Ride on 24-25th March..the Holi Day!!!

Hey There,

Its been quite a long time i have not been able to pen down this one..But today is the day my Friend!!

So here am i, presenting to you the story of my ride to Kolhapur & Mahabaleshwar on the eve of Holi!

Prologue:

March 19, 2016-I have a WAG, which I made a year back to discuss rides & travel plans with my friends who are ever ready to travel-ride-explore. The group members are Uday, Prasad, Supendra & Myself (Others are added as per the need basis for the ride)

Uday called me and asked about the ride plans for the long Holi Weekend! I said no plans, but if I get leaves sure let’s plan something, to which he said I have a plan all set, maps & routes chalked out. He further said he will forward me the excel sheet with all the necessary information. Then I posted my query on the FB – HVK Forum of doing Udaipur-Mt.Abu & RoK in 4days (to&fro back). To which many suggested not doable & too exhaustive for riding. The other plan we had was Kolhapur-Hampi & Back via Ratnagiri-Chiplun. As always, everything was depending on my & Prasad’s leaves. There were 2 bikes, Black Pearl (my newly acquired Bajaj Avenger Street 220, just a week old & already had 800+KM’s on the Odo which means servicing done and was ready to roll on!!) & Udays (Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS)

21^st March, I got the confirmation, that we have only 1day leave (i.e Holi) & we would be working on Friday & Saturday. I informed the group & asked them, what shall be done. To which both said, lets ride to Kolhapur & back. Then after some study and research on route conditions and Google maps, I came up with the below route plan

Route1:-

Day1:- Borivali- GB Road- Koparkhairane-Panvel>Lonavala>Pune>Satara >Karad>Kolhapur

Day2:- Kolhapur>Satara>Wai>Panchgani>Mahabaleshwar>Wai>Pune>Lonavala>Mumbai

OR

Kolhapur>Satara>Wai>Panchgani>Mahabaleshwar> Poladpur>Old Goa Highway> Panvel-GB Road-Borivali

OR

Kolhapur>Satara>Medha>Mahabaleshwar> Poladpur>Old Goa Highway> Panvel-GB Road-Borivali (The one we took)

And yeah, approvals from Family were still dicy! But given the track record, I knew they will give in. So at the time of dinner I bombed them, I am out on Holi since I will be in Kolhapur. My parents thought I am going with friends via Train. But my Sister already knew what I was planning, so she chose to keep mum. Now, as always they threw some ifs & buts but I knew I was going to get the approval. Finally after 30mins of  maska & promises, I got the approval. Leave from office, was a last minute plan( I hope you get it) ;)

So we both got the bike ready & other preparations in place.

T-1 Day : Around 3pm, although I was still in office but mentally was making notes of things I need to carry. And that’s when I realized I need a tankbag or saddle & given the office hours are, I was not sure if I will manage to reach a shop in time, and hence messaged the members in the BBC Western WhatsApp group. Yash insisted to take his saddle, but was keen on carrying light (since I would be riding with a pillion). Its then, Nirmal who asked me to try his tankbag. In night went to meet him & check out the tankbag. I was not pretty sure that if it would solve the purpose, but he was reluctant that this would take care of my needs. Eventually it did!

Post office, got the fueling done & air pressure checked. Was pumped up & ready to roll. It was around 9pm, we discussed over a quick call what all has been taken care & what else needs to be done. As a habit I recently inculcated, was going through the HVK Forum page on FB. That’s when I saw Snehil’s post, asking for company on the Mumbai-Pune stretch ( he was traveling to Pune for Holi & weekend). Exchanged numbers, gave him a call and discussed the plan!

It was around 10.30pm the WAG got active with a message from Uday saying he has not yet reached home, Prasad too updated that he was in office. So I took the call that if needed we shall begin late. At 12.15 around we were still arguing on WAG & was finally decided we would start as per the schedule.

So finally we were set to roll!

Rider’s & their ride:

Uday- Pulsar 135LS

Snehil – Pulsar 200NS

Myself – Avenger Street 220

Prasad – Pillion

So the meeting points were scheduled as:

Fountain Hotel – 4.30am to catch up with Uday

Thane (Agra highway junction) – 5am Snehil tags in

Rabale – 5.30am – Prasad joins in!

So before I begin with the Travelogue, A Thank You Note:-

Thanks a lot God for being supportive and getting us back home safe and sound!

Lot’s of love, respect to our machines that they got us safe home without any breakdowns/ troubles.

A special thanks to my family for letting me fulfill my madness.

Uday my buddy, biker friend for your support and planning.

My friends & fellow riders at team BBC & HVK for the motivating, valuable inputs for bike service, routes, places to stay,etc. Thank You All!! I never get a chance to thank you guys, so I take this opportunity to THANK YOU all fellaz out there! Love You guys! God Bless.

Lastly, Some Do’s & Dont’s :-

1) Wear full gears, shoes, jacket, and helmet.

2) Carry water and keep yourself hydrated.

3) When you feel sleepy or bored, take a break and stretch out.

4) Make sure you give proper indicators/ hand-signs while taking turns/ lane changes.

5) Give pass-by and horn when necessary.

6) Keep your family/ friends updated in-case of emergency. Ensure to keep 2-3 friends informed about the venture, in case of any emergency they can come handy!

7) Don’t ride or drive on high - beam

8) Don’t overeat as it might make you feel sleepy.

9) Don’t over speed until necessary.


Day1: Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur


Day2: Kolhapur-Mahabaleshwar-Poladpur-Mumbai