Of rains, trails and garage days...

The rains have set in early this monsoon and like every year, have degraded a lot of highways and have had similar effects to the chances of any significant long distance riding.

So the last month has been spent doing a lot of mud trail riding, on a number of short distance rides. Nothing like blazing along wet trails and kicking up some mud! On one particular ride, I went for a long trek after offroading deep into a forest as far as the bike could take me, got hopelessly lost and drenched in the pouring rain for 4 hours before being able to find the spot where I left my bike, only to find the trail I had rode obliterated by rain. After fishtailing in the mud and darkness for another hour, I gained the highway, a cold and a valuble lesson in the importance of marking your surroundings in a forest. 

(Photos are before the rains hit ofcouse)

Other rides have been exploring new trails, a few long detours from work and fishing trips that have taken me quite close to many waterbodies around the city (offroading ofcourse), The sturdy royal enfield being my prefered companion. I must comment on the amazing versatility of this beast, neither is it an off road bike, nor am I an off road rider. Neither does it have ramped up shocks nor big button tires, but still it has taken me everywhere, through every weather condition that could be thrown at us, without a single hiccup. 

As the rains come down, a biker can always put his time to good use by fixing up his bikes. Adventures are great, but sometimes the safest place to be when the rain is relentless is in your garage. Good time to give all those nagging issues a look and probably even a fix. 

I had an issue with the Yezdi's crank a couple of months ago, so I took the oppurtunity to pull apart the bike, change the engine bearings and oil seals, and get the crank aligned. 

Also, with all the punishment I had put it through over the last year (20,000 odd kms) the Royal Enfield's fork cones and bearings needed changing, and the brakes and sprokets needed attention.

The Jawa was least attention seaking, with a spark plug change being her only demand.

This gave me many long hours in the garage, and an oppurtunity to admire and fall in love with the machines that have kept me in awe, all over again. 

As the monsoon continues, Ill leave you with a few pictures, and until next time, build hard, ride safe and don't forget to keep em brakes dry!!

Why we ride

Movies, songs, books and God knows what else have been made in an attempt to answer that question. But nothing really can, and I wont try in this humble blog. Riding is an experience that must be felt, enjoyed, and craved for. The freedom of an open ribbon of highway, the breeze blowing gently on your face, the roar of your bike and the scenic landscape passing by are just the external factors that compliment the internal adrenaline rush when you make a tight overtake, wandering thoughts, memories brought back by scenes on the way and so much more.

Today, for the first time, I mounted my GoPro on my helmet and rode through Medak district around the hills and forests of Narsapur. 

After a while, I forgot all about the camera and kept riding like I always do. When I came home I was surprised by the amazing riders eye perspective the GoPro had silently captured. So I stitched the best clips together and threw in Metallica's Turn The Page (one of my favorite biker songs) as background score.

I don't intend for this video to answer the question "Why we Ride?" But I intend for it to give you a feel of riding. Maybe it will encourage some of you to fix up that dusty bike in the garage and hit a highway, or borrow a friends bike and ride. Then you'll know the answer to the question for yourself, and also understand why it can never be explained.

Because blogger wont let me embed the video here, please check out the youtube link below, turn the video quality up to HD and view on full screen. A nice pair of headphones would be the icing. Hope you enjoy it, i certainly did!

http://youtu.be/FJDm7Xn1KnA

Since this is my first stint with videos, feel free to leave feedback here, on youtube, facebook or wherever i may find it! Thanks, and keep riding!!!

Motography!!

Combining passions! Looking forward to shooting on the go. Maybe ill be able to bring a better feel of motorcycling to this blog with the riders perspective video/still cam! Cant wait to test it ! GoPro!!

Three is crowd??

No more bikes this year! Let's see if that resolution holds! Well it should atleast until i can figure out more garage space! To answer the question, three is definately not a crowd, in fact its just getting started! A biker can never really have enough bikes, having said that, i hope i stay true to my resolution for this year!

Through nights and storms

Let me tell you a story, and you can draw your own inferences from it.

One evening after work, a boy got on his bike and didn't stop riding. It soon got dark, and there were huge flashes of lightening and claps of thunder, but the boy didn't stop riding. Then the rain came, first in gentle soothing drops, then in torrents, each drop making impact with the speed of a piearcing arrow, but the boy wouldn't stop riding. Cities faded away in his rear view, he was out on the highway, all alone, in the middle of nowhere with no one to help in case of crisis, amidst the darkness, thunder, lightening and the cold cold rain, but the boy wouldn't stop riding. Then came the wind, fierce and cold, strong enough to uproot bushes and send them tumbling across the highway in front of him, strong enough to push the bike a foot or two in any direction it pleased, but the boy refused to give up riding. Hours slipped by with miles, and in this war between biker and nature, although it seemed like nature had the upper hand and was throwing the kitchen sink at him, the boy was enduring, and slowly and steadily making progress.

Then morning broke, and the first rays of sunlight colored the sky. The darkness, rain and wind, as if afraid of the sun's disapproval of their trials on the boy during the night, vanished along with it. The boy had reached where he wanted to go, had covered 850 odd kilometers, was soaked and cold. But, he took a moment to stop and enjoy the beauty of the sun firing up the sky for a new and beautiful day.

I wont philosophize about this story. It may signify many things to many people. So I'll let You dear reader, draw from it the parallels you would like to draw, if any at all.

But i will tell you one thing,

the boy didn't stop riding...

Garage Diaries

As i surely must have mentioned in previous posts, i enjoy ( and believe all true bikers should ) spending as much time with my bike in the garage, as i would spend riding it along a highway. For me, there is something alluring about fixing your own bike. Maybe it is the feeling of being the creator, having the power to give life. Maybe it is the feeling of satisfaction of knowning and being able to do something that most people wouldn't be expected to know and do. Maybe it's the pushing of physical limits. Maybe it's the mystery of playing detective, hunting for clues to solve that little rattle you hear when you shift to third. Maybe its the satisfaction of finding a loose nut or a whithered wired before it caused a breakdown. Or maybe its just the feeling of riding your bike after your done and thinking "wow, it feels much better, i made that difference". Motorcycling has always been about freedom and giving a person control of a moment. I think garage days really bind into that spirit.

So when my friends sometimes taunt me about weekends "wasted" indoors in my garage, i always smile and think to myself, "I wouldn't have it any other way".

A heart on two wheels

I went out on one of those "dont care where you're going" rides today. Quite a long one after quite a long time. And as mile after mile of beautiful country roads disappeared behind me with a cool breeze constantly caressing my face, I felt myself leaving behind a lot of things. Worries about injuries, thoughts about the past, anxieties of what the future may hold, anger about being wronged, hurt about being let down, pressures of being someone I'm not, in short a whole lot of baggage seemed to slowly burn away along with the fuel and disappear down the exhausts. All that existed for me was that moment. Me, my bike, the never ending road and all the beautiful sights that flew by. Maybe thats why some people (like me) love riding so much, its a humbling experience that on some good days brings you back to the bare essentials. I don't know if I did a good job describing it, nor do I know if anyone ever will, but I do know that in that moment I was not my past, I was not the image I'm forced to portray to society, I was not what I've achieved in life or what I've failed to be, I was just a boy, with a heart on two wheels.

Escape Artist

Somebody once called me an escapist. A rude jolt to my ego that was! I always fancied myself one to face and fight every situation i was presented with. Immediately the overthinker in me kicked into overdrive, and instead of dismissing the lose comment for what it was, I pondered it over for much longer than i should have. The good part about it is most of my thinking is done on two wheels. And on one long reminiscent ride it hit me. 1) you cannot change what others have decided to believe about you 2) escapism, used judiciously, does not necessarily imply weakness in character. And hence i began to employ it, making conscious choices to pick the battles i needed to fight, and deciding when to just ride.

Laknavaram!

240 kms from hyd, in the district of warangal, lies an island resort encompassed by forested hills. Good scenery, food and a ride, what else can a biker ask for?

And the ride goes on...

It all began with this, the pleasure of the open highway on my royal enfield classic. little did i know that in a few short years it would lead me through many states, cities, places and down roads like servicing, repairing and even building my own bike! Here is to the journey, cause the ride is all that matters!