2009…On the Road and off it…

Seldom comes an year in one’s life when God grants all the wishes and the year goes the exact way one planned it before starting it…2009 was such an year for me…professionally & personally I have been able to achieve all the targets I had decided and it won’t have been possible without the support of my Motorcycling Buddies, my parents & most importantly God…

This is a Blog-Post of just some random thoughts about 2009…12 months…more than 20,000 kms on the road…14 Bike Rides…24 new places visited for the first time…that’s a very healthy average of 1.16 rides every month and 2 new places visited every month!!!(I love throwing Statistics-so what as a subject it SUCKED during my MBA!!!)…visiting Gujarat & Hyderabad for the first time…good memories...the awesome times on the road…and the amazing ones off the road...the highs…the non-existent lows…the drunken parties…the high-on-ganja times…riding at manic speeds on the open roads…the open dumping spectacles…travelling & exploring through the most beautiful country of the World…trekking on the snow-laden peaks of Triund…riding through the fiery roads of Jalori…camping on the hill-top at Hatu, the ride through The Western Ghats & The Sutlej river side…dancing on the Desert Sands of Bikaner…exploring the forgotten history of Rakhigarhi…spotting a Tiger at Ranthambore…standing at The Indira Point at Kanyakumari-The southern-most point of India…the crazy times at Rider Mania 2009 at Ooty…going back to my Alumnus-GIM on my Bike-The Mighty One…spending Diwali with my Bhai after 12 years…Masti times spent with my 2 adorable nieces…eating authentic Hyderabadi Biryani for the first time…the 3 scary motorcycling accidents of 2009…the bath in the spine-chilling waters of the Sarovar at The Golden Temple-the only place which gets me spiritual…finding my soul-mate or Life Partner…

I made a promise to myself that I would make a pleasure-travel trip once every month and visit a new location and boy-oh-boy didn’t I stay true to my promise…

2009 has been one crazy journey and I have lived every moment of it to the fullest…the way I always do…not worrying about my past or the future ahead…I pray to God to give me many more such years and I promise I would do 100% justice to each one of them…so read on and be part of the journey of 2009-On the Road & off it…

January 2009



The Year couldn’t have started on a better note…a 17 days & 3180 kms ride…I called it the West Coast Ride…2 Bikes…3 buddies…5 States…1 UT…unlimited fun…pit-loads of Sambhar-Vada-Dosa & Idlis…breathtaking views…friends for life…riding on roads next to the sea…attending my first Rider Mania- the annual congregation of Royal Enfield Motorcyclists…camping for the first time in Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu…watching the achieving my dream of being at Kanyakumari & Ladakh in the same year…no breakdowns and what a time!!! It was simply a dream come true…thanks to Sunder & Deepak this ride was one of the most memorable ones of my life…
(http://thewestcoastriders.blogspot.com/)

February 2009



I am not that kind of a person who can be satisfied with just one long ride in an year and the moment I came back from WCR I started scouting for a totally off-the-shelf kind destination and my search ended with Rakhigarhi-A dusty village in Haryana near Hissar which has so much history buried under the soil; in recent excavations artifacts have been found which are some 5000 years older than the ones found at Harappa & Mohenjodaro!!! Man that’s really old!!!…me, Tomar & Dips visited this place and came back as 3 educated motorcyclists…Sattu at Hansi gave us some amazing lessons in General Knowledge and we loved the KAALA-TEETAR beer!!!
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/02/bop-historic-explorers.html)

March 2009



The month started with a grand BOP Ride to Chakrata, a beautiful place near Dehradun. The ride started with 2 accidents and fortunately none of us was badly hurt and the BBB Session at Gyan’s home was unparalleled in the history of BOP!!! The final 42-kms long crazy night ride through the Chakrata Heights was simply amazing and I loved the challenge thrown at me…BOP achieved another milestone when we visited the Tiger Falls-the 2nd highest waterfall in Asia and had another bath session!!! Chakrata was special in another way because it is one of the very few destinations where no foreigners are allowed…



We went for our 2nd ride of the month to Kurukshetra continuing our Historic Exploration Theme!!! and what a lesson we got…I finally found out that Sheikh-Chilli was not just a mythical character but a real human being…the ride ended with me going to Old Delhi for another of my EOiD club meets and hogged like crazy…for a change some delicious Vegetarian delights…The memorable March could not have ended on a better note!!!
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/03/kurukshetra-krunchies.html)

April 2009



The month started with Raid De Nepal Ride and ended with The Mcleodganj Mavericks Ride…what diversity!!! and the Mcleod Ride happened after 2 previous aborthed attempts…finally only 5 of us made the ride but for me this was the most memorable ride of 2009…it started on a rain-drenched & blood-spoiled road but at the end of it we came out victorious…I did a real trek for the first time through the snow-clad peaks of Triund and spent the nights camping in the middle of snow and away from the urban mayhem…the sweet taste of victory was complete when we rode for some 500 kms straight from Dharamshala to Delhi without any mishaps whatsoever…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/04/mcleodganj-mavericks.html)

May 2009



Lansdowne was another destination BOP wanted to conquer and we made it true in May…for the uninitiated it is the closest Hill Station to Delhi, just 230 odd kms away and a beautiful & quiet little place tucked away in the mountains of UK…we were a huge group and had a ball during the ride…be it while eating away to glory at Hotel Mayur or dancing like crazy at the Mall Road…the sweltering heat couldn’t do any damage to our spirit while coming back and the LionHearts stood true to their name…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/05/lansdowne-lionhearts.html)

June 2009



Jalori Pass came out as a destination after the endless research me & Dips keep doing to find new places to ride to and we had a different plan this time for the ride…we decided to camp out during the nights and no hotel stays!!! truly adventurous and nomad like spirit…the first camping night would always stay on the top in the annals of BOP for the mad singing or should we say shouting session at the Hilltop in Hatu and in the chilling night…the next day saw us conquering another milestone…we were at the top of the Jalori Pass after a tough ride and that night we camped at the Sutlej River Side amidst tones of Bakchodi and some child mangoes…the return ride was a sad one with innumerable breakdowns and 1 minor accident but as always it was us who were victorious and not the elements…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/07/jalori-juggernauts.html)

July 2009



This was the month BOP decided to take a break from riding but the traveler inside me was not going to stay dormant…I made 2 other trips…the Abu AlphaMales went to Mt. Abu in Sinha Sahab’s brand new Ford Fiesta in the rain-infested lands of Rajasthan…the weather was simply amazing and Rajasthan stayed true to its magical fervour…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/08/i-had-taken-break-from-biking-for-july.html)



I made the 2nd trip of the month to Bharuch to meet my fiancée Bandita Thakur and there as well rain didn’t spare me…both of us made an auto rickshaw trip to the Narmada River Side and had an amazing time...the 3 days spent with her surely opened up a life full of memories for the both of us and I am sure we would make a good couple…though she is not that rugged & crazy like me but truly understands that streak in me!!!

August 2009



August saw BOP getting back to the open roads and Binsar was the chosen destination…another place which was on my radar for quite some time…sadly Dips could not make it to this ride due to some office work and I was really sad at the start of this ride but the weather & challenges made this ride another memorable one…Gyan & Tomar bhai were at their very best all during the ride with Tomar’s bike giving us quite a tough time…we finally made it to Binsar at the 3rd day of the ride and the beautiful scenes straight out of a dream made up for the delay…we came out triumphant after overcoming all the challenges that came our way the BOP tradition continued…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/08/binsar-bazookas.html)



BOP made its second ride of the month to the haunted ruins of Bhangarh in Rajasthan and once again was battered by heavy rain while coming back…it was my 2nd ride to Bhangarh after my 1st ever ride in March 2008 and a ride which had a huge group of rider population…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/08/bhangarh-berettas.html)

September 2009



This was the month when we rode to Tomar Bhai’s birthplace…Nahan is another quaint little hill station in Himachal away from the hustles-bustle of Shimla…Ajit Bhai made his debut into BOP and started a long affair with us!!! The lion show at the Renuka Ji zoo provided us another opportunity of getting up-close and personal with the king of the jungle even though he was inside a cage but his roar truly shook us up…Tomar’s mother treated us to one of the most amazing meals of our life and we would be always thankful to her for that treat…so what she called me Naalaayak…I am used to that now!!!
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/09/nahan-nunchuks.html)

October 2009



We partnered with Zice Holidays for this month’s ride and rode to their camp-site near Dehradun called Camp Redstone...but for the pool side revelry and Topgun’s histrionics this was not one of those rides I really enjoyed…the rainy time at Mussoorie worsened things for us and then my bad-bad accident near Panipat was an icing on the cake…it was a scary accident and I am thankful to God for saving me once again…but still it was a new experience for BOP partnering with another group but I don’t think it would be repeated…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/11/redstone-rockets.html)

November 2009



As some of you already know November is the Anniversary month for BOP and we reserve this particular ride only for BOPians…which means no non-bullets allowed…the destination this time was another Rajasthani one-Ranthambore and we were looking forward to an encounter with the royal tiger…we saw him in the wild but not the best of the spottings…this ride is dedicated to the spirit of one of our fellow BOPian – Rishi Singh Maurya who met a near-death type accident and recovered from it and is now back on the road on his bike…a true fighter he is and I am proud of his spirit…and the change in this ride was that for a change we stayed in a luxury type accommodation just for the fact that the Anniversary Ride comes once in an year and BOP has a tradition to make big things even bigger!!! I pray to God that BOP celebrates many more anniversaries and our camaraderie always stay the same…Jai BOP…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/11/ranthambore-rapiers.html)

December 2009



I was all set to end 2009 with a big bang…2 1000 kms plus rides and I came out with flying colours…another big thanks to God to making my dream happen…I rode to 2 beautiful locations…the 1st one was Bikaner which would be always remembered for the Tomar Show…no photographs or videos of his histrionics but its great because our hearts & minds would always playback the memories over & over again…we also did a Camel-Desert safari and the tinge of Laal-Maas would always stay…rain made its appearance once again during this ride and even the arid lands of Rajasthan witnessed this relationship between Rain & BOP…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/12/bop-bikaner-boomerangs.html)



The last ride of 2009 was also a smashing one…this time I went to Amritsar with another Bullet Club named Bull Rodeos and had 2 BOPians-Vikas & Ajit for company…the first night spent at Chandigarh was another amazing night in 2009 when I danced like there was no tomorrow intoxicated with Beer and the chilled weather…the dip in the bone-chilling Sarovar at the Golden Temple made me feel even closer to Ride and the heavenly food at Amritsar as always stayed true to its name…I had a wonderful time riding along with the Rodeos and I wish I can ride with them another time…they are one crazy bunch of motorcyclists for sure…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/12/bop-amritsar-aakramaks.html)

So finally the amazing year came to a glorious end…a year in which I travelled through the North-West & South of our country and enjoyed every bit of it… India is one magical place and I am lucky enough to explore the way I have done till now…hope the good times continue and never ever end both for me and BOP…Amen to that…

Some moments which stood out for me in 2009…

1. Standing on the southern most tip of India at the Indira Point in Kanyakumari
2. The Kaala-Teetar show at Rakhigarhi with Sattu Bhai
3. The bath session at The Tiger Falls in Chakrata
4. The trek to Triund
5. The 2 Camping Nights during the Jalori Ride
6. The Laal Maas enroute to Gurgaon from Mt. Abu
7. The Narmada River Side with Bandita at Ankleshwar
8. The very tough Final Ride to Binsar
9. The Chhole-Chawal Breakfast in Dadaahu
10. The Pool Session at Camp Redstone
11. Tiger Spotting at Ranthambore
12. The Tomar Show at Bikaner
13. The Sarovar Snaan at Amritsar

Thanks to all the members of my Motorcycling Club Bulls on Parade (BOP) for being partners in all my bike rides of 2009 and for always being there for me…be it a bike ride, a mail chain or a BBB Party!!!

2010 has started on a completely different note for me…due to crazy office travelling I have not been able to do a Bike Ride in the first two months…I have taken up a job in Kuwait and am moving there soon and I really wish I can do one final ride before I leave…fingers crossed for that…plus I am getting engaged on 12th March and that would surely get some more opportunities to travel with my Life-Partner Bandita in the future…

I am ready for the new challenges which would come my way in 2011 and beyond and as always I would meet them head-on and give it my best shot…be it the new job in Kuwait, living a life without friends & family there or new locations to conquer in the Middle East…

In the end just 4 words…Thanks God & Jai BOP…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…