Friday, 13th of June, 2003.
I was riding in from Hyderabad, while others were riding in from Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore. The plan was to meet and overnight at Dharwar and do a days ride and get back home. Tushal, mission control at Baroda, was keeping track of riders on the highway by SMS and posting it live on the group. Was quite apprehensive of the route having done Dharwar earlier via Raichur. Nothing would induce me to repeat that bit of moonscape on earth, the options were via Sholapur and Bijapur, or head south on NH 7 and then turn west on NH 63 at Gooty to get to Dharwar. Came down to flipping a coin after reports on road conditions from the Wanderers. Ashok and Sanjay (Actually, Shashvat - Ed.) floated a plan of meeting up at Hospet and the coin was forgotten. Had calculated that I would have to ride 653 kilometers to get to Dharwar, and the strategy was to hold 80 kmph with only one long break, ETA Dharwar 2000 hrs.
Got an early start on Friday the 13th, at 0425 hours after SMS-ing Tushal with little outbound behind me.
Was flagged down by a couple of cops. A few minutes of the usual questions followed. A few unusual replies later, I was on my way. Visor up, clear glasses on, to make the most of the cool morning air. Was forced to take a break at Shadnagar 65 km out from home, when I flipped the visor down to find a large patch of guano obstructing my view of the road. The bird must have been specially trained, to have such accuracy. Ordered chai, but it seemed to take forever, so kicked off again. NH 7 from Hyderabad to Bangalore is a nice long stretch of tarmac, with bypasses around the larger towns. Will never make the top 50 scenic stretches in the country, but will make into the most top 10 lists of comfortable roads to ride.
0735, 161 km: As a rule I like to stop at eating joints where I can have a clear view of the bike, luggage and all and my favorite stops are at Dhabas - the ones that are unmistakably Punjabi. Kalanjali Dhaba matches only one of these criteria, but I have stopped there on all rides past, they serve good chai. Fifteen minutes.
0815 206 km: Stopped again at Pebbair, a little bus stand town and spent 20 minutes calling up home, Venkat, Vibhu. Found that Venkat was not doing the ride and the Bangalore group was digging into breakfast. Called up Doc and got Ashwin! The road from Pebbair to Kurnool is one of the lost stretches where you can see the horizon in any direction, hectares of black soil today, and a cruel cross wind from the west. I find no problem in doing speed, but have a problem with figuring out the traction equation when I have to suddenly slow down, so slow down a bit and hold 65 - 70. The bike is leaning nicely into the wind, pressure on the downwind grip. The nice bit is passing Beachpally. There is a fort, which must have been formidable in its time, on a river island on the Krishna. Not much water has flowed under this bridge for some time ...
Pass Kurnool at 0920 hrs, 236 km done. Had expected to pass through almost an hour back!! Want to stop for a fag, reject one dhaba - it is opposite a LPG storage facility!! Find another with lots of trucks parked outside. Order chai and the guy brews and serves it with a toothbrush lodged in his right cheek. Set off just after a LCV headed for Bangalore from Nagpur. The driver amused himself by sticking to my tail even with my speedo showing 90, 100. I find that speeds above 80 make me tire very rapidly but this was fun. Stop at Peapully, get rid of the sleep deprived LCV driver and call Ashok. Try and ignore the squeal of a pig. Remember reading somewhere that a pig squeals louder than a jumbo taking off. I don't doubt it. The sound dies out. Takes 20 mins to raise Ashok, compose a SMS msg to Tushal and get started again. One of the first curves I will encounter is a little short of Gooty. On a previous ride, a Merc, probably with various ABD XYS WEG sensors and lights going on nearly collected me for a hood ornament, even with me on my conservative line. This time a can (Santro / Wagon R type box) has brought down a Victor. The victim I notice is wearing a helmet, but his neck is at a rag dog angle. The crowd, as with the pig incident, is around the car; I superstitiously allow a KSRTC bus to get between me and the fallen rider. Feel a bit insecure for a while, my mind keeps returning to the Victor and its rider ... Stop for a while then reason that cigarettes are probably just as bad as a fast car on your line. Pull at the map and look at the route for the nth time. Neck and shoulder relax, feel like riding once again. Gooty, another big bus stand really, turn west at Gandhi circle.
315 km, 1135 hrs. Have always stopped for a drink, the lime salt soda, the non-fizzy mango drink kind of affair, am way behind my time chart, WTF its my ride. Respect for schedules is however deeply ingrained and I break the ritual. This stretch is the one I was apprehensive about. Gooty to Hospet. I have been warned to expect bad roads till Bellary and only moderately good roads to Hospet. My vision is now narrowed to the breadth of the tarmac, there are people toiling, fixing the road. Is that a good sign? Stop at 1200 hrs, been riding for about 8 hrs and feeling great. I disagree with riders who think the seat on the Pulsar is not very comfortable. Do some stretches and some Pranayama with a Gold Flake. Tastes good. Black soil, ploughed and waiting for the rain god's bounty, pregnant black clouds in the sky. Hey, where's the guitar, where's the girl with long blonde hair. Doesn't matter I've got the bike .... Why do sheep graze in large circles ?
1230 and I'm on a cobbled road through a little village that is in fact the railway town of Guntakal.
116 km to get to Hospet. Stop to ask a sardar truck driver's apprentice about the road and a dhaba to get lunch. No lassi on the way, I learn, and the road is fine. The road has been good so far, try to SMS Ashok, but keep getting the characters wrong - Tushal that is the reason for my coded, content obfuscating SMSes - I had no backspace key!! (or didn't know where to press)
391 km, hey where's the road? The Santro ahead of me just gave up and ducked into the fields on the right side of the "road". There is a strong wind blowing the black cloud, that is the farmer's property, his fertility right, up and away into the curiously colored sky. Spectacular sunset, for sure. Slide for the next 3 km, wondering where the Sardar TDA grew up and motored. The Santro turns sharply and I get a taste of the Deccan's best and blackest. Welcome to Karnataka.
A signboard informs the weary traveler that Karnataka is the "theater of inspiration". I stop to blow my nose. I am now a suspect bike, my legitimacy in the eyes of countless policemen expiring ... AP plates. I also learn that I am on the correct track. All these sheep and no mutton. Have cracked Hospet to just 86 km. Stop for more gold flake moderated inspiration.
Who cares for the guitar and the girl, I want road now. 400 km, depart 1335.
424 km, navigate through Bellary, past a PB, a guy seems to be taking instructions and delivery of a new red 150. Stop to call Ashok, cold Maaza. I'm out of cigarettes and the guy won't break a 100. Rummage for change. Kick start at 1430. 500 m down the road, level crossing. And there is a cigarette shop. Side stand on, ignition off, keys in pocket, seems there is army around, quite a few OG uniforms in evidence. The gate lifts and traffic from both sides wants to occupy the middle of the road. A tractor, people feet dangling from the sides of the trailer does a violent counter-steering maneuver, and a hawai chappal meets my RHS mirror. Let the scrum untangle and turn right with the traffic. I am overtaken by the red pulsar. Same one. This is as I am clearing a TN regd truck at about 70 kmph. The road is bumpy, but feeling somewhat challenged get the speedo upwards of 90 and clear red. He is clearly mentally challenged he wants to pass me going past another truck and does. I stick behind wondering what kind of nut would want to rip on a brand new bike. He turns left without indicators into the gates of a engineering college.
Empty road, the TN truck wants to do serious speeds and I let him pass. The kms go by and Hospet is now 15 km away. Find a Rajasthan regd bus, all done up for a mobile prachar of something or the other parked outside a dhaba, stop there and find a nice seat shaded by a large tree. 4 rotis, a dal fry and anda bhurji and I am feeling expansive. Get an SMS from Ashok that they are leaving Chitradurga. I am punching numbers when I realize that I didn't see the time stamp that was sent at 1415 hrs. Calculate that I have time for a chai, wash my face, drink my electral and I am generally extravagant with my time. Have decided that I will reach Hospet and wait for Ashok and Sanjay near the dam.
Have to pass through the town and its narrow crowded streets before that. Fill 5 L of petrol, just for the security of seeing the needle on the fuel gauge somewhere in the 1 o'clock range.
Sanjay R: We reach hospet at an astonishing speeeeeed, we cruised between 90 and 100kmph taking absolutely no risk. The roads were nicely laid with very little with traffic except the odd convoy of trucks, but lots of crosswind. With me riding the Eliminator on such a long trip for the first time had to get used the way it sways. But, I have to add one thing to cruise in comfort you need to be riding an Eliminator (Pulsar won't do, at least not with that pathetic thing that we sit on.. Yeah, the thing called the Seat).
We reach Hospet by 3.45pm and tried calling up GR, but we could not get through. We then slowly venture inside Hospet and found a decent enough hotel (Hotel Pai) to have some beverage and also to wait for GR. I had this sneaky little feeling that GR would pass us when Ashok and me were in the hotel, so we took seat at vantage point in the Hotel's first floor from where we could see the road and as per hunch (not every time does my hunch works out right) there was GR riding through the town. Off I went to catch GR and bring him back to the hotel and caught him after dodging all the traffic around 2-3 kms from the hotel.
Take a right, and catch an elim in my mirrors, am passed and realize that it is Sanjay. Backtrack with him to a Pai hotel. Ashok is waiting there. They had ripped and done 122 km in 90 minutes !! A Maaza and half an hour later, we are off again. I ditch a 3 truck overtake and have to get off the road and come to a halt on the RHS. A little short of where the turn off where NH 63 and 13 diverge, we find a long line of trucks stopped. Pass them on the mud on the side and we are on empty road, the occasional car is all we have.
This is road I have done before with S and I'm missing her company. I also miss the trees, sacrificed for a wider road. We can see rain in the distance and are the road is aimed at a hole in the clouds, sunlight streaming through - something like the "make way for a bullet" advertisement. Signal Sanjay to stop for a pic, Ashok is far ahead and seemingly oblivious of the 1-2-3 honk that I'm sounding out. Get him to turn back and we get what should be a really good pic (how did it come out Sanjay ?)
Pass a bus that has bled a huge amount of diesel on the road and I go on to the dirt with a view to getting any oil off the tyres. A sharp bend in the road and it is now that weird hour, where some riders want their lights on and the others suddenly pop out of the shadows. Passing a village, see Ashok's brake lights come on and I'm on the brakes. Clear the speed breaker. Hear a sound from behind and I can see Sanjay is down. Park on the side and about 20 people are all around us. He is fine, and so is the bike. Agree to stop a little away from habitation and the crowd for a more detailed inspection.
Sanjay R: We were riding at very sedate pace of around 25-30 kmph and suddenly I saw GR brake and I jabbed my brakes on but unfortunately for me I jabbed only the front brake just like I do on my Pulsie (but Eliminator requires the use of the rear brake too for a neat and effective stop), the front gave way slightly and We fell (Bike and me). I was more worried about the bike than me at that time, but fortunately not much damage at all to the bike (little scratch on the silencer and a bent leg guard, which after a couple of kicks came back to its original place.), had a sore elbow and Hip, which are back to their original state now.
Indicators on and three bikes stop. Fish out my torch but it won't work. Nothing seems to have happened. I'm fiddling with the torch, get a SMS requesting position from Tushal. Ashok sends off a reply. Speak to Shashvat and give him directions I have received from a colleague before departure.
Pass Gadag. Keep rolling and eventually hit Hubli. Past the railway colony, come to a junction with a Kamat hotel. Remember from the last ride that we have to take a right and keep going straight on to reach Dharwar. Ashok confirm this and we are off. Stop a little past the lake between the two cities and learn that JSS college is still 13 km away. 2200 hrs and we are at Hotel Manorama.
664 km in 18 hrs. Thoroughly enjoyed myself. For the record my glutei are still willing to go on a little more.
All tiredness is gone, and we are ordering dinner - a very complicated affair involving many cell-phone conversations and calculations. Vibhu is on top of everything and soon we are eating it. Viper joins and so does Divyan. Then Shashvat appears.
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