4A and the move - Concluded

Our arrival at Coonoor was delayed because of the following-

1. 'Captain' Vijaykanth's political campaign at Coonoor.
2. A small posse of cops, headed by a woman Inspector who, in a typical matronly fashion, told us to go home!
3. Some of us who took an extended break with the thought of blasting down the highway to catch the rest of us.

Sunday morning (30th of April, 2006) was spent picnicking at a nearby dam while the official fourth anniversary party was held later that evening. Kartz, a fellow biker from Bangalore, and his brother Shriek joined us.

The Jehadi and I planned to leave an hour after the MBMC guys, but we got delayed and left at around 8am the next morning (1st of May, 2006). We broke fast at Ooty and took a leisurely long break. That soon became the norm. After tanking up at Ooty, we set off for the Kalati Ghats. Kartz had hinted the inclines would be steep, but you've got to ride it to believe it.

At Yercaud I hit speeds of 50-55 while letting my bike run in neutral (not a good idea, actually). This time the bike ran in gear and with a tiny twist of the throttle (sometimes not even that!) I could easily hit the mid 60s. Of course, I also had my hand and foot ready on the brake every time we rode round a hairpin bend. And the bike kept farting like crazy!

The ride down is downright scary, but it is quite a challenge to ride up!

We took a break in between and the Jehadi showed us the place where he had trekked with a few guys some time back. And every now and then, we were gawked at by passing cars.

Down Kalati, into Mudumalai and then Bandipur. I could see why some of the guys wanted to ride to Bandipur the previous evening. If it wasn't for the anxious looks I gave all round me for passing wildlife, I could have enjoyed it better. But "ab Bandipur door nahi"; I will come again some time.

Lunch was at a place called Pugmark, and after another long break we took off for Mysore.

The road was a mix of smooth and not-so-good areas. I don't know what my mechanic did, but in spite of carrying four bags on the bike, I was easily able to ride at 100. Kartz and the Jehadi kept ahead while Shriek and I were behind them, although a good kilometer or two behind! We still had some 15 kilometres to reach Mysore when I noticed that my speedometer stopped working. Now I have no way of knowing what speed I am riding at, or how many kilometres had elapsed. Actually, only the latter.

While riding I found that at top gear if the bike is moving at 4000rpm or close to it, I am close to hitting 100kmph. On the way to Bangalore, there were quite a few places where the needle hovered at little after 4 on the dial.

After another long break at Mysore, we set off towards Bangalore. I know I am going to ride to Mysore soon; the road made sure of that.

We hit Channapatna (I think) sometime after 5.30 and stopped at the Coffee Day outlet. While we were having our coffees, we heard some Enfields belting away. The Jehadi claimed they were some of the Bangalore bikers, but there was no way we could have confirmed.

While I started getting ready to leave (on an average it takes me ten minutes to get fully padded), a couple of guys were looking at our bikes. The dirty condition my bike was in, I am not sure they admired it! Then the inevitable happened. Questions on who we are, where did we go, where all have we gone, were asked.

Then traffic. It looked like everybody in Bangalore had used the long weekend to go towards Mysore or beyond! It took us another 3 hours before we came anywhere close to Bangalore.

Kartz and Shriek showed us the way the Jehadi and I could take to go to our respective homes. I parted company around ten minutes later.

SMS-es confirmed all of us reached home. A short dinner later, I crashed.

And dreamt of more rides I would take in the coming months.