Suddenly, at about half-past eleven today, on a scorching hot summer’s Sunday, on a whim, I decided that I am going to do 200km on the Battlecat III at a stretch just to see if my body and mind can handle it I knew the bike could, I was not so sure about myself).
So, I asked around on the WhatsApp group for ME (Motorcycle Enthusiasts), a group of petrolheads I have joined, and was greeted with multiple options. I chose the Bhigwan Bird Sanctuary, exactly 100km from home. It was hot as hell, but (and this takes some convincing to people who have never worn one, including me from a week ago) the riding jacket is so well-ventilated that even though it is black and looks like a synthetic sweat trap prima facie, it actually kept me away from sunstroke, heatstroke, and believe it or not, excessive sweating!
Anyway, geared up in my riding jacket, gloves, helmet, and sunglasses, I proceeded towards the aforesaid destination, and after I got out of Pune limits with great difficulty (and much use of lower gears), I was rewarded with some of the smoothest, longest, straightest one-way stretches I have seen for some time. What’s more, the road had proper fencing-ish hedges on both sides and the centre (the divider between the oncoming traffic and me) and there was nary a soul in sight, humans and animals alike having sought, found, and surrendered to shady shelters before my engine even throbbed to life in my parking at sharp noon.
Now, for the first 4 days of riding, when I was running her in, I was limited to speeds not over 80kmph. But since she had had her first service on Saturday, I decided to let her go and see how quick she can be, given how well-made and empty the roads were. So, off we went, first cautiously to 100kmph, and then to 120, and 130, and 140, by which time the wind shear was threatening to take my helmet off, probably along with my head, and it was fast becoming uncomfortable as I pushed right at the edge of the envelope of what my 50-year-old body and mind were capable of, though most definitely much less than what the machine I was riding was designed to not just withstand, but to flourish under. So, at 145kmph, I eased the throttle and gently guided her back to my comfortable speed of 120kmph (which is the outer limit for me now). What a rush though!
Anyway, I reach Bhigwan, and surprisingly, no one knew about the Bird Sanctuary. I consulted Aunt Google, only to be led down a kuchha road through a garbage dump, a Muslim burial ground, and a Hindu cremation area, in that order, before emerging at the other end to see a wide lake with cows grazing on the green grass that was growing on the banks. Not one single bird. Just cows. In fact, the only migratory bird here was me, all the way from Pune.
At the Bhigwan Bird Sanctuary. Only cows though. No birds.
But what a ride!!! 105km of sheer pleasure, even if it was probably 45°C in the shade.
And then, I stopped by on my way back for an ice-cold Thums Up and turned the motorcycle homeward, adding another 100km+ to the ride by the time I was pulling into my cool underground parking.
A great way to end a Sunday, methinks.
P.S: On the way back, stopped at Jogeshwari Misal House to lunch and saw a poster with an obviously fake Ratan Tata quote. Seems all their shops have it. That means that someone went to the trouble of making this up, creating a poster about it, printing and framing it, and then distributing or selling it to people! I have seen more of these in other places too. In fact, I have seen quite a few of these shared on LinkedIn, a professional network of well-educated, well-employed, possibly well-travelled people with reasoning abilities intact. I have also seen similar fake quotes about APJ Kalam, India’s former President. Why do they believe this? Or do they want to believe this and then, when this desire manifests itself in a fake quote, confirmation bias takes over? Also, I wonder if it is his (Ratan Tata’s) PR team behind this or just some IT Cell who had spare time to churn out more fake news (or maybe it is one of those training things someone at some political party’s IT Cell created as practice and it spread). I wonder where this whole ‘Sir’ (yes, they use that prefix for him on LinkedIn, without understanding what that title stands for) Ratan Tata fixation comes from? But that can’t be true for Kalam, who is long deceased and has no PR team working for him now (by the way, he was also called ‘Dr Kalam’ though he was neither an MBBS nor a PhD, and all his doctorate were honorary, bestowed upon him only later in life). Perhaps it is just that we Indians are so starved of heroes that we don’t care if it’s fake, as long as we have something inspirational to hold on to. How sad is that!
Nice Kedar! Do visit again.