(if you don't have an idea what this post or blog is about..please click here to read my first post)
And so, here we were, on the marine drive sea wall in front of the Trident. It was 1 in the night but many families, group of young men and women, drunks, were still thronging the drive. We sat there watching as people kept entering and leaving the Trident. We planned to hang around till 4, so we could rest our legs and back, and then ride back home. But at around 2, the cops arrived and asked us(politely) to leave. They weren't so polite to some other people whom they thought as good-for-nothing drunk loiterers, but i guess as cyclists in cycling gear, we were the picture of moral correctness.
We had to leave Marine drive, which was a pity. It was nicely breezing and a moonlit night. We decided to start riding back as there was nothing much we could at that time. We decided not to take the flyovers as there wouldn't be much traffic below them at this hour and it was a pain to climb to pain flyovers. The city takes on a different color in the night. We reached parel around 2:30 and found a chai-coffeewala on a cycle. Had some coffee. Satish's back was giving him trouble and he wanted to abandon at dadar and wait for the first train. I somehow convinced him to keep riding till Ghatkopar. We were to decide in Ghatkopar on our next course of action.
Our bums started hurting badly after sitting on the narrow saddle for 6 hours. We crossed Ghatkopar but kept riding. We wanted to get to Thane somehow. But as we crossed Vikhroli our bums started hurting so badly we couldn't sit on the saddle anymore. We stopped for a little break near one of the newly made bus-stops near the godrej gate. You probably wouldn't believe me, but after being on the saddle foe 6 hours,sitting on the flat metal seats in the bus stop felt like i was in heaven.
We decided to abandon our ride at Kanjur marg. We took a left from the highway towards the town and then rode towards the raliway station. It was almost 4. The ticket clerk at the window got a mild shock when he saw me in my cycling gear asking for a ticket for myself and my bicycle. The train arrived in sometime and we boarded the goods compartment with our cycles.
Little did we know that we were boarding the ladies compartment. Did you know that there was a goods compartment specially for the ladies. Well, we didn't and were duly caught by a TC at kalwa. I guess the SOB waits there near that compartment to catch unsuspecting travelers who like us, don't know that we are in a ladies-exclusive compartment. To cut the long story short, we had to shell out 500 bucks for our mistakes. The TC informed us that we would be poorer by 1000 rs if we wanted to make a contribution to the Indian Railways but it would be cheaper if we made a contribution to the TC-sunday-booze party-fund :-p. And so, we thought, the TCs don't get paid well...they are entitled to a little money on the side sometimes.
And so, finally, the adventures of the night ended at 6 in the morning when we reached home. We had started at 8pm the night before, and with a good 8 hours on the bicycle I was tired as hell. Crashed in bed and slept the entire day. 8 hours and around 100 kms...not bad at all. But the key to riding to Delhi would be doing this everyday for 15 days.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Riding into the night - Part 1
(if you don't have an idea what this post or blog is about..please click here to read my first post)
And so, we are back...after a long break. This time around we have some news. Me and Satish have quit smoking and drinking and getting on to a strict diet regime targeted at our tour to Delhi. Wanted to particularly write about our plans to ride some long distance routes in the night. So we decided to do a Ambernath-marine drive-Ambernath ride on saturday night. That is an approximate distance of 125 kms.
We started at around 8 pm from Ambernath. We took the road to Kalyan and turned right onto the Bhiwandi bypass highway. This road is somewhat dark (without streetlights) but it was a moonlit sky and many trucks and cars on the highway, so we could make do with their lights. Reached Thana by 9:30. Had some dinner in a small joint besides the highway. Dinner consisted of bread and egg omlettes. Started from Thana around 10:15 towards south Mumbai on the Eastern Express Highway. Here the road is well lit with nice bright halogen streetlights. It was nice riding here...reminded me of the times we used to play cricket in the summer evenings below the streetlights.
Everything went well until we reached Vikhroli and crossed the Godrej gates. It was a big highway with lots of space and fewer cars (saturday evening and we were headed towards town while the traffic was going in the oppsite direction)and it was giving us a sense of freedom. It's how you feel when you ride onto a big expanse of land and have it all for yourself for the moment. I tried to move onto the top gear of my bicycle, which means moving the chain to the smallest ring, and chain jumped out of the ring and got stuck between the gear mesh and the metal road holding the wheel intact.
Well, in layman term, I was stuck with the chain not budging. Me and Satish both tried with our hands to pull the chain out but it was wedged hard between the gear mesh and the rod. We got black greasy hands for the effort but nothing much happened to the chain. We needed a screwdriver. It was a lonely highway. Cars were buzzing along. We both promised ourselves that we would carry a screwdriver with us next time. We also put a positive spin on the whole episode by concluding that it was a good learning experience and it would teach us not to forget our screwdrivers next time we took off for a ride. And then, we saw a garage mechanic in his dirty coveralls walking by us pushing a non-functional motorbike. What a stroke of luck!.Well, not a great night for the mechanic though. He must have had to push the bike real far as there was no destination in sight. We borrowed his screwdriver for a minute and out came the chain with a little more grease on our hands and the screwdriver.
And thus, the ride continued again in all earnest. At points we broke the monotony by riding alonside each other and talking. It was my second ride to Colaba and Satish's first. He was getting excited as we crossed landmarks which indicated we were getting closer to our destination. Priyadarshini, king's circle, Dadar TT, ITC grand maratha...all the landmarks passed as we watched dispassionately. When you are on the bicycle you don't get excited when you see something which might have excited you if you were in a car. You are more concerned about how thirsty you are and how badly your legs, back and bum are hurting.
We crossed CST station at around 12:30. Just in time to see the last train leaving the station. Just before CST station comes the JJ flyover. Now, I don't how many of you would appreciate it while zipping across on it in your cars, but JJ is one hell of a long flyover!
We rode all the way to marine drive and the wind, sounds and smell of the sea gave us new energy and we raced each other on marine drive as if it was the finale of a long day of stage racing. Reached one end of marine drive (almost) in front of the Oberoi-trident, and laid down on the sea wall. God..it felt good laying my back against something solid. We were tired, exausted and not to mention the pain in our you-know-where.
And to say, the night had just begun. We were only half way through. We had a long ride back the same way we came. We planned to stay on marine drive till 3:30-4 in the morning and ride back, so we could have daylight when we reached Bhiwandi bypass. But that was not to be...and we didn't have any idea of what was comming next...
And so, we are back...after a long break. This time around we have some news. Me and Satish have quit smoking and drinking and getting on to a strict diet regime targeted at our tour to Delhi. Wanted to particularly write about our plans to ride some long distance routes in the night. So we decided to do a Ambernath-marine drive-Ambernath ride on saturday night. That is an approximate distance of 125 kms.
We started at around 8 pm from Ambernath. We took the road to Kalyan and turned right onto the Bhiwandi bypass highway. This road is somewhat dark (without streetlights) but it was a moonlit sky and many trucks and cars on the highway, so we could make do with their lights. Reached Thana by 9:30. Had some dinner in a small joint besides the highway. Dinner consisted of bread and egg omlettes. Started from Thana around 10:15 towards south Mumbai on the Eastern Express Highway. Here the road is well lit with nice bright halogen streetlights. It was nice riding here...reminded me of the times we used to play cricket in the summer evenings below the streetlights.
Everything went well until we reached Vikhroli and crossed the Godrej gates. It was a big highway with lots of space and fewer cars (saturday evening and we were headed towards town while the traffic was going in the oppsite direction)and it was giving us a sense of freedom. It's how you feel when you ride onto a big expanse of land and have it all for yourself for the moment. I tried to move onto the top gear of my bicycle, which means moving the chain to the smallest ring, and chain jumped out of the ring and got stuck between the gear mesh and the metal road holding the wheel intact.
Well, in layman term, I was stuck with the chain not budging. Me and Satish both tried with our hands to pull the chain out but it was wedged hard between the gear mesh and the rod. We got black greasy hands for the effort but nothing much happened to the chain. We needed a screwdriver. It was a lonely highway. Cars were buzzing along. We both promised ourselves that we would carry a screwdriver with us next time. We also put a positive spin on the whole episode by concluding that it was a good learning experience and it would teach us not to forget our screwdrivers next time we took off for a ride. And then, we saw a garage mechanic in his dirty coveralls walking by us pushing a non-functional motorbike. What a stroke of luck!.Well, not a great night for the mechanic though. He must have had to push the bike real far as there was no destination in sight. We borrowed his screwdriver for a minute and out came the chain with a little more grease on our hands and the screwdriver.
And thus, the ride continued again in all earnest. At points we broke the monotony by riding alonside each other and talking. It was my second ride to Colaba and Satish's first. He was getting excited as we crossed landmarks which indicated we were getting closer to our destination. Priyadarshini, king's circle, Dadar TT, ITC grand maratha...all the landmarks passed as we watched dispassionately. When you are on the bicycle you don't get excited when you see something which might have excited you if you were in a car. You are more concerned about how thirsty you are and how badly your legs, back and bum are hurting.
We crossed CST station at around 12:30. Just in time to see the last train leaving the station. Just before CST station comes the JJ flyover. Now, I don't how many of you would appreciate it while zipping across on it in your cars, but JJ is one hell of a long flyover!
We rode all the way to marine drive and the wind, sounds and smell of the sea gave us new energy and we raced each other on marine drive as if it was the finale of a long day of stage racing. Reached one end of marine drive (almost) in front of the Oberoi-trident, and laid down on the sea wall. God..it felt good laying my back against something solid. We were tired, exausted and not to mention the pain in our you-know-where.
And to say, the night had just begun. We were only half way through. We had a long ride back the same way we came. We planned to stay on marine drive till 3:30-4 in the morning and ride back, so we could have daylight when we reached Bhiwandi bypass. But that was not to be...and we didn't have any idea of what was comming next...
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Week 1: Hard work...training...but the sudden rise in heat is demoralising
It was supposed to be a big cycling weekend. 3 days of holidays including monday which is India's republic day. We had planned to cycle it out to Alibaug (which is around 110 kms) and come back to Mumbai by a ferry service. We had even checked hotel arrangements 10 days prior as it was expected to be a heavy tourist weekend. Satya's parents left for their yearly vacation to Bangalore and Satya had to stay home to look afte his dogs. So we all stayed back.
Saturday morning : Me and Satish started at 11 and took our pre-determined route from Badlapur towards Titwala and the Murbad highway. It is a tough route with many undulations. The heat rose above our head, but we weren't in the mood to care. We rode for around 15-17 kms, at a good pace, and touched the highway. I almost fainted in the heat. I had to stop near a shop and sit in the shade to steady myself as I was feeling dizzy. The handle ad other metal parts on the cycle were hot to the touch. The sun had done us in. After recovering (lots of bisleri water) we rode a little further on the highway and reached a dhaba and had lunch. The ride back was expectedly treachorous with the sun bearing down on our heads and a towering mountain incline. We laboured our way up the incline and somehow dragged ourselves back home. Disappointing.
We have planned to stop cycling in the sun, till the heat wave dies out and try to ride only in the mornings and evenings. The heat wave is expected to last for another 4-5 days. Morale is down notwithstanding the 4 hour ride from ambernath to the gateway of India (65-70 kms) which we did easily.
Saturday morning : Me and Satish started at 11 and took our pre-determined route from Badlapur towards Titwala and the Murbad highway. It is a tough route with many undulations. The heat rose above our head, but we weren't in the mood to care. We rode for around 15-17 kms, at a good pace, and touched the highway. I almost fainted in the heat. I had to stop near a shop and sit in the shade to steady myself as I was feeling dizzy. The handle ad other metal parts on the cycle were hot to the touch. The sun had done us in. After recovering (lots of bisleri water) we rode a little further on the highway and reached a dhaba and had lunch. The ride back was expectedly treachorous with the sun bearing down on our heads and a towering mountain incline. We laboured our way up the incline and somehow dragged ourselves back home. Disappointing.
We have planned to stop cycling in the sun, till the heat wave dies out and try to ride only in the mornings and evenings. The heat wave is expected to last for another 4-5 days. Morale is down notwithstanding the 4 hour ride from ambernath to the gateway of India (65-70 kms) which we did easily.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Grand dreams
Hello everyone,
Welcome to the blog. We are a bunch of cycling enthusiasts in Mumbai who took to cycling to keep ourselves fit and gradually realized what a wonderful experience it is to ride your cycles for long distances. We started doing little trips outside Mumbai to places like Khopoli, Vashi and now thing whole cycling thing has begun taking hysterical proportions. We are planning a trip to Delhi from Mumbai in the month of August and plan to reach Delhi on the 15th, which is our independence day.
Why are we planning to do this? A couple of reasons...
1. We want to say...Why can't a bicycle be thought of a viable means of transport. If a bunch of 28 yr guys can ride all the way from Mumbai to delhi (we are not professional cyclists...mind you)why can't people living within the vicinity of 5-10 kms of their office ride the bicycle to work. The advantages are many..better health, less conjestion on the road, less pollution.
2.We want to say...How about having a coach for bicycles in the local trains in mumbai. Commuters can ride to the station close to their homes, load their cycles in the train, alight at the station closest to their office and ride the cycle to work.
Welcome to the blog. We are a bunch of cycling enthusiasts in Mumbai who took to cycling to keep ourselves fit and gradually realized what a wonderful experience it is to ride your cycles for long distances. We started doing little trips outside Mumbai to places like Khopoli, Vashi and now thing whole cycling thing has begun taking hysterical proportions. We are planning a trip to Delhi from Mumbai in the month of August and plan to reach Delhi on the 15th, which is our independence day.
Why are we planning to do this? A couple of reasons...
1. We want to say...Why can't a bicycle be thought of a viable means of transport. If a bunch of 28 yr guys can ride all the way from Mumbai to delhi (we are not professional cyclists...mind you)why can't people living within the vicinity of 5-10 kms of their office ride the bicycle to work. The advantages are many..better health, less conjestion on the road, less pollution.
2.We want to say...How about having a coach for bicycles in the local trains in mumbai. Commuters can ride to the station close to their homes, load their cycles in the train, alight at the station closest to their office and ride the cycle to work.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
