Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Best of The Best

First things First...heres wishing The Mighty One a very Happy 3rd Birthday...

Today I complete 3 years of my relationship with The Mighty One and the roads…exactly 3 years back on 15-March-2008 I bought a Black-coloured 2005 Model Royal Enfield Electra 4S from Rana Pratap Bagh in Delhi, revamped the look and named it “The Mighty One” and the rest as they say is history…atleast for me!!!

I went for my first bike ride within few days of buying my bike on 21-Mar-08 to Bhangarh in Rajasthan & named it “The Haunted Spookies” Ride and my tryst with the Highways started on that day with a 570 kms long one-day ride, too long for a debut ride but still what a ride it was…

Since then I have been following my passion to the T and have traversed exactly 22,485 kms through 24 Motorcycle Rides and have completed almost 35,000 kms on my bike if I include the City Riding as well…I know these statistics won’t mean a lot to many people but for me they count a lot as I have worked really hard during these rides & have had tonnes of fun on the way and I hope I can keep the passion going till the time I am physically able to ride a Motorcycle…

As I look back now at these 3 memorable years sitting here in Kuwait away from my Country, Family, Comrades and “The Mighty One”, I reminisce about the glorious times I have spent with my Bulls on Parade (BoP) Comrades & my other Motorcycling Friends on the numerous Highways, Thekas, Forts, Hotels, Guesthouses, Water Bodies, Ahaatas and have made a list of my Top-5 Motorcycle Rides of my Journey out of the 24 Rides till now…

Some of you have been part of those rides with me & some of you would have read the travelogues and am sure would be able to recollect about these glory rides of my life…And believe me I don’t mean that the rest of the 19 Rides were no good, it’s just that these rides take precedence over the others in terms of the challenges thrown at me, the fun times I had and the company I enjoyed with my fellow comrades…Read on to find more…

The List is in the order of my preference…

The Mountain Tamers (6th June 2008 – 20th June 2008)
http://themountaintamers.blogspot.com/


This has to be the Numero Uno Ride not just for being a Ladakh Ride which is considered The Mecca for Indian Motorcyclists but for me it was much more than that. I went for this ride just 2.5 months after getting my bike & that was really big for me. I joined Yoga Classes in January to be physically fit for this gruelling ride; that helped me a lot & I would suggest the same to all smoking & unhealthy people like me who wish to ride to Ladakh. I went for this ride with 7 other fellow comrades , only 2 of whom I knew previously & we all had a wonderful time together, I met a Living Motorcycling Legend – Rahul MAT Chauhan who has been to Ladakh on his Bike almost 15-16 times till now!!! I met Sunder & Deepak with whom I also went for the West Coast Ride in January 2009. I witnessed the raw & pristine beauty of Ladakh which cannot be portrayed through any photograph or told through words and one has to be there to witness the sheer brilliance of that place. I conquered “KhardungLa Pass which is the World’s highest Motorable Road @ 18,380 Feet or 5602 Metres above Sea Level. I visited Kargil & Drass which were 2 of my dream destinations since the 1999 Kargil War & visiting both those cities gave me memories worth a lifetime. The Ride was relatively mishap or breakdown free for me except 1 or 2 small incidents and last but not the least I traversed 3400 kms in 17 days of this ride. All in All it was Ride which made me a true motorcyclist just for the fact that at times the terrain on which I rode was unforgivable & I needed buckets of mental & physical endurance to counter those tough moments…



The BoP Mcleodganj Mavericks (8th April 2009 – 12th April 2009)
http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/04/mcleodganj-mavericks.html


This Ride was big for the fact that BoP finally conquered Mcleodganj after 2 previous unsuccessful attempts & also for the challenging weather we had to endure enroute Mcleodganj, this ride would always stay on the top of the most memorable BoP Rides in time to come. We rode in constant heavy rains from Delhi to Ambala & that’s some 200-odd kms and that too in the night!!! I met with a horrendous accident at Shahpur & due to God’s Grace got saved after falling down on NH-1 at some 60 kmph speed right in the middle of the road in heavy rains; it surely was one of the scariest moments of my Motorcycling Career!!! We had a whale of a time trekking to Triund & witnessing fresh snow on a Mountain Top where we spent a memorable time together – Camping, Drinking, Dancing & Singing together. Mcleodganj as a place was one of the most-chilled out places I have been to. We also had a smashing BBB Session at Ambala at a shady Highway Bar where we planned our next moves & I am sure Surjit (Sunny) & Diptinder would agree with me. We traversed some 900 kms during this ride.


The West Coast Riders (11th January 2009 – 26th January 2009)
http://thewestcoastriders.blogspot.com/


The second longest ride of my life in which I rode for 3200 kms in the 16 days of this ride through one of the best Highways of our country – NH-17, we completed the entire stretch of this Highway – starting from where it begins at Panvel in Maharashtra to Edapally in Kerala where it finally ends through some amazingly pristine roads, some of which would always remain etched in my mind; specially the one through Maravanthe Beach where we rode right besides the Sea Shore for some 50-odd kms!!! This ride was ultra-special for me as I traversed the Northern-Most Roads of India & the Southern-Most Roads of India within a period of 6 months & I feel extremely proud on this achievement of mine. My Partners-in-Crime were Sunder & Deepak with whom I dream to traverse the Western-Most & Eastern-Most Roads of India someday in time to come. I just cannot describe my strange feelings which ran through my mind when I reached Kanyakumari and thought that I have reached southern-most tip of our majestic country and this is where our country finally ends & the Indian Ocean begins…The Sunset View in a Boat right in the middle of the gigantic Kumarakom Lake also stands out as one of the best moments of this ride. Before this Ride began I had to face some really tense moments due to the Fuel Companies’ & the Truck Operators Strike but due to God’s Grace this ride got over without any single mishap & breakdown…yes none whatsoever. I also attended the Annual Royal Enfield Pilgrimage named Rider Mania at Ooty & those 2 days were strikingly crazy for the amount of camaraderie shared with my fellow Bulleteers from all over India, guzzling endless bottles of beer & dancing on Music across some 7-8 Indian Languages!!! I also accepted the Participation Trophy on the behalf of my Club- BoP & that Ladies and Gentleman is one moment I am never going to forget!!! This was my first & only ride where I rode through South India & I dream to traverse the East Coast as well one day…Inshallah.


The BoP Bikaner Boomerangs (12th December 2009 – 15th December 2009)
http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/12/bop-bikaner-boomerangs.html


Riding through Rajasthan is always special on those Majestic Roads through the History-Laced state & if you have a bunch of crazy BoPians with you then one doesn’t need anything else!!! Traversing the divine NH-11 Highway was extremely pleasurable. We also camped one night in the middle of the Desert with some Traditional Music & endless supply of beer to give us company, if you think that was crazy then one had to go through the Tomar Magic in the night – one of the craziest Nights of my life with Sanket Tomar aka Kunwar Ji in full flow singing away to glory with me giving him some percussionary company!!! We also had the pleasure of relishing authentic Laal Maas- a True Blue Rajasthani gastronomical delicacy - one which leaves you in tears & a tough next early morning dump and to enjoy this treasure one has to be really brave!!! We also crossed Churu which is India’s hottest place & after being at Drass (India’s coldest inhabited town) this was a nice combo to complete. I also rode a camel for the first time & that camel race with my comrades which I finally won gave me unbelievable pleasure!!! Being at “The Indira Gandhi Canal” which changed the agricultural fortunes of this Desert State was also a memorable moment of this ride. This was the first BoP Ride where we rode for more than 1000 kms and finally finished at an odo-reading of 1125 kms in those 4 glory days!!! Riding through Rajasthan has always been tremendous & I also dream to visit Jaisalmer, Udaipur & Jodhpur one day as they are still missing from my Motorcycling Resume.


The BoP Jalori Juggernauts (19th June 2009 – 22nd June 2009)
http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/07/jalori-juggernauts.html



This was the biggest ride of BoP till date with 13 Motorcyclists – 9 BoPians & 4 of our Non-BoP Comrades. The Ride started on a high note with a BBB Session at Gyan’s place in Panipat which luckily passed off without any mishaps as we were sensible enough not to repeat our Chucklers Fiasco!!! This was also a special ride for us as we had decided to camp for 2 nights in the Himalayas & decided not to stay at any Guest House or a Hotel and had a smashingly brilliant time during both those nights. One was spent at Narkanda on a hill-top in the middle of nowhere with Bonfire, Music, Hukka, Loud Chants of “Jai BoP” and also hot food served right at our campsite. We camped at The Sutlej Riverside during the 2nd night getting high & drunk and eating Chilled Mangoes as Desserts – that was some experience for all of us. Even though our return journey was not the most pleasurable one wherein we had some 6-7 breakdowns & reached home after some 21 hours of starting early morning but still this ride had all our regular ingredients which makes BoP an integral part of my life – Beer, Bullet & Bakchodi and I can’t imagine my life without these 3 Bs!!! Another B was also added during this ride as I talked to my FiancĂ© Bandita for the first time during this ride & started a lifelong journey of togetherness…what else could I ask for…

Che Guevara on the Road : A Statistical Study !!!!


Life since March 2008 has been one helluva ride & I have had so many amazing moments during these 3 years none of which wouldn’t have been possible without my Royal Enfield Motorcycling Club – Bulls on Parade & all of my dearest club comrades…They have given me memories which I am going to treasure till the end of my life…Thanks to each one of them & I am sure I would enjoy their company in years to come…

I would be conquering many more destinations, traversing many more roads & making many more friends in the future while I would be on the road but these 5 rides would always take a special place in my Motorcycling Repertoire…

Jai BoP…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till the time we meet…ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Thursday, March 10, 2011

The BoP Neemrana Naags

I don’t know why God plays so many Weather Games with me during my Motorcycle Rides but still he does; I kind of enjoy these games but at times they take a heavy toll as it has happened in the past and this time it was no different…if it were not the rains this times then the Fog played spoilsport & we had no answer to it this time round…

This ride planned on Sunday 27-February-2011 was supposed to be “The BoP Abhaneri Ajgars” but we were fogged and it became “The BoP Neemrana Naags”…initially it was big setback for all of us but by the end of this ride none of us minded it too much because the ride had all the BoP elements – Bakchodi, Beer, Liquor, Laughter & to top it all 190 kms. of Riding…

I badly wanted to conquer Abhaneri as it has the World’s deepest Baoli or Stepwell and the photographs on the Internet were enamouring to say the least plus I was very excited to do a long bike ride as the next one would only be in Aug/Sep 2011 but in the end we all had to settle with Neemrana…but what a time we all had…read on to find more about the Ajgars-turned-Naags…

The Naags were:

1. Vikas Garg aka “Tony Basher” on his Maroon Modified Beast
2. Diptinder Singh Chhabra aka “Maker’s Mark” on his Black Electra 4S
3. Rohan Kaushik aka “Dawaai Bataane Waalaa” on his Green Classic 500
4. Aman Maangat aka Guest as Haaji’s Pillion
5. Vihans Gupta aka “Pillion by Choice” as a Jagat Pillion
6. BK Atreya aka “Prescription Likhne Waalaa” on his Red Karizma
7. Dhruv Malik aka “Offroader” on his Silver P220
8. Deepak Chauhan aka “Kam Khaane Waalaa” on his Black P220
9. Shubham Sachdev aka Moody on his Black P220
10. Che aka “Snoring-Sleeping Motorcyclist” on The Mighty One


Hangover Start…


We had a BBB Meet in the night and I got back home drunk, slept for just 4 hours & woke up sharp at 4:30 AM to be at the LVP Start Point at 5 AM. I had a severe hangover-induced headache, wasn’t feeling too well & on the top of that couldn’t manage a dump; all ingredients for a tough start. Unexpectedly Vinamra reached the last and we finally started the ride at 5:45 AM in clear & pleasant weather.

Ajgars get fogged…

As soon as we crossed Manesar after encountering the shitty traffic enroute all hell broke lose & we were hit by extremely dense fog and almost zero visibility. I was leading the pack of riders & just could not ride with ease, it was painfully tough to ride through the fog as it’s the case with me always but somehow managed the courage to ride on – taking inspiration from The BoP Amritsar Aakramaks Ride when I led a pack of 12 riders through similar fog for almost 60 kms but this time I couldn’t repeat that act of valour & finally stopped…The Ajgars got together & we decided to finalize our next move at the next Dhaba with some much needed Hot Tea…


Ajgars turn into Naags

As Prem Chopra famously said in one of his many movies “ Mera naam ha Ajgar, main dasta nahin, nigal jaata hun”’ we tried our best to stay as Ajgars and tried to swallow the fog but it was way too much for me so we all decided to stop for an early Breakfast Pit Stop and abort our Abhaneri Mission.

The Tony Fiasco…


This is for you Vihans – “I accept my fault of stopping at “Tony Cold Drinks” which was a nightmare for all of us”….more so for Vikas who turned into a Tony-Basher at this infamous joint. I was feeling very sick & wanted to dump badly so decided to stop at this small joint on NH-8. I went straight to dump with my dear comrade – Deepak Chauhan who also wanted to dump to get ready for the upcoming breakfast & snakes…

We ordered Paranthas & to say the least they were outrageously atrocious…improperly cooked & with no flavour at all but as all of us were really hungry we somehow managed but Vikas lost his cool & it was a rare sight for all of us as nobody had seen Vikas getting furious in any of our previous rides, he was particularly aghast at the Waiter & blasted him like crazy & good on that waiter’s part as he took all that bashing with a smile & gave some witty but untimed replies which pissed Vikas even further.

Beer Stock-up


During the Tony-Bashing we all decided to head towards the Neemrana Baoli and have another BBB Session at an archaeological site & as all of you know we love getting drunk at places of historical interest; having done that previously at The Tughlaqabad Fort at New Delhi, The Tijara Fort at Tijara, Rajasthan, The Ranthambore Fort at Ranthambore, Rajasthan and a host of others…we stocked up our Beer from a Highway Theka and went towards the Baoli…

BBB @ Baoli…


Until this point we had Vikas with us but he didn’t reach the Baoli with all of us, we presumed he was beating the shit out of that Waiter & we all prayed for his well-being as that poor waiter would have had no chance of matching up to Vikas’ Mega-Size!!! Finally after losing his way 4-5 times Vikas appeared and joined the BB Session…

And then The Naags started another of our legendary BBB Sessions on the top of the Baoli & believe me it was a Vantage Point, we could see the dry fields on our right side & the Baoli on our left; there was a deep well right next to us which always looked a sureshot danger to all of us as there was no way we would have reached the top if any of us would have fallen into that deep shithole!!! But somehow we stayed safe…

Sunny was in full form during the session & never stopped blabbering & for a change I was a much less silent spectator!!! Plus as perfect hosts we were all very courteous towards our “Guest” and ensured that he was in utmost comfort at all the times…Mr. Chauhan gobbled up the Chakhna like there was no tomorrow and this after polishing all those shitty paranthas at Tony’s; man this guy has some appetite…

And then it happened….for me the funniest moment of the day…as BK is studying Psychology I started asking some inquisitive queries about “Depression” and he gave some perfectly legible replies…out of the blue Sunny asked him “BK Bhai, tu prescription likh sakta hai?” to which BK very innocently replied”Haan” and then came the bummer….pat came Sunny’s reply “Dawaaiyiaan main bataaunga!!!” & after that for well over 7-8 minutes only laughter peals were heard from all of us….I guess for people who were not there can’t get the humour out of this but believe me it was hilarious & that’s an understatement…I still laugh whenever I think of Sunny’s reply…

The Pics say it all….how much we enjoyed the BBB Magic…all over again & hopefully the good time never get over!!!


Talli Sleep…


I got so exhausted after so much of laughing & plus I got drunk as well that I decided to have a short nap at the Baoli-Top and what a blissful sleep it was, I mean how many times would I enjoy that kind of a sleep…I don’t think I would be second time lucky…I was told that I was snoring very loudly as well!!! In my defence all I have to say is that I had not slept properly for the last 3 nights & I very well deserved that nap…

Baoli Visit…


After Drinking, Bakchoding, Smoking, Eating & sleeping we decided to go down towards the Baoli, we all thought that the Baoli deserved one trip atleast!!! It was very well constructed & surprisingly well-maintained as well…I even went to the bottom of the well which was an extremely dirty place with so much of littering…another example of our thankless & uncivilized countrymen who don’t know to appreciate & preserve the historical heritage of our beautiful country…

Lunch Time…

The Laugh-Exhaustion finally took a toll on all of us & we left the Baoli to get some much-needed & deserved good food for lunch after the Tony Fiasco and this time Dhruv didn’t make a similar mistake as what I committed, he referred us to Hotel Tokas Midway which was bang opposite the Neemrana Cut…it was nice-little place & surprisingly clean for a Highway Motel…we ordered our food & it was served piping hot in literally no time & as we have experienced in the past once the food was served we all were quiet for the next 30-odd minutes gobbling up the food as some hapless Somalians would have done in UN Camp!!! The lip-smacking food was the best way to drive away the disappointment of the pathetic breakfast we all had to endure…


We all rested in the Garden for some time & resuming our Bakchodi once again & the weather was also perfect for it…not too much sunshine & a cool breeze flowing through…

Non-Stop to Gurgaon…

At last we had a long-run…some 90 odd kms where we all rode non-stop towards the Gurgaon Toll where we had decided to gather for the final goodbye…Sunny had to stop midway for a dump so he & some other riders came late…I passed my time asking for a light from people crossing us but to no avail & was kept waiting till Sunny joined us who as always had flipped my Lighter!!! I had the final Sutta of the ride and then we all bid goodbye to each other promising each other that we would meet again…Inshallah…

Another first was that we had reached way before our regular Ride-Return Time so me & Vinamra decided not to have our Final Beer Break but not before we loudly chanted “Jai BoP”…that’s one tradition which would be never ever be done away with…

Though this ride would always remain a disappointment to all of us as for the first time in BoP’s history we were unsuccessful in conquering our final destination but still the Baoli-Top Bakchodi made up for it…

The Pics from the Ride:

Dhruv’s Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/105356869555002733917/BOPNeemranaNaags
Vikas’ Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/gvikiv/WeekendRideToNeemrana?feat=directlink
My Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/jha.nishant/TheBoPNeemranaNaags?feat=directlink
Shubham’s Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/shubhs86/NeemranaNags

I would be riding next only in August or September 2011, that’s when I would be visiting India next…till then I would try my best organizing BoP Rides from here in Kuwait & keeping the Bakchodi Mails flowing…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till that time have safe sex & ride safe…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Jai BoP…