All that I want is to ride!
Note: The following write-up may seem to be written by a bike loving lunatic and its OK if you think so.
Yes, as simple as that. All I wanted is to ride bike again on the open roads. That feeling of morning breeze seeping through the jacket and sending chills down the spine. Shake a bottle of soda for 6 months and then open it (OK maybe just 6 seconds is enough), that’s how I was feeling.
Finally after six months I was in India and had a chance to ride. I had major plans for riding a couple of mega meters but Murphy had different plans. Even after spending more than 10 grands to get my bike from Hyderabad to Bangalore and all the modifications it was not ready to ride at the right time. Hmm, I had to wait for few more days. “I can do this”, I said to myself…
And after a complete job on the engine, new shoes and Xenon kit, my exactly 2 years old Karizma was road worthy again. It felt good, that feeling of riding a wild horse
. Finally all that major plans of riding were just changed into a simple ride from Bangalore to Hyderabad. I finished all the necessary checks and loaded my stuff on to the bike and was off on the Bangalore ring road after lunch.
Day 1: 29/03/2007
By 2PM I was on the National highway filling up some fuel to get me till the first gas station in Andhra Pradesh which would save me about 3 Rupees per litre . The excitement of the ride got to me and I was cruising at above 100kmph for most of the time on the good roads.
I just took a couple of breaks later for fuel and kept riding. Good roads and not so scenic views made for a quick ride with very less stops. After a stop at the well maintained A1 Plaza few kilometers before Gooty, I took a deviation from the highway towards my stop for the night Adoni, a small town in Kurnool district. If you see the map you might see it is over 70kms from the highway! Why here? Well, how long can one ride on the boring straight highways? I stopped a couple of times again once, for a passing train and another for a quick photo shoot. At least something to remember the trip for .
The roads from here on were narrower but much more satisfying because of the variation of terrain and lack of traffic. There is something about empty stretch of roads with no one around that makes me feel free and on my own. By about 7PM I was at my stop for the night.
Total for the day: 350kms
Route: Bangalore – Hindupur – Ananthapur – Gooty – Adoni
Day 2: 30/03/2007
Another lazy morning! I got up late and spent time around the city till noon and left the town after lunch again at about 2PM. Filled up to the brim so that I won’t have to fuel up again and left on the Adoni – Mantralaya road. Scorching sun and the open roads winding between rocky hills for the next 40kms, a perfect recipe for a ‘Sholay’ kind of setting I’d say. Kept on riding and stopped in Raichur for getting something to drink. I got on the road with my buddy (my bike of course) and got on the road to Hyderabad.
The sun was just raining its fury and I had to stop just 40 odd kilometers later to get another top up of water in my body. Then on it was smooth sailing, the sun was slowly coming down and the roads were fitting for an uninterrupted constant 100kmph speeds riding through villages and some paddy fields in between. Oh god! That smell of paddy and cool breeze took my swirling back to a different place. I was shook out of it soon with the now common dusty winds reminding that its just the beginning of summer and there’s a long way to go before the rains color the earth green.
Even though I had planned for another stop before Hyderabad, the good roads and lesser heat got me through the next 160 odd kilometers without a break. I was officially inside Hyderabad by around 8PM. Passing through the famous Tank bund roads around the Hussein sagar reservoir and I don’t remember how many other not so familiar roads I finally reached home by 9PM.
Yeah I was home, my mom waiting in the balcony with a relieved but angry face to see her crazy son home. And I was grinning wide inside my helmet, hidden from the world
. It was not a big ride, I did not even go to any special place, it was just the roads through pretty arid part of India. Nevertheless I could not help but feel satisfied with that ride that I just had. Something to keep the fire burning for few more months till I get to ride again!
I leave you with a small set of pictures (just 5) and the final stats of the ride.
http://www.jeetenge.com/plogger/inde...el=album&id=32
Total for the trip: 650kms
Route: Bangalore – Hindupur – Ananthapur – Gooty – Adoni – Mantralam cross – Raichur – Hyderabad
