Chinmay's last ride with us

Life moves on and we are bound to take different paths someday.

By Sayan Jana:

Chinmaya (Kalingaputra), a fellow BikeNomad(BN)member has decided to move out of Pune as a career move. With this note, we decided to meet for a quick ride to Mahabaleshwar….little did we know that it would turn out to be one of the finest rides in my view at BN.

Initial plan was to explore Mahabaleshwar and return to Pune.

0745hrs: For a change, I had my sleep in installments….waking up once at 0130hrs, 0245hrs, 0355hrs, 0430hrs and finally 0555hrs (without the alarm ringing once). It was as if, my soul was waiting for this ride. Taking the morning shower in cold water (I just love it), doing my morning puja, I reached CC (Chandni Chowk) at 0735hrs-perhaps, was the first one to arrive for a change(normally, I am 5-10mins late). Quickly rushed to the nearest tea stall for a quick cuppa tea and a smoke.

0750hrs-0810hrs:The entire entourage arrived – Amit(New BN member), Abhishek(Zulu) with Vaishali(First time ride with BN – A Mass Communication student looking to make a documentary for her project), Nalin, Somnath and Chinmaya. Introductions follow up soon with Route Mapping and pit-stops….Finally we hit the roads at 0815hrs.

Once, we cleared Pune (Katraj ByPass), our Speedometer refused to go below 100km/hr. Going as high as 110-130km/hr, we soon covered 60-65km, when Nalin started complaining that we should stop for breakfast….Fortunately, everyone agreed since Zulu was way behind the gang. Being in Maharashtra, what else could be better than my favourite Vaada-pao?

1000hrs: We move ahead….cleared ‘Kambhatki Ghats’ (BN’s Favourite)[mountain passes on the Western Ghats in Maharashtra], we take the right at ‘Wai’ towards Mahabaleshwar. Reaching Panchgani Table Top, everyone decided to take a quick break.

Nomads stopping for a quick Photoshoot!

Our Steeds!!

The sun was pleasant around this time but was continously warning us to be prepared for a tougher day. We soon reached Mahabaleshwar where Chinmaya & Somnath suggested a place for the famous ‘Strawberry with Cream’.

The Beasts !!

Route Map

A quick stop and we were busy relishing the strawberries with cream. Everyone was in a good mood so we decided to avail the opportunity and planned our route for the rest of the day. Here, we met Harshvardhan (BN Member) who was supposed to join us from Pune. Finally, we decided to proceed via Old Mahabaleshwar – Tapola – Bamnoli – Kas – Satara and then, return to Pune.

So, finally with Route decided, we proceeded further towards Tapola.

1330hrs: We finally reach Tapola after a doing lot of bird-watching and sight-seeing in Mahabaleshwar. It seemed as if our Sun Lord was quite pleased in seeing us that he started showering his love in the form of strong heat rays.

View of Tapola from The Ghats

A quick lunch and off we went towards Bamnoli – Kas – Satara. This route had something exciting stored for all of us.Initially, the road got narrowed, then the metalled road became ’semi-metalled’, this time introducing loose gravels and rocks to us. Further down the line, ’semi-metalled’ roads became unmetalled roads. And, this all happened for a distance of 55-60km from Tapola.

The pulsars(150/180/220) started sreaming, the Karizmas(ZMA) started moaning while theYamaha(R15) started crying with pain.The riders realizing that Nalin(Yamaha) and Somnath(Karizma) were way behind the gang, decided to give some rest to their @^&$! The moment we got off our steeds, we actually realized that there was dust all over our bike, our jackets, trousers and our visors. This truely was the best part of the ride!

Ruff-n-Tuff

As we stand doing some stretching exercises, Nalin and Somnath arrived….in short, the R15 and the ZMA finally arrived.

Nalin & Somnath finally Arrive

1500hrs: A quick break and we immediately hit the roads again. Little did we know that the roads would become metalled within a kilometre’s distance. With twisties being our favourite, Somnath went on as fast as he could….without realizing that we should admire nature at times. The gang decided to take a break. After stopping a while, Nalin realized that Somnath was missing and tried to catch him but Somnath, he was way ahead. So finally, Nalin and the rest of the gang gave up the chase and took a break at a lake in Satara….playing with water….like school kids out on a class picnic (over here, adults on a BN Picnic).

Lake - Reminded us of school days' class picnic

Fatso Nalin with sayan(black tee) and chinmay

1630hrs: Unwilling to return to Pune, we make up our mind and take the last stretch to Satara. Rip all the way….uphill and downhill….reached ‘Kas’….where the Western Ghats have created a natural set for Bollywood or, pehaps….for Hollywood! How could our BikeNomad fellas resist from posing infront of the cameras?

Me and my R15

Our Steeds - Hero Honda | Yamaha | Bajaj

Chinmaya Nanda (Kaling putra) with his Pulsar 220

1800hrs: Finally, we head towards Satara and after a quick refreshments start for Pune immediately.

Finally reached Pune around 2000hrs with Nalin, Chinmaya and Amit as the remaining members had taken different routes to enter Pune. A quick stop at Cafe Coffee Day, we proceeded to our nests….I reached around 2130hrs….further, had to get ready to attend a wedding. Attended the wedding….perhaps, amongst the late-comers, finally managed to return home by 2330hrs.

As I went off to sleep, I recollected every moment of the day spent with BikeNomads….someone totally new to the group like Amit and Vaishali, someone who has helped the group grow like, Nalin and someone who have tried to contribute in someway or the other, like Abhishek, Somnath, Chinmaya and Me!

Riders: Chinmaya, Nalin Bakshi, Abhishek, Somnath, Amit Dubey, Vaishali and Sayan Jana
Image Courtesy: Amit Dubey

Written by a friend and fellow BN rider: Sayan Jana. (http://sayanjana.wordpress.com/)