatever traffic was there was quite disciplined. Even the pedestrians and cyclists stuck to the corner of the roads, it took me some time to get used to this sort of discipline inside the subcontinent!

We stopped for lunch at Hotel Pauwa where I was introduced to the 'thakali'. Thakali is closest to what we in India call a 'thaali' - a full meal consisting of a couple of dry and grave-based curries, dal, rice, roti and other accompaniments. Thakali is quite unique though. To start with, the spiciness is substantially lower, almost none of the items are fried and overall, it has a very simple, fresh and homemade feel to it. I'd have 4 more thakalis during the course of this ride and while they all had unique additions, they were all delicious and filling, yet also light on the stomach. Adding to the  experience is the unbeatable Nepalese hospitality, where every request is met with a wide, ear-to-ear smile. We were just getting introduced to this though.

Onwards we rode, with our regular breaks. I was quite happy with the pace and progress of this ride and we soon reached Butwal. Butwal is a mid-sized town and we were suddenly seeing a lot more traffic than we had encountered since we left Delhi. Nishant had booked a hotel for us somewhere on the way earlier, but we stopped a couple of kilometers before to purchase important supplies for the night ahead. Right beside the alcohol shop was a little kirana store, where I bought 'touchings' (namkeen/chips to be had with alcohol). The wife and husband running the store spoke almost perfect Hindi as they spent many years in India. This turned out to be quite a regular occurrence actually, as curious onlookers on the road would initiate conversations with us and almost always would have spent a long time working in various parts of India.

After we reached the hotel, we decided to flesh out the plan ahead before starting the BBB. Nishant temporarily ditched his beloved gadgets and went old-school - he found a piece of paper and noted down various points of interest along with the distances. As the navigator of the group, he was subjected to multiple questions whenever he suggested something, so this was the best way to shut people up (peppered with a smattering of expletives of course).

At the end of this very fruitful discussion and note-taking session, things were getting clearer. I had to decide when and where to split off from the rest of the group and it had to be sooner than later. Everyone else was in the mood for doing some off-roading in Jomsom (Lower Mustang). While certainly attractive, it'd mean missing the more tourist-y places for me - Pokhara and Kathmandu, and there was quite a bit to do in both those places. The beginnings of a plan started formulating in my head, as I headed towards the BBB with a beer in hand...........

Link to Part III

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

BoP Anniversary Ride - Rann of Kutch (Part V)

DAY 9 - 22nd December (Ahmedabad-Baroda)

First order of the day was to head to the RE service center I had scoped out the previous night. It was 5 kms away and I found it easily. My arrival caused a flurry of activity there. My friend at work, Sanjeev, had mentioned the extra-special treatment that is reserved for riders at RE service centers. He was completely right. Despite having others in line, my bike jumped the queue and the mechanic towing it inside pushed aside others saying, "abbe rider ki bike hai, side hatt!". Soon the manager came in and personally got everything repaired. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the state of the chain sprocket. I got it duly replaced, along with the chain. The shocker was leaking fluid, but I know it to be a long process and asked him not to repair it for now. It's nice to get such nice treatment though! When you're not on rides, RE service centers treat you and your bike like shit. On top of that, they stick to their in-house Liquid Gun brand of oil, which I never personally liked. Still, the support you get on rides from them is truly outstanding.

My plan was to break my return ride into small, manageable chunks. First, Baroda, back to AR's place. Next day to Mumbai and finally Pune. It was good that today's plan anyway called for a short 150 kms ride to Baroda. I left the service station at around 11 AM. I was initially planning to join AR for lunch, but was very hungry, so I took a lunch break on the way. AR had mentioned plans to go somewhere but it got cancelled due to some work at home. We instead went to a nearby coffee shop and chilled out with her friends and sister. I got a mini-Baroda darshan too. It is a bit like Pune. Wide roads, not so heavy traffic. A city that is miles ahead of a town but still a couple of steps away from a bustling metropolitan, the kind of cities I am slowly starting to love.

We had pizza and drinks for the night with other friends of AR and her sister. This group was dominated by architects and I found it a refreshing change and also understood how non-psychologists feel in our group. Someone had once remarked, that just as you have groups of engineer-friends or designer-friends, it is funny to imagine a group of psychology-friends, where people talk about therapy, abusive childhoods, mental disorders and other deeper stuff with ease. Here, I was on the other side where conversations about badly constructed flyovers, construction material used at roundabouts were the norm!

I had a longer ride to make the next day, to Mumbai, so I turned in early.

DAY 10 - 23rd December (Baroda-Mumbai)

I started off at 6 AM. AR was nice enough to get up and make chai for me. I said my goodbyes and set off.

Solo riding gives you a lot of time to think. My mind drifted towards my work and my life in Pune. I was actually reluctant to get back to work, something which has never happened to me in the past. I considered extending the trip in some manner but it was a quick, childish thought. Perhaps I will take some decisions soon, based on all the thinking I did during this ride!

Another decision I made during this ride was not to fight sleep. Afternoon rides almost always make me sleepy and I generally keep fighting it. During this entire ride, however, I decided it wasn't worth it and it wasn't effective either. So post lunch, I would find a shady spot and take a quick 15-20 minutes nap. It refreshed me always, it didn't hamper my schedule much and it was safer too, than continuing to ride while the eyes are trying to close. It did earn me a few weird stares, especially if the shady spot was near a restaurant or some other popular spot.

In this manner, I inched closer to Mumbai. I took a little detour and went into Daman to tank up, thereby 'covering' one new state and one new UT in this ride. By the time I reached Mumbai it was afternoon. I got stuck in a huge traffic jam on the highway, but fortunately, I had to go to Borivali only, the edge of Mumbai from this side.

I found my friend SM's place with little difficulty, all thanks to Google Maps. Now SM and her mom have a simple strategy. They lure guests and coerce them to stick around by feeding awesome food to them non-stop. This started as soon as I reached. Being close to Christmas, there was a lot of baking going on and I stuffed my face with all manners of cakes, brownies and whatnot. Before I was done, I was being asked for tea. By the time I finished tea, they were asking me what I wanted to have for dinner!

We had a late dinner though, it was preceded by some 'legal' drinking for the first time in 10 days for me. I was finally back in a non-dry state. Though, to be honest, Gujaratis drink as much as anyone, they just have make some more efforts than the rest of India to buy their drinks. There is little in the world that can stop a determined drinker from testing his liver out!

We slept quite late, and I also took it easy. Mumbai to Pune is a well-known stretch for me, a short distance that I can cover in 2-3 hours. I decided to start at 7 AM though.

DAY 11 - 24th December (Mumbai-Pune)

The day started in the same manner as the previous afternoon had - loads of food! I was so stuffed with dosas, that by the time I finally was ready to leave, it was 11 AM. Bad decision!

It took me 2 hours to get to the highway to Pune. Lonavala was a mess, with all the weekend crowd filling up the roads to the brim. I had a light lunch and reached home at 4 PM, completely tired out and at my wit's-end.

The ride thus ended on a very tiring note. It was still a welcome break for me, something I was looking forward to since May 2016. Overall, Gujarat didn't seem to have a whole lot to offer. It isn't blessed with natural beauty, apart from the salt desert. The 'White Desert' is oversold a bit. I found Dholavira, Lakhpat, Narayan Sarovar and Mandvi to be much more worth visiting. While the lower lip of Gujarat (Gir, Dwaraka, etc.) wasn't explored, none of us are too keen on returning to ride here.

Apart from the places, a few new things for me on this ride were heavy usage of Google Maps and my tankbag. Google Maps never disappointed me inside the city, but most of the remote areas we covered were poorly mapped. We all went back home, traced our entire route on Maps and found a discrepancy of almost 400 kms! So one should be cautious and not rely too much on them when planning the itinerary. As for the tankbag, it was welcome addition to my riding kit. I did find it uncomfortable while taking U-turns and other tight turns when I was offroading as my large handlebar would get stuck and I'd have to take a 2 or 3 point turn where none were required.

Next stop - North East! Until then, I bid adieu.

Cheers and Jai BoP!

BoP Anniversary Ride - Rann of Kutch (Part IV)

DAY 7 - 20th December (Lakhpat, Narayan Sarovar and Mandvi)

The morning rituals were completed in a remarkably clean communal bathroom. I have been to a Gurudwara in the past, but this is the first time I was staying in one and frankly, I'm blown away. The cleanliness, the hospitality, the rituals, everything was beyond belief.

Before leaving, we studied a historical map of the Lakhpat Fort in the Gurudwara. This little village boasted of multiple temples, mosques and tombs, apart from fort ramparts. There was admirable communal harmony here!

The fort itself is in shambles. We rode to the walls and monkeyed around for a bit. On the way, Rajaji even showed us his stunting skills by jumping off the bike when it was still running and then getting back on. For a change, the views did not have the White Desert and we spotted the sea for the first time in this ride. Most of my rides, I yearn for the hills or the sea (green or blue). This time, I got to see both, along with the white of the salt flats and the brown of the desert. It was an all-round ride, from Nature's point of view!

We then got down from the fort ramparts and made our way to the dargah. Once again, this was a beautifully constructed building. It was maintained by a villager, who had met Ankit and Rajaji earlier. We spoke to him for sometime and then went back to the small departmental store we had visited last night for some more chikki. Rajaji's tryst with languages continued here and he impressed the localites by reading the panchayat election posters stuck everywhere.

By now, it was clear to us that the ride would be much shorter than we anticipated. Primarily, this was because the buffer days were used up. We were also covering a new place not part of the original itinerary - Mandvi beach. My plan was to catch a train from Ahmedabad on 24th, but it would a waste of time and money, because I would have spend 3 days in Ahmedabad just to catch the train. I decided, instead, to ride back to Pune and complete the trip. We would spend one last day together in Mandvi and then go our separate ways.

We went and packed up at the Gurudwara. We had an early lunch, on the insistence of the Granthi there and then rode without incident to Narayan Sarovar. The lake in itself was dry, but the key highlight for me was visiting the westernmost point of mainland India. I consider this to be a small, yet significant achievement, having covered both the Southernmost and Westernmost points of mainland India on my motorcycle. We spoke to the BSF guy manning the post; I gave my 'short introduction' again to him and he seemed quite impressed. This was also the home for the Creek Crocodiles, which is a commando unit of the Water Wing of the BSF.

Our destination for the day was Mandvi Beach. On this stretch, we all briefly lost each other. I realized that Dips wasn't anywhere behind me and Ankit and Rajaji were also not to be seen anywhere. What I hadn't realized was all 3 were actually ahead of me. My tank was almost dry 40 kms before Mandvi, so I stopped and purchased a bottle of petrol in black. By the time I reached Mandvi, the others had already taken the bikes onto the beach and were chilling there. We watched another sunset, this time sinking into the sea, instead of salt.

We found a hotel for the night and now were determined to round off the last night together with alcohol and non-veg food. We procured the necessary stuff from an omelette vendor and drank into the night. We'd also found a restaurant nearby which served non-veg. We were reluctant about going there drunk; takeaway wasn't an option because our hotel guy didn't agree to bringing in non-veg food there. Eventually, we did go into the restaurant and I believe the meat-eaters enjoyed their food, even though Rajaji was snappier than usual. Maybe because we forced him to lead for a short distance today.

DAY 8 - 21st December (Mandvi-Ahmedabad)

Our plan was to go to the Vijay Vilas Palace and the ship-building yard today. The former was a well-maintained summer palace of the royalty. The walls are adorned with old photos and stories of the royal exploits. On the roof, you can see that the palace is surrounded by a sea of green. There was a photo shoot going on there, so we let them be and went back to Mandvi town to the ship-building yard. While the surroundings aren't very clean, it is fascinating to watch the ships being built. We spoke to one of the supervisors there, who told us that these ships will eventually ply near the Middle East and will carry grain and other food products for short distances.

The ride was now wrapping up. I had a few solo-riding days ahead of me, after splitting off from the rest of troop at Samkhiyali. We stopped for lunch a few kilometres before the branching off point. Rajaji wanted to ensure all of the Big 4 Gujarati dishes were tasted - dhokla, thepla, fafda and khakra. One of my pet peeves at most restaurants is the lack of nimbu-paani in the menu and the sheer reluctance of restaurant staff to acquiesce to any request to make an exception. My point is that it is a simple, refreshing drink and very easy to make. The ingredients are always there - lemon, salt or sugar and water. Here though, the restaurant guy agreed to make an exception and we finished multiple glasses of cold nimbu-paani, much to my satisfaction.

We finished up the calculations of the ride at this spot. Perhaps due to the wide age-gap between all of us, nobody had agreed my suggestion of using the fancy Splitwise app; everyone wanted to stick to the old, pooling system. I did get a chance to show off my prowess with the app though, when some calculations became difficult. We bade our goodbyes and I took the road that leads towards Ahmedabad.

Shortly after branching off though, my bike started jerking at the lower gears. It started with the first gear, but as I progressed, it kept happening at 2nd and 3rd gears too. The only way to stop the jerking was riding at higher speeds. I was pretty sure it had something to do with the chain sprocket, but couldn't identify anything myself. A few local mechanics I stopped at weren't Bullet specialists and I rode to the next village which apparently had a Bullet mechanic. He too, however, wasn't one. He rode a Bullet himself but didn't repair them! I called up Rajaji and Alex (my mechanic in Pune), but they weren't able to diagnose anything. This village mechanic then adjusted the chain settings a bit which reduced the jerks but I needed a long term solution which only a Bullet service center could provide. My only option was to ride to Ahmedabad. I took the risk and swiftly rode the next 200 odd kms through the sunset.

Now I am no believer in God, but I'm pretty sure something was watching over me that night. The chain sprocket had lost more than 10 of its teeth and most of the other teeth were filed off atleast a little. If I had seen that sprocket, I wouldn't have dared to ride all that distance in the night. Somehow, I reached Ahmedabad outskirts without mishap or further issues. My priorities were straightforward - find a place to stay that is nearest to the Baroda turning and has a Bullet service center nearby. I found one, aptly named "Hotel Rest-n-Ride". The owner used to own a Bullet himself at one point of time. He saw all my gear, heard my riding story and remarked to his son -"Beta, yeh biker hai. Yeh bhi ek nasha hota hai, log pagal ho jaate hai isme, itna door door chalate rehte hai motorcycle apni". I couldn't help but smile and puff out my chest a little. Yes, it was an addiction and yes, I am a proud addict!

Link to Part V

BoP Anniversary Ride - Rann of Kutch (Part III)

DAY 5 - 18th December (Bhuj-Rajwadi Resort, Kalo Dungar and India Bridge)

This was to be a relaxing day. Not a lot of riding and we, for the first and last time in the ride, had a place booked for the night - the Rajwadi Rann Resort. We try and start rides with confirmed stays, but usually end up figuring out things on the fly. For a 11-day ride, it is quite a feat to have only night's stay booked and manage a different hotel every day. However, that is the advantage of riding in small groups, you can manage such things. I assumed the HOG contingent had places of stay, restaurants, chai stalls, everything booked for their entire journey!

The Rajwadi Resort is on the road that leads towards the Rann Utsav and the 'main' White Desert. Now, if you have been following the other parts of the blog, you'd have realized that we have already seen parts of the White Desert. But what we saw is never marketed as such. It is only in conjunction to the Rann Utsav and Dhordo Tent City that the White Desert is referred to. If someone is looking forward to a nice, touristy trip, this is where they will land up!

Close to the Rajwadi Resort is the BSF Checkpost, where you have to obtain passes to enter the White Desert. They charge per person and per vehicle also; you can thus assume that they will allow you to enter the area with your bikes, but fate had something else in store for us. More on this later though. For now, we checked into the resort. The resort is like a Gujarati version of Choki Dhani. We had a fantastic lunch with multiple cups of chai and set off towards Kalo Dungar (the Black Hill).

This place was a tad disappointing,. The views were OK'ish from the top but we were now inching closer to the touristy areas and it showed - the hill was full of people. Also, we didn't really get where the 'black' came from. The hills were brown and red. Perhaps viewed from a distance, they contrasted with the white salt and gave the impression of being black hills. We also caught a glimpse of our next stop for the day - India Bridge.

One can cross the India Bridge without any issue, but only till the BSF post. To go beyond that, closer to the border, you need a special permit that you can get only in Bhuj. The issue is that you rarely find such information at one place anywhere. We'd keep hearing such things the next day too, of getting permits from some other place. While it is a little disappointing, I completely understand the security concerns and respect their need to have multiple levels of checking before permitting people so close to the border. Taking photos at the India Bridge is not allowed so we just chilled around for a bit, chatting with the BSF jawans.

We rode back to the resort while the sun was setting. Given the location, there was no chance of procuring any extra supplies today. We asked for more chai. He had very less left, but instead of refusing, he got us half a cup each, that we referred to as 'chai shots'. That was the closest we'd get to alcohol this night. We finished dinner and then went out for a short walk to the BSF post nearby. Point to be noted - the Milky Way wasn't visible here, even if we were in the desert. We spoke the policeman there about the possibility of camping. By now, we weren't very hopeful of camping, but we thought we could manage something near the Tent City. There, however, you have to stay in their tents only, so the chances of camping somewhere were dimming with each day.

We turned in early for the night. I switched on the fan and slept without the blanket, much to Dips' consternation.

DAY 6 - 19th December (Dhordo Tent City and Lakhpat)

We were finally going to the famous Rann Utsav and Dhordo Tent City! Well, we weren't as excited as I sound here. We'd gotten an inkling of how things were there and they turned out to be worse, actually. We packed up and left for the place. It was a short ride. At the Rann Utsav, we had to purchase tickets to get inside, so we just got a few pics clicked there and went on towards the White Desert.

A few kilometers before, we were stopped by the BSF. Due to an impending VIP visit, no private vehicles weren't allowed beyond this point! This is what the permits were actually for, but within a day, the rules had somehow changed. This irritated all of us. We could clearly see that we couldn't get down into the salt here, it was still too wet. But we were determined to make it inside somehow on bikes. So we went back to the Utsav area, where we had lunch at the stalls while Ankit tried his best to get us through with the help of his contacts. All to no avail though. We went back, parked our bikes and got into the bus that would drop us until the edge of the White Desert. From that point, you have to walk or take the camel cart or tonga till viewing point.

The only thing of note here was the viewing point. It was built to resemble the atomic structure of the salt crystal. It stood out against the white background of the salt desert. You could walk through the waterlogged salt desert for a short distance, but there was nothing much else here. We decided to ride to Lakhpat for the night.

I loved the ride to Lakhpat. We were moving away from the desert and into greener areas. Bushes and trees crowded close to the narrow road. None of us noticed that we were straying off the route and we ended up with a 15 kms misnavigation. Ankit's geographical sixth sense kicked in and we asked around and got onto the right path. I wouldn't have minded riding further on those roads though! It was on this stretch that we discussed Rajaji's penchant for following and how he avoided leading! On BoP rides, there is no strict formation, but we generally slot into our most comfortable positions - Ankit leading, followed by Rajaji, me and Dips. Everyone would shift once in a while. If you lead, you are expected to pause at junctions, confirm the route if required, flag down others for a pitstop, etc. Rajaji, however, would actively avoid leading, so we decided to test this the next day.

Lakhpat is a small fort-town. There are no hotels or resorts here, just the Gurudwara. We've had 2 dry nights in a row, and looks like we'd make a hattrick! Still, the surroundings were peaceful and we settled for a simple and delicious dinner at langar time. Rajaji was showing off his linguistic prowess by conversing in Punjabi everywhere. He'd continue doing this the next day too, albeit in Gujarati. We hit the sack, hoping tomorrow would be a more eventful day.

Link to Part IV

BoP Anniversary Ride - Rann of Kutch (Part II)

DAY 3 - 16th December (Santalpur to Dholavira)

I was now finally riding with a 'big' group after a long time. Yes, any number more than 2 constitutes a 'big' group for me, as I have been riding solo or with 1-2 people for the past few years. On the topic of groups, something that never escaped me till the last day of my ride was news of a bunch of Harleys. Numerous Harley groups had crossed me by now and I heard of them from everyone on the roads - dhaba people, chai stall owners, city dwellers, etc. A 750-strong contingent of Harley Owners Group (HOG) was featuring in the Rann Utsav and consequently, we kept getting confused for being part of the same group throughout the ride. Indeed, at one point, someone actually tried to tell me that I had missed the group by over a day and I might want to ride faster! Guess the stories of my slow riding have spread far and wide.

This day's destination was Rapar. We started out from Santalpur and stopped at the Forest Department guesthouse to get more details on the Wild Ass Sanctuary. We wanted to camp there. Dips, Rajaji and Ankit went to talk inside while I lounged under a tree. Once again, I caught the curiosity of a bunch of village kids, all thanks to my gear. Frankly, I have gotten more attention due to my gear during this ride that I ever have in my lifetime!

The others returned and filled me in - at the next village, Piprali, we can enter the Rann! This was really exciting and I was looking forward to some tough off-roading, even if it scared me a bit. Localites in Piprali tried to warn us away from the Rann but we were very confident we could manage. You have to cross a lot of slush, vegetation and sand to get to the hard-packed soil of the desert. We were all up for the challenge. There were a series of narrow, sandy embankments we had to negotiate. Ankit decided to cut the Gordian knot and rode down a steep, dangerous slope to reach a convenient spot. We chose to bypass that slope. In the process, I got stuck in deep sand and had a minor fall. While the fall itself was harmless, I was now stuck - here was a Bullet on its side, fully loaded with luggage. I honked a few times but the rest had gone ahead and I wasn't sure if anyone heard me. I took a deep breath and lifted the entire monster in one go. I suffered a minor muscle pull in my bicep due to this though.

Soon, we reached the desert and now there was no stopping us. Ankit tried his best to rally us together for a video but we were in no mood to listen. We city kids are used to paths. There always is a path, visible or partially visible. A road, a track, a 'kaccha rasta', something which has a form and direction. In the desert though, there actually isn't any path. You can ride anywhere with no restrictions! We zig-zagged our way to a random spot and established 'camp'. We maneuvered the four bikes to serve as 'pillars' and spread the tarpaulin over them. Our picnic consisted of carrots, Parle-G biscuits and water. Rajaji was convinced that there was water at the horizon and left with Ankit to explore. The vast, empty desert was, to me, as terrifying and humbling as the ocean or the hills. I went into musing mode for a bit here.

Once the others returned, we packed up and started for Rapar. Barring a 10-kms misnavigation by Ankit the Leader, we had a smooth, albeit hot ride till Rapar. It was past lunch time though and we had to make do with some snacks in the town. There were also no decent places to stay here, so we rode on towards Dholavira. We then reached the Kutch Lake, a dried lake bed that covers both sides of the road. All you see is an endless expanse of white salt in both directions - this was our first and best view (as we would later realize) of the famed White Desert. We reached this spot just in time for the sunset, a truly magnificent sight.

Riding further, we chanced upon the Flamingo Resort. It seemed to be newly constructed. As we rode inside and parked, I was approached by a Kannadiga family who saw my KA number-plate. What followed was a very typical conversation, that would repeat itself throughout the ride and has repeated itself for many years for me. Because I have stayed in different places all my life, I attract such conversations. They go thus -

"Ah, you are all riding from Karnataka?"
"No, from Pune. They are coming from Delhi"
"Oh, so you're Marathi?"
"No, I grew up in Delhi."
"Then the KA bike....?"
"I was in Bangalore for sometime, so I bought the bike there"
"OK, so Delhiite"
"No, I'm actually an Andhraite, I was born and brought up in Delhi..."
"But you're now in...?"
"Pune"
"......"

In the past 5-6 years, I have been part of umpteen variations of this conversation. I realized that mono-syllabic answers do not turn away anyone. So if I'm in a hurry, I just list out the entire lot in one go - "Originally Andhraite, in Delhi all my life, in Bangalore for 5 years, now presently in Pune". It is usually a lot of fun for me and everyone around though!

The night's stay was fixed in Flamingo Resort. Once again, we managed to procure the essentials from a localite. Ankit and I went to get it this time. On the way back, we witnessed the magnificent spectacle that I have only seen in photos till now - a sky clear enough for the Milky Way to be visible. Once we returned, we started our BBB in earnest. The last highlight of this very eventful day was witnessing the almost-full moon reflecting on the White Desert. We rode the short distance to the spot we had chanced up earlier in the evening and soaked in the cold air and sheer whiteness of the environment. It is a different matter that my shoes were simultaneously soaking in the muck-encrusted-with-salt.....

DAY 4 - 17th December (Dholavira, Rapar and Bhuj)

The first task of the morning was to pull out my Swiss knife and clean my shoes. Apparently, the salt-mud mixture can eat away into your shoe lining. After a good 20 minute scraping session, I had gotten rid of the worst of the muck. After freshening up, we had a breakfast of poha and chai at the resort, while chatting with the caretakers. One of them started assigning names of politicians to us based on his impression of us (I was Manmohan Singh, because I talked less).

We then set off towards the ancient Harappan site of Dholavira. The place is beautifully maintained, albeit quite empty. It reminded me of Hampi, actually, even if they are both from completely different eras. We hired a guide who took us around, explaining the sites. These ancient city-builders can teach a thing or two to us nowadays. Along with the guide's comments, I actually learnt quite a bit from Ankit (an architect by profession) about the ingenuity of their construction methods. All those pics in history books now came to life. We next went to museum which housed the artifacts unearthed from these sites. This is something I love about BoP. Visiting museums on fun trips is usually frowned upon and I have been made fun of for my 'nerdy' inclinations by other friends' groups. Here, however, walking into the museum is as natural as walking into a seedy bar!

Next destination was the Fossil Park. This was not part of our original itinerary, but the Flamingo Resort owner told us about it. The Fossil Park consists of petrified wood (as in 'fossilized', not as in 'scared') that is enclosed in fences to prevent people from spoiling it. Here, we found a naturally carved ass-stone, as identified by Rajaji. We also tried our hand at

archaeology by picking up random stones and trying to identify if it was petrified wood or a simple stone.

This Fossil Park is at the edge of one end of the White Desert. We lounged around on the salt for sometime, getting pics clicked. The salt was firmer here, but it might have been because it was afternoon. We then went back past the Harappan site and stopped at a small resort for a delicious lunch. This entire ride was a vegetarian's delight. I was actually having fun at the behest of my fellow riders, because during the WCR ride, I was the only vegetarian in the entire gang and we were riding through a predominantly fish-and-beef-obsessed region (Kerala). Here in Gujarat, I was completely at home and was enjoying the culinary delights to the fullest.

Post lunch, we went back to Flamingo, packed up and left for Rapar. Now our previous touch-n-go experience in Rapar was pretty sad and the experience continued this time too. We wanted to ride towards Bhuj, but stop somewhere in the middle. After a short distance, we stopped for a discussion - whether to continue the next 120-odd kms to Bhuj or stop somewhere else. Ankit and Dips were keen on riding to Bhuj, Zaheer didn't seem too keen and I was dead against it. I have instinctively avoided night riding for a long time. After some cajoling however, I realized that I wasn't sleepy and could easily ride the entire distance, albeit with a dinner break. A deal was struck - we stop for dinner on the way and we ride till Bhuj for the night.

We soon turned off the main highway and the next 30-35 kms were hell for me. When you have spectacles on, riding in the night on an unlit, single-lane highway with high-beamed oncoming traffic becomes doubly difficult. If you randomly drop me on those roads today, I wouldn't be able to recognize anything because I was riding blind for the most part. The dinner dhaba was a welcome break for me.  Soon, though, the roads became better and we reached Bhuj late in the night. It took us quite some roaming around to find a hotel, but we found a decent one inside the city. The agenda was simple - finish the remaining 'supplies' and go to sleep!

Link to Part III

BoP Anniversary Ride - Rann of Kutch (Part I)

Once again, I'm back to blogging after almost a year. Around this time last year, I was pondering over my professional life, whether to move to a new city or stay put, etc. I chose to move; my new job in Pune exposed me to exciting opportunities and fantastic people. However, motorcycling took a backseat for a long time. The working week tired me out much more than ever and I was simply unable to manage my time for the first few months. Slowly though, I got a grip over my schedule and pushed myself to free up my weekends. I went on a few short rides with fellow BoPian Ajit and Sanjeev, a biker I met at my new workplace.

However, early on, Satish, Dips and I had scratched out a rough plan for the 2016 Anniversary ride and I diligently saved up my few leaves throughout the year. The destination was always Rann of Kutch, but concerns about rain and slush in November made us reconsider and we started exploring alternate plans. Lower 'lip' of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, East Coast - all were considered at one point of time. Finally though, more riders joined in (while Satish backed out) and by shifting the dates to December, we managed to stick to the original plan - Rann of Kutch Anniversary ride.

Dates: 14-25th December, 2016

Route taken/Places visited:
Pune-Mumbai-Surat-Baroda-Santalpur-Dholavira-Bhuj-Kalo Dungar-India Bridge-White Desert-Lakhpat-Narayan Sarovar-Mandvi-Ahmedabad-Baroda-Mumbai-Pune

Riders:

1. Ankit Gupta - Silver RE Classic 350 - The Leader
2. Diptinder Singh Chhabra - Black RE Electra 4S - The Hairstyle-changer
3. Krishnatreya Brindavanam - Silver RE Electra TS 350 - The Warrior
4. Zaheer Saifi - Black RE Electra 4S - The Follower 

Total distance traversed: 3,081 kms

The ride preparations had started at least a month in advance. I'd purchased a new ViaTerra tank-bag. Much before that, I'd shopped for new arm-guards, knee-guards and gloves. These turned out to be a great topic of conversation with my co-riders and strangers alike, as they have outer plates of steel which lent a 'warrior' look to me. A kind friend also lent me her tent and sleeping bag as we planned to camp somewhere.

DAY 1 - 14th December (Pune to Surat)

The day's destination was Surat, 420 kms from Pune. Day 1 and most of Day 2 were to be solo stretches. I was now completely comfortable with solo rides, but what caused some trepidation was the distance. I hadn't covered anything more than 120 kms a day in the past 9 months, though 420 a day is well within my comfort zone. I started off sharp at 6 AM and made my way towards Mumbai via the old highway. The ride till Mumbai was uneventful, except for hunger pangs; I hadn't stopped at my usual breakfast place in Lonavala and post that, I surprisingly didn't find any place to eat. Somewhere on the outskirts of Mumbai, I stopped and had a samosa with chai and decided to break for an early lunch afterwards.

One thing continually preying on my mind was the cash crunch. Demonetization was in full force and ATMs dried out faster than a drop of water on a hot tawa. I was carrying around Rs 1200 in cash and wanted to avoid as many cash transactions as I could, because on rides, emergency situations almost always require hard cash. So 85 kms before Surat, I stopped for lunch at what seemed to be a highway plaza with multiple restaurants under the same roof. Somehow, the mood for continental food caught me and I ordered a Cheese Macaroni and Lemon Tea. Unfortunately, this was the beginning of my cash woes for that day because their card machine wasn't working and I ended up parting with some of my precious cash.

It was then a smooth ride to Surat where I got caught in the evening traffic. I hadn't paid attention to the signboards and ended up going 14-15 kms into the main city; the next morning, I'd be coming back to the highway to go to Baroda and there was a big hotel right at the turning that I could have taken. Anyway, I was dead tired and found a hotel somewhere in the city. All thoughts of sleep came down crashing when I was told that they accept ONLY cash payments. It was a decent-sized establishment who could have easily transacted with card or net banking. All my pleas fell on deaf ears though. I wasn't in any mood to pack my luggage again and ride through the horrendous traffic to find another hotel, so I decided to freshen up and find an ATM. A hotel staff guy accompanied me and we tried 4 ATMs nearby, all to no avail. I then asked him to guide me to the nearest restaurant that would accept card payments. There, while getting my dinner packed, I got hold of some cash by paying 5% extra on my card. Cash issues resolved, I went back to the hotel. Here, however, I decided to push the hotel staff further (matter of principle - what if I hadn't gotten cash?). I kept asking them to give me their account details so that I could transfer the money. One guy tried to intimidate me by telling me that I can't leave the hotel premises without paying cash. I stuck to my ground for quite sometime. In the end though, I was too sleepy to argue further and promised to pay them cash in the morning, which I duly did before leaving.

This part of me may surprise a few readers - why get into trouble unnecessarily in a new city when I had cash in hand? But to me, it was matter of principle. It isn't anything to be proud of, this trait of mine, but it is how I am. I knew where to stop though, so no harm done.

DAY 2 - 15th December (Surat to Baroda)

This was to be a reunion day on 2 fronts. Firstly, I was to go to my friend AR's place in Baroda for breakfast. I was meeting her after a year and coincidentally, she had come back home from the US only a few days before. The ride from Surat to Baroda was short and sweet - 150 kms. Using Google Maps, I found my way to AR's place where we had an excellent breakfast and spent some time chatting about our college days.

The second reunion of the day was, of course, with my co-riders. We had planned to meet up in Radhanpur, around 280 kms from Baroda. Previous night, Dips had called me to ask if I could ride till Rapar that day. I refused, because both the distance (540+ kms from Surat) and my stopover at Baroda would have made it a tough ride for me. So we met up at Radhanpur as planned. After some bantering about my gear, we shifted to more serious topics - that of the unmentionable in a dry state. We obtained some information from a bunch of curious people, procured the necessary supplies and rode the next 40-odd kms to Santalpur to our night's stay.

This place was attached to a regular highway dhaba. At a very affordable price, we had a massive room with 7 beds for ourselves. We started our BBB session with a huge packet of chakhna that Ankit had procured, a fuck-load of onions and lemons and some "Impact". We filled in each other on our respective adventures. Rajaji commenced his dialogue of the ride - "sooji hai?" Dinner was at the 24/7 dhaba downstairs, after which we passed out for the night.

Link to Part II