On 9th November, 2010 I woke up at 5. Took bath & was ready to roll by 6. But tying up my luggage was a big headache. It took me 45 minutes to do so. I decided, a saddle bag is must for next trip. Took blessings from uncle & aunt, and finally left place at 7. It was little cold then & I felt shivers when ever a breeze passed. I regretted having left for trip without gloves. Now gloves top the “Must buy” list. I had planned to ride till Kasal on state highway & then on NH17. I would take a diversion at Nivali phata (junction) to Ganpatipule.
Road till Kasal was narrow but smooth. It was little deserted as people still had not left their homes. I came across few morons driving cars on that stretch who would occupy opposite lane while negotiating acute curves (to avoid braking) leaving me scared to death. No wonder why accidents are imminent. Riding on highways which don’t have dividers, is so dangerous that your life hangs on not just your luck, but others too.
I went pass Kasal in 20 minutes & joined NH17. The patch welcomed me there was rough. It lasted for some time. I remembered my cousin telling me not to take NH17 as his friends had reported him it is in bad state. I could not have afforded it as in that case, I would not get to visit Ganpatipule. Moreover, I believed, being it a national highway, it should be well maintained. But I was wrong. Road was pathetic till Kankavali. I wonder if we can count such a bad road as NH.
Bad roads had taken toll on my average speed now. I could cover distance up to Rajapur (106 kms) in 2 hours. It was 9 then & I took a small break. For next 2 hours I continued riding till I saw petrol indicator started flashing reserve. I wanted to refuel my bike only at a good HP so had passed through many petrol pumps. Past Rajapur it is all hilly road & ghats. I started worrying as what if I run out of petrol in middle of these ghats. But to my luck, I came across a minuscule petrol pump where I filled just 4 liters of petrol.
Within half an hour I reached close to Nivali phata & I saw a good HP petrol pump where I did tank full. I also withdrew some cash. From Nivali phata road to Gapnatipule was ok. It was actually patched up & so was uneven at many places. There was not much traffic so I was riding faster there. Road was not surrounded by trees unlike NH17 & so engine was heating up real fast. I reached Ganpatipule at exactly 11. I left bike with luggage in common parking are with little worry but more faith and went in temple. I did one rotation to the hill which is around 3 kilometers walk.
I came back to Nivali phata & took NH17 again. By now sun was scorching above leaving me dry & bike super hot. I started taking breaks frequently. Not because of bike, but I had to drink lot of water. Also, in order to reduce burden on my bike, I tied water bottle to my luggage only to loose it. After loosing 2 water bottles, I could not bear that pain & decided to burden my back than my pocket :D.
I had reached Chiplun at around 2:30. Road condition of NH17 was very pathetic at times. I still remember, at one stretch was so bad that I had to ride my bike on 2nd gear for more than 500 meters. I felt pity for my sweetie. At one of such stretches I saw a stupid who did not anticipate severity of the bad road & entered at speed only to screw his suspension. Realizing this he tried to slow down but since not all four wheels were on ground, car became little out of control. Nothing bad happened & he managed to control it. He must have learnt a good lesson.
At around 4, before Kashedi I saw a truck full of some hazardous chemical had toppled in the road blocking all traffic. Police & a crane was in action. After seeing me, a traffic police signaled me to come forward. I got scared since I had KA registration bike & thought he would ask money. To my surprise, when I came close, he said you can go ahead :D. I was happy.
There is a check post at a place where Kashedi ghat ends, I stopped there for some snacks. It was 4:30 then. There I met up with a bunch of oldies. They were excited to see me on my bike with luggage travelling alone. They enquired about me less & bike more. One of them went on praising my bike leaving me blushing. All the while, whenever I halted, I used to pour some water on petrol tank to keep it cool.
I started worrying now as it was 4:30 & I was still at Kashedi. I had good 200 kms of distance to cover that too on NH17 which is single lane where driving in night becomes difficult & dangerous. I became a little careless about bike & started revving her hard. I reached Indapur at 5.30. I became little reckless & was trying to overtake anything that came across until one swift came. It was driven by a doctor as it had red cross on it. But, he was driving like a crazy man.
I could not over take him but then at least kept up with him. This crazy driver should be called lucky as once while overtaking a nasty bus driver who would not give him side, he almost had a head on collision. Courtesy to a truck driver coming from opposite side who stopped his vehicle to save doctor’s a$$. I left following him up as I loved my life more than my ego.
It had become dark now & glare from oncoming traffic made it very difficult to ride at fast speeds. To top it, there were many bad stretches on road. As I started nearing Pen, traffic increased significantly. I was getting more and more frustrated because of traffic, but urge of reaching home was making me restless. I then used old trick of following a 4 wheeler car blindly. Though you completely depend on him, risk decreases as you don’t have to find your way out in glares. Just follow car’s tail light & keep safe distance to judge pot holes.
Finally, having lost in Panvel once & getting stuck in heavy traffic near Ghansoli, I reached my place at 10 in the night. When I entered chawl with my bike people were curious to know where the bike stops as I was wearing helmet. My dad was sitting outside As he usually does when he finishes his dinner. When I finally stopped near him, even he failed to understand who I am & why did I stop bike there. All the while I got his angry expressions. I was scared & though he might greet me with a tight slap. But as I removed my helmet i saw a smile on his face & I thanked god for saving me.
Everybody at my home was surprised, or rather shocked to see me on my bike. Only person who was excited was my younger brother who suddenly took charge of bike and did some quick photo shoot. My goal of surprising my family was successful. I got a nice dose of philosophy later from many of my relatives, especially whom I had duped in Malwan, who went to find best train timings for me.
This ride was indeed one crazy ride. It taught me many things. One that tops the list is, my bike is absolute beauty. She took big pot holes at high speeds, she leaned on curves with a big bag tied on rear seat, she climbed hills without having to shift down & many more. I always loved my bike, but after this trip, it has transformed into a divine thing now.
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