The BOP Tijara Titans

The relationship between a Motorcycle & a motorcyclist is an extremely special one and when the opportunity for a rendezvous after a separation becomes available the relationship grows even stronger...my relationship with Bullet & the roads became stronger when I travelled to India for a surprise 3-days trip and also got an opportunity to do a short ride!!! I was part of the destination planning in Kuwait but never ever thought in the wildest of my dreams that I would make it to the ride but God has his own ways of making things possible for me and this time it was no different!!!

I reached India on Thursday 27th May 2010 and didn’t tell any of my biking buddies about it, but the next day called up Dips & Vihans and told me, it was quite funny as they first thought that either of my parents were calling from my India and when they heard my voice were pleasantly surprised…then I sent a mail to the Tijara Mail Chain announcing my grand arrival and my confirmation for the ride…soon the 2 confirmed members swelled to 11 and the ride was becoming bigger & better!!! In spite of the fact that when I am around I am the one who speaks the most people still want to ride along with me and hear my loud voice blaring all the way!!! It’s nice to know this actually!!! It was also to be Sunny’s last ride with BOP before shifting to Chennai and when Zaheer also confirmed I was extremely happy…he has his own Bakchodi style and it’s real fun!!! My Pulsar 220 buddies – Dhruv & Adit also joined in and I had a feeling this ride would be special!!!



The destination was Tijara – some 80 odd kms from Gurgaon…it’s an abandoned fort near Alwar nestled in a sleepy village of Tijara and built on a hilltop…me & Dips had planned to conquer this fort since long and finally our plans came through this time…within an year this fort would be converted into a Heritage Hotel Property by the Neemrana Group of Hotels and would have some exorbitant entry fees so it was the best time to visit it before it becomes out of bound for us poor motorcyclists!!!

And this fort has a history of love & deceit…

The king of Alwar Bakhtawar Singh fell in love with a Muslim girl from a nearby village. Her mother allowed him to marry her under one condition that their son would become the next king. The King accepted the offer and married the woman even though he already had a son that was in line to be crowned. They resided together in Alwar, 50 kilometres away from this fort in Tijara. When the son became old enough to become king, they started building this fort in Tijara. The king was dishonest and still had plans for his eldest son to become the king. He told his half Muslim son that he must experience war before he could become King. He suited up to fight and was murdered by a couple of the King’s servants. Shortly after, his mother had died too and the construction of the fort was never completed. It also houses Rani Moosi ka Mehal, who was queen of the King and committed sati on his death.

This YouTube Video quite vividly describes this fort…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6pplr9B-Gs

The Tijara Titans were:

Sunny on his RE Standard
Zaheer on his “Udhaar ki” RE self-modified 535
Asok on his RE Electra 4S
Rishi on his RE Standard
Bantu on his RE Electra 5S
Vihans on his FZ-16
Rohan Kaushik on his Pulsar 180
Adit on his Pulsar 220
Dhruv on his Pulsar 220
Dips on his RE Electra 4S
Che Guevara on his old companion RE Machismo

The Early Start…

Surprisingly I, Vihans & Rohan reached well on time in spite of the fact that we slept at 1 AM all drunk & high and even with a long power cut we could manage some sleep!!! Bantu had already reached and he looked as if he never slept in the night!!! I called up Dhruv as he was the only one missing & he is not the one not to come after his confirmation, he missed his alarm but promised that he would “catch up” and with his age & P220 bike I was sure he would be with us very soon!!! We started the ride at 5:20 AM after some customary pics and our BOP style early-morning Bakchodi…



Traffic @ 6 AM…



NH-8 was as always full of traffic even this early and we even hit a bad traffic jam and I was on my Bhai’s bike which has a handle-bar with which I am not the most comfortable with, it was a pain wriggling my way out of the jam but somehow we all managed and were soon zipping away on the breezy NH-8. For a change I was not riding very quickly and was in the middle of the pack just soaking in the fun & thrill of being back on the roads after a 5-months long hiatus from a bike ride (my last long-distance ride was my 1000 kms long Amritsar Aakraamaks Ride in December 2009). We stopped at the Dharuhera cut to have some water & sutta and also to wait for Dips who was riding slowly due to the piston change on his bike; Ashok was providing him company…The weather was quite pleasant and there was still no signs of the dreary heat & sunshine…phew!!!

Recipe for Disaster…



Whenever Dips tries his hands at Map-Reading we know we are up for a disaster…this time also he was carrying a map and the moment he opened it and TRIED reading it we stopped him then & there as nobody was in a mood to follow the route told by him but still Dips tried his best to convince us that he knew the rout…a nice try but didn’t succeed!!!

Tea-Time…



We made our first pit-stop for a tea break filled with a longish BBB session with some fake soft drinks giving us company and the Bhujiya giving us the snaky feeling!!! Here a special mention goes to Vihans Paaji who mixed the namkeen into his tea…quite innovative I must say!!! We bid farewell to the Dhaba and started the final leg towards the Tijara Fort. And rode on some amazing village roads, this is one special part about Rajasthan that even the interior village roads are in some pristine conditions…



“Abe Beer kahan hai???”



Me & Sunny reached the fort first after riding through some thick vegetation and finding our way through a the broken sandy uphill road…the final climb was quite exciting and gave us a great off-roading opportunity…the moment we reached 2 caretakers of the property came and told us to go back as this place was out-of-bounds…I encountered him by asking for some papers and as expected he had none, he tried his best but we were in no mood to listen…soon all 11 motorcyclists were together and he lost any chance of convincing us…size does matter!!! And then the legendary dialogue of the ride was blurted out by Vihans - “Abe Beer kahan hai???” with this those 2 losers retreated hastily as they knew we would be here for a long time…

Discovery Time…



Dips was the first to start the fort-discovery trip armed with his titanium knee and wandered his way through to find the perfect spot for the BOP BBB Session and in no time we all followed him…the designated spot had some much needed shade and a nice view of the valley below…Rohan started building a bridge with small pebbles – quite industrious to say the least; me & Vihans identified a hill on the other side and bought it hastily so that nobody else could stake a claim over it, we even decided to build a small little home there and also the kind of vegetation which would be grown!!! Both to keep us intoxicated and to provide a business opportunity!!! What business acumen we have got!!! The beer bottles were opend and the Bakchodi was flowing in the air…History tells us that nothing can stop us when we are in a fort with beer in our hands…BOP has a strong affinity to forts and we keep conquering new ones quite frequently…



And the shirt I was wearing that day surely matched the mood of fun & frolic that day...it was a shocker to some as I rarely wear such shirts always sticking to my black Che tees but I was in a gala mood and the shirt just proved the point !!! check it out for yourself...the Jury is already out!!!



The back door entry



The beer soon finished and we were left high & dry so we decided to sneak our way into the fort which was completely abandoned, we jumped inside through the back door and were greeted by thousands of bats making irritating screeching sounds and shitting away to glory…it’s a nauseating feeling I must say…when we reached inside our imagination ran wild…Queens, Bathing & Massage sessions, night romps and what not was discussed…we went up through the stairs and witnessed some amazing views of the valley and our motorcycles below…



Pics, pics & some more pics…





Sunny Paaji was in a special mood that day and wanted himself to be clicked at every possible opportunity…no wonder he is looking frantically for girls and would send them pics of this fort conquest…atleast the girls would fall for his adventurous streak as there is nothing else to fall for!!! In fact this time surprisingly even Dips asked for some solo shots and shockingly looking straight at the camera…Dhruv clicked some amazing pics of the BOP Logo Tees as well…



Maurya’s moment of glory…

We always click one customary group pic using the Auto Click feature and my camera was to do the honours but as always Maurya Bhai tried to cash in but sadly his camera skills are as bad as his oratory skills and he miserably failed but his failure provided us with one of the best-ever BOP Group Shots I must say…so many teeth visible in one single pic are quite rare!!! Whatever said & done Maurya with his histrionics was the reason for this amazing shot…



The Descent…



Riding downhill is always tricky and I love this challenge & all of us rode downhill like true champions…Sunny & I also stopped for a bit and clicked some nice shots of the fort…we even stopped to enjoy some cold water from the hand pump which is always fun…old memories come running to my mind during this time…and as always we caught the fancy of the villagers shocked to see us in this sleepy village in the heat of the day!!!



Ganne ka Juice Time…



Ganne ka Juice or Sugarcane juice (for the uninitiated) is the best thirst-quencher on a hot & humid day and it was lapped-up by all of us plus it provides some much-needed glucose energy…

Ride back home…

I wanted to reach home early for 2 reasons…A – the heat was becoming unbearable and B – Wanted to spend the last few hours left in my trip with my family so I zipped back and reached home at 12 PM…mummy welcomed with her normal dialogue “ Kapde badal lo aur jaldi se naha lo, khaana tayyar hai”…She is most worried about my clothes more than me!!! I don’t know why though!!!

A special mention for Maurya & Dips…Rishi successfully completed his first ride after his horrific accident during The Ranthambore Rapiers Ride and for Dips as this was the 1st ride of his comeback-with-a-vengeance riding journey after his knee operation…

A special thanks to my Bhai who gave me his 1999 RE Bullet Machismo for this ride, I have special memories attached with this bike as this was the first Bullet I ever rode and went for some really memorable city rides during my college days…

Finally the 170 kms & 7 hours long ride ended…till date my shortest ride…made memorable by my Motorcycling Buddies…thanks to all of them who made it to the ride…could not have asked for more…even in a 3 days trip I could manage a ride!!! Unbelievable but true!!!

JAI BOP…

It’s so good to be back on my cheguevaraontheroad blog after 5 months and hope I can be back here in another 5 months time…Inshallah…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…


Pics of the Ride:
My Camera: http://picasaweb.google.com/jha.nishant/TheBOPTijaraTitans?feat=directlink
Dhruv’s Camera: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/manurules07/BOPTijaraTitans
Maurya’s Camera: http://picasaweb.google.com/technowizzz/TijaraTitans02?authkey=Gv1sRgCKO1uon0v92_Fg#
Adit’s Camera: http://picasaweb.google.com/aditsharda/TijaraTitans#

The Chakrata Chucklers

My sincere apologies for not writing this ride blog earlier, don’t know why or how I had missed this but as they say better late than never…here I am sitting in my Kuwait Apartment completing this blog some 1 year and 1 month after finishing this ride…hope you enjoy reading…cheers…



We were always fascinated with Chakrata as a destination for the simple reason that our fellow BOP Rider Gaurav Soni had been to Chakrata 8 times and each month there were new pics in his Orkut Profile…There had to be something special in a place where somebody can go 8 times inspite of so many options available in & around Delhi…

So me & Dips decided to go to Chakrata for our March Bike Ride and started to get the information about the places to see & the places to stay at…at every step Soni was there to help us in taking our final decisions considering his vast knowledge about the place…

This ride was going to be a big occasion for me as during the course of the ride I was supposed to cross 20,000 kms mark since I bought my Bike on 15th March 2008…my dream was to reach the 20K mark within 1 year and here I was !!! All thanks to God and BOP for making my dream come true exactly the way I planned it…

I also decided a name for the ride…Chakrata Chucklers…as you all know we are the biggest chucklers around…smiling & laughing for no reason whatsoever…

The Comrades:

1. Dips on his Black 4S Electra
2. Rohit on his Red 5S Electra
3. Dhruv on his Silver P220 (special invitee from Torque-o-Logy)
4. Vihans on his Orange FZ-16
5. Chadha on his Vintage Black Standard
6. Rishi on his 1981 Standard
7. Gyan on his Red Karizma
8. Che on The Mighty One

What follows is a day-to-day account of the Chucklers Ride…enjoy…

Day 1 – 6th March 2009 – Friday (Gurgaon – Delhi Border – Panipat)

We were supposed to start the ride at 5:30 PM and I got free from Office at 5 PM only but Dips had some urgent work the way he always has on every Riding Friday and he could not leave before 8 atleast…so I waited and waited endlessly…believe me those 3 hours were one of the longest of my life…I mean I was all set & excited but had to stay back at home for some 3 hours, believe me not funny…at 8:15 PM Dhruv called up and said that he was starting from his home and would reach in another 15 mins, I was like what the fuck, the distance is atleast some good 30 kms and reaching in 15 mins must be impossible but this guy Dhruv is simply unbelievable and as promised he was the BOP Ride Starting Point – The Leisure Valley Park at 8:30 PM, Dips also arrived in another 20 mins and then we met Rishi Maurya(another debutant, more about him later as believe me there is so much to tell) at the Toll Plaza Point and started the ride, the moment we hit Naraina all hell broke lose, the traffic was as expected like crazy shit and we finally reached the Landfill Site at 10:15 PM where another debutant Vihans was waiting for the last 1.5 hours and soaking in the fragrances of that place but he was not at all pissed at our delay, I had heard a lot about him from Dips about his gala nature during the BOP Corbett Ride and we struck the right chord the moment we greeted each other, somewhere in my heart I knew I would completely gel with this guy…

And then the arduous NH-1 riding…its not that the road is bad but it is very boring, by now I even know the placements of the potholes on that road but to reach Panipat – The Mecca of BOP BBB Sessions one has to transverse this 100 odd kms road…the first stop was expected, by now you can easily guess…yes a Theka, and surprisingly the first one to stop was a teetotaler Dhruv as he had heard enough about our reputation by now from me and our blogs.



We stocked up for Gyan’s place and moved on without wasting any further time as Gyan was waiting anxiously for us to arrive so that we could start the party…Rohit Sir(another debutant) joined us on NH-1 itself coming straight from office and hats off to him, this was his first ever ride and he did a solo from Delhi till almost Panipat…doesn’t speak much but is an extremely sensible person and a very safe rider and a tea & Navy Cut addict, give him regular doses of these two and he won’t complain about anything, not even Mayawati’s governance or non-governance you might say…

We finally reached our BBB Mecca at 12:30 in the night and without any further adieu got down to the basics, opened up the alcohol and started a long-long Bakchodi session which was legendary to say the least…laughter was flowing like River Amazon in South America and there was no end to it just like the legendary river…the pics taken by Dhruv from my camera proved every bit of it, the expressions said it all…here we were a bunch of crazy motorcyclists meeting for the first time(save some) but the camaraderie was unbeatable, nothing could stop us that night…nothing could…Gyan had cooked Gahori(Pork) and also ordered some Chicken & Dal and it was vanishing at knot’s speed along with the Hercules Rum and Foster’s beer, and this rum is bloody potent, Dips had got this from Jammu and reserved it for this occasion and it surely was making all tizzy…





But we were in no mood to stop, the session went on till 5:30 PM when we made a senseless decision to go for a short night ride…

We thought that we had to start the Panipat-Chakrata ride early morning at 8:30 so there was no pint sleeping but never realized that after some 10 beers and 1 bottle of rum down our senses were not in their intended place and the only awake non-drunk rider amongst us named Dhruv was the one who was all gung-ho for this and we made this near-fatal decision, fortunately Rohit Sir & Rishi were asleep both due to altogether different reasons though, Rohit was tired and Rishi was dead drunk…

Gyan was leading the ride and as expected it had a tragic end…Gyan took us to a road whose exit was blocked inspite of being a local and me & Vihans were following him at full blast 70 kmph, he saw a road blocking pole and veered away but I saw it at the very last moment and in panic braked and due to the sandy road slipped and luckily came to a halt after some 50 odd metres, just behind me was Vihans who also slipped and his bike finally stopped some 5 inches away from me, in the end just some minor bruises on our elbows and knees and the idiot I am, I was not wearing any helmet or gloves…big mistake…we got lucky…that’s it…but the drama wasn’t over…Dhruv & Dips reached and told us that when we were slipping away to glory and tasting the sand Dips had also fell down and here also no major injuries to the man or the machine, just some minor bruises…we all heaved a sigh of relief, thanked God and laughed it out and then sanely decided to go back and sleep like normal human beings, the last decision of the day was the most sensible one we made!!! See even we get sensible at times, you might think that we are all insane but at times the good part of our brain takes over!!!



Day 2 – 7th March 2009 – Saturday (Panipat – Yamunanagar – Vikasnagar – Kalsi - Chakrata)

The Plan was that Chadha Paaji would reach at Panipat at 8 AM and we would start the onward ride in another 30 minutes, but I was so dead drunk and in so much pain that like an idiot I had switched off my phone and when he was calling me I had no fuckin idea and royally kept on sleeping, luckily he had Gyan’s number and luckily he picked up, the poor guy Gyan to go to the main road to pick him up, when he reached he saw a bunch of tired and very drunk people sleeping and he joined the fun…he also slept, we finally woke up at 10:30 AM and very gingerly left Panipat IOC Township at 11 AM…the weather was getting painfully hot, the first stop was the Yamaha Service Centre at Karnal where Vihans had to get some running repairs on his bike, the aftermath of the last night’s mayhem, it was taking quite a long time to get the bike ride-ready, me & Dips also got some minor repairs and finally at some 2 PM I started our ride to Chakrata with Chadha, Rohit & Dhruv and the rest started later after getting everything done…as they say better late than never…

When I reached Yamunanagar I made my first stop at a clinic to get an anti-tetanus shot and then smsed Dips & Vihans to get the same, just to be on the safe side, as always I was riding in the front of others and checking the route from the people so that we don’t get lost, though our Navigator par-excellence Tomar Bhai had made an amazing route map but knowing my map-reading abilities(or none) I was not going to take any chances plus we already had lost so much of time…we kept tugging along through innumerable dusty UP villages before we reached Haripur when the real fun started…the mountains…yes finally we were in the hills…the moment we were waiting for…this was also the place where the entire group was to get together and start the final spojourn…



And when we all finally met it was a re-union of sorts and was a great feeling, it was already dark by now and me & Dips decided to visit a theka before starting the Mountain Ride, yes beer makes us more cautious, believe me our physiology is completely different from normal & boring people back in the big cities and we utilize it to the T!!! THE Theka had an amazing painting which read “if you can dream it, you can do it”, now you would think that the picture accompanying this would be of a fighter or something like that, but surprise-surprise it was nowhere close to it…see it to believe it and then get SHOCKED!!! Only our amazing country can throw such surprises and don’t I love India…I simply adore it!!!



The last 42 kms towards Chakrata were going to be damn fucking tough as we had no idea of the road and it was pitch dark with only our headlights being the night saviours but the brave bunch of motorcyclists we are, we were all gung-ho about this new challenge, believe me tough roads bring the best out of us and all of us got ready to face this big challenge.

The Plan was that I would lead the pack of 8 Bikes and ensuring that all 8 of us always stay in one line and nobody would overtake and continuously seeing the rear-view mirror for added safety…but as you all know I am one crazy rider when I am riding in the mountains…I rode till 60 kmph and was simply enjoying the thrill of it…Gyan was just behind me and with the shitty headlight his Karizma has he also made the mistake of speeding and not seeing the cut in the front skidded off the track, good sense prevailed and he let Vihans overtake him!!! It was an amazing sight…8 bikes in one line cutting the roads with the headlights…simply surreal…the time was ripe for the BOP Ride Video and I didn’t disappoint…I stopped and made the first night-riding video in BOP’s short history and it came out amazingly well…after that I stayed at the rear and rode slowly till we reached Chakrata…

Now to tell you one interesting fact, Chakrata is one of the rare towns in India where strictly no foreign nationals are allowed, my Bhai told me the reason but I won’t disclose it in a public forum and we had to get our papers checked, Soni who had reached Chakrata had notified the Army Folks about us coming our papers were not checked.

We finally reached our Hotel Snow View in Chakrata at 10:30 PM some 26 hours after we started this ride and then all hell broke loose!!! There was one happy family who had come to the same hotel to enjoy some peaceful moments, the girls were out talking on the phone, the doors of their rooms were open and they were enjoying some tranquil moments together, the moment our 8 bikes entered the compound we vroomed our RE Engines and announced our arrival in pure BOP style and after that moment the family was not seen!!! Nothing intentional though, we never wanted to disturb them, its just that the emotions got the better of us!!!

The first thing I indulged in when I reached was to dump and boy-oh-boy wasn’t I satisfied after that dump!!! But the others were not as the loo was not used for some 3-4 hours after that…the fragrance was in the air for that long!!!

Another BBB Session started after that, it was getting very chilly and a bonfire was set up amidst the peals of laughter and another alcohol therapy session!!! Then Dhruv took over, he had an innovative idea of writing BOP in flames and he set out for his task using petrol and the final result was out of this world…a big thanks to Dhruv…



Vihans was at his very best, cracking one joke after another, Soni blurting out his useless gyan quotes, Dips as always laughing away to glory without saying much, Gyan trying his best to stay afloat, Dhruv using the camera endlessly, Rohit Sir having his silent sips of Tea and Rishi…Mr. Rishi Maurya speaking as if there was no tomorrow, his Discovery & Nat Geo Gyan was senseless but it was his first ride so we were trying our best not to be rude and we let him speak up…but the special moment came from Chadha Paaji…nonchalantly and out of the blue he got his Mobile Phone out and showed us a Cartoon Video…a mix of Raavan, April Fool, Sita and Rakhi Sawant…what a combo and after we all watched it the laughter sounds were heard till Delhi which was some 350 kms away!!! You have to see the video to check for yourself the voracity of the laughter sounds or should I say howls!!! At 11 PM Chadha Paaji gave another shocker to us, very calmly he got up and said “Let me have a night Walk”…I mean we were in the middle of nowhere and having the time of our lives but here was this man Chadha Paaji…the legend of BOP taking a stroll in the compound…believe me, beat this man at logic and I would be your slave for life…his respect & stature is unparalleled and can be countered by a rare few and I am yet to meet his contemporary till now…

Then a plan for a very late Night Walk was hurrilly made after certification from Soni who said it would be amazing to walk through the scary hills in pitch darkness, I started but had to retreat as my foot was hurting after last night’s accident and came back…Dips, Dhruv, Rohit Sir and Rishi continued their tryst with the night though…

I finally called it a day at 2 AM after we were completely exhausted after laughing uncontrollably and also exhausted after a very long & arduous day but victorious in our minds…we had reached Chakrata after so many delays & the mishaps…we had done it…

Day 3 – 8th March 2009 – Sunday (A relaxed day in & around Chakrata)

The day started on a easy note with all of us coming out of our beds gingerly and ordering Breakfast, I opened up a can of Carlsberg to gargle away to glory.



Dhruv & Gyan warmed up their 220 + CC engines, only God knows why they do it but still they love doing it and its their unique way of taking care of their machines, Rohit Sir had endless cups of Tea before we all got ready for the customary bike line-up pics, hundreds were clicked and then off we went to the Tiger Falls – Asia’s 2nd highest falls and another record-conquer for BOP…the list continues…







The 20 kms-odd ride was simply amazing, through the barren mountains and some tough mountain curvy roads we finally reached the point where we had to park our bikes and trek downhill for some 2 kms, Chadha was as always extra cautious with the harmful UV rays affecting his body and he prepared a very odd looking protection gear using his Rajasthani Bandhni style Bandana & his Riding Visor…innovative and very effective!!!

Reached the falls and once again fell in love with the sheer beauty of nature, the falls were monumental and very-very beautiful, in the middle of nowhere the water was falling down vigorously from a height…we got ready to get soaked in the water, the first few steps were a bit tricky as due to the pebbles the surface was very slippery and water bone-chilling cols, all of us held our hands together and reached the foot of the falls where the water was falling on us like crazy, spine-chilling but great fun…we didn’t stay under the water for long but Dhruv being the exuberant youngster amongst us was in the water for quite some time…





We reached the mountain top after a tough uphill trek and panting endlessly…there was a small shop right at the place where we had parked our bikes and Vihans got to his act preparing Maggi & Omelettes for the group, all of us were damn hungry and devoured all the food in a matter of seconds, the next plan was to visit another place recommended by Soni named Kanesar but due to paucity of time we skipped that, maybe in the future I would be able to visit that place…



Off we went to the Chakrata Market where some of us shopped for Military Gear, stocked up Alcohol for the night session but once again the killer blow was made by Chadha Paaji…he was looking for Lassi & Jalebis and his wish was duly granted by God…we all had a bout of the Jalebis but only Chadha Paaji had lassi and that too with a straw, yes he is one of the rare breed of Sardaars who enjoys his Lassi with a Straw and not straight from the gut…after all he is a legend and he is allowed to do anything which is humanly impossible…stand up and say…HAIL CHADHA PAAJI…



We reached our hotel at 7 PM and a long BBB Session ensued all over again, loaded with Rishi’s gyan and Fish which was specially ordered for the last night in Chakrata, Alcohol was guzzled up and a bonfire was lit as the night was even chillier than the one before…



A special mention for Vihans Paaji who actually fell down at the feet of Rishi’s for his unlimited display of factual knowledge but Rishi bhai being the indomitable man he is didn’t take the hint of stopping and continued unabashed!!! What a scene it was…

We slept a little early at midnight as the next day we had to ride non-stop towards Delhi…this day was extremely relaxed but the next one was going to be tough, with some 400 kms of riding involved…

Day 4 – 9 th March 2009 – Monday (Chakrata – Kalsi – Yamunanagar – Panipat – Delhi - Gurgaon)

We started the ride back home at 10:30 AM and then got a shock of our life, the 42 kms ride which we had done 2 nights ago was really scary, never did we realize in the darkness of the night what big risk we had taken, the road was really bad and the inclines extremely steep, we thanked God for showing mercy on us and reached Kalsi where we had planned to see the 14th Century Rock Edict of King Ashoka which has been displayed in a park, it was a history lesson for all of us but as expected Rishi Bhai tried to tell us that he knew all about it’s history and obviously we were not going to believe him…





Another of Chadha Paaji special was reserved for the next break, I started felling a bit hungry and stopped at a Roadside joint which was operated by a middle-aged village female serving just Dal & Rice, I enjoyed the short meal and Chadha also tried some but then he felt thirsty and blurted out one of his legendary quote and innocently asked the aunty “ Madam, Mineral Water milega?”, the harried-looking aunty gave him a nasty look and banged a Bathroom Mug filled with Water towards him, obviously Chadha being the hygienic guy he is didn’t take any risk and decided to skip her kind offer but I didn’t disappoint her and drank half the mug!!! Chadha Paaji ke liye ek aur tribute… “Jab tak suraj-chaand rahega, Chadha Paaji aapka naam rahega”…just can’t stop myself being in awe with this nice Sardaar from GK in Delhi….I know him since my GIM days as he was my junior then and we have also rode to Ladakh & a host of other rides together and always have had an amazing time in his company…

We reached Yamunanagar and stopped for Lunch at 2 PM and enjoyed an amazing meal of Dal, Paneer and what not…Chadha orderd his favourite meal of LAAAACCHA Prantha with Dal Makhani and quietly enjoyed his meal…the meal was very satisfying but the roads ahead were not the same…filled with potholes and trucks all the way…



I then saw the biggest flag of India I had ever seen…it was truly gigantic…one sight I would never forget…saluted the Tricolour, clicked some pics and move on…Jai Hind…



We finally hit NH-1 and made a Theka Pit-Stop at Pipli but only Rishi, Gyan & Dips had a beer each; the rest of us just relaxed a bit and expectedly Rohit Sir enjoyed another 2 cups of Tea…

Moments before we were to start the final leg towards Delhi Chadha Paaji angrily shouted at us “Agar kisi ne ab bike ke upar se gaand uthaayi…to uski gaand tod dunga”…little did he realize that the first person to stop next would be him!!! Strange are the ways of God to teach everybody a lesson…unfortunately the electricals of his bike had given way and then the suggestions session started, all of his tried using his extremely limited knowledge and tried everything but to no aavail…finallyw e made a sensible decision and then towed his bike to Kurukshetra and get it repaired…luckily we found a decent mechanic and that too a Paaji who used his jugaads to set the system right in some 20 odd minutes…Chadha Paaji was smiling again after some agonizing moments of anxiety!!! And finally we started the ride back home after this unexpected hiccup…

We stopped for dinner at our favourite Murthal and enjoyed another bout of Butter-infested paranthas which we thoroughly enjoy and reached the Landfill site at 11:30 PM, surprisingly not too late…

Reached home at 12:15 in the night and just dozed off....exhausted & excited to say the least…

Another awesome ride had finally come to an end…some 750 odd kms of mad riding filled with million moments of crazy fun…the camaraderie was unbelievable and the debutants duly played their part…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

The Pics of the Ride:

Dhruv’s Camera: http://picasaweb.google.com/manurules07/ChakrataChucklersRyd#
My Camera: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/jha.nishant/TheChakrataChucklersRide?feat=directlink
Chadha’s Camera: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/sandeepschadha/200903RideToChakarata#

The Ride Videos: http://www.4shared.com/dir/13726047/c5926631/Chakrata_Chucklers_Videos.html

Dips’ Blog: http://butcheredsoul.blogspot.com/2009/03/chakrata-chucklers-06-to-09-march-2009.html

Final Thanks to Dips as its due to his continuous pushing I have finally completed this blog, this was the only blog which I had missed from all my rides till date…plus his blog provided me with all the details which I had forgotten after over an year of completing this ride…cheers to life Dips Bhai…

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…

Hockey at its very Best

It is true that Hockey no more holds the Number 1 Sport status in India due to various reasons…A-just for the plain and simple fact that there isn’t any huge money in Hockey to inspire kids to start playing Hockey seriously…B-our Team hasn’t performed the way it should have to get the crowds cheering for them consistently and lastly & most importantly C-the apathy of our successive Governments who have not paid enough attention to the glorious sport of Hockey…

Inspite of that just the fact that the FIH Hockey World Cup is being played out in New Delhi’s new & swanky Major Dhyanchand National Stadium and the inaugural day had the legendary match of India-Pakistan being played out, I just could not stop myself from attending the big day…28th February-one day after my crazy farewell party night and one day before the mad Holi celebrations our Hockey players gave Indians another reason to celebrate like there was no tomorrow and I can proudly say that I was witness to watching Pakistanis getting mauled by a much superior Indian team and all 16,000 fans getting much more than their money worth…

We reached while the Australia-England match was on and that too has a history of rivalries behind them but sadly the match was not worthy enough of their competitive rivalry, surprisingly England won and it took them almost 20 years to defeat the Aussies…we had 2 English supporters sitting right next to us and one of them was quite consistent in his support-chant…a very warm & affectionate “Come on England” which I found very tame to cheer anybody…but still they won and he was extremely elated and we joined his celebrations…we knew what he was about to witness…the chants he won’t have even dreamt of hearing!!! The big one was about to start…

In between the match a batch of some 50-odd Pakistani Fans entered the stadium and were treated to some really loud chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Hindustan Zindabad”…the Security men started to get helter-skelter to ensure that there was no untoward incident which might had marred the revelry on offer…Jingo-Nationalism at it’s very best and one thing I really don’t like…it’s so easy to shout like mad and not do a thing to really make our country the best…this discussion some other time…lets get back to Hockey!!!

So what I was tired after a drunk night and exhausted after back-t0-back BOP Parties but I had a ball during the match…the initial few minutes were really tense for me and I held back my emotions as I wanted our team to take the lead first and not play catch-up and was praying for our team…

And then in the 27th minute Shivendra Singh scored the first goal through a Penalty Corner and all hell broke loose after that…all 16,000 of us were up on our feet and chanting what-not!!! I am sure you don’t really want the details…I became hysteric after that and nothing was going to stop me now…I was helped again by a penalty corner conversion by our PC expert Sandeep Singh in the 35th minute and then a field goal by Prabhjot Singh in the 37th minute…a 3-0 lead was the best we had hoped for at the end of the 1st half…the 10 minutes break was perfectly utilized by me and I danced away to glory…the neighbor Britisher asked me gently…”What transformed you?” and I replied fervently…”Nothing to match seeing my country do well!!!”…it was great on his part as well as he joined me in each goal-celebration like a kid and I am sure he was enjoying this match more than the previous match!!!



The second half started just the way everybody was hoping for…some tight plays later in the 56th minute Sandeep Singh again converted a penalty corner and then everybody knew that we won’t lose from this point save for some really bad luck…5 goals in 14 minutes for any team was too tough a challenge to meet…



And then the bantering started…The Pakistani Goalkeeper Salman Akbar was facing our portion of the crowd and we started chanting “Andar ki baat hai…Salman hamaare saath hai” which when translated into the Queen’s Language meant “Salman is with us and it’s classified information!!!” and he started to respond back to us by shaking his head and showing his displeasure by waving his hockey stick at us but we were not stopping, I kept chanting Salman-Salman like crazy till the very end and I am damn sure he must have had nightmares of the chants!!!

The legend Sohail Abbasi brought some consolation to his fans by converting one penalty corner into a goal but that was all too late…I had given him a nice nickname “Pole-Dancer” as he had hit the pole twice during his last 2 drag-flick attempts at the goal…he looked hassled after that and was a failure through the entire match, even the great Rehan Butt was not playing to his best…Indians were playing at their very best and the Pakis had no answer to our counter-attacks and defensive plays and the mid-fielders were simply superb in getting the ball to the right places and providing the perfect opportunities to our attacking forwards…\

And when the final hooter sounded off the noise reached its highest levels and I removed my shirt and waved my flag endlessly till Dips told me that it was getting late…with a heavy heart I had to stop my celebrations and leave the stadium but not before my body was completely exhausted and my throat used to its limits!!!
On the way out Sunny Paaji told me that the famous Punjabi Singer Jassi of “Dil le gayi Gujarat ki” fame was safely leaving the stadium in the garb of the big crowd and I dodn’t let that opportunity passed by…I attacked him from the behind and hugged him and started singing or shouting his most famous song, he was clearly embarrassed and left in a hush!!!

All-in-all a great day for our National Sport and the perfect Holi Celebrations for our country…India played like true champions and should take this momentum forward to play similarly and reach the semi-finals…yes the next few matches are really tough and we would be playing much better teams than the Pakis but if we play the same way then nothing would stop us from the all-elusive World Cup Title…
Amen to that…

Thanks a lot to Ajit Bhai...my BOP Buddy who started the Hockey mail chain and booked my ticket for the match and to Dips, Pravin, Sunny, Durgesh & Arunima for being my co-spectators...

The Goal Sheet…
Pakistan vs India 1:4
• IND 27mn Shivendra SINGH (PC) 0:1
• IND 35+mn Sandeep SINGH (PC) 0:2
• IND 37mn Prabhjot SINGH (FG) 0:3
• IND 56mn Sandeep SINGH (PC) 0:4
• PAK 59mn Sohail ABBAS (PC) 1:4

India’s schedule in the FIH World Cup…
• Tuesday, March 2 - India vs Australia
• Thursday, March 4 - India vs Spain
• Saturday, March 6 - India vs England
• Monday, March 8 - India vs South Africa

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…