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...