Bike Ride

"Its time we hit the roads again. Its been sometime now", said Raphae one day… We were in the process of buying the car and december being december 13, we drove to Vadodara on the Royal Enfield Electra…

I think Royal Enfield really thinks for the pillion rider…The seat is the most comfortable one, so far on a bike..

The roads are awesome and the traffic very sensible, maintaining rules all the way… It was chilling in the morning and winds gushed through us.. Fortunately we were pre-warned and had proper gear for the winter ride.

The roads are no longer a mystery to us, having driven a number of times on this stretch.. So, We stopped at our very usual Manor junction - The Silver Miles.. (1-1/2 hr ride from home).. We have been visiting this place ever since it was being constructed. Its a good hygienic place. On the bike, it becomes even more essential to take the brakes at regular intervals even if there is no tiredness so the small "bum-brakes", "by the way waterfall brakes" during the journey are a pleasure to stop for even if fatigue hasn't set in.

Our gear - The Saddle Bags, Gloves, Helmet, Balaclava, Leather Jacket and The Attitude to Live and Let Live

We continued our journey for our next main stop at Vapi. The Bharuch bridge was undergoing some repairs so we had planned for a de-tour. By the time we neared Ankleshwar, we were told to just go straight and not take a de-tour to Rajpipla.. Trusting the locals we went straight. The NHAI team was doing a good job of handling the traffic and diverting it wherever necessary.. so we had no trouble crossing the bridge. We reached Vadodara by 4pm.

Well constructed roads with proper banking and emergency facilities. It has improved a lot over the years. The landscape is undoubtedly beautiful and traveling on the bike is an added adventure.

Thats us, taking a short brake on our return trip to Mumbai. We anticipated a lot of traffic and couldn't have gone wrong with that judgement. So were trying to fill our lungs with fresh air to last us until the next trip out of Mumbai. LOL!

The one-way distance covered was 410 in 8 hours including the leisure brakes… It always ends us making us stronger, courageous and allowing us to face the world head-on.

In many ways the bigger transport vehicles, inspite of being the king-of-highways, have given way to the smaller cars…

Saw many accidents, and witnessed one right ahead of us… The 8 wheel truck- trailer that we were about to overtake, had an old tyre that blew off.. It blasted throwing a lot of debri and stones. Fortunately for us, it was the middle wheel so the truck didn't go off-balance, nor did the particles hit us.. they went sideways.. Raphae was attentive enough to move off its way… Later, a conversation with another bike rider made us realize the gravity of the situation.. Alls well that ends well.

When the mist (read pollution) encircles you at toll booth, you believe it's heaven, for you have come closer to home after a long challenging ride.. When you see the high rise buildings, and the green patch of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, you think life is good. When you see the planes take off and land right over your head, so low that if you jump high enough you can touch its base, you know its time to celebrate for home is just a hop away.. Ironically that hop took us 1-1/2 hour to reach… So close and yet so far. TRAAAFFFFICCCC!!!.

As they say - "The roads to success are always under construction"

All in all - A great ride, a successful trip to / from / in Baroda…

Next: Vacation Mode in e2o

Mahindra Reva e2o meets the Cops

Buying an e2o is an experience in itself and the beginning of enriching experiences to come..


Its been a pleasure so far to drive the 200 kms… and have received varied compliments from friends, colleagues and people around.

Just near our neighborhood one day, was stepping out of the car when a passerby asked. "nayi gadi che?" (is it your new car?), 
"Saari che, Ketla ma leedhi?" (its nice! how much did you buy it for?) 
I smiled and said 7 and a half. 
To which he raised his eyebrow, doing his calculations in his mind.. the very next question was the expected one - "Mileage ketlo aape che" (how much mileage does it give?)
Now my turn to surprise him. It runs on battery, I said.. He didn't know what to ask next as his calculations went for a toss.. Just passed by expressing that I bought a very expensive car. Saw him mumbling as he kept walking ahead.

Few days later at Andheri Check Post - The cops held out their hand to stop the car and I had to oblige not knowing which law I had broken.. (just had the insurance cover and rough registration papers then).. Skeptical about the cops not understanding that the car doesn't need a PUC, I was preparing for all the explanations I would have to give them and in someway have to pay the fine for whatever reason…
To my surprise they were interested in the car I was driving.. Having not seen one ever before on road… The usual questions; what the car was about and no gear, no fuel, no exhaust pipe, no PUC made the conversation interesting.. never had so much fun being interrogated…
For the first time in my life, I talked to the cops without having broken a law and without being fined.. LOL!

Then the e2o visited the fuel station… of course! not for refueling.. Gone are those days!!  :) We went there to fill nitrogen in our tubeless tyres… the 15 minutes there were hilarious.. visitors and onlookers gathered.. Interesting to find so many people feel for the car.. Their tit-bits - whether registration of an EV vehicle is required or not, about the pick up of the car, space and interiors, its body and the color (its not a paint).. 

I do think there is a big market for EVs… Just need to project it right..


Next: Bike Ride to Baroda...

The Dream, that came True

Its that time of the year again; when I am reminded and write about my annual sports achievements, reliving those challenging moments in my mind, and sharing the happiness of my success with my readers. Forming those thoughts after this gap of few months helps me set apart the fantacies and elated emotions from the facts :)

It was the morning of 16th January, 2011 when participants from all over the world ran for a cause, a belief, a goal... The Standard Chartered Marathon 2011 flagged its 11,000 Half-Marathon participants at 6:15 am IST and announced the start of the races for the day. We were to start from the holding area at Bandra Reclamation and reach Victoria Terminus which made it a total distance of 21.029 kms.

My heart pounded reverberantly as the countdown for the race began. Running over the artistically constructed Bandra-Worli Sea Link was thrilling and the beautiful sunrise added to its pleasure. 

There were water and sport drink pitstops where we could hydrate ourselves. Also, the emergency medical units by Asian Heart Institute, mobile toilets, and Relispray units added to the comfort of the runners. We were accompanied by media reporters, doctors and encouraging residents all throughout the route. Some excited and enthusiastic veteran runners kept motivating the newbies to keep enjoying the run as we kept time. 

The moist zone at 10 kms mark was refreshing. It kept us cool for the later part of the run;Chowpatty, Marine lines- when the sun was right on top of our heads. I was banking on the 3hr pacer lead by Venkat, which they had introduced this year to complete the race. He was the confidence pill for me as the race day approached, but I managed to complete it before him and his gang!

I was prepared for the Peddar Road stretch from the previous year's experience of the Gold's Gym Cycle Race... The uphill was the most challenging part of the race for me... It was timely that the Kenyan and the Ethiopian Marathon Runners passed by, because that really pumped up our energy seeing them sprint across the road. Residents at Worli Sea Face, Peddar Road offered lime juice, and glucose biscuits as they encouraged us runners to keep it up... 

The past 3-4 month's resistive practice on the sand had prepared me enough to cover the road stretch of 18 kms. The tempo, the group I was running with, the crowd and seeing my enthusiastic, fun, and loving family at Churchgate cheered me up to reach the finish line with full zeal and energy... Finally, I managed to complete the race in 2:58:29 net time, enabling myself for a AIMS recognized timing certificate.

It wouldn't have been possible without the support, and prayers, of my dearest family and friends, the educative seminar of Asian Heart Institute; where I learnt to recognize the needs of my body, and the confidence pill.