The Landour Riders

This ride was much needed for so many reasons…I had not gone for a ride for more than 2 months…and Negi even a bigger culprit…no ride for almost 5 months !!! plus an opportunity to ride with 2 new riders…Chirag & Deepak…plus another opportunity after my Chail Ride to ride with Mr. Puneet Chauhan – “The Overtaking from Left Side Champion”…and the biggest reason being the huge disappointment of cancelling the Independence Ride due to bad weather…so there were so many reasons to just pack our bags…get our bikes ready and head straight for the ROADS !!!

As always this ride was conceptualized by me…right from selecting the venue…planning the itinerary and placing it on various Internet Forums namely the RE Website & our Orkut Community…a unique part of this ride was that a member of Delhi RODS- Deepak Chauhan was part of the ride on his Pulsar 220 Bike…
The Members of the Ride :
1. Puneet Chauhan on his 5S Electra
2. Nitin Negi on The Silent Mobious
3. Deepak Chauhan on his P 220
4. Nishant Jha on The Mighty One
5. Chirag Gaur – Co-Rider with Puneet, Pillion and Co-Navigator (MULTI-TASKER)

What follows is a Day-to-Day Account of the 3 fun-filled days of the Landour Ride…

DAY 1
We started at 5:30 AM in front of the Akshardham Temple and soon were speeding on the rarely found near-empty roads in and around the Delhi-Ghaziabad Road….with awesome pleasant weather to boot…rays of sunshine trying their best to break through…the newspaper sellers preparing their bundles…early morning walkers just gearing up…and birds twittering all over the place…amidst this almost filmi scene our tummies soon went empty and we made our first Pit-Stop for Breakfast at a very aptly named Dhaba...Hotel Deepak …Deepak almost started to shout & jump on seeing his name so boldly written for the first time !!! we had to stop & control him on going hysterical and losing his senses !!! soon the Paranthas stuffed with Aloo, Paneer & Pyaaz were being gobbled up at the speed of knots and normal culprits Dahi, Chai & Achaar were also not spared…Negi amazed us all with his astronomical diet size…he almost had 6 paranthas and don’t know how much Dahi…but it gave him a rare opportunity of boasting about himself !!! with our tummies filled and the sun in his full mood we started to ride again…the traffic was still pretty thin and the wind little chilly and the ride was really awesome…Negi and Deepak stopped en-route for some Fruity follow-up breakfast !!!
And then we had our first and last mishap of the ride….a crazy bus driver was overtaking another bus and I lost control of the bike and went a lil off-road…my bungee snapped due to the sudden braking and got stuck in Deepak`s front tyre who was just behind me…a strange coincidence for sure but still it had to happen…and Deepak fell down…but luckily or unluckily!!! Nothing major happened and he was back up on his feet…we all were so relieved and started the ride again…the next stop was already planned…A BEER PIT-STOP !!! we found a road-side liquor joint soon and ordered a beer each to replenish our bodies & souls…the place was quite rustic to say the least…with just a fan over our head and a bed lying acting as a couch !!! we also had chairs…the beer cartons !!! soon bakchodi, smoke and gaalis were flowing all over !!! and we finished the beer in no time…Negi as always became greedy for another beer…but good sense prevailed and we postponed the plan for late evening…we all decided to take a new route to reach Dehradun going through the jungles on the Saharanpur-Dehradun Road…it was an awesome road with monkeys and small water stream adorning our way…the weather just before we were about to reach Dehradun changed dramatically and it started to rain heavily…we made our Lunch Stop lil earlier as planned…but it was a blessing in disguise as the food was awesome at Mehfil Restaurant…we were really hungry and the food was rounded off with piping hot Gulab Jamuns which were an icing on the cake sorts !!! During the lunch session we modified our plan little…and Chirag was solely responsible for this…we decided to go to Sahastradhara which is a tourist spot just before Dehradun…it’s a great place to enjoy in the fast moving Ganga water !!! we entered the chilly water and again started with the normal bakchodi session and amidst the crazy fun a water snake appeared out of nowhere and approached straight towards us…we got shit scared…luckily I was not wearing my specs so was spared the scary sight and as all of you know I am nearly blind w/o my specs…so I was spared the scary thoughts n the ooh-aahs !!! for the next 15 mins Deepak was just cold & blue all over…shit scared of the snake…he was not believing us when we told him that water snakes are non-poisonous !!! the thing which made it even more scary for us was the water flow…it was so violent…nobody just cud not move in spite of the snake just 5 metres away !!! sanity prevailed after some time and we all got out of the water and headed for a tea joint…in the meantime Negi & Chirag saw a hot girl and their eyes just didn’t move post that…they were transfixed on her pretty face (as they described her !!!)…during this daydreaming Puneet broke the breaking news to us that Chirag was married & had 2 kids…it was like a small bomb attack and we were left stunned with empty gazes all around…but the silver lining is that Chirag looks damn young for a father of 2 kids & married for 5-6 yrs !!! we all soon came out of this shock and started our final leg of the ride to Landour…we reached at around 8:30 and started to find a hotel for us and after asking close to 20 odd people for Hotel Aashirwaad, we finally found it…it was a dingy type lodge where we got the room for Rs. 300 per night…and the best part was that the 2 rooms had a common door and even had an extra single-bed as if they knew a group of 5 riders was coming !!! we left our luggage and started the shopping for the night party…Chirag was hellbent for a salad snack party to go with the bottle of Rum he had bought !!! his wish was granted and we bought cucumber, tomatoes and lemons for a healthy snack !!! for some unhealthy people amongst us we also bought Potato chips & Kurkure…we also found a decent Chinese joint where we ordered the rest of the snacks & dinner to be delivered at our hotel so that the alcohol party was not disturbed for dinner !!! I was the chef for the night neatly cutting away the vegetables using my Leatherman Knife to the best possible level and side-by-side sipping away the beer !!! Negi was at his very best and was gulping away the Rum Glasses in no time…1-2-3-4-5…it was a 100 metres dash !!! and his favourite line…”Chirag, please make my second-last peg”…though soon we lost count and Negi was reaching the sloshed stage !!! the dinner came, Puneet was waiting like a hungry hog and ate his share…started to sleep…Deepak was also showing his misty eyes…but NEGI the Warrior was not accepting the sleeping defeat and was game for a night bike ride !!! I gave him an abuse session…and me, him & Chirag decided to go for a night walk with no set destination !!! we sat down below a lamp post and started to talk the general philosophical things which drunkards normally talk !!! Negi, I am extremely sorry to call you that but buddy, believe me you were dead drunk that night !!! soon I had enough of Negi`s heavy-duty stuff and we started the long walk back to our Hotel…Chirag still had the freakin guts to watch some TV and then doze off !!! when we were opening our room, we could hear a loud growling noise from inside…we could not make out but the moment we entered we could hear Deepak snoring away to glory and poor Puneet sleeping right next to him oblivious of the howling noise coming out of Deepak’s body ( it was that loud…I am sure 5-6 body openings were involved & not just the normal two---nose & mouth !!!)…the sleep engulfed me in no time but I was woken up by some more howling noise…this time somebody was puking…I was sure it would be Negi but to my utter shock in the morning I got to know it was infact Chirag…though he blamed it all on the Chinese dinner we had…he is so loyal to his Rum…he just cant blame it for any wrong-doing !!!...

DAY 2
It started on a dull note…all of us were feeling sleepy…Chirag & Negi were slowly but surely coming out of their last night`s Rum Rendezvous…but the great weather outside didn’t let us stay in that slow motion for long…we were off for breakfast after freshening up…stuffed ourselves with Poor-Choley, Cheese Omelette, Aloo Paranthas, Corn Flakes & Tea…TThat tummy filling session was followed by a round of Mussoorie on our bikes…it was great fun with people watching us in awe & surprise… I am sure it was due to our rugged style & the thump of our bullets !!! we decided to head towards Dhanaulti for a 80 odd kms ride after carefully studying the huge Map in our Hotel Lobby…the weather was perfect for a bike ride in the hills with mist flowing all over and raindrops falling like small pearls !!! wow !!! it sounds like poetry….the ride was quite picturesque with small waterfalls greeting our way and greenery all over the place…it was extremely misty in some patches forcing us to switch on our headlights…amidst this almost theatrical scene we missed Dhanaulti and kept riding before suddenly realizing we were quite far ahead !!! I gave them the idea of visiting a local famous Temple….The Surkunda Mata Temple…when we finally reached close to that we got to know that it can be reached only after a 4 kms trek uphill !!! but we were ll game for it…considering the religious streaks within all of us !!! we started the trek on an upbeat mode…but soon all of us were panting & breathing heavily…and stopping at every 200 metres…the boost was given to us was given to us by some local women who were trekking up as ifthey were riding bikes and we moving on bullock-carts…they gave us an earful of inspiration which helped us improve our speed and within 30 minutes we were on the hill-top…rested for a bit again…removed our shoes…washed our hands and paid obeisance to the Surkunda Mata…the scene was quite Bollywood Type…the Red Flag was fluttering away to glory…mist was flowing…the temple bells were being sounded of…it was quite a spectacular sight & sound show !!! we came down and started our journey back to Mussoorie…on the way Deepak & Chirag saw the Cricket Superstar Dhoni in a Mitsubishi Pajero…I decided to follow them but the speed was too much for me to even give them a close fight !!! and I soon gave up…we had an amazing meal at a small-little eating joint in Mussoorie…it was quite a late lunch as the time was 6:30 PM…but the food was amazing to say the least…our empty tummies got filled in no time whatsoever !!! after soothing our hunger pains Chirag & Puneet entered a Video Games parlour where Puneet played like a rockstar and won every single freakin wrestling game he played !!! Negi also tried his hand but as always lost out to tougher competition !!! me & Deepak acted a cheerleaders to the Air Hockey game between Negi & Chirag where Chirag won again…
We found a nice little hotel to spend our second night as we all had decided to stay in a new place closer to the Mall Road…the biggest reason was to catch some babes !!! plain & simple…amidst all this we got to hear that 5 Bomb Blasts had happened in Delhi and once again Terror had struck an Indian city…I was so enraged and mouthing obscenities left-right & centre !!! all of us called our homes and checked that everybody back home was safe & secure…moved to our Hotel and switched on the News Channels to catch the latest…Chirag & Negi again started their Drinking session…but for a change it was meant to be a sober night !!! at around 11 PM we decided to take a long walk on the Mall Road…did some shopping…had omelettes for Dinner…softy for dessert !!!the road was deserted but the walk was great fun…we clicked snaps…made some awesome poses for the camera…all of us knew this was our last night of the ride and were a little sad inside but nobody was showing it !!! got back to our Hotel at 2 AM and dozed off with alarms set for 6 AM as we all had decided to start the ride back home to Delhi at 7 AM sharp…

DAY 3
As expected nobody woke up at 6 AM…our slumber was broken at 8 AM…gingerly we got ready…packed our luggage…bungied it onto our Bikes…and started our journey back home !!! enroute had another bout of Tea & Aloo Paranthas for Breakfast before starting the downhill slope ride…the weather was rocking…soon we were all speeding away to glory…the plan was simple…to keep riding with minimum number of stops… but as one would expect a Beer-Stop was a given and it was duly taken…coincidently we stopped at the same beer joint where we had stopped on our way to Mussoorie !!! a minor change was that it was quite hot & humid…plus no electricity meant the slow fan was also not working…it was quite a sweaty beer session but great fun nonetheless !!! our next stop was the Moolchand Resorts…for Lunch…I had lunch there 2-3 times previously and I knew it served great food…had a sumptuous Lunch…a mix of North Indian & Chinese…with sleepy bodies we started our final leg of the ride…which turned out to be the most painful as well !!! as the weather was quite hot & sticky…things got worse when we reached closer to Modinagar & Meerut as the traffic gets seriously painful there…and the fact that it was the Ganesha Idol Immersion day made matters worse for us as there were 3-4 traffic snarls on the way…this always is the worst part of any ride to Uttarakhand…when one is coming back to Delhi…the last part of the ride is so painful, it just spoils the entire fun…but we just can`t help it…maybe in some time to come it would be a smoother ride as sometime back I read that a Flyover is being planned in Modinagar on the lines of the Panipat Flyover…but I trust the UP Govt. completely that it would atleast take 6-7 years !!! and during that time the ride would be even more painful !!! we reached Delhi at around 8 PM…I met Negi near the Ashram Flyover to hand over his bag…had a smoke with him…bid him goodbye…and rode back home…

All in all it was a great ride…new Biking Buddies made…2 new cities visited…some great weather experienced…had amazing food during the entire ride…and the highlights of the Ride were the Snake Show & The Negi Show !!!

I have already started planning for the next ride…most probably it would be to Dharamshala / Mcleodganj in the 2 October Weekend… just have to chalk out the final nitty - gritties…

Till the next time we meet…have a great time…ride safe…and have safe SEX !!!

Che would be back on the Road again….

Photo Albums:
1. http://picasaweb.google.co.in/puneet.chauhan/LandourMussorieDhanoti02
2.http://picasaweb.google.com/cs.deepak.chauhan/LandourRide1209208To15092008And800KM?authkey=p36b8TVf9b8#
3. http://picasaweb.google.com/jha.nishant/TheLandourRiders?authkey=WHOSvjVb7Zg#