The Stunt Riders

The Mind Boggling stunts which the Stunt Riders had always amazed me and I always longed to watch it live atleast once…I could sense the opportunity when Ankit aka atleast 1000 nick names sent me a friend request on Orkut after watching my bike as The Mighty One had fascinated him a lot…soon we started interacting and he sent us an invite for the RODS Meet…RODS is their group name…Ryderz Of Da Storm…a group of youngsters on their Pulsars and Apaches…

The Venue was The Dhaula Kuan Crossing and the time was 7 AM on 1st June 2008...a guy named Anuj had reached the first and that too from Shahadra….and this was his first Bike Ride and he hadn`t even told his folks about it !!! Hats off to his passion…there were 15 bikes and some crazy riders…with the odd ones one being me and Negi on our Royal Enfield Bikes !!! the thought of not matching to our fellow bike riders’ speeds on their much faster machines made us decide to go back homes and not spoil their fun but nobody allowed us to fade away and soon we were off on an amazingly brilliant pleasant morning with smashing weather and cool wind blowing…the destination was The Neemrana Fort on the Delhi – Jaipur Highway which is an awesome road for riding at high speeds…

Our first stop was the McDonalds on the Highway and the first rounds of Stunts started with Mohit aka Akon aka The Venom Boy on his bike doing wheelies and stoppies on his bike !!! an amazing sight to say the least…I mean he had such an awesome control on his bike I just could not believe my eyes !!!

We moved on and while on the way saw 7-8 super bikes ( Suzuki Hayabusas) doing their own stuff on the Highway…its tough clicking them as the kind of speeds they reach it becomes really impossible to click them in a camera…but somehow I was able to click one snap…our stunt guy Akon showed off some stunts to them and it bucked the other gang so much that they started doing wheelies on theis super bikes !!! an even incredible sight…soon a large crowd built up with people coming out of their villages to see the stunts…n then the next obvious thing…POLICE !!! we left that place quickly and started for our destination…

Then the first major fuck-up of the trip struck us…one ancient old guy was crossing the road with presumably his 2 wives !!! and his feet simply got stuck to the road and he just dead stopped…Negi could not brake in time and his handle got stuck in that oldie’s hand and he fell…and I was witnessing this mishap from behind on my bike…fortunately there was no major damage to either Negi’s sexy body or to his sexy bike !!! he washed the wound and as a brave fighter was soon back on the road !!! a brave guy I must say…he gleefully got himself clicked as well with his wounds !!!

We soon reached the access road to the Fort and that road was perfect for some stunts and we all decided to stop and start the fun again…this time 5-6 bikes doing their stuff…it was a great sight…high speed biking, wheelies and stoppies !!! some 30 minutes into it we all moved to the Fort…parked our bikes infront of the Fort but then witnessed a shocker !!! to gain an entry into the fort every visitor has to shell 200 bucks which was unacceptable to all of us so we decided to get the snaps clicked atleast to show that we reached the fort !!! and then headed back to the same spot where the stunts were performed…this time for a longer time with more riders participating…

We reached the spot, lined up the bikes in one formation and got the machines clicked with all the helmets lined up as well…it was a brilliant sight for sure…And then the Extravaganza started…the riders soon were at their very best…doing their wheelies, stoppies, Drags and what not !!! amazing sight it was….soon a huge crowd built up to witness the magic !!! we were demi-heroes !!! and me the official photographer while the stunt frenzy was in full flow…clicking pics and making videos !!!

The leader of the show was Monty aka Akon !!! he is simply superb…the ones you see in stunts videos and he can give any stunt rider a run for his money…I don’t have enough words describing what he is capable of !!! and then the others followed as well…Dhruv, Deepak and others…then the Master of the Ceremonies and the organizer of the ride decide to show us some of his class…he did a Double Handed Chainsaw !!! now don’t ask me to describe it…just take a look at the pic given !!! there was another crazy guy with us (don`t remember his name though) but his identity was bald tyres !!! both rear and front and then he decided to make the rear ones even more clean !!! he made a circle burning his tyre rubber and with loads of smoke !!! the place was smelling of rubber and passion of the riders and me and Negi just awestruck and lost for words !!!

Amidst all this mayhem, Traffic Jams and a huge crowd…somebody shouted the Police might come so off we went to avoid any kind of trouble !!! and we were back riding normally…but still the Pulsars were speeding and zooming on the highway !!! Negi Boss was still at his best…riding at an average speed of 55 kmph !!! man it takes a lot getting him to speed !!!

We all reached a Dhaba and there was chaos all over…bikes being parked…shouting…ordering for tea and stuff !!! but definitely good fun…and in between all this Monty ordered MILK for him !!! there was pin drop silence !!! with jaws dropping all over…there were hundreds of teeth visible at that time with all the mouths wide-open !!! but sadly he didn’t get his demand fulfilled and he had to be satisfied with Milk-Filled Tea !!! we had a feast there and decided to head back straight to Delhi…

All of us were enjoying the perfect weather and a cool breeze hitting our body…it was bliss…I started thinking about my Ladakh Ride and the kind of crfun I soon would be having…it was a great time reminiscing about old times !!! but then the biggest tragedy and mishap struck !!! we saw police stopping us…I had a bike and 2 riders with me…there was a bad accident involving 2 bikes and I could see a victom lying on the road with him bleeding profusely…his head open and shoulders really badly bruised…I stopped as a good obedient citizen…showed the police my papers and then to my utter shock and dsbelief, I was told to come to the Police Station with the Cops as they thought I was part of the same group which had hit the victim…I knew I was in deep Shit clearly knowing the fact that Haryana Police is one of the most corrupt and ruthless in the country…I reached the Police Staion…and there was mayhem there with 2 Murder Cases !!! there was a huge crowd shouting and crying…I could clearly sense that my stay here would be really long, painful and arduos…then my interrogation started !!!the cop in question showered me with all the choicest abuses in Jat language !!! then I decided I would have to get out of this mess only after bribing that asshole…and I tried talking to him but he was in no mood to listen !!! I my plan and talked to another softer looking cop and then he talked to him and tanother shocker hit me !!! He asked for 6,000 bucks which I flatly refused…I tried cajoling him and finally the deal was struck at 2,000 bucks !!! and then the corruption hit me right in my face !!! the cop sat behind my bike…we went to the ATM together…I withdrew money and then dropped right infront of his home to so that he could enjoy the bounty !!! this is corruption for you…a good citizen paying 2000 bucks and wasting 2 hours for no fault of his !!! but then India rocks as a country and I don’t mind these troubles !!! all this while he didn’t care about te victim lying in the hospital…before dropping him I requested him to call up and check his condition…sadly he was not in his senses and still unconscious… I quickly made a prayer for his well being and headed straight to the Highway and back home…I was tired both pphysically and emotionally after going through the pain in the police station !!!

But I was happy for one thing that all the other riders were not troubled and were safeat their homes…as I knew as a fact that none of them were carrying complete vehicle papers and would have been in a big mess should they were caught and anyway 2000 bucks was a small amount for the kind of fun I had with all the riders, Stunts and the bakarchodi !!! so it was a very small cost paid !!!

I reached home…shared the story with Negi, Deepak, Ankit and Dhruv !!! telling them about my ordeal and how relieved I was at the end of this…posted the pics on the net and shared the stories, videos and pics with my parents… they were also really excited after seeing the videos and actually dumbstruck !!! and as always a stern warning to me for never trying these stunts !!!obviously I don’t have the guts nor the kick to attempt these crazy stunts…I am happy watching them from a distance and being the official photographer !!!

I am waiting for the next RODS ride in end-june after I come back from Ladakh and being a part of the crazy fun all over again…I am sure during this time all of them would practice hard and learn some new stunts !!!

Soon I would be back with another blog about my Ladakh Ride and subsequently with all my rides…Life is a roller coaster and I wanna live it up !!!

Pics of the Ride can be viewed at http://picasaweb.google.com/jha.nishant/TheRODSRideToNeemrana?authkey=ndB8Ki643YQ and Videos at http://www.4shared.com/dir/7405475/4dd76cbd/RODS_RIDE_Videos_1_June.html

Che would be back on the road again…