I closed the destination with Vinamra and floated the Ride Invite Mail to my group on 1st of August and then the regular Bakchodi mails started & after some 300 odd mails the final count was 12 Riders. The saddest part was that my best riding buddy Diptinder aka Vinamra aka Dips aka Ken Slayer pulled out of the ride just a night before due to some family commitments and I felt really sad about it as riding with him is so much fun and we have had some amazing times riding together, received more blows when Vikas, Ajit & Rohan also pulled out…my family was also against me as they feared that it won’t be safe to ride in the mountains with rains around but inside their mind they very well knew that they wouldn’t be able to stop me, my non-biking friends also called me crazy that in a 11 days vacation I had kept 4 days for a ride and no normal person would do that but I guess they forgot that I am abnormal indeed!!! I was determined to ride, come what may; inspite of the fact that the Rain Gods had been playing havoc all July & August and the worst was expected – we were watching news of a possible flood situation near Yamuna Nagar & Ambala but my plans were not to change, I had my doubts but my BoP brothers did their best not to change my plans and as planned we rode to Dalhousie…a colonial town in Himachal Pradesh nestled in the hills and one place about which I had heard a lot…the Darogaas went & conquered!!!
The Darogaas were:
1. Vibhor Bhardwaj aka Destiny on his 500 Machismo
2. Ankit Sheoran aka Shera on his 535 Lightning
3. Saurabh Khanna aka NDTV Khanna on his 350 Electra
4. Rishi Maurya aka Chutia on his 350 Standard
5. Divakaran Babu aka Bhaaya on his 350 Thunderbird
6. Anand Srivastava aka Vinod on his Electra TS 350
7. Vihans Gupta aka Jaanu on his Yamaha FZ 16
8. Dhruv Malik aka Kaancha Boy on his Pulsar 220
9. Deepak Chauhan aka Formal Rider on his Pulsar 220
10. Adit Sharda aka CA on his Pulsar 220
11. Virendra Singh aka Veeru on his Pulsar 220
12. Che on The Mighty One
The Start…
Vibhor, Deepak, Maurya & me were to meet at the Toll Meeting Point and all of us were on time except Mr. Maurya as expected and this after I gave him a wake-up call as well; Kora came to see us off and that was a really nice gesture from him considering he took out time from his office hours to wish us luck and to celebrate this Vibhor had a Beer with him so early in the morning which made me furious as we were getting late while he was sipping away to glory, once he finished we finally started towards the place where legendary rides have started for us – The fragrant Landfill Point. When we reached the entire group except Veeru was there whom I called and asked to catch up at the breakfast pit stop. One thing was clear in everybody’s mind that the rains would start anytime- the term used was “Baarish hogi yeh to pata hi hai, sawaal yeh hai ki kab aur kitni hogi?!!! …with these thoughts in our mind and with loud chants of Jai BoP we started the ride, my mind was feeling victorious at that time as I was waiting for that very moment for so long, thanked God and then zipped ahead on NH-1!!!
Zoooooooom…
The Pack of 11 Motorcyclists traversed 84 kms in 1 hour & 5 minutes before stopping for our breakfast pit-stop and I guess this is the fastest we have ever rode in a ride and this set the speed benchmark for the rest of the ride, we set records which would be tough to beat but not impossible and that too with a large group of 12 riders…
Pet-Pooja…
All of us were awake since 3 in the morning and all we wanted was a heavy breakfast and the needful was done, Paranthas, Tea and Butter were ordered and the entire stuff was gobbled up in a matter on minutes. Midway Veeru also joined us and the Darogaas were complete now and ready to roar again, as expected the Gujjar Boy came dressed in full gear with a inner Body Armor but sadly his Bandhani styled Headgear had been replaced by a small bandanna and I was disappointed…there were still some 500 kms remaining in the ride and we all decided to cut down the frequent breaks and the plan was to reach Jallandhar at Lunch Time, and we were pretty serious about it…
Dump Break – 1
With my tummy full I knew a dump break was a sure-shot certainty and I didn’t disappoint either, our next stop was due to my dumping extravaganza!!! By now all of you know how much I love dumping in the open and that feeling is unparalleled…during this break we also met an uncle who was riding all the way from Haridwar and was going to Amritsar, he was riding a Bajaj Discover 135 but giving tough fight to all of us, we rode together as well for some 15-20 kms and he was constantly bugged by his wife calling him frantically, the morale of the story was come what may wives would keep nagging and the only solution is to ignore them!!! Plus his raincoat was his white towel and he had no qualms about it…we were in mood for some Bakchodi so he didn’t wait with us for too long and left…
Maurya Fiasco - 1
The entire pack was going on great guns, leaving Haryana behind & entering into the rich & green Punjab & finding our way through city Traffic, just before Khanna the Fall Guy Maurya met with an accident, some passerby drivers informed the riders ahead and we went back to find Maurya having hit a Localite on his bike coming wrong-way, I just could not understand how the hell he was not able to control his bike as the traffic was quite thick and he still managed find a way to hit him…he had a minor injury to his nose as his Aviators got stuck into it when he fell down and his shitty helmet didn’t help either, I was enraged to see his helmet as I thought after his major accident in November 2009 during our Anniversary Ride to Ranthambore he must have got some sense to his mind and should have got a decent helmet and protective gear and when I asked him why he hadn’t any he coolly replied “Mere bas ki nahin hai shopping yaar, Kora ne bola tha ki ek baar chalega, I called him and he didn’t pick up so I didn’t go” I just lost it and thought to give him back when we reach Dalhousie and it wasn’t over; he was carrying 3 bottles of Teacher’s Whiskey which he had picked up from Ambala and one of the bottles broke and was leaking from his shoulder bag, we quickly removed his bag from the accident scene to avoid any further damage, saala ek ke baad ek panga!!! His front forks were damaged and had to be replaced, I went towards the town ahead and found a Bullet Mechanic and got his bike repaired. We met a 13 years old kid named Kuldeep who shocked us all, he opened the 2 front shockers, removed the springs and cleaned the inside of the forks in a matter of few 5-6 minutes and then sat back waiting for his boss to get the new forks and all this while we were looking at him with big-wide eyes and I was clearly thinking here is another Zaheer in making but I felt sad for him as well, at his age he must be in the school, playing with his friends and doing what normal 13-year old kids do but he was forced to work…soon Maurya’s bike was ready and raring to go again…
Anand screws up…
All this while, while Kuldeep was showing his magic, there was another story unfolding at the accident spot where Mr. Anand Srivastava was trying to best to screw up things for us by acting smart with the traffic cop and showing him off that he had contacts in the Delhi Police but knowing Punjab Police they had nothing of it & then they gave it back to us & asked Maurya to come back & submit his address details in case of any future ramifications…plus don’t forget Anand had a Tooth-Pin (more details later) in his mouth and talked with the normal swagger you see in Delhi’s 21-23 year olds!!! Good sense prevailed when he was pulled away from the scene and then all of us started the ride again hoping things would not screw up again…
Ludhiana Mess…
We missed the Ludhiana Bypass road and had to enter the main city to cross it and to say it was in deep mess would be a gross understatement, there was water logging – knee deep across the city and the local residents had no civic sense whatsoever and were speeding their vehicles through the water and splashing water left, right & centre…Vinamra also does the same in Gurgaon, no wonder his family is now settled in Ludhiana, now I know where this lack of civic sense comes from…we somehow crossed the city and then reached the outskirts where we stopped at a Dhaba referred by Vibhor for a late lunch…
Maurya Fiasco - 2
When we reached the Dhaba Maurya told us that eh was suffering from Heavy Fever and his body was shivering and his face had gone red as he had taken Paracetamol on an empty stomach which had made matters worse, we advised him to have his lunch and then have a short 30-45 minutes nap which surprisingly he agreed to as he think he’s the bravest of them all and on the top of that knows it all as well, he slept off and we bided our time doing our Bakchodi and cursing Maurya for screwing another ride and wasting almost 2-3 hours off our planned schedule but as co-riders we had to help him and had no other option, so what I hate him buts till thought to give him one last chance, he woke up at 2:45 PM and at sharp 3 PM we started our final leg…
Angrez Singh...
We stopped at a Dhaba for a short Tea & Snakes break & also wanted to have a beer session but our plans were thwarted when we saw a Police Gypsy also stopping at the Dhaba and 4-5 Policemen & some civilians emerging out of it, but we used that opportunity & checked the route with their driver & then the conversation veered towards our club & rides and their group got really interested. We resumed our Bakchodi & then out of the blue I was called by the seniormost guy - I got little anxious but the Inspector whose name was Angrez Singh was really happy with our Bike Rides & camaradrie and told me "Aaapka chai-naashta Punjab Police ki taraf se"...I tried refusing it but as expected he had nothing of it & told me "Aap log aaraam se Dalhousie pahuncho, paise ki chinta mat karo" and then I just could not say anything. The big relief was that Inspector Angrez Singh actually paid money to the Dhaba Owner & he did not suffer due to us. He also told me that he was from the Crime Branch of PP & his jurusdiction stretched from Jallandhar to Pathankot & if we are in any trouble we can call him for any help required. It was indeed a nice gesture from his side...
All we Need…
We reached Banikhet at 6:15 PM from where the Mountain Riding begins and as expected I stopped at a Theka right next to a very busy roundabout and there was a Dhaba close by serving Fried Fish & Chicken, we couldn’t have asked for more, got the beer and ordered the snakes and started another BBB Session and that too at a legally approved Drinking Place, yes even Himachal has them and we experienced it!!! Sadly the herbivores amongst us got a raw deal as when they asked the Dhaba owner about the availability of a vegetarian dish his curt reply was “Raita hi hai veg. mein, dun kya?” The Chicken Fry was amazing & it tasted superb with the Haywards 5000 beer!!!
Some people might call me crazy but believe me after having a beer I ride on the mountain roads much smoothly & safely, have done that in the past during our Mcleodganj, Chakrata, Ladakh & Binsar rides and this time it was no different. And then I lost it again, out of the blue Maurya came and asked me for a beer; I shouted at him and told him very sternly “No Beer for you till we reach Dalhousie”, I mean this guy was suffering from fever and still wanted some beer and that too after an accident, what an asshole…
After the BBB Session we started the Hill Ride and boy didn’t I was enjoying the time, pitch darkness & the curvy roads, it’s all I need for a kick, just gets me going and then I transform…speeding up the curvy roads with The Mighty One as my trusted Partner…
Finally…
We reached Dalhousie at 10 PM in the night and was pissed to know that half of the riders had already reached an hour back and hadn’;t even bothered to call us and check our whereabouts, I had Shera, Jaanu, Khanna, Vibhor & Anand with me & we were always riding as a group, stopping at various places through the 70-odd kms and the rest were already relaxing at the hotel, when I asked them why didn’t they call us the reply was even more obnoxious “We thought you were in front of us”, I mean what kind of group riding is that & that too on the mountain roads, I never expected Dhruv to do that but don’t know why that happened. I tried to cool my nerves with some chilled beer & Chakhna and started a long BBB Session which was to go late into the night as expected…Maurya was at his idiotic best here as well, he was so nagging that Jaanu of all the people lost his cool & shouted at him to shut up but as Maurya didn’t bother to shut up and kept talking hiding in a blanket, I mean how moronic is that, to make matters worse, Deepak & Bhaaya were talking to him endlessly, finally I had to intervene & gave him the final warning that if he doesn’t stop then he would be kicked out of the room and then only he abated!!!
Veeru Special…
Veeru Bhai was slowly coming in to his groove and showed first of his magic when he called Vihans as “Chunnu”; badly playing with his nick-name “Cheenu” but surely it sounded funny & cute. When Khanna was re-enacting Anand’s Police Story at the Accident Spot Veeru called Tooth Pick as “Tooth Pin”, I am sure only Veeru can do it and we were all literally on the floor laughing, we infact needed more alcohol as too much of laughing had resulting in the intoxication mellowing down!!!
But he wasn’t finished, at the Dinner Table he very coolly asked “ yeh Vinod ki maarni nahin hai?”, me & Jaanu asked him “Who is Vinod?” and he pointed towards Anand and said “Yeh Vinod, aur kaun chutiyon?”…I wonder why & how somebody can confuse between Anand & Vinod but our Veeru is capable of anything and it shows!!! Since that very moment nobody calls Anand by his real name but as Vinod and I am sure till he is in BoP he would be called Vinod only. Shera added some more magic; he called him “Agent Vinod”!!!
Veeru also named Rishi Maurya as DHARAM MAURYA…now start raking your brains…as Rishi & Dharam are as different as chalk & cheese but for Veeru its tough differentiating between chalk & cheese as well!!!
Post-Dinner Analysis…
The 1st day of the ride was well & truly over, I was exhausted after riding for some 600 kms but the best part was that God had shown mercy on us and we faced literally no rains except some minor drizzling after Ludhiana, all our fears of rain riding never came true and I would always thank God for this big favour…I had the customary open-dump, had my beer & snakes before the mountain riding, experienced no rains, the hotel booked by me was extremely cozy, my bike traversed the 600 kms without any breakdown & I reached 100 kmph+ speeds many a times ripping it on NH-1 and had some delicious food right through the day…everything went as per plan, my 1st ride after a long gap of 9 months was sailing smooth!!! And boy I was happy!!! Thinking all this I finally slept off with Veeru as my bed-partner, yes Jaanu had ditched me for Vibhor, so much so for the long distance between me & him due to me moving to Kuwait, he slept with Vibhor and not with me, I felt betrayed!!!
Early Morning Bliss…
We all woke up to some gorgeous scenes from our Hotel Balcony looking straight at the Himalayas in the midst of heavy clouds, the scene was straight out of a dream and I felt staying at Kuwait how much I was missing but thanks to God I was there soaking it up & just living through the blissful moments. The POA was to have breakfast at the hotel which was Paranthas & Omelets, get ready and then leave for the Kalatop Trek which we had read about earlier…Vinod had specially ordered 6 Boiled Eggs for him and when he finished we saw the remnants of his breakfast, he has just eaten the Egg Whites & thrown away the Yolks…some crazy liking patterns!!!
The Trek which never was…
We reached the Kalatop Trek Start point and got the information that we could reach the place on our bikes only without requiring to trek and the unfit people we are we jumped on this option, we also found a local Government guide - Suraj who for a small charge was willing to show us a place in the middle of nowhere where we could have our BBB Session without somebody catching us so we packed up 12 bottles of beer and also some chakhna, he was a very helpful guy and took us to a simply amazing place where we had a fun time; jumping & drinking away to glory…and the best part was that to reach this place we trekked exactly for half a km and it wasn’t painful at all…we also visited Kalatop as well where we had a Maggi session, must tell you that Kalatop is one amazing place and I would love to go back there and spend a relaxed holiday sometime in the future, its so calm & serene…just like Binsar…
Now something about this guy Suraj, a 23 years old guy and had an indomitable spirit, he used to walk for 15 kms from his village every morning to reach Kalatop, do some 4-5 10-12 kms treks to Chamba & back and then late evening walk another 15 kms to his home, he gets no salary from the Tourism Dept. and is just dependent on the fees (regulated by the Government) and the tips he get. Makes me wonder how hard some people have to work to earn such meager salary, we gave him a handsome tip as he showed us 2 beautiful places and also sat as a pillion with me and shot an amazing road video!!!
We also went to another view point which was overlooking the Himalayas and an Air Force surveillance Base and witnessed the natural beauty once again, here the Darogaas Group Pic was taken and myriad global topics were discussed…
Maurya was at his blabbering best and was going on & on without stopping even for a second, I folded my hands and requested him to shut up for 5 minutes so that I could soak in the peace but he was not in a mood to stop and kept going…I somehow controlled myself not to hit him & decided to leave the place and reach Dalhousie plus it was about to get dark as well so we all decided to leave…
Maurya Fiasco - 3
Everybody knows what Mr. Maurya is capable of & this time as well he did the unthinkable, while we all left towards Dalhousie this guy found another chance for an accident & this time he made it the most dramatic & crazy and fell down a 50-feet high cliff and landed straight down, he just got lucky as while he was rolling down he hit a tree and was somehow stopped in his free-fall & luckily had no injuries whatsoever but his poor bike bore all the brunt, his front forks, handle, headlight and the rim all was badly damaged and there was no way it could be rode to Delhi in that condition. He was rescued by Air Force folks who got to know of his fall through an alert sentry who saw him falling down, he & his bike was brought up using big-heavy ropes, in the process he also lost his dear aviators as well.
While he was falling & getting rescued we were oblivious of his condition and were enjoying ourselves at the Mall Road, I played the Mario Brothers Video Game after some 20 years & went nostalgic, also had some Golgappas & roasted Bhutta, and then I got a call on my mobile from an Air Force Official who told me about Maurya and asked us to come & pick him up, as per him he wouldn’t have allowed him to leave on his own as he was badly drunk!!! Now you must be wondering how this guy got drunk & I would tell you how, remember we had bought 12 beers, 1 each for each person but this guy drank 4 beers & using up the share of Dhruv, Deepak & Bhaaya who don’t drink…he even drank my KF Premium beer which I had bought for me even after telling him not to have it but I don’t know in which zone was Maurya in, he was in no mood to listen to anybody…
I was in no mood to help him out after what he had made us go through and decided not to go & pick him up; Vibhor & Jaanu went to fetch him and the others waited at the Mall, I know that was rude & cruel but really I wanted to be like that at that moment, because if I would have seen him then I would have gone uncontrollable & probably would have hit him hard…Vibhor somehow managed to ride his bike back in that condition & hats off to him & his spirit…Suraj was constantly in touch with me to check Maurya’s condition as he came back running towards the accident spot the moment he heard that some biker had fallen into the cliff, no wonder Himachalis are one of the best people I have met in India after travelling through so many states. Selfless, determined and ever so helpful…
Another night…another BBB Session…
Alcohol stocks were laid for the night plus the bucket as well this time and the session started, initial discussions revolved around Maurya but soon the discussions drifted to the geo-political global conditions & how we can provide solutions to them as a group, some amazing concepts came out but as expected they were soon drowned in peals of laughter & whirls of smoke!!! The Bucket show is worth mentioning here…
Innocent bears my brunt…
I was in a bad mood due to Maurya & even beer was unable to bring it to normal, I lost my cool when we received such small quantities of food we had ordered & just lost it; started shouting at our waiter for no fault of his & the worst mistake was that I held his collar & tried getting physical with him, I am even now ashamed on what I did that night. The next day I apologized to him that it was not his fault at all & was my mistake all the way. The best part about that waiter was that even after my outburst he didn’t change his style and served us the same courteous way, really nice & mature of him… I slept after having my dinner but some of us weren’t finished as yet. Khanna, Shera & Vibhor had another 2-hour long session in Dhruv & Bhaaya’s (The Dalhousie Couple) Room and finally slept when their bodies refused any further alcohol.
Poori-Chhole in the Hills…
We thought of having a late breakfast & what better option than having Piping Hot Pooris with some spicy Chhole!!! We enjoyed our breakfast sitting at a vantage point, overlooking the entire Mall Road & with the view came the bonus of spotting some Kacchi Kalis, Vibhor even captured them with his camera, though he wanted to physically capture them but the nice human being I am, I scuttled his plans and kept him under the leash!!!
Maurya Leaves for good…
Maurya got his bike in a Tempo and then left for Pathankot to get it repaired and then leave for Delhi…just to mention he lost his Mobile Phone as well so he had no way to contact us as well so we gave him our mobile numbers in case of any emergency, but his mobile phone was found under his pillow the next day by Vinod & as per Maurya he had searched his entire room for it, his eyes are also defective as is his brain!!! Another of his blatant lie was caught that moment, he was not carrying his bike’s registration papers & had very conveniently forgotten them, and this after we have made it very clear that everybody must carry all the relevant documents with them for a ride. His ride started with high fever & ended in deep losses & pain for him as well for us; 2 accidents, lots of money spent on the repairs & the tempo cost plus his aviators lost as well. And his biggest loss was that he has been ousted from BoP & would never be a part of our rides ever again…he has been part of 4 rides with us. During his 1st ride to Chakrata we somehow tolerated him as that was his debut ride, his 2nd ride to Jalori Pass also ended in a mess, his 3rd ride ended with a severe accident and this one you have read it all about. And throwing him out was a collective decision & not my impulsive decision.
Lake Kinaare…
The plan for the day was to visit the Chamera Lake which is actually the Chamera Dam reservoir & was highly recommended by Suraj as that was another spot for a beer therapy & that too lakeside which we very much enjoy. Enroute we got Beer packed plus some snakes (Read: Maggi for the herbivores & Chicken Tawa for the carnivores), the perfect combo for a lakeside BBB Session and I am sure every one of you would agree!!! Here Vinod was at his hungry best and gobbled up almost the entire chicken & was pretty focused in his devouring!!! Once again myriad topics were discussed which I might not like to disclose in the public domain as they are BoP Copyrighted!!! You need to attend one of our rides to experience them for yourself…
To each his own…
I was really tired & wanted to go back to the hotel & catch a nap, The Dalhousie Couple wanted to get some repairs for their bikes and the rest of the group wanted to visit Khajjiar so it was decided that all of us would meet at the hotel by 8 PM to start the last BBB Session of the ride…though after watching Khajjiar Pics later I regret my decision as that’s one helluva beautiful place but what I experienced in place of Khajjiar was nothing short of magical!!!
The Water Therapy…
Some of you very well know that how much I love water and taking a dip in the rivers & the lakes of this world. I had spotted a similar place while going towards the Chamera Lake and while coming back decided to stop & enjoy some peaceful time…Khanna, Deepak, Shera & Vinod were with me and we went to the riverside to play!!! Vinod made the best first move & ordered some tea & rusk for the group, this guy surely became sensible in the course of this ride & am sure would be a very good co-rider in rides to come…we quickly got into the bathing gear (Read: our Undies) and enjoyed Hot Tea with Rusks & believe me I haven’t experienced any better tea in my life till date, but don’t worry the beers were also opened later so don’t get nervous, our club’s philosophy is still intact!!! We had the time of our life in the water & had great fun bathing in the chilled waters of River Ravi. Sadly I dropped my Phone in the river & it conked off, but no sweat at all…I lost that phone but became a proud owner of “LePhone”, a Chinese phone @ just Rs. 2000 and has almost all the features I need & I am in love with that phone!!! After the magical watery time we finally forced ourselves out of the river & left for the hotel. But for all 5 of us these were the best moments of the ride…
Rain finally makes its presence felt…
When we reached the Mall Road we stopped for some Hot Coffee & Pakodas, the perfect snake for a rainy evening …soon the entire group got together, I bought the Beer Stock for the night & we all reached the hotel, this was going to be the last night of the ride so we had planned to keep the BBB Session short & sweet and sleep early, all this while it was raining heavily and the rains was splattering on the tin roof & was making some strange sounds…also it got very chilly later in the night and all our fears were coming true of having a rainy ride the next day…when we finally slept it was still raining heavily but we were not afraid at all, we knew that God can’t be so kind to us & we were mentally prepared for a rainy 600 kms long ride!!!
Rainy Morning…
We got up at 5:30 AM the next day & it was still raining heavily plus it was very foggy as well so we all decided to sleep again and check the condition at 9 AM & then to take a call. When we woke up the rains had stopped & the sky had also got clear, so we packed up quickly & left after clearing the bills at 9:30 AM…
Baba ki badi daya hai…
Another first for us…we had our breakfast at a Bhandara organized by Mani Mahesh Devotees which is a Lord Shiva Temple while going downhill towards Pathankot, freshly cooked Poori-Aloo & Dal-Rice!!! Unbelievable is the word really for the taste of that breakfast, hot pooris straight from the Kadhaai, sadly we missed the dessert as it was too early for the cooks to prepare & the best part was that we finished the breakfast in 20 minutes flat as normally whenever we reach a Dhaba it takes 15 minutes to decide the Menu, 20-30 minutes for the food to be served & another 30-45 minutes to finish it but this time it was ultra quick!!! Veeru Bhai even spotted a wild eagle with his camera & that pic came out superb…I don’t know why I got angry on Jaanu & shouted at him, infact I was angry at him for the reason that he didn’t ride with the group during our local Dalhousie Excursions & was always riding with Vibhor without saying anything & not being a part of the group decisions, but in the evening we talked it out & sorted our issues…Sorry Jaanu & love you loads…
Dump Break – 2
As expected I had to make a critical break next to Dump again, the pooris had made sure that I don’t miss the last open dump of the ride amidst some lush greenery & I accordingly obliged!!! The entire group also stopped for a well-deserved break before starting the boring plains ride back home…I saw the board which read Delhi: 500 kms and knew it was going to be a long & boring ride back & that too all through the plains…
Shera has a small breakdown…
Just after lunch at Jallandhar Shera’s bike had some minor issue but luckily we found the Royal Enfield Service Station at Jallandhar where it was solved within few minutes & I made perfect use of that opportunity and I dumped there as well, this time in the confines of an enclosed washroom!!! My motto is: Never miss an opportunity to dump & leave your imprints everywhere…
Speed Ride…
After the heavy lunch we were transformed into speedy motorcyclists & kept going & going without making frequent breaks…we actually covered some 200 odd kms non-stop to Ambala in some 3.5 hours & that is incredible considering we had a large group of 11 riders riding together & this speed hasn’t been seen in any our previous rides till date. Me & The Dalhousie Couple stopped at McDonalds somewhere in Punjab to grab a quick bite & that was the only break we had till Ambala…
Decisions…
We waited for a bit just after Ambala for the group to get together but some of us had already reached Karnal so we all decided to meet at The Karnal Haveli, at around 7 PM we were all there, some of us wanted to have an early dinner there but the consensus decision was to have a beer session near Panipat & dinner at Murthal…we reached the Theka but there was a slight scare as there was some policemen there & out of the blue they picked up Vinod for some questioning’ there is a deep-rooted relationship between the Men in Khaki & this guy, after the intervention of the Theka Owner the Police left & we started our Council Meeting just behind the Theka…during the course of the heavy-duty discussions we decided to skip dinner as all of us had a heavy bout of Chakhna & re-group at the Landfill Site for the final farewell…luckily it stopped drizzling as well when we were leaving & we experienced a dry ride during the last leg as well…
The Last Hoorah…
We all reached the Landfill Site at 10:45 PM and bid each other farewell till we would meet again for the next ride, for me personally this ride was a big high as even after moving to Kuwait I was able to manage this ride & also manage to ride with a large group of co-riders; I lost my temper a number of times during this ride but overall it was a great ride…some 1300 kms together in record times as we never expected to reach home atleast before 2-3 in the night. We had no mishaps/ major breakdowns except for the Maurya Fiascos and had some amazing times together doing our BBB sessions plus God also showered his mercy on us by convincing his Rain counterparts to let us ride dry!!!
Now I would wait till November as that’s when I ride again…and that ride is going to be ultra-special as that would be BoP’s 3rd Anniversary Ride and continuing with our traditions we would be riding to Rajasthan this time as well…The BoP Chittorgarh Cavaliers (12-13-14 November)…and I just can’t wait for that ride…
But I would always be sad for Vinamra missing this ride & not being able to make it as I always thought he would…saala dhokha de gaya…
At the Jai BoP Point or the Bristol Chowk where me & Dips have always shouted the farewell Jai BoP Chant I shouted this time all alone & felt really lonely doing that, hope during my next rider we both can shout !!! that gives such a high & a sense of belonging...
Some words about my Co-Riders during this ride…
1. Vibhor – He ensured that Jaanu ditched me for him but he is a great rider to ride along with & ever so helpful. Riding with him gives me confidence…
2. Jaanu – Ab Jaanu ke bare mein kya likhun…jitna likhunga utna kam hoga!!!
3. Dhruv – A great rider & I hope he joins BoP very soon…
4. Deepak - He would always be remembered for riding in his formal trousers as he came straight from office & was to go to his office straight from the ride…imagine a rider in his formal black trousers!!!
5. Khanna & Shera – My first ride with both of them & are great additions to the club, are great bakchods & have a good sense of humour…I had read about their tough ride to Lahual & after that I wanted to ride with them badly…Hope they can manage the Anniversary Ride as well…
6. Adit – Future CA & current Loverboy…period…
7. Vinod – Rider accha banega agar apni chutiapanti chhod de, he needs to improve his riding style a bit & get Rear Indicators, Number Plate & Rear View Mirrors in place else he is not riding with us ever…
8. Veeru – Gujjar Boy rules…
9. Bhaaya – Quiet Guy & a nice co-rider…
10. Maurya – CHUTIA…period…
The Ride Details:
Gurgaon – Dalhousie Distance: 575 kms
Route: Gurgaon > Delhi > Ambala > Ludhiana > Jalandhar > Pathankot > Banikhet > Dalhousie
http://www.oktatabyebye.com/travel-directions/driving-directions-from-New_Delhi-to-Dalhousie.html
Things to Do around Dalhousie: http://www.ghumakkar.com/2009/05/21/dalhousie-khajjiar-chamba-excursion-apr-12-15-2007/
Hotel we stayed at Dalhousie: http://www.hptdc.nic.in/cir0303.htm#hgeet
Details about the Kalatop Trek: http://www.pandeyji.com/dalhousie/kalatop.cfm & http://full2faltu.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/chalte-chalte7-kalatop/
The Pics & Videos Links:
Adit - http://picasaweb.google.com/aditsharda/TheDalhousieDarogaas#
Bhaaya - http://picasaweb.google.co.in/divakaran.babu/DalhousieDarogaas#
Vibhor: http://picasaweb.google.com/destinyvb/Dalhousie?feat=directlink
Che: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/jha.nishant/TheBoPDalhousieDarogaas?feat=directlink
Dhruv: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/108982735100052807575/BOPDalhousieDarogaas#
Veeru: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/virendra22/DalhousieDarogaasSep10132010Ride#
Deepak: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/cs.deepak.chauhan/DalhousieTrip?locked=true#
Videos: http://www.4shared.com/dir/obMFYo3R/DD_Videos.html
Che would be back on the Road again…
Till then ride safe & have safe sex…
Hasta la Victoria Siempre…
Jai BoP...
