Palliatives to an incurable ailment

For many years I had been severely stricken with that most incurable of ailments - Wanderlust. However not having a suitable vehicle as palliative, I suffered in silence while voraciously reading with unmitigated jealousy the accounts of friends and acquaintances riding around.

As a preteen kid in New Delhi, the symptoms of my wanderlust were already very much in evidence as I used to roam the lanes of our residential colony in my BSA Wild Cat.

The wanderlust then raised its head during my years in Cochin as the Hercules Top Gear roamed the cities of the city. The sore thigh and the benumbed members failed to erase my passion for riding long distances customarily traveled in bus and rarely on cycles.

The dark ages of my wanderlust began with the start of college. Stuck with a Honda Activa and severe restrictions on traveling the dark ages were replete with hours whiled away in agony on hearing the travel accounts from hostel mates.

All this changed a month back when an Ivory Gray Hero Honda Hunk became my steed. Though not the Royal Enfield of my perpetual dreams, this was however a worthy cure for my long suppressed wanderlust.

The bike which I took delivery on 1 September, 2010 has undergone its first service of 750 km in its third week and now has clocked 1300 kms. I think I have gone rather conservative on the rides for the first month and hope to improve my miles in the coming months.

The first ride I took in my bike was a short ride to Cherai , a beautiful beach north of Kochi. Always a safe rider, I felt it stupid to go any long distance without pacing myself and my bike through shorter rides. At a distance of around 35 kilometers from Kochi City, Cherai is a picturesque beach with adequate pleasure for the eyes. The ride up was via the Gosree Bridge, connecting the various small isles dotting the Kochi harbor and the main bus route to Cherai. However one gets too bored by remaining stationary when the wanderlust has charged up one's veins. So I drove southwards along the Beach Road, a less traveled but exceptionally beautiful road with white sandy beaches on one side and vast lagoons on the other side. The beaches along this narrow road are much less crowded and more soothing for an introvert. Armed with a Nikon L110 camera, another palliative for a person with a developing passion in photography, I wanted to take some shots of the bike close to the beach.

The mangroves planted to check monsoon erosion was the route I took, driving my bike in first gear through loose unpacked sand, taking care to control the rpm so that the wheels do not sink in to the sand. I was on a half crouched posture as I did not dare put my weight on to the tyres. However the photos that ensued have been worth it.

After a few more photo locations I drove down to the Vypeen Jhankar Ferry where I was fortunate enough to be the last one aboard the over crowded ferry. Despite being unable to get down from the bike, the setting sun and the beautiful city lights of Cochin City provided me opportunity for some juicy snaps. The return ride back home through Mattancherri and Wellington Island was pure vanilla and unremarkable.

In this first ride, I clocked 76 kms.

The second ride was to Trichur, a city 80 kms north of Kochi. Driving down the excellent stretch of NH47, i felt content to maintain an average speed of 65kmph. Though I did humor my adrenaline surges by taking the bike to 85 kmph, I did not want to push harder since not even the first service had been done and besides, to enjoy a long ride, it should be done with a moderate speed. After all what is the pleasure of travel if one does not have the time to appreciate the land?

80kms up and 80 kms down saw me clock around 170 odd kilometers in two days.

Having got the bike in superb condition after the first service I had been itching to do another long ride when the opportunity presented to myself in the form of a ride to Sholayar.

Unlike other rides which I undertook alone, this time I had my father along as the pillion rider. A daredevil in his youth, he wanted to ride through the high ranges he had flown over during his youth as a pilot in Agricultural Ministry. Driving once again through the excellent NH47 till Chalakudy, we took the deviation to Athirapalli. The roads were simply magnificent, the gentle bankings and beautiful scenery made the drive a supremely pleasurable affair. However the excellent roads gave way to the potholed ghat roads once we entered the Athirapalli - Vazhachal stretch. After the mandatory checking at the Forest Check post at Vazhachal, we were off again. Though the gas filled rear shock absorbers of the Hero Honda Hunk had proved itself adequate for my 115kg frame, it was not enough to dampen the shocks for the old bones of my father. Each jerk on the potholed roads elicited grunts of discomfort from the pater.

The 1000th kilometer of my bike was reached at the precise spot where we can go near the Peringalkuthu reservoir. The odometric miracle was simply margelous in my opinion. However the ride onwards was stopped at the Sholayar penstocks as my father finally expressed his inability to go further. The crazy readings of my fuel gauge, which showed half tank now, near empty afterwards, again half tank later on also sowed seeds of doubt in my mind about continuing onwards for the 50 further kilometers to Valpara.

Instead of retracing the Chalakudy route, we took the deviation from Silver Storm water theme park and went through the Plantation Corporation of Kerala Estate which proved to be almost 12 kms shorter albeit in execrable conditions. After short coffee break at Mookkannor, the location of my alma mater, we duly returned home at Kochi. A drive which started at 0830 terminated at 1730, covering a distance of 217 kms, 114 up and 103 down.

Hopefully my next drives would be even longer in distance and thrilling in locations.