Ride to Naukunchiatal
Written By 
And so they came back and started off with their mundane lives, but all along he was having this craving to be on the road with his machine ...riding his Enfield through forested ranges, foggy crests, lush meadows, winding rivers, moon-like ravines just for the sheer pleasure of riding. And one day while brooding alone in the office cafeteria, like an angel to a troubled soul walked in his Project Manager (Raj). The skills and experience of people management were put to action and very soon Raj knew what was troubling him. Happy to know that the reason was not due to discontentment with work/office, Raj and he formulated a plan over a cup of coffee. As Raj too was a proud owner of a Thunderbird and was harboring similar dreams, very soon a call was sounded to gather fellow enthusiasts. A trip was planned for the coming weekend. The destination unknown...a true sign of a biking enthusiast. 
Noida - Naukuchiatal - Jim Corbett Reserve - Noida.
Total distance covered 657kms
Time spent riding: 22 hours
Total Time spent: 46 hours
Actually my day had begun even before the previous day's sunset. The anxiety had me awake all through the night. I must have woken up thrice to check the time and if the alarm was on. Finally i reached the venue and was glad to see Vijay and Harish already waiting there. So the plan is on and i am not dreaming again... And very soon Raj joined us. We ran through our checklist and had a quick photo session and then Vijay gave us a brief on how to ride in a group. Experience matters!!!! Then all our engines roared in unison as if a hungry Lion was awake and was readying it self for a kill. So our engines began feasting itself on the roads and we drove off into the sunrise...
The first stop was on a roadside dhaba at Garhmukteshwar for breakfast. Had some traditional parathas and tea. And no sooner had we finished eating we were all eager to hit the road again.
The first great stretch was the NHAI ByPass Road where we had to stop to take some pics of the beautiful countryside. The skies were clear and it seemed as if we had left the seltring heat of Delhi behind. Pics done, it was time to burn the rubber and soon we were thumping again. We took a small halt after crossing Rampur via Moradabad. Then afterwards the landscape was totally different. The roadsides were greener and the air had a certain cleanliness/freshness in it, which only a person living at Delhi could appreciate.
From Bilaspur and via UdhamSingh Nagar we entered PantNagar, the roads of which had foliage around it providing a kind of green tunnel.
Leaving the tigers to enjoy the season we decide that we could visit the Falls and so out came the rain coats and in went everything into plastic bags (for water proofing). And so the journey began. 
And very soon my bike and I were back to normal. So we stopped at some dhaba for breakfast. The tea served at dhabas complemented by the rainy weather had a very rejuvenating and refreshing effect on us. Then we had the usual rounds of paranthas with some more tea. Down from the hills, we entered the plains and congratulated each other for having driven safely thru such difficult terrains. Once on the plains our gears changed and so did our speeds.
After that we were back on the road and headed towards Moradababd via Kashipur. All along the journey we had spells of shower. So the weather made our journey a pleasure. True to Vijays words of wisdom our enthusiasm was ebbing out and we were more eager to get home, now that the adventure was over. The stoppages were less and we did stretches of 140 km at one go. We stopped at a dhaba for a late lunch and then vrrroommmed to Noida. It was around 10 pm when we entered Noida and was raining. 
Seemed like we had gone into the hills to get the rains.
98 999 018 66
http://www.vijusnn.blogspot.com
http://vijusnn.dotphoto.com
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Shuja Khan
Sometime back, not too far in time was a couple who had gone to a resort at Kullu, along with some friends over the weekend. (Dramatic opening...read on for some more...) They were enjoying themselves to the hilt doing river rafting, trekking, playing volleyball in the lap of nature when suddenly there was roar which stopped every one in their tracks and had everyone running towards the direction from which the sound was coming. Lo Behold! There was this group of riders on their machines, thumping off to scale the heights of Himalayas. And all of a sudden everything around him changed ...his whole life seemed worthless. In a flash the sense of happiness & contentment changed into a saddening hollowness. To the utter astonishment of his wife who could not believe as to what burden came upon him that he had become such a brooding spoil sport. He could not believe that he had owned a similar machine for three years but had never been able to enjoy a ride full of adventures of such proportions.
And so they came back and started off with their mundane lives, but all along he was having this craving to be on the road with his machine ...riding his Enfield through forested ranges, foggy crests, lush meadows, winding rivers, moon-like ravines just for the sheer pleasure of riding. And one day while brooding alone in the office cafeteria, like an angel to a troubled soul walked in his Project Manager (Raj). The skills and experience of people management were put to action and very soon Raj knew what was troubling him. Happy to know that the reason was not due to discontentment with work/office, Raj and he formulated a plan over a cup of coffee. As Raj too was a proud owner of a Thunderbird and was harboring similar dreams, very soon a call was sounded to gather fellow enthusiasts. A trip was planned for the coming weekend. The destination unknown...a true sign of a biking enthusiast.
Colleagues Vijay (a veteran rider) and Harish agreed to join them. With them they brought their vast experience and knowledge of the limitations of the machines, handling a bike breakdown, riding in a formation, the group dynamics and coordination in short, the what-to-do & what-not-to-do of long distance biking. The direction that this group would take was decided on the penultimate day. And so a dream transformed into a plan and thats how i started out on my first ever adventure on my bike.
Noida - Naukuchiatal - Jim Corbett Reserve - Noida.
Total distance covered 657kms
Time spent riding: 22 hours
Total Time spent: 46 hours
Day 1(Saturday 8th July) 5am
Actually my day had begun even before the previous day's sunset. The anxiety had me awake all through the night. I must have woken up thrice to check the time and if the alarm was on. Finally i reached the venue and was glad to see Vijay and Harish already waiting there. So the plan is on and i am not dreaming again... And very soon Raj joined us. We ran through our checklist and had a quick photo session and then Vijay gave us a brief on how to ride in a group. Experience matters!!!! Then all our engines roared in unison as if a hungry Lion was awake and was readying it self for a kill. So our engines began feasting itself on the roads and we drove off into the sunrise...
The first stop was on a roadside dhaba at Garhmukteshwar for breakfast. Had some traditional parathas and tea. And no sooner had we finished eating we were all eager to hit the road again.
The first great stretch was the NHAI ByPass Road where we had to stop to take some pics of the beautiful countryside. The skies were clear and it seemed as if we had left the seltring heat of Delhi behind. Pics done, it was time to burn the rubber and soon we were thumping again. We took a small halt after crossing Rampur via Moradabad. Then afterwards the landscape was totally different. The roadsides were greener and the air had a certain cleanliness/freshness in it, which only a person living at Delhi could appreciate.
From Bilaspur and via UdhamSingh Nagar we entered PantNagar, the roads of which had foliage around it providing a kind of green tunnel.
Somewhere in the greenery of Pant Nagar and on our way to Haldwani we took a small halt to stretch our legs and had some refreshments ...a cool mint laced freshly grounded sugarcane juice. After Haldwani it seemed as if the foothills of Himalayas had suddenly cropped up out of nowhere and we were slowly climbing up the snaking roads into Kathgodam. Shuffling in between our 2nd and 3rd gears we reached Bhimtal. Having done the plains at speeds of 80-100 kmph, it was all together a different experience driving on roads which suddenly did a 90 degree turn with the rocks on one side and 60 feet deep 'khai' on the other side of the road. It made my head dizzy trying to focus on my driving as well as trying to gauge the depth of these slopes. From Bhimtal we headed off to Naukuchiatal. Upon reaching there i did a run across the circumference of the lake as if to pay obeisance to the lake. A huge Hanuman (god of strength) temple held fort at one end of the lake. From there we headed off on a 45 degree inclined road to finally reach the resort where we would be checking in. At 3pm we finally turned off the ignition of our bikes and stepped on the terra firma. To me it was an experience of a lifetime. A trip across lands and rivers and ravines that i had only read of and had imagined.
After a late lunch every one was out with their cameras and pretty soon Raj was giving us a crash course on professional photography. Photography buff that he is, we had some gyaan sessions on the features of our cameras and how to take pictures and not just click pics. The resort that we had checked in was situated on the lake. The lake was actually getting bifurcated on the rock on which this resort steadily stood. Some amazing moments spent in the tranquility of this heavenly place trying to absorb the beauty and serenity of the place. Such is the freshness of the air there that we hardly felt any road-weariness and we all were up and ready for some trekking. Taking an offbeat track we headed off into the hills thinking that we were venturing into a place where no man has venture (ok
. or at least where people rarely go). But alas on top off the hill stood a row of houses and a small make shift dhaba where we went and had tea and had a good laugh at our selves for our failed attempt at being Columbus and Vasco-de-Gama. Amidst that laughter and tea we even checked out the real-estate prospects from the locals there.
Back at the resort all of us had dinner and made plans about what adventure activities we would be doing the following day (like boating, paragliding, etc). And interesting observation was that we all slumped into our beds and were lying on our stomach and not on our backs. Before dozing off we all were discussing on how the first thing that we would do upon reaching home was to modify our bikes seats and were discussing the possibilities of surgically enhancing our behinds to add more cushion to it.
Day Two: 6 am
Opened my eyes to a lovely chilly weather with the pitter-patter of the rain. For a moment I thought I was still dreaming but then the mist from the rain on my face made it all look too real for a dream. What a way to wake up! From the resort officials we came to know that it had been raining the entire night. So a quick meeting was called by Raj to discuss the agenda for the day ahead. Over umpteen cups of tea, it was finally decided that we head to Jim Corbett Falls as the reserve was closed due to the mating season of the tigers. With a beautiful weather like that what else could one do... ;-)
Back at the resort all of us had dinner and made plans about what adventure activities we would be doing the following day (like boating, paragliding, etc). And interesting observation was that we all slumped into our beds and were lying on our stomach and not on our backs. Before dozing off we all were discussing on how the first thing that we would do upon reaching home was to modify our bikes seats and were discussing the possibilities of surgically enhancing our behinds to add more cushion to it.
Day Two: 6 am
Opened my eyes to a lovely chilly weather with the pitter-patter of the rain. For a moment I thought I was still dreaming but then the mist from the rain on my face made it all look too real for a dream. What a way to wake up! From the resort officials we came to know that it had been raining the entire night. So a quick meeting was called by Raj to discuss the agenda for the day ahead. Over umpteen cups of tea, it was finally decided that we head to Jim Corbett Falls as the reserve was closed due to the mating season of the tigers. With a beautiful weather like that what else could one do... ;-)
Leaving the tigers to enjoy the season we decide that we could visit the Falls and so out came the rain coats and in went everything into plastic bags (for water proofing). And so the journey began.
It was an experience to drive down the hills the rains. Visibility was low because of the clouds and the rains, the tarmac was slippery and small rivulets of rainwater on the roads were racing with us. We were driving at speeds of 20-30kmph. Many a times i was distracted by the beautiful landscapes, the scenic step-farming with water clogged fields of crops, the clouds below and suddenly the road would take a sharp bend and i would jolt out of my dream and take a vow to keep my eyes on the road only. Well all through the journey on the hills i kept making and breaking such promises. We had stopped somewhere to refuel our machines for the journey back. Due to the incessant rains, water had somehow managed to enter my petrol tank while I was refueling. And then to my utter horror my bike started stalling. Dr Vijay came to the rescue. I told him about my bikes symptoms and the medical history and very soon he diagnosed that it was due to the water in my carburetor. So Dr is that critical or what? I asked. And the Dr replied, nothing to worry about
. just keep revving whenever the engine tries to die out.
And very soon my bike and I were back to normal. So we stopped at some dhaba for breakfast. The tea served at dhabas complemented by the rainy weather had a very rejuvenating and refreshing effect on us. Then we had the usual rounds of paranthas with some more tea. Down from the hills, we entered the plains and congratulated each other for having driven safely thru such difficult terrains. Once on the plains our gears changed and so did our speeds.
We headed off to Jim Corbett Falls. To get a taste of what we were heading for do visit http://www.corbettpark.com/. It was a great thrill to ride through a forest range known for its tigers and elephants. The dark grey road winding its self amidst a thick greenery with strange sounds of birds and insects with the awareness that there could be tigers and other wild cats nearby had our adrenalin flow steady. The way to the falls happens to be amidst some thick foliage and we over shot it by some 23 kms and had to turn back. Finally we reached the falls and once again the cameras were out to capture the magic of nature. The tree vines were the size of anacondas. Peeling off our wet clothes we jumped into the cool waters of the fall and spent about half an hour chilling out.
After that we were back on the road and headed towards Moradababd via Kashipur. All along the journey we had spells of shower. So the weather made our journey a pleasure. True to Vijays words of wisdom our enthusiasm was ebbing out and we were more eager to get home, now that the adventure was over. The stoppages were less and we did stretches of 140 km at one go. We stopped at a dhaba for a late lunch and then vrrroommmed to Noida. It was around 10 pm when we entered Noida and was raining.
Seemed like we had gone into the hills to get the rains.
Mission accomplished. We congratulated each other on the fact that we had a journey without a hitch and none of the machines had any breakdowns. And then we parted ways to head to our homes.
Hope to be on the road soon to some unknown destination driving on unknown roads to discover beautiful India along with my Enfield ofcourse!!!!.
Hope to be on the road soon to some unknown destination driving on unknown roads to discover beautiful India along with my Enfield ofcourse!!!!.
Written by
Shuja Khan
98 999 018 66
http://www.vijusnn.blogspot.com
http://vijusnn.dotphoto.com
All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity and ease of use." - PC Magazine
posted by Vijay Naik at 4:19 AM
