Last sunday I decided to go on a biking trip with the “Highway Nawabs” group. Armin had asked me to wake him up at 4.30 in the morning. I set my mobile to give me an alarm and as usual 4.30 came and went, the alarm rang and I kept denying its existence till Armin decided to wake me up :). After kicking the pillow,crashing back a couple of times and cursing myself for screwing up a cozy sunday morning I finally got up and got ready for the ride. I had made an unsuccessful attempt at getting hold of an enfield bullet the previous evenning and had to be content with my old Yamaha Fazer 125cc.
The majority of the group was at the meeting point near paradise by the time I reached. It was 5.45 am and we were still waiting for few other vehicles to join us. By 6.30 am we were ready for the launch. The vehicles revved up and we all started in a procession. The scene was nothing I had ever experienced in my life and being part of it made it even more special. The morning blues disappeared in jiffy and I realized the reason motorcycle riding is such a passion for the guys in the group.
The monsoon has come to hyderabad and the night before there was a good amount of rain. It has cleared up the skies for the day. Its amazing to see the hues that the sky takes during the change of season. Its magnificence can only be experienced during the dawn and the dusk. I was in the right place … doing the right thing at the right time to experience the artistry of nature.
A tiffin center near bhongir was our first stop. The whole group divided into the most natural formations. People who knew other people sat together. People who did not know anybody sat together and people who did not want to know anybody sat together as well :). I ordered for Vadas and a coffee. I was in for a gustatory delight. The vadas there were one of the most delicious I have savoured in my life. It only ranked next to a shoddy joint in Tirupati.
Everybody had their “tanks full” before we started on the next phase of our journey to Hanumakonda. The ride was almost 150 kms long and pleasant. We hit a few magnificent roadways, the greenery you miss when in city blossoms during the ride. The farther you get away, the nearer the beauty of the country side appears.
After 40 odd kms further and few enquiries for the way to pakaal lake we reached the magnificent water body with a small island at its heart. The approach road to the lake was the first of the rough tracks we hit. The group stopped for a while smoking , joking and poking around. You suddenly notice that every biker takes care of his bike like a baby. Their knowledge and understanding about the bike is fascinating and to understand the symptoms by just cursory examination and listening to the “sound” it makes is intriguing. I guess that comes to you naturally after you become a “biker”.
We started from the lake at 2 pm in the afternoon and decided to explore the surroundings of the lake hoping to find a stream that fed into the lake. So off we went onto the most challenging terrains of the journey. It almost seemed like a racing competition when the guys decided to put the vehicles to test on that track. I was amazed to see my Fazer not only keeping up to the other bikes but also allowing me the balance and stability at a high speed. Some of the enfields got into a few mechanical problems because of the rocks. The benefit of having a mechanic from the royal enfield showroom became obvious when he got us back on track by fixing the issues.
After a brief while searching for the stream we decided to call off the pursuit and return. It started raining by the time we reached Hanumakonda. We had a fiesty lunch at Hotel Kalinga and let the bikes bathe in the rain clearing the dust of the travel. The sun rose brilliantly clearing the skies of the remaining traces of the nimbus. By now my confidence on the fazer was soaring and I decided to zoom. The whole of my return I ended up doing 90 kph. I broke up from the rest of the crowd before I reached Uppal. The traffic jams seemed to be blurr with all the riding I had been doing the day. I breezed through it and was back home by 8.00 pm. The ride took almost 12 hrs.
The most painful part of the ride was not actually the part of it but after it. As much as home is sweet home … rest after such a ride show how your back and bum can get f..ked up without your knowledge. The revelation dawned on me when I sat on the sofa after the ride :D.