I managed to be up by 4.30 am and was ready to leave by 5 am as planned. Having learnt from my earlier mistakes, I wore my rain gear as a precation. It was actually not to shield myself from the rains, but to prevent my clothes from getting wet, since drying them almost seems to be impossible in this weather. As I bid goodbye to the very helpful father-son duo, it started drizzling. On Eklavya's directions, I found the RTO Petrol filling station which would be the only open during this time to get my tank topped up.
From there on it was going to be a straight drive towards Mumbai highway. As I hit the ghat sections, the surroundings were getting amazingly beautiful. With the light still an hour away, the visibility was poor and the mist only compunded the woes. But the ride was thoroughly enjoyable and i finally hit Lonavla at around half past 6 and patiently waited for a chai vendor who was opening his shop. The light drizzle, mistly twilight and a hot cuppa chai is an enviable package. Everyone seem to sell chikkis in this part of the world and I helped myself with two boxes of assorted chikkis (one for me and another for my hosts in Ahmedabad).
One bad thing about the road trips is the inability of the body clock to fall into the routine. Since it was a very early start, I hadnt attended to my morning chores. ;-) A very important item to carry along while on road is Toilet Paper, which I learned from foreign travellers. Infact I had somehow forgotten it and my good friend Ekalavya was kidn enuf to remind me. It may sound silly, but trust me you will need it. You just have to blend with the nature sometimes!!
Since motorbiles arent allowed to enter the Express highways, I had to stick on to the old Mumbai highway, where the traffic was moderate and roads affected by the monsoons. Somewhere near the suburbs of Mumbai, I got held up in horrible traffic jam and by the time i got out it was 10 am.
I forgot the name of the road, I think its called Banwadi road- the worst stretch that ive encountered so far. I realised that I had taken a wrong turn somewhere, but then there was no way back. The vehicles were moving at 5km/hr, not bcoz of traffic, but due to the horrible nature of the roads. The rains were now getting merciless to increase the misery. As I had eaten all morning, i stopped in the middle of nowhere to find a highway dhaba to have a bit. Got out of my wet jacket and shoes and dried them on the railing, while sipping on a hot hot chai. Ordered a plate of double omlet and pav, which was palatable. half an hour and food intake break did me a world of good, but i had to get back into the wet socks, shoes, jacket and ride in the rains again.
More rains and better roads welcomed me to the state of Gujarat. This time i managed to sneak into the express highway, only to be sent back by the toll gate personnel. Usually the fine is about 1500 bucks, but probably looking at the totally rain soaked biker, the guy felt some sympathy. I rode back in the express way for 8 km and then took the exit to the old highway. the road was totally deserted and was pitch dark. my body was pretty much tired having been on the road for the past 15 hours. Reached the milky town of Anand, at about 9 pm. It revoked memories of my only previous visit to this town, which is incidentally the hometown of my very good friend Suganthi. I assumed its going to be another 30km to Ahmedabad, but was sadly mistaken. It was very difficult to motivate myself to go further for another 80 odd kilometers. But my friend was already waiting for me in Ahmedabad, so no way I was going to back out. I was pushing myself every 5 km and then finally managed to reach my destination at exactly 10.50 pm.
The previous day I had requested for a stay in the CScommunity in Ahmedabad. A big hulla bulla was created by their moderator for posting the requirement in the general section. Since it was a last minute request, I thought Ill push my luck. To my surprise I got an accept rely from Vikram, who himself is an avid biker. I think I was smart enuf to send my travelogue link along with the request. Infact Vikram later told me that he had also done tis stretch of Pune to Ahmedabad earlier. I was incredibly lucky to be hosted by this wonderful couple Vikram and Eva.
They were kind enuf to wait for me at the road at 11 pm and even offer me dinner. I was dripping wet and my bags were all soaking in water and slush. After a nice shower and a great dinner (which i needed very badly), we started getting to know each other. I think Vikram and I got off instantly as we shared the same passion. Eva was probably gauging me before opening up..;-) Fair enough!!
Since it had been a very very long day, I hit the bed after drying every single piece of item in my bag. Unbelievable day of 18 hrs riding in non-stop rains. This was in no doubt the toughest day of my journey so far and I was immensely satisfied that I had made it.
Distance Travelled- 760 km
Journey- Pune to Ahmedabad
Roads- 20%- Very Good, 40%- Good, 25%- Bad, 15%- Horrible
From there on it was going to be a straight drive towards Mumbai highway. As I hit the ghat sections, the surroundings were getting amazingly beautiful. With the light still an hour away, the visibility was poor and the mist only compunded the woes. But the ride was thoroughly enjoyable and i finally hit Lonavla at around half past 6 and patiently waited for a chai vendor who was opening his shop. The light drizzle, mistly twilight and a hot cuppa chai is an enviable package. Everyone seem to sell chikkis in this part of the world and I helped myself with two boxes of assorted chikkis (one for me and another for my hosts in Ahmedabad).
One bad thing about the road trips is the inability of the body clock to fall into the routine. Since it was a very early start, I hadnt attended to my morning chores. ;-) A very important item to carry along while on road is Toilet Paper, which I learned from foreign travellers. Infact I had somehow forgotten it and my good friend Ekalavya was kidn enuf to remind me. It may sound silly, but trust me you will need it. You just have to blend with the nature sometimes!!
Since motorbiles arent allowed to enter the Express highways, I had to stick on to the old Mumbai highway, where the traffic was moderate and roads affected by the monsoons. Somewhere near the suburbs of Mumbai, I got held up in horrible traffic jam and by the time i got out it was 10 am.
I forgot the name of the road, I think its called Banwadi road- the worst stretch that ive encountered so far. I realised that I had taken a wrong turn somewhere, but then there was no way back. The vehicles were moving at 5km/hr, not bcoz of traffic, but due to the horrible nature of the roads. The rains were now getting merciless to increase the misery. As I had eaten all morning, i stopped in the middle of nowhere to find a highway dhaba to have a bit. Got out of my wet jacket and shoes and dried them on the railing, while sipping on a hot hot chai. Ordered a plate of double omlet and pav, which was palatable. half an hour and food intake break did me a world of good, but i had to get back into the wet socks, shoes, jacket and ride in the rains again.
More rains and better roads welcomed me to the state of Gujarat. This time i managed to sneak into the express highway, only to be sent back by the toll gate personnel. Usually the fine is about 1500 bucks, but probably looking at the totally rain soaked biker, the guy felt some sympathy. I rode back in the express way for 8 km and then took the exit to the old highway. the road was totally deserted and was pitch dark. my body was pretty much tired having been on the road for the past 15 hours. Reached the milky town of Anand, at about 9 pm. It revoked memories of my only previous visit to this town, which is incidentally the hometown of my very good friend Suganthi. I assumed its going to be another 30km to Ahmedabad, but was sadly mistaken. It was very difficult to motivate myself to go further for another 80 odd kilometers. But my friend was already waiting for me in Ahmedabad, so no way I was going to back out. I was pushing myself every 5 km and then finally managed to reach my destination at exactly 10.50 pm.
The previous day I had requested for a stay in the CScommunity in Ahmedabad. A big hulla bulla was created by their moderator for posting the requirement in the general section. Since it was a last minute request, I thought Ill push my luck. To my surprise I got an accept rely from Vikram, who himself is an avid biker. I think I was smart enuf to send my travelogue link along with the request. Infact Vikram later told me that he had also done tis stretch of Pune to Ahmedabad earlier. I was incredibly lucky to be hosted by this wonderful couple Vikram and Eva.
They were kind enuf to wait for me at the road at 11 pm and even offer me dinner. I was dripping wet and my bags were all soaking in water and slush. After a nice shower and a great dinner (which i needed very badly), we started getting to know each other. I think Vikram and I got off instantly as we shared the same passion. Eva was probably gauging me before opening up..;-) Fair enough!!
Since it had been a very very long day, I hit the bed after drying every single piece of item in my bag. Unbelievable day of 18 hrs riding in non-stop rains. This was in no doubt the toughest day of my journey so far and I was immensely satisfied that I had made it.
Distance Travelled- 760 km
Journey- Pune to Ahmedabad
Roads- 20%- Very Good, 40%- Good, 25%- Bad, 15%- Horrible
760 kms?? Wow!! Awesome!!
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