Never had i thought that i wud actually ride my bike for a trek or for that sake on rough roads. Cuz i am one of those ppl who care immensely abt their bikes and their well being. A scratch or a scar on my bike hurts me like nothing else. Infact, in an accident which involved me and my bike, i was more concerned to the damage that my bike had suffered. Fortunately and thankfully both of us got away with minor bruises. My bike was the first one to receive first aid and hence was shown its way to the service center. Got it shining in a matter of an hour and i dealt with my injuries later that day.
But anyway, i was convinced by my cousin to take my bike to this trek which we were set off to. Heavy rains, no knowledge about the road conditions and some sleeping bags to tie on the bike. I never was sure what was coming my bike's way.
So, 4 bikes, 7 members and the journey started with a good note. Not much rain and good road. Ofcourse i am talking in terms of my bike and yes it was good for me too. I had never rode on a wet road with rain slapping my face. The trek was to a place called "Maangad" off the Tamhini Ghat in the sahyadris and to another place called the Kumbh Falls on the Kumbhi river. Half the time i was thinking of the sufferings my bike wud be going thru anytime from now. We made occaisional stops for the much needed cup of tea and even more important nature's call.
The road until Maangad was pretty good and motorable, 80% of the road was in pretty good condition and then the ordeal started. The remaining 20% was a nightmare - the front telescopes hitting their maximum, loose soil - no, almost clay - where the bike wud seldom remain steady, put ur legs down to balance and ur foot wud be submerged into the mud-slush more than u expected it to. Landslide gravel, crater sized potholes and EMT (Extreme Mountain Terrain). This was the time i thot that i made a grave mistake getting my bike here. This journey continued for almost 10 kms. I got happy only when i got off the bike. After all this adventure we all had finally reached the destination. But my happiness was short-lived. The place where we parked our bikes was a landslide prone patch. One of the villagers said that this was the last place whr we could park our bikes. We had to park it anyway and prayed for them to be there the next mrng when we get back.
I was not all that happy with the way my bike was treated by the roads in the last 10 kms. We found a place to stay for the nite. It was a small village temple and a school adjacent with no roof. I think the children in the village must be having a monsoon vacation as against the summer vacations which is a norm with every other school. Anyway, the villagers were quite helpful as they provided us with a kerosene lamp as the nite approached and a wooden rod to shoo away unwanted creatures including an odd snake or a regluar visitor - the wolves.
It was almost 8 when things got settled in the temple we were in. Long time with no munching made us hungry. A few heads then made some piping hot Khichadi... yummy. We slept late that nite cracking jokes and making fun of each other. There was a lot of riding left for the next day and hence we all decided to rest and put ourselves to sleep. It was still pouring. There wasn't a minute where there was no rain.
Next day mrng, wow getting up was a big pain. Not that we enjoyed the sleep. We got up and were happy that the rain had stopped. All got fresh, some made tea and breakfast and we were ready to go. I was happy riding my bike this time of the day. Somehow i convinced myself that she would be ok with one hault at the service station. We were on our way back and the 10 kms seemed less troublesome. Maybe the rain had a part to play the day before. We got goin and hit the NH-17 in almost no time. This was a long detour home as none of us were willing to take the same road (Tamhini Ghat) back home.
The return journey wasn't easy. I was not accoustomed to such situations on a bike. The road, though it was good, was plying with heavy traffic. We were cruising at a decent speed of 60-70 kmph. Soon our bikes left the highway and we were on a road which led to the Varandha Ghat. We did make a short visit to Shivtharghal as it was just 15 kms and continued our journey back home. The Varandha Ghat would put us on the Mumbai-Bangalore Highway (NH-4) which ensured that there were no bad roads and a lot of people around in the event of anything unfortunate happening. Plus the road was well known to all of us.
Well, something about the ghat - The Varandha Ghat is known for its curvateous bends and its length. One of my friends had even gone to the extent of describing it as "bipasha basu ghat" - not that we are a great fan of hers but i think the curves made him come up with the name. I personally did not find riding all that great a fun in this ghat. I prefer driving, rather i like driving, i could even jot it down as one of my hobbies. Biking has never enthralled me that much as the excitement of driving.
The sun had started to dim as we were making our way to the NH-4. There were absolutely no signs of life for almost over 30 mins of our journey in the ghat. Least traffic - an odd truck struggling to climb the uphill slopes of the ghat made a loud noise. Otherwise there was a very odd car coming our way or a ST (State Transport) bus rattling down the road. We did spot some huts alongside the road and the habitants carrying some woodstock on their heads. Other than that, there was not a single civilised colony until about another hour. We finally made it to the Bhor-gaon where we took a pit-stop to get some water and directions too. All of us made calls at home to convey our safety and that we would be home in the next couple of hours or so. We were already late and hence decided to have dinner at a good place back home. The ride on the NH-4 was a smooth one and we got home at around 11 in the nite.
No one had the strength to stay awake and hence all dispersed. I had a bath - a much needed one and then retired for the day. While closing my eyes i just thought over the good time i had with my friends at the trek - my first overnite trek, the roads that we drove on, the last 10 kms that we braved, the beautiful scenery that we came across every moment and the time we spent together. I somehow accepted that a bike is fun also during off-roading ventures.
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