First view of the sunrays from behind the peaks

You know you are in the right place when you open the door of your room to something like this. The efforts to reach the place from where you can soak up a vision like this, is nothing compared  to the vision. The Destination arrived early, too early infact, but hey what the hell! This is what we came here for right?

After two days of non-stop riding, Catching the sun rise from behind the peaks just takes “experience” to another level. So we walk down to the restaurant in the bus stand ( where two buses come in a day) amidst admiring glances and “delhi se?, on a bike?” questions. The breakfast was going to be the start of an awesome time that Bugyal Restaurant and its owner and trekker Beeru was about to make sure we would have for the next two days. Done with breakfast, coffee (delicious) and conversation, we decided to head out to the route to jauljibi which is a town on the western border of Nepal. Some 20km down the road at a place called Madhkot, there exists a hot spring. And yes, I love hot springs, especially in cold mountains.. So we pack all the stuff that a bath in the mountains need and head out.

The route marked in red to jauljibi.. and the yellow star's where u stop "madhkot"

The roads were broken,as indicated by the map, and was punctuated by beautiful metal bridges that had new ones being built by the side, almost an off road route. As we descended from Munsiyari, about 10km past our base camp appeared the majestic Gori Ganga.. and we could not resist the urge to take to her banks ..

Our machines on the banks of the gori ganga..

Goddess where she belongs..

Madhkot appeared in another 10km, and after several doubt clearing sessions with locals about ‘garam paani ka jharna’ we finally find it!

The first signs was a thin trail of water flowing towards the river, but which hosted thick yellow algae.  Not the cleanest of environs. But yes, the hot spring did exist, and it was hot! The water flowing out of three pipes made to help bathing easier, was sparkling in the sunlight.. and sitting under the water that smelt of sulphur (like any hot spring) was washing away the fatigue of the ride. Two and a half hours spent under the hot steaming shower, was probably the best Spa session anyone could ever have.. especially with cold winds hitting ones’ bare body and a quick quenching dip in the nearby, ice cold Gori ganga.. I have been naked in the wilderness before, but not for so long.. nope

The sparkling waters of madhkot.. and hot!

As we reached Bugyal restaurant which was now our base camp of sorts, we were refreshed and ready for another adventure.. but first this had to wrapped up right? So lunch done, we head to the Nanda Devi temple and the meadow.. from where one gets an unobstructed view of the Panchchuli peaks and a bird’s eyeview of the Gori Ganga.. Fires raging in the nearby hills had the place in haze, but yes.. watching the sun set the snow ablaze, even through the hazy air, is an experience that one cannot explain..

One of those "what next" discussions, map on the table, notes being made

Walkway to the nanda devi temple.. and the meadow beyond..Panchchulis in the backdrop

peaks at sunset .. still hazy

As we wrapped up the day’s exploration, a decision was made to not head back the next day, but stay and be lazy in Munsiyari.. just be lazy.. but lazy was about to be redefined the next day..

Next – Day 4 Mesar Kund Hike.. A demon’s lake, cattle and a bush full of honey..

Almora is a great place for rest, and that, is all I would say about it.. The sunrise witnessed, at about 7.30 we packed our saddle bags, geared up and rode out of  hotel shikhar as Harsh and Aarti, a few kilometers away at Binsar, were heading back our way.

The Day’s route map..

View Larger Map

So this was going to be an early morning traveller meetup in the mountains. Almost sounding like a regular weekend for us folks when in Delhi. A few confusing turns and wrong waiting points later, Sagar and I jumped with joy as Kiyang (The Safari 4×4 that Harsh n Aarti drive) apparated from a descending road and halted near us on the edge of the road. It was almost magic as in the empty landscape with nothing but two bikers, the tour destined SUV just appeared from nowhere!

We exchanged notes, had some chips, re-hydrated and suggested alternate routes to each other and got ready to pack off as Aarti reversed the Kiyang on the curve. A passing Mahindra Bolero packed a few jaws hanging open as she turned around the Safari and harsh got on to the pillion’s job.

The Safari left for Delhi as we revved to Munsiyari. Both late, 9 am..

The high altitude meetup

Almora- to Baageshwar

The Ride was probably the most boring off the mountain stretches. Easy curves and characterless hills..partially dry vegetation and a rather dry Saryu flowing by. We got into the busy town of baageshwar by noon and had a very filling lunch of some Delicious Dal-Roti. We were both feeling tired and worn out thanks to forgetting to have breakfast. Never a good idea when you are out riding. Always, always hydrate and fill up urself. Energy is very important.

Almora to Baageshwar

I also tweeted about my doubts about reaching Munsiyari. But the 45 minute long break at baageshwar did wonders as I could feel the food work its way through me and charge me up. And yes, more important was the fact that as we left Baageshwar, the world changed around us. As we tanked up at the petrol pump and left the bustling town, the colors around the road changed from green to red. The road changed from grey to pitch black with white markings and the curves were elaborate, thrilling and engaging. Now we were riding!!

Paradise begins after udiyari bend

We crossed udiyari bend headed towards thal. The world was changing colors around! Luscious fields appeared around curves, lonely trees standing guard, furry mountains dogs rolling in the slops.. thorny bushes with pink flowers on the kerbs, the occasional purple tree..

We reached thal, crossed the Ram Ganga and took a short tea break.
Tired physically but energized in spirit. We started along the Ram Ganga for the last 70km to our destination.. Munsiyari

The last leg from thal begins

55 km of sharp curves and steep climbs was going to take us to the highest point on our trip. The kalamuni top, at a measely 2700m above sea level. But 35 km before the final climb began, we were stopped on the road by a spectacle.. The water fall of Vrithi.. As water made its way down rocks into the Ram Ganga, I stretched myself, We had mountains to cross.

Something happened to me in the last 20 kilometers to Kalamuni Top. I could not read my speed as my Speedo had given up half way. But I was fast, faster than safe limits on a thin road snaking its way through some of the most breathtaking scenery you could ever witness. Honestly, I was not even checking to see if Sagar was behind me.. yea, got carried away.

Note to self: Don’t get carried away, thank you..

Kalamuni top was clean, with a little pink temple on top and a road marker that said 2700m.

The boys at Kalamunitop..

oh wait the boys are here..

And from behind the marking, I heard Sagar exclaim.. “You need to be here” ..

And that moment defined the rest of the trip.

From behind the haze, lit up in flaming orange by the setting sun, caressed by clouds rose spectacular peaks of  the formidable himalayas.. The unobstructed view of which is what munsiyari is famous for.
We were in the land of magic..where Rhododendron blooms change from blood red to pink and then to white as the altitude rises.. What a shame there wasn’t enough light to click a good picture..

Sunlit snow!

15 Km to Munsiyari..

It always shakes me up, the power of nature to move me from the core.. and overwhelm me enough to make sure tears do well up.. everytime I am around untouched, sharp like a knife, powerful, beauty.. of nature..

And we arrive, after 15 kilometers of breathtaking, soul stirring, raw beauty, through the dusk..with snow clad peaks showing us the way.. We check into a backpacker lodge called Dev bhumi, and stretch..

The ride, had only begun..

Next – Exploring Munsiyari, and laziness..

Confession: that statement above totally applies to me.

The idea for a vacation was by my roomie @nitinsgr. He wanted a week off from Delhi, and for the above mentioned reasons, so did I. The destination however was still a work in progress until my other mountain maniac friends harsh and @hvbombs and aarti @aartidayal suggested we do the Kumaon circuit, and dropped the almost mystical sounding name that set the mood for the trip

“Munsiyari”

With a name so hauntingly simple that it means ‘A place with snow’, I knew it could only be magical. And I have a thing for names, of places and people.It sounded right.. like Gushaini, like Hundar, like Thiksey, like Sonmarg, like Narkanda …like Jaisalmer someday..

The sparkle in Aarti’s eyes and the enthusiasm in harsh’s voice when they talked about their Honeymoon drive to Munsiyari, were probably what made me decide that this is it! Research started two weeks in advance as Sagar and I foraged the internet and Harsh and Aarti’s heads for all the info we could gather about the route and the place. The results were good, the route promised to be spectacular and picturesque. And as this was sagar’s maiden ride to the mountains, we also were a lot more intense in our preparations. Also managed to buy some safety gear in the form of knee and elbow guards as my mom’s words as I left home this december was clearly audible in my head

“The next time you guys go on a long ride, make sure you have some knee pads and elbow guards in place” .

That insight of course came after my spectacular crash with vishwas on the pillion seat, in which I managed to semi wreck his 500, him and me..on the day of christmas.

So with Himachal and Jammu and kashmir under my belt, Uttarakhand was an experience I was yet to have and heading out was the only thing left to do now.. With saddlebag and backpacks packed, safety gear set, we slept the night of saturday peacefully, and Sunday morning by seven, delayed by an hour, we left our apartment with a view and headed out highway bound. Awaiting us, was some great breakfast at @nitinsgr’s home in Moradabad. Freshened up by some great food and with dinner packed, we headed out for Almora by 11.45.

Packed and ready to go..

Day 1: Route – Delhi Almora via Moradabad, kaladhungi, nainital and kakrighat

View Larger Map

We had already decided against taking the highway to Almora via haldwani as through kaladhungi and via nainital there existed a route that was more scenic and shorter. It was hot in the plains, and the climb started barely 30km ahead of Nainital. I breathed a sigh of relief as we were finally in the hills, finally.. With two breaks, one forced by an overheated Enfield Engine, we reached nainital by 3.30.

The ride to Nainital was great to say the least. Roads winding through some breathtaking scenery (though nothing compared to what we were about to witness in the next few days) and the surfacing, flawless. Though the hill station itself was a let down as it looked over populated with ‘tourist types’ and was like, say Delhi, with a lake in connaught place in feel.

Just before nainital..another tal.. small but pretty

A quick break to cool down my over heated Goddess

In the mountains, big is small.. look at how puny our bikes are..

We took a short tea break and headed out to Almora via Kakrighat. A 62 km road which was non-mainstream again, but very scenic and highly recommended. The ride continued to be exciting as the roads wound their way through places each prettier than the one before, and by about 6pm we were in the town of Almora, overlooking a pretty valley dotted with small building and very much a bustling town in itself.

On the way to Almora

We started scrambling around for accomodation as we missed the KMVN and headed ahead, then we figured we had left it behind and reversed our way snaking our way through hundreds of young boys in college clothes, back to the KMVN. We were in for a disappointment as KMVN was full. And as the receptionist put it,

“Bengali season had started!”

Alright! that is a new term.. one which we would be hearing a lot more often in the hills..

So we watched the sun set, and checked ourselves into Hotel Shikhar after trying out two more hotels on the way, Konark and Him Sagar. And how glad I am now looking back that there were no rooms in those places. The room in Shikhar was simply amazing, reminded me of Dharma Guest house in upper Vashisht, manali. Only without thout the snow capped peaks to look at. And for 900 bucks a night, it was quite a steal.

View from the Balcony of Shikhar Hotel

Crawling under our Rajai’s after munching on pooris packed for us by Nitin’s mom and tired from a ride of approx 370 km in the day, we reminded each other.

“The ride starts tomorrow”

Next – Day2 Almora to Munsiyari.. breathtaking has a new meaning..

Our highways and village roads have always given, and still continue to give, us ample opportunities to hone our non-tarmac skills, with broken patches, potholes aplenty and loose gravel where you least expect it. But then there are some places with that right amount of terrain undulations, little water bodies, rocks and climbs that a vehicle and a rider/driver can enjoy if willing to let your vehicle take a neat beating..

Dhauj is one such place.

Located just 34 km from Andheria mod (Mehrauli-Gurgaon road) and 24km or so from Sohna, dhauj offers that brilliant combination of solitude, and imposing terrain with that- detached from the rest of the world- feeling that is absolutely essential if a place has to cause a blip on my radar for a ride out weekend.

The route..

The discovery was by Harsh and Aarti .. The couple who never miss a chance to hit the road be it circling spiti or exploring the kumaon. The reason? the new addition the the family – Kiyang.. named after the tibetan wild ass.. it’s their spanking new safari 4×4 which was obviously getting bored of delhi streets and was in need of some challenge. So after a few hours of planning which crystallized the abstract idea we had about Dhauj, we set out on a saturday.

As we discovered hidden village roads to our target location, I was enjoying my new role of piloting a safari! Now trust me on this, looking out for a massive car on ur rear view mirror is much easier than looking out for fellow bikers. And we rallied ahead with Goddess thumping and the safari growling. A couple of wrong turns, broken roads and villages later, with more than off road quality to the roads we were on, we reached Camp Wild at Dhauj.  And then.. we crossed over to the other side.

All it took, was a turn.. for the road to turn into a sand trail and for small a rocky hilly terrain to rise in front of us. A sandy path led us to a landscape with walls of rock, dry greenery and a little lake..We stopped and screamed with the happiness that only a rider/driver would understand.. we had under the shoes of our beasts, one veteran and one future road warrior, exactly what we hoped to find!!

Dhauj Terrain

I moved ahead and found a track that could take the Safari into the lake basin. The 4×4 easily made its way down and then up two steep climbs and we were ready to play! Child like enthusiasm unleashed, we played with our respective vehicles over fun terrain, parked them next to a water body and went clicking like crazy.

By the lake bed

Goddess of rocks

Half an hour later, exhausted off ideas to click our vehicles in, Aarti took the wheel and we set out to even more challenging terrain in the vicinity. More happy sounds emanated as we discovered this route to a stone crusher..some 400 meters of 20 – 30 degree climb with nothing but boulders and loose rock to rest rubber on. Kiyang switched to 4×4 and I shifted mental gears as the two vehicles pranced and danced their way up.

I could watch the Safari making its way up through the harsh path as if it was soft tarmac. and Harsh was hanging out of the left window clicking me as Goddess was climbing up the slope like a mountain goat chased.. and frankly I needed this. I needed to feel the wheel slip under me enough times to make sure that the lump in my throat that was forming every time the bullet slid a bit on a cut on the road these days ( an obvious result of the high speed crash that happened on christmas day..and Vishwas my riding buddy would know exactly what I am talking about..) that “oh not again” feeling..

Dhauj as seen from the top..

As the lump cleared and we reached the top, awaiting us, was the most breathtaking sunset this season..

The beasts on the top.. includes harsh

Sunset it is..

The three of us and our rides were parked on top of a cliff that cut straight down to a road that was visible as a 2cm thick path. The shooting session commenced again. As the sun went down, we decided to and made our way back to camp wild to soothe our parched throats with some water. A few minutes of rest and we started back towards Delhi through the route that we should have taken on our way up, and to surprise us, there were two massive hairpins that took us straight to the top on the hills! Now that is what one calls exceeding expectations..and as I felt all proud etc about the smooth climb up, a hero Honda passion with three kids just went down the hairpin..and the pride, was put to rest.

In fact the same has happened to me while crossing khardungla. Here I am standing proud that I have crossed it thrice, and a guy carrying cargo crosses over with a CT 100. He does it every week. Such unwanted pride we let ourselves bask in!

One man’s adventure is another man’s boring routine..

But the return ride, in true Goddess fashion, was going to be a bigger adventure than what we expected it to be.. but that.. is worth another post

Frankly .. no great shakes.. but the guys who did the trip campaign deserve an applause any which way..

So roomie @nitinsgr and I decided to venture out for a short trip at midnight, after a home movie session and inspired by the weather that would make any biker want to just get out and feel the road. Our initial plan was to cover the ring road.. but after watching the mayhem of trucks on the ring road well past midnight, we decided to take the right turn into Chankyapuri from under the Moti bagh flyover. And boy what a decision it was.. we all know that Chanakyapuri is one of the most beautiful parts of Delhi, and at night it just turns on the magic several notches up.

By the time we reached Connaught place after falling in love with Delhi a few hundred times over it was drizzling! The point at which one has to thank the weather gods for knowing exactly what one wants out of a ride. We decided to take a break at the only midnight place to be in Delhi. Panditji’s paan place outside Claridges.. It was raining by this time.

Standing by the golden yellow vapor lit roads, under heavy drizzle..I think  just re-discovered why this city really means to me.. and I tweeted

“Dilli shehar nahi, ek shauk hai”

Well what more do I say? wet and energized from the short about 40km spin through empty, tree lined city.. I hit the sack curled up like a baby.. Another day lived, the way I wanted..

Here is the route we took

View Larger Map

Try it some day.. before summers hit.

My Royal Enfield Electra that is, as you already know. fondly called Goddess. She climbs mountains like a goat, gallops when the temperature dips to near zero, and munches on highways as if it’s chocolate. She has been getting my uninterrupted attention for the three years of her life.. And then she met a pretty girl .. and decided to, ahem “unfriend’ me.. these chicks I tell you

Let me introduce the second heroine of this story. Aparna .. (@aparnaandhare). She  is a rockstar in her own right. She rides a Royal Enfield in Mumbai, is probably as comfortable behind the camera as she is in front of it, and yea jumps into most things that scare the bejeeses out of most people. Especially those Giant wheel, Columbus kinda things.

This is her show at the Mahindra Great Escape..

So while @aparnaandhare was in the mountains for a wedding, we decided to take the bullet out for a short ride out of Delhi.. Neemrana was decided for the ease of reach and the fact that we could go and come back in a day

The night before saw fog thick enough to prevent one from walking, let alone riding. So the next days early morning start was looking bleak, but we planned for it anyway. As we could not get another bike for aparna, we decided to share Goddess.  And at 7 am in the morning, delhi was under a white carpet of fog as I set out to pick the lady up frm her JNU residence. She was waiting, alpinestars donned, camera and tripod in hand. And we start…

Two more riders joined us from Mahipalpur and three bullets set out for a journey that was not going to end this smoothly..

Aparna took the reins from mahipalpur till the first break. About 60km through crazy truck traffic on the Jaipur expressway. Me sitting pillion, (not the best place to be for a touring biker) half anxious, half impressed with the pretty lady’s exceptional riding skills. I heard her Mumbai sense of traffic screaming WTF? as cars overtook us from the left, trucks swerved and switched lanes at high speed, and cows crossed us with no concern whatsoever. By now, I was getting used to sitting behind a lady rider.. enjoying the attention she was getting from passing cars who realized that the bullet that just zoomed ahead was in the hands of a girl, complete with mehndi on her hands..

looking over th rider's shoulder

The sun came out shining, and it was one easy ride till Neemrana. With no fog, it could have been done in about 2.1/2 hrs or so.. We reached the fort. I had to beg and plead for a chance to ride as Goddess got comfy with her new rider and vice versa. reaching fort Neemrana was a disappointment. The fort was nondescript to say the most. So the three bullets decide  to go to the bauli nearby.. and click some pictures. The terrain was getting challenging now, and a bad patch of slush with water filled in it. I step out to watch as Aparna gracefully steered Goddess through.. gracefully..

I walk across and land up at the bouli. With bystanders going into mild shock as the rider of the bullet took of her helmet and did that thing girls do with their hair..And I smile.

So Aparna ,Vikas(The vintage bullet guy with a penchant for really really sexy old machines), Rohit(Retired something, but diver, rider, photographer..), Vinod(Another Shutter maniac) and I spend time at the bouli trying group pics like this..

the gang

Inside the Neemrana bouli

Then we set back .. and Vikas takes us to this restoration place – AMI Impex at Shahjanpur where legends of yester years wait to be brought back to life.. BSAs Harleys and Hondas with rich history behind.. We leave after an hour of drooling over aged rusted metal,

metal metal metal

vintage harley

The royal Enfield Legend: The flying flea.. world war II veteran

After filling up our two wheel crazy brains with rusted metal shots..and some tea later. aparna refuses to giv me the bike to ride and we head out to dharuhera crossing beyond which we stop for a late lunch at Prem da dhaba.

I grab the keys back .. now it is my turn to ride… And begins the most interesting part of the trip!

And we reach Mansear, slow down to let traffic pass near IMT and Goddess screeches to a halt. dead still.. I kicked her back to life and she did, only the wheel refused to budge!

Real wheel stuck, and refusing to move and inch! With the help of the passerby, we push the bike to the shoulder and park ourselves by the railing. Time to think! Our co-riders have sped away and were supposed to be meeting us at a point ahead. The sun was looking tired, and about to set..

As I pulled out my spanner, I called Vishwas (@vishwasma ) as usual.. the first call when my bullet hitches goes to him. And we discuss what could be wrong. He suggests I take out the rear wheel and unjam the brake after consulting with gurunandan.. and I sit down to remove the wheel..

and then I see the hell that happened at the hub!

The chain stay bolt had broken. The hub had thn spun anticlockwise by about 30 degrees and the chainstay bolt’s cut face was glowing bright in the dim light.. The brake lever was up an inch from where it shud have been, with the brake link sitting right in front of the rear axle. There was no point in opening her up now.. it was beyond what I could have fixed. While I think of solutions, Aparna calls up Royal Enfield Service to know if anyone can help.. my battery was down by now and phone dead.. Wah! Murphy in full form..!

Of course, It is NCR and nobody is doing on road service.. do they? I dunno!. So option number z to be exercised. Flag down a tempo.
(now trust me on this one. I am a master of tempoing/trucking/train loading bullets by now , Vishwas is too ) So loaded Goddess, and Aparna decides to join her on the back!and  pulls out her ipod .. By now Vikas has called and arranged for a workshop at 32nd milestone, which we reach almost after an hour.. 20km!

So at 32nd milestone, while we fix goddess Vikas takes us to this coolest bike place where Rd350s are being restores in hordes. @aparnaandhare test rides one and loves it.. and we sit and chat endlesslesly about bikes, cars and mountains. By Now Goddess is back to life, I try her out, and we set out.. making plans to halt at a relatives place for a drink and dinner.. but plans are well, just plans

Plans go down the drain again.. as less than 20km down the road, at the Gurgaon toll plaza, as I move into the bike lane.. Goddess stalls again.

Exact same exact same problem! This time, the hub was in better shape, probably because it had stalled at a slower speed. With mad traffic trying to almost run into the toll plaza. Again, with the help of a passerby, I push Goddess off to the shoulder. By now I was losing patience.. and rider or no rider, a girl traveling with you deserves a better end to a day than hauling bikes around in tempos.. So backslaping biker buddiness was thrown out of the window, an empty meru cab was flagged down and @aparnaandhare sent to her jiju’s place without her consent.. (sorry again, little old fashioned.. only little) while I, phone less waited by the road for the next tempo.

One comes along in half an hour and refuses to go, then comes a other and another.. and i decide to probably sleep by the bike if needed.. ad the last ray of hope pops up in about another 15 minutes.. they agree to carry me and the bullet and I take her straight home.. where she is still parked, waiting for me to be free enough to take care of her.. Goddess deserves a little punishment for treating a girl badly, and yeah.. @aparnaandhare’s theory that Goddess likes her better and didn’t want to ride with me anymore stands ..
(girls always win don’t they biker or not)

But yea, what would have that ride been without all this? what is a trip without a snag? and who knows best but a bulleteer.. and no matter how pretty or manicured, a girl who calls herself a bulleteer is sure to know this too, first hand this time.. So cheers @aparnaandhare.. looking forward to seeing your liz (A royal enfield electra 5s) and riding alongside with Goddess, some day .. The bullets might like each other’s company..

but I still think @aparnaandhare’s bullet is a guy ..

And seeing how much of enfield gyan Vishu has gained from Guru Nandan and how much of his writing style actually fits the bullet blogger mould.. I had to blog this for you.

And also helps that @vishwasma is way too lazy to do any such thing as a blog..

Read on ..
——————————

Hey Peter,

Thought the White sticky oil needed more description for one to truly understand what was happening.

There sits a black cylindrical box underneath the seat called the breather box. It’s function – to collect excess oil that sometimes spills out from the crank as the piston pushes down and in some cases/models put it back into the engine through the timing case.

If the oil leaking of the air filter is More whitish, gluey that oily and is not very persistent/continuous – You have just returned from a ride where you accelerated to hard (chasing cars? climbing mountains?). The input to the Box was greater than it could handle and hence the overflow. Not really mission critical.It will stop with time, air filter is the only guy really threatened. If you are very particular, you could get the breather box cleaned/emptied. No personal experience with this, i have just let it run.
(The whiteness Of the oil is a reaction of hot oil with Air and vapor!!)

If the oil leaking of the air filter is More oily and less white (more red/black) – It could be trouble. Yours is one of the those bikes in which the breather box was suppose to put the oil back into the engine through the timing case. This is a highly experimental concept at Royal Enfield.

(Ok, if you are not dead of boredom already, wake up, below text requires concentration and imagination)

Inside the timing case the washer (a tiny roundish blue-black fellow) I was talking about exists. The function of this washer is to stop the oil pump (that circulates the oil) from creating enough pressure so that fresh oil from your oil slump (where you put the oil) is NOT sent back into the breather box (through the path which was suppose to bring in the excess oil collected in the breather box into the timing case !!).

If the washer is conked, the oil pump will continuously pump oil into the breather box and cause a continuous splurge of oil out of the breather, into the air filter and onto the silencer. As the oil burns on the silencer, you will look like a smoke machine.
This does not stop with time. You risk low oil levels.

The timing cover is the right hand ride of the bike (see attached photo). Please don’t get too adventurous with it. It best to leave it to a Mechanic.

If you figure that the cause was something other than either of the 2 mentioned, please let me know. Lot to learn!!

Regards,
Vishwas

—————

Polka dots for company for this racy Enfield

Check it out from all sides. Will it hit the market? The executives say 2012. And is a definite foreign market release like the classic was

Check the front fenders

Great sporty looks..

I love it.. what do you think? But still I think it will not work well if released in India..somehow

“Fuck, punc..”

7.20am

The 500AVL slid to the right for half a second, as she lost speed from a steady 100kmph, in a futile last attempt to steady her I wrestled her to the left of the road and slammed the brakes. She lifted the front wheel a bit

“..ture”

and we hit the ground.

The crashguard landed first, my hands still on the handlebar. The massive enfield 500 with its enhanced 22 litre tank that held about 20 liters of petrol fell on its right.Then, it started to slide on the road on its side, carrying massive momentum with it. I felt an excruciating pain on my back as my thick cotton fabric belt took my weight. My left arm lost grip of the fallen bike which stopped sliding and my body slid about 2 meters ahead of where the bike stopped. The helmet slid off my face once I stopped moving. And as it left, dragged my pair of spectacles with it, I cud feel a burn on my left cheek.

I got up the moment I stopped moving. And looked out for @vishwasma who was pillion to me on his beloved 500. He was seated on the ground. His face had a few drops of blood and he was sitting upright on the road. I looked out for oncoming traffic and there was none. Vishwas got up on his feet.. First words came out of my mouth without any effort

“Dude how bad?”

“Quite”

“You are bleeding from your nose”

And I realized I was too. Relieved that we were both better off than we could have been after what just happened. Got on our feet and went about our business of dealing with crashed. crashes, which as experienced tourers, are trained to deal with..

I checked myself for damage. My face had a fancy cut on the left cheek. Almost looked good. (See where my focus lies) My jacket was torn on the right elbow. And as I took it off, my left shoulder hurt. I could see my right and left elbows had a few inches of skin missing and they were dripping blood. My jeans was torn at the right knee, and revealed another large wound dripping a few drops more blood than my elbows protected by my tough corduroys. (My leather riding jacket was in Delhi.. will talk about this further down) ..
The little finger on my right palm bled too, and the nail was scratched. I found my spectacles crashed on the ground near my metal belt buckle that had given up..My abdomen had scratches from the belt as i was dragged on the ground before the buckle gave away.

Vishwas was already cleaning his knee wound with water. His Cramsters had kept his upper body safe. I followed suit and cleaned up my wounds. Wiped off with cotton and applied antiseptic powder from our first aid box..

Then happened a six sigma operation as Vishwas says!

8.00 am

The bike is up on two wheels, the luggage is taken off. A transporter rickshaw stopped on the way and the bullet loaded.

8.20 am

The bullet arrives at Trissur railway station. The porters are the first to catch hold off in any such event, give them the money, the petrol in the tank, and the bike loads in no time.

8.45 am

Picked up a taxi from trissur station as Vishwas completes the formalities to send the bike back to bangalore

9.10 am

The bike is packed, payment made. The head porter paid and reminded to load it and that the petrol is a gift for them.

9.30 am

Luggage and us loaded in the taxi, and we head towards a hospital

9.45 am

Arrive at hospital, clean wounds, apply dressings, take X-Ray, walk around the hospital in my underwear paying bills and getting medicines. Get a go ahead

10.40 am

hit the road home like this

Red and White Christmas

And that was what my christmas day was like in 2009!! Red and white!!

There are a few things that we learned (As usual) from this crash..

1. Safety gear is most important as we tour. My jacket was not a riding jacket, it would have saved more skin. The helmets did, though Vishwas was wearing my

2. Neither Vishwas nor I had a good feeling about this when we started. We are deep planners, and this was an unplanned trip. NEVER go unplanned if you are the planning kind. And always, always listen to your gut

3. Nerve is all you have when you are faced with a crash. Presence of mind is absolutely critical. One needs to deal with crashes with clinical precision.. Emotions are not allowed in a battle zone

4. Something is there to watch over the two of us.. we have battled it out with roads in the most hostile of places.. I have felt the force field around, more than once..

5. You are safest on your own steed when on a long ride. You know your bike inside out, and that makes a big difference in catching the signals your bikes send your way…

So guys be safe as Vishwas and I have literally ended 2009 with a bang! truly fitting to a biker

……………………………………………………………………..

PS: We grabbed our vacation back from the disaster. Including a trip to varkala after two days of rest. And the day before Vishwas left for home mom decides to give some gyan

“You guys should get knee protection before your next big trip”

I Couldn’t have summarized it better

May 2010 be safer!! Enjoyyy