Mumbaikar's day out..

The city of Mumbai: There have been more ordeals than niceties since I came to this city. I’m still to absorb the extent of open drains, flies, the cost of living and the filmy people.. Here goes an interesting nothing in my life:

Boarding the local was a fight. It always is..

I made sure I was surrounded by the experienced ones. Their instructions were engraved in my memory. Somehow the word ‘push’ was the most prominent of all. Then the train arrived. I made little progress until I pushed with all my might. The proceedings of those few seconds remain a bit sketchy in my memory but I was happy to have accomplished the mission of boarding the train. My friends soon reminded me that the war was not over yet. I still had to fight to avoid being thrown out at the subsequent stations. As the train moved, things fell into place: gaps were filled, peace was restored. At the next station, another scene of havoc transpired. Peace was restored thereafter. The pace with which the Mumbai traveller transforms from war-peace-war mode is astounding. During one of the peace sessions, I looked around at the faces. They revealed nothing. Happiness, pain, joy, suffering: if there was any, they’re surely good at concealing it. I continued and I noticed one middle aged gentleman in the corner seat.

Even though our conversation had not started yet, I pitied him already. My sympathy had a lot to do with my experiences with insane rentals, cost of living, travelling in Mumbai etc. I made some personal assumptions about his earnings and his lifestyle (a sick thing to do I know; God forgive me). A little casual math told me that things may not be very comfortable for this gentleman here. Some small talk initiated our conversation. The moment the first words came out, they shattered all my assumptions.

He was happy!! His voice made that clear. Somehow, this does not seem right.. What about my sympathies? This fellow left no room for my generous offerings. What about the way the city breaks bodies and minds? How can this gentleman survive? I was to find out soon.

As the conversation progressed, I was to find out that our Mambaikar had his ways to take on whatever the city threw at him. That he had managed to get a seat had something to do with his strategy of ‘reverse journey’. Our protagonist travels in the direction opposite to his destination and gets off at the last stop. Here, he catches the empty train headed to his destination. But doesn’t that mean losing a lot of time everyday. Not to forget the futility of covering some stations twice? “So what? I have a seat, don’t I?”- he chimes. Wow, I should have asked him to help me out with my little problems as well. This guy seems to know it all. Now I could recall some other stories as well. I remember commenting to a corporate hot-shot: “You travel 4 hours a day. And if it rains, God save you! Don’t you ever wish to move out of the city?”.

“ I keep pillows and a lot of reading material in the car” he stated matter of factedly. “And if it rains, I have slippers and a raincoat in the boot. I abandon the car and catch a train”. If you explore, I’m sure you’ll find a lot of stories in these lines. The show must go on. A lesson in patience and perseverance to be learnt here. Whatever the city throws at you, your attitude prevails.

I was still thinking of the psychology of Mumbaikars. Don’t they ever feel cheated by the city of dreams? All the hardships and there was still something in the local traveller’s tone. Now I finally got it!! Pride. That’s what struck me in the local train Mabaikar’s tone. Pride.. This gentleman was proud to be the breadwinner. Proud to be a part of Mumbai. Proud to have made a mark, to have survived in the city. It will take a long time for me to comprehend that.

They say the city grows on you. Well, you know there’s one fellow who wishes the process would speed up..

Bangalore to Mumbai: Day 1

The question I am asked repeatedly is ‘why a bike?’ There are plenty of buses and trains to take you there in lesser time..

The answer to that one is that at some point in your life there is a realization. I have been pondering on the great Indian philosophy of ‘work hard and emerge victorious’- where the emphasis is on the ‘work hard’ part. Now from my experiences, I beg to differ. There are some things that are just hard wired in your brain. Accept reality: you might be bad in some stuff but might be decent enough in something else. Efforts to improvise your weaknesses may not yield the desired results. On the other hand it might be a good idea to focus on stuff you are built for.. That gets me to the point that there is something with driving/ travelling hard wired in my brain that gives me unparalleled happiness.

Now that I was relocating, the idea of giving my vehicle to transporters so that they can deliver it to Mumbai in a pitiable state did not go well with me. Our gang’s last experience featured a punctured fuel tank, a broken fender and a seriously dislocated carburettor (read: someone was trying to steal fuel).

And I love seeing my country. The colors, the people, the climate, vegetation: I love experiencing it all. In that regard, a bike takes me closer to the elements than a car.

The start was sloppy. I managed to hit the roads around 6:45 am. By the time I was out of the chaotic Tumkur road, it was 8:15. After the Shivagange turn, I saw a CCD coming up and decided to stop keeping in mind that this might be the last decent washroom I’ll get (I was proven wrong later though..).

Progress remained sloppy. I was enjoying the surroundings at my pace. I stopped repeatedly take pictures, make phone calls and even to scratch my head! At around 10:30, I was in Chitradurga. From the elevated road, you can see the walls of the Chitradurga fort. Sadly, I was unable to capture it thanks to my camera’s resolution and limited zoom capabilities. The other interesting things around Chitradurga are the wind farms. They are everywhere in the hilly region and paint a lovely picture of ‘India shining’..

By noon, I was nearing the city of Davangere. Just three dogs and two cows seen in the 300 Km stretch. Now that’s a number we Indians can live with J. This region marks the advent of heat. I was missing Bangalore more and more. The highway beyond Davangere is still not complete and the elevated roads will take at least a year or two to be complete. In the stretch up to Haveri, speed fell numerous times and I was stuck at both the railway crossings. Beyond Hubli, things were lovely once again with a panoramic view and some hills and dense vegetation. I crossed Belgaum around 4pm and had started contemplating on moving ahead to Satara instead of the planned stop at Kolhapur.

I stopped at a fuel pump somewhere after Belgaum and struck a conversation with a truck driver. I asked him about the condition of the road and how long it’d be to reach Satara. After our jolly talk, he concluded it would be 6 hours before I reach the outskirts of Satara. I politely told him to get a better truck and I was sure the distance of 240 Kms could be covered in half the time provided the road conditions remained the same.

Entering Maharashtra marked the end of the great Indian joy ride. The winds were getting a bit annoying. The bike had to be banked by a degree or two to counter the force exerted by the wind. For a moment the thought of uneven tyre wear thanks to a long slanted ride came to my mind; but I rubbished it soon enough.

Reached Kolhapur around 6pm and stopped at the Mc Donalds out there. This was definitely the worst Mc Donalds I’ve been to. No queue, no water in the loo and the staff trying too hard to sell you something you don’t want. My experience with Maharashtra was turning out to be not at all pleasant.

I was done munching by 6pm and decided to head towards Satara. The traffic was pathetic and comprised of a rich variety (cattle, tractors, autorikshaws, etc). I reached Satara at 7:45 beating complete darkness by a minute or two. Getting off the highway before dark is vital according to my rule-book.

I found a pretty good hotel somewhere near a place called S.T. Stand. Behold, this is an important place to be remembered as it is the only part of the town blessed with a tower holding of 4 street lights. I was welcomed by a grumbling fellow who wanted to murder me since I could not reply in Marathi. Anyway, after dumping my bag, I headed to the famed S.T. Stand. After exploring the small town city centre, I headed back to the hotel. The gujju thali for 80 bucks sounded promising. And it turned out to be a treat.

In all a majestic day. The only sad fact was that the mileage figure was not very flowery. The bike guzzled a little less than 21 litres for the 770 KM run which turns out to be 37 Km/Litre. That proves that this gearbox is better off cruising on state highways where speeds range from 60 to 80Km/hr than revving hard to keep speeds of 90-110Km/hr. Also, age takes a toll on everything. This loyal motor has served 27000Km’s consistently returning a mileage of 40-45 Km/L. I guess an overhaul is due in some time.

Bangalore to Mumbai: Day 2

I was exercising early in the morning when the sun abruptly disappeared. I ran to the window. Surely, there were dark clouds headed in my direction. I got ready quickly and was on the highway by 7:45am.

I studied the sky. The clouds were coming in from south east. So technically, I could outrun them as my destination was North West. I opened the throttle and cruised along. Mind you, this is not one of the roads where you can have those conversations with yourself. Philosophy will have to make way for caution keeping in mind the numerous rikshaws, tractors, etc..

If the winds yesterday were termed as annoying, today they were threatening. I saw a Maruti 800 sway furiously as it passed through a gap in the hills. Along with the driver, others following it were also visibly shaken. Speeds were reduced immediately. The struggle of lighter bikes such as the HH splendors and the TVS Victors was also quite apparent. The riders could be seen being suddenly pushed violently by some invisible forces time to time. Well, having a heavier vehicle: be it a non 100Km/L one is not that bad after all.. And this also factors in for the not so great fuel efficiency yesterday. Though at this moment, I seriously wished I was riding an Avenger. The numerous rides on Gogo’s & Vikram’s machines have instilled a lot of bottom heavy, low riding, splendid cornering memories. If I were to wage a war against the winds- Avenger would be the bike I’d choose.

There is a lot I could write about the wind as this was my first revelation with it’s power and continuity. After I finished the 5 hour journey, I noticed that my arm sockets were hurting pretty bad. I am familiar with the dull ache that comes in after a long ride, but this was different. And then I realized the difference between yesterday and today was quite clear. Yesterday was a 13 hour drive with occasional 2-3Km/hr side winds while today; although just a 5 hour ride featured continuous head on brutal winds..

The tunnels before Pune turned out to be interesting. I saw a tunnel coming ahead and thought “Tunnel! Nice! Sunglasses.. um.. Uh oh.. Tunnels and glasses don’t go well together”. I blindly followed a car ahead of me which was kind enough to switch on it’s tail lights to guide me. The first tunnel had no illumination and no board to declare it’s arrival; so be careful.

I crossed Pune around 10:15 and now I had to stay on the govt. maintained NH-4. The much celebrated Mumbai-Pune expressway does not allow bikes. Heights of stupidity! You can allow slowpoke cars like Matiz, alto, A-Star but not a 2 wheeler capable of outrunning them all. The NH-4 is in pretty good shape upto Lonavla and Khandala. Beyond Khandala, the markings mysteriously vanish and take you on and off the expressway as well. Khandala provides a view of the valley which I think is overrated. Today, I could see hundreds of vehicles clogging the expressway. Irony isn’t it? Everyone in Mumbai seems to trying hard to get out of the city while I was the sucker heading towards Mumbai.

The clouds closing in from the South East caught up with me and sprayed some rain. This was to be repeated an hour later in Mumbai as well.

I saw a board at a crossing in Panvel stating that Mumbai was still 50+ Kms away. However, direction was conveniently not mentioned. Just to confirm, I stopped and asked “Is this the way to Mumbai??” The fellow to whom the question was addressed was visibly insulted. “THIS IS MUMBAI!!” came the reply in an icy tone. Not to offend our desi ‘THIS IS SPARTA’ hero, I re-phrased my question and asked him directions to PrabhaDevi/ Siddhi Vinayak temple. After Navi Mumbai and the Eastern Expressway, I was able to recall the roads and was at my destination by 12:30..

The conclusion brings us to the question that many people may have in their minds. Is Bangalore - Mumbai or a Bangalore – Pune ride doable in a single day? On a bike? Yesterday, my answer would have been ‘probably’ or ‘I honestly don’t know’ for a Bangalore- Pune ride. However, after my experience with the NH-4 of Maharashtra my answer is ‘please avoid such a stunt’. The 770 Km ride yesterday was a pleasurable experience with sparse and organized traffic of Karnataka. The 300 Km odd ride today witnessed a lot of tractors, pedestrians, bullock carts with a majority of illiterate/ junglee drivers. Attempting to cover this leg late in the evening yesterday would have been not such a pleasurable experience. It would also mean unnecessary pressure. At the end of the ride yesterday, I could feel my senses dulling and the concentration level dropping. So riding a clearly annoying traffic in such a state of mind is questionable. In case you are a seasoned rider and have a better ride (Ninja/ Harley??), you could cut down on time a bit and make it to Pune.

A good car, a disciplined start at around 4am should get you to Mumbai the same evening.

Trip logs:

Distance covered :1073 Kms

Fuel used :28.1 L

Fuel Efficiency :38.1 Km/L

Toll paid : Rs 0.

Hee hee hee. I crossed at least 10-12 toll plazas.

@ Car owners: pity u! ;)

Here are a couple of old school rules of biking:

-Maintain a good relationship with your machine. I say this time and again: know your vehicle’s strengths and problem areas. Strictly operate within this range. For eg: the P-200 has a partial oil cooled engine. You can rev it hard but do not abuse it like a fully liquid cooled motor. I used the age old method of keeping my engine cool: taking a break after every leg of a 150km. Occasionally, I even sprayed some water on the fins. The instant vaporising of water with a fizz is highly gratifying. But be careful, don’t do this unless you know what you are doing. We don’t want water in the spark plugs. Neither do we want to promote rust on the hot exhaust pipe.

-Carry a tyre patch/repair kit. There were a couple of stretches where I couldn’t find habitation for 20Kms or so.

-Be aware of your own limitations. Follow a routine to exercise your back, legs and arms a couple of days before starting for a long journey. Most importantly, be aware of your state of mind. There is no bravery in subduing those apparent signals and continuing. If you find yourself switching lanes, indulging in unnecessary or risky overtaking and deviating from your cruising speed; it can’t be more obvious: take a break!

Go- Discover your country, and ride safe!!