Section 2: The Journey > Chapter 2: Two hundred miles and counting...

May 29th / May 30th

11 ticks on the clock into the Prime Meridian. National Highway (NH) 8 crawls beneath us. Spiderweb, Motorbreath, I, in that order. Trucks, Lorries, monster vehicles defying definition, loaded to the brim rumble on beside us; their sheer size summarily mocking our own. Dirt tracks and pot-holes caress our wheels as I utter a silent prayer for the fork seals. "This is just the beginning", I think to myself.

Motobreath's brake-lights overwhelm my visual cortex at every opportunity; arguably very useful on city streets; a stumper on our chosen journey. On the advice of a confidant, I must tail him for the rest of the journey. "Keep Motorbreath in your sight. He might not be able to keep pace with Spiderweb and you." is what I was made to believe. And so, follow I must. And follow I will for the rest of the journey, with a few notable exceptions.

We seem to be riding at a steady pace. I'm thirsty but I dare not stop for fear of being left behind. "What if I do get left behind...what if...", I don't finish the thought. Indicator lights go off. Spiderweb banks left, rides into a small compound. Motorbreath follows. I do the obvious. Hotel Aaram - Pure Veg. I reckon they spent a full five seconds on brainstorming the name. I reckon they spent fewer still on the decor. "Pure Veg" annoys me for I am anything but pure. The tag will haunt us for many miles to come.

A few clicks. Blurry and unimpressive. Nevertheless, more than words...

Left to right: Motorbreath, Spiderweb

 Facebook update: 110 kms complete! Late dinner (daal roti) n off we go!
 30 May at 01:11 via Text message
 

 Gopinath PS
  good riding man :)
  30 May at 01:30

  Dinesh Samtani
  ya man...good riding...
  30 May at 01:58

  Winsey Varghese
  GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  30 May at 02:10

  Satyen Poojary
  Not bad! Its a journey not a race, remember that and have fun!
  30 May at 02:29

  Sujan Shetty
  good keep goin
  30 May at 10:05

  Honey Misra
  goog keep updating regularly then i dont have to torture d for info tc
  30 May at 19:17 

4 more ticks to the hour. Low visibility. Tired, sleepy eyes. 200 odd kilometers on the odometer. The roads metamorphosize from unbearable to the antithesis. Spiderweb promises us they will get better. We've bid adieu to Maharashtra several revs ago. I notice the transition only when we arrive at Chikhli, Gujarat. I reckon there were other indications to the fact; perhaps a toll both welcoming us into Gurjar-rashtra, gone unnoticed in my sleep-laden progress. I wonder if we've missed any scenic treats owing to the dark of the night. A return journey, several moons later, indicates that I have not. 

Borivali, Mumbai (my home) to Chikhli, Gujarat (~200 kms)

 Facebook update: Total 212 kms done! @chickli!
 30 May at 02:41 via Text message

 Anil Correa likes this.

 Satyen Poojary
 Go easy dude,
 30 May at 02:43

 Anirudh Khusape
 Hope you are feeling better :)
 30 May at 04:50

 Dinesh Samtani
 Cool......
 30 May at 07:07

 Sujan Shetty
 cool
 30 May at 10:10

 Rohit Upadhyay
 good..ride safe guys ;)
 30 May at 13:24 

Many miles slip away beneath us. Quizzical looks follow us across State boundaries. On more than one occassion, local riders - if I can indeed I can call them riders - in their helmetless avatar - attempt to impress their apparent biking superiority on us - a typical response to our outworldly appearance owing to our security gear and travel supplies. They attempt to overtake us and succeed cause we let them; they attempt to break our formation by injecting themselves into the riding hierarchy - but our intolerance to formation leakages causes us to quickly reclaim our space; they fall back, pretend to adjust their privates, and repeat the process to show us that they can do it not once, but many times over. Our security conscious culture prevents us from getting throttle-happy on the naive bastards. Several patient minutes later, most reach their destinations and leave us to our journey. Some strike conversations with Spiderweb, including one who passes on his visiting card while cruising at 100kmph. We can only laugh hysterically at their senseless display of bravado; we can only sympathize with their desperation to prove their worth to unknown, uncaring riders. We have nothing but mockery to offer to such mindlessness.

 Facebook update:  353 kms :-)
 30 May at 05:48 via Text message

 Satnam Singh Vohra and Vikram Pathak like this.

 Leena Sabharwal
 dheere chala.. wig udd jayega !!
 30 May at 21:37

A few more ticks to the small hand and...

L&T

Our babies; left to right: Motorbreaths Pulsar 200, my R15, Spiderwebs Karizma

Left to right: Spiderweb, me, Motorbreath

Me and my baby

...a welcome sunrise. A more than welcome break from riding for our collective butts are sore, our collective eyes weary and our collective minds the unmentionables. On the side of the positive, a metamorphosis of NH8 into a 6-lane highway makes it a perfect environment to flirt with the R15...