[Bullet-O-Logue] Reminiscing 2012

Mumbai to Jawahar (330 km)

24th November - 25th November, 2012

This was the first trip with another bulleteer, Eby. Going together on a bullet-ride was one of the things that we had always talked about during the numerous night-outs in Mumbai. So there was very little hesitation when he suggested for a trip. The place was the primary issue and after some hours of googling Jawahar was the destination. We had decided to go via Bhiwandi-Wada-Jawahar. Although, the ride till Bhiwandi was chequered with the container traffic, the ride post-Bhiwandi, was what we were looking for. We did goof-up on the route after Wada, yet the goof-up made the ride more memorable. The night dawned on us faster than we expected and we were half-way when we realized our goof-up. There were two options, going back and taking the shorter route which would still be shorter or go along the longer path. Eventually we decided to go ahead on the longer route. The village road soon gave way to jungle road sending our spirits soaring. The creeping fear on a deserted route and unforgiving curves created the high that we had wanted when we embarked on the journey. Moreover, the full-moon basking the entire landscape like a transparent cloth made us sit-up and admire the black and white landscape around us. It was like the assurance from the universe that we were safe. The pic below is the proof of that assurance.

We did reached our destination by 9 in the night and finding a place to stay never posed a difficulty as people from Jawahar helped us in every way they could. On the return, we started for NH-8 as Bhiwandi container traffic was too much to handle for us. Fortunately, for us, the moment we reached NH-8, we almost flew through to Mumbai. But we did miss those turns on the lonely dark road and the quiet assurance from the universe big time.

Mumbai to Bhandardhara (280 km)

7th October, 2012

This was the first weekend after getting the bullet and the enthusiasm still has not ebbed. Not a solo ride this time. Had bro for company. The place is famous for Wilson's dam and waterfalls. However, monsoon was way past and very little water was seen from the waterfall. From Mumbai-Nashik highway, we had to take a diversion near village call Ghoti  to reach Bhandardhara. But here was the first bike issue that I encountered. The tube carrying petrol to the engine had become loose leaking petrol all over my jeans. Fortunately for us, the bike, stopped right in front of a garage and we could get it fixed immediately. This happened right after we turned towards Ghoti. The return was uneventful but the thought of another bike breakdown did hung on our minds till we reached home.

 
 Mumbai to Ahmedabad (1260 km)

30th September, 2012 - 2nd October, 2012

The First Thousand

The day you get a bullet, you just want to ride, ride and ride. This feeling was the cause of this solo ride to Ahmedabad throughout which I could not exceed 50kmph. It was the first ride and later realized was mighty lucky to complete it without any hiccups. Started early 4.30 AM and reached home 6.30 PM. The sole companion during the ride was the ipod and those huge containers. The absolutely smooth NH-8 made things easier. The best part of the ride was the numerous thumbs-up for the bike from other travellers. Moreover, from Baroda to Ahmedabad section brought back the memories of college days as all the kitli (tea-stalls) were covered in this section in fond rememberance of those days.

The ride ensured the first 500 km was achieved very quickly and so bike was in garage for servicing the next day itself. It still had to complete the remaining part of journey. The return too was pretty much uneventful except for the rainy welcome that started from Charoti. Another 13 hours of solo ride.  

Sunset on NH-8