Day 1/ 365 – Scare with the Bike

October 16, 2013October 17, 2013 ~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

The last few days, I have been commuting to work on my bike as it is offers me good flexibility as far as working hours are concerned. Last night after the shift got over, I was traveling on the Ghodbunder Road and faced the usual truck traffic and was able to negotiate safely. After reaching Dahisar Toll Naka, I see the Orange “check engine warning light” come on. I had seen this warning light come on earlier when I did the road trip to Asherigadh. However, after reaching Mumbai I got the bike serviced and didn’t get the warning light. So I didn’t really take any action. Like earlier this time also, I decided to ignore the light and continued towards home. After a few seconds, the light didn’t appear and I thought to myself just like last time. Just when this thought was going through my head, my bike stopped right in the middle of the road. This is the first time in 3 years that something like this had happened with the bike, so my first reaction after panic was to park on the side of the road and wait for a few minutes. After waiting for a few minutes, I turned on the bike again and it didn’t start and made a very strange noise. The noise was good enough to tell me that something is seriously wrong with the bike. I was hoping that the bike would turn on and I wouldn’t have to park the bike in some unknown street or building. I tried again after a couple of minutes and the bike turned on. So I drove extremely cautiously and reached home.

Today morning, I took the bike to the Yamaha Service Center and they said it is a known “minor” issue and there could be some problem with one of the seven sensors in the bike. I was hoping to get the bike fixed today and get it to work, however, it is still not ready and I am thinking if it was just a “minor” issues what is taking the people at the service center such a long time. Just hoping that there is nothing major.

Update: So it turns out the battery in the bike was dying and had to be recharged. However, have been asked to keep an eye on the “orange” warning light. In case if it comes on again, I will need to get a new battery or probably replace the coil. So nothing major so far yet.

Trek to Asherigad fort

September 10, 2013September 10, 2013 ~ Akshay ~ 1 Comment

Last Sunday we, me and 5 of my friends, decided to go to trekking to Asherigad fort. The fort is atleast 800 years old and was rebuilt by Portuguese when they had captured the fort. In 1737, Peshwa won this fort during his campaign of the Konkan and in 1818 this fort came under the British rule. We had two places in mind before commencing the trek – Gorakshgard or Asherigad. Since some people had already done Gorakshgard, we decided to go to Asherigad. Asherigad is approx. 80 kms from Mumbai. Since there were 6 of us, we decided to take a car and a bike. Since the monsoons are almost over, I wanted to take the bike out for a long ride and decided to take my bike. We started the journey at around 745am in the morning and reached the base village (Khodkona) at 10:15am after having a healthy breakfast. Since this was our first time trekking here, we decided to hire a local guide who would take us to the top. I read quite a few blogs which mentioned that there are signs showing direction to the top and back all along the route, I was only able to see few very signs.

The trek begins from the village and the first 30-40 mins are relatively easy as the ground is flat and ascend is not steep. But as we started walking deeper and deeper through the forest, we were practically climbing on the rocks and going up. We reached a spot which was the most difficult part of the entire trek as the climb there is nearly 90 degrees. There is a ladder upon which we had to climb. However, we had still had to lift our entire bodies to reach climb the rock as the ladder covered only 80% of the climb for that rock. Post passing the only major hurdle so far, we covered the rest of the climb relatively easily. The entire uphill climb lasted for almost 3 hours and by the time we got there we were dead tired and had exhausted our supplies of drinking water. Luckily, there is a fresh water lake on the top, where the water is very cold and clean. We filled our water bottles there and decided to rest by the lake for a few minutes.

The path downhill was challenging but relatively easy as we knew the route by now. We were able to reach the base village in 2 hours 20 minutes. We were fortunate as it didn’t rain else it would have been a very difficult trek and a lot of broken bones. Overall it was a good trek and I enjoyed every bit of it.

Bike trip to Pune

January 7, 2013January 8, 2013 ~ Akshay ~ 17 Comments

Last week I did a solo bike trip from Mumbai to Pune taking the Mulshi dam route. I started from Borivali, Mumbai at around 645am on my Yamaha R15. The best part of riding in early morning is the fresh and cold crisp air which hits your face and obviously less vehicles on the road. It took me approx. an hour and 15 mins to reach Panvel where I took my first halt and had a cup of chai. Post chai, started my journey on NH-4 towards Lonavala. Somehow, I like riding on the old Mumbai-Pune highway (NH4). The tar road is virtually pot hole free and it is a dream to ride on. The power of R15 can be felt on such roads. As soon as the bike hit 4^th gear, I could feel the engine just going to different level and riding the bike just felt even more pleasurable. Plus the fact that very few vehicles use this road makes it even more enjoyable to ride the bike.

I reached Lonavala and decided to halt for breakfast. I decided to stop at McDonalds assuming that they have better rest room facilities so I could use that and also have decent breakfast. However as soon as I asked directions for washroom, I was informed that there was no water and restrooms can’t be used. Good thing I carry a hand sanitizer with me. Finished breakfast and decided to explore Lonavala before taking the route to Mulshi lake. While riding on the roads in Lonavala, I realized that state highway roads are much better than the shit we call as roads in Mumbai. Most of the roads didn’t have a single pothole. I continued on the same road, until I reached a road split. One road goes towards Aamby Valley and another road heads towards Mulshi. Since I wasn’t sure, I decided to ask a local to make sure I was going in the right direction. I was told that the road ahead was bad and I would have to drive very slowly to get to the lake. At this point in time, I was in two minds, whether to go ahead or turn back and head on NH-4.

I decided to take the road less driven and just like the local person had said, it was a horrible road – full of stones and gravel and mud. I was cursing myself for taking this road and was apologizing to the bike for driving her on such bad roads. The road passes through forest and there are very few people who use this road. The road was really bad and at many times I was praying for the bike to not break down as that would have left me stranded in the middle of the forest. After riding on this road for about 60 mins, I reached an area where there were a lot of houses being built. This was right behind the Aamby Valley and I suspect there must be some road which would be leading to Aamby Valley. However the best part of the area was there were tar roads. Looking at that road my eyes really lit up. I felt like “ok, I guess the worst roads are over and will have smooth roads going ahead”. I couldn’t have been more wrong. After riding on the nice road for 2-3 mins, I rode on possibly worst road ever. The road was full of stones and mud. Just that. It was really horrible to ride. There were many times where I felt I was going to slip from the bike, but was able to control the bike somehow. I rode for another 20 mins when the road got finally better and I saw the glimpses of the Mulshi Lake. I continued riding on the road and reached the first village which was right by the lakeside. I stopped the bike and got down and took some pictures of the place.

After crossing the village, the road for considerably better and was a pleasure to ride on. There was lake on one side and mountain on another and absolutely not a single soul on the road. I stopped the bike in between at many isolated places and took pictures. It was a very peaceful drive, just me, bike and birds. I continued on this road until I reach Mulshi village at SH 60. Pune is approx. 45 kms from this intersection. I decided to head towards Pune as I had already been driving for more than 5 hours and was exhausted. I entered Pune via Warje toll booth and headed towards Magarpatta.

Pune city is a very confusing place to ride in, especially if you are riding in the city for the first time. I feel the entire city has been designed in circles and getting lost can be very easy. I had trusted my GPS to provide the right directions, but unfortunately got lost and was going around in circles for more than 30 mins before finding the right road. While riding in Pune for approx. one hour, I saw the worst bike riders ever. No regard for the traffic signals and riding on foot path is very common. After riding for approx. 7 hours and approx. 300+ kms, I finally reached my friend’s place in Magarpatta city and decided to call it a day. My shoulders were paining like anything since I was carrying my backpack all throughout the journey. However, the pain was nothing as compared to fun that I had while riding solo all through the trip.

Encounter with traffic police

July 31, 2012July 31, 2012 ~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Last Saturday while I was at my MBA classes, I had parked my bike outside the college gate as there was no parking allowed in the college premises due to some construction work. I have been attending the classes since last 3 weeks before this past Saturday and during the 1st week itself I had asked the security guard whether it is safe to park outside the gate and he said there shouldn’t be any problem. So as usual, last Saturday I parked outside my college gates at my designated spot. My friend also parked outside the gate but on the right side of the gate, while I was parked on the left.

So our lectures are going on and all of the sudden the professor gets a call from the college admin authorities saying that the police towing vehicle is here and they are towing vehicles parked outside the gate. As soon as we got to know this, we all ran down to the gate to check on our bikes, cars etc. In the mean time it had started to rain heavily. I came outside the gate and saw that my bike was parked where I had left it and it wasn’t towed, while my friend was not so lucky and his new Royal Enfield got towed away. We asked the security guard where they had taken my friends bike and he said that they have just left like 5 mins back and we should be able to see them on the main road. Since my bike was still there, we decided to give chase to the towing vehicle. By this time, it was pouring cats and dogs and we were totally drenched. After riding the bike in the direction pointed by the security guard, we saw the towing vehicle on the road. We chased the vehicle, overtook it and parked it right in front of the towing truck.

With the rain pouring very heavily, the traffic was already very slow moving and with me parking right in front of the towing truck and not allowing it go any further, traffic started piling on the road. While I waited on the bike, my friend went to negotiate with the traffic cop and requested him to hand over the bike to us. At first he refused and asked us to come to the police station and take the bike from there. But my friend not relenting and the vehicles honking from behind probably made him change his mind. He asked us to move a little ahead so he could park on the side and give us the bike. After parking the towing truck on the side, we were asked to pay a fine – which we duly paid and he handed over the bike to us. We took the bike and brought it back to the college.

The scenes at the college was chaotic at the best. There were many students and professors who had got their vehicles and were scrambling to find a parking spot and wanted to park in the college premises. Some of them even went and met the principle of the institution, but she didn’t give the permission to park the vehicles in the college campus. In the meanwhile, another towing truck passed by and we stopped the truck and asked the traffic inspector to tell us where do we park. He told us simply to look at the parking board. He said you were parked in the no parking zone and hence your vehicles got towed away. He asked us to park on the opposite side of the road where we could park without having to worry about our vehicles getting towed away.

We parked on the opposite side of the road, but kept checking our bikes every 2 hours just to ensure that it is still there and not towed away. Least to say it was a very interesting Saturday.

Bike trip to Valsad

March 13, 2012 ~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Last Sunday, I along with my dad, went to Valsad on bike for some personal work. Valsad is about 180kms from Mumbai and would have taken me approx. 3 hours of reach there. We started at around 6:50am in the morning and took the NH8. Once we crossed the Ghodbunder junction, the roads were simply awesome. After crossing Virar, the road turns into a 6 lane highway. There was not a single pothole that I encountered on the entire journey. Coming from a city where roads are littered with potholes, riding on such smooth roads was unexpected and a dream come true experience. I wonder why don’t these engineers make roads in Mumbai, I am sure we would have much better roads.

I couldn’t resist speeding looking at the empty highway and smooth roads. I feel once the R15 crosses the speed of 75kmph, it really opens up and it easily slips into a mode where even riding at 120kmph feels like a breeze. The bike was completely stable and I couldn’t feel any vibrations. I could achieve the max speed of 124kmph with a pillion rider. I feel that the bike can reach speeds of 135kmph (though that’s a target for a different trip). The best part of the riding is that it makes me feel free and clear. For those few hours, I leave everything behind and just focus on the road and enjoy the surroundings. Overall it was an awesome experience and now I am looking forward to more bike trips this year.

Bike Trip to Lonavala

December 12, 2011December 12, 2011 ~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Last Sunday, it was my wife’s best friend’s sister’s marriage in Lonavala. My wife had already left with her friend for the wedding on Saturday and this gave me an opportunity to do a solo bike trip to Lonavala, which is approx. 115 kms away with a riding time of about 2 hours. I have always been a city rider and had never driven outside of the city since getting the bike a year ago. So this was an ideal situation distance/ journey for me to get some practice before going on much longer rides.

I started for the journey at 6am. I did the customary checks to make ensure the headlights were working, brakes were in order and fuel was sufficient. I was a bit low on fuel, but decided to fill the tank on the way. I decided to go via Ghodbunder Road as suggested by Google Maps. I have traveled on Ghodbunder Road many times, so wasn’t expecting much on that route. On reaching Thane, I took a left towards Mumbai Nasik highway. This for me was the beginning of the actual journey – road never traveled before. I took a left at the toll road towards Pune and kept riding on the Mumbra Kausa road. The road has been built by cutting through the mountains and it is a pleasure to ride on the same early in the morning. Once the toll gate is crossed on the other side, the road is full of potholes until I reached Shil Phata. The road from Shil Phata to Panvel passes through the MIDC area and since I had left home early , there were hardly any vehicles on the road. Also I got the opportunity to view the sunrise beyond the hills. The view was magnificent. I wish I had a camera to capture the moment.

On reaching Panvel, I refueled my bike and grabbed a cup of hot chai. The crisp morning along with a hot cup of chai and an awesome ride so far had really made my morning. I was excited and looking forward to the next phase of the ride from Panvel to Lonavala, which was another 60 odd kms. I set out on the Nh4 highway which is a two lane highway with a divider and really nice roads. In no time I was cruising at 80kmph and passing through villages in between. The performance of the bike was exceptional; there was no drag, no vibrations just pure power. For the 1^st time, I rode at 114kmphs and was absolutely thrilled. I reached Khopoli, crossed the ghats and merged on the Mumbai – Pune expressway. It was my first time riding on the express way and I was a bit apprehensive with cars driving at breakneck speeds. However, I managed it just fine. Reached Lonavala, and was searching for the marriage venue when I saw the venue board with some directions marked on it. I parked my bike on the side and thought the bike stand was in place, however, it slipped due to loose gravel and the entire pressure fell on my left leg and I fell down from the bike. The left side mirror broke, but not completely. Reached the venue on time but was feeling a bit disappointed because of the broken mirror. After the marriage ceremony got over, took the bike to the local mechanics to check whether the mirror could be fixed, however, they couldn’t fix it. We tried the Fevikwik which says “Chutki mein chikaye, anything” even that didn’t help. So I had no option but to ride back with a broken mirror.

The return journey was equally awesome with riding in Lonavala early in the morning and watching the sunrise. All in all it was a very good and learning experience. Hope to have many such wonderful experiences going ahead.

Interesting Conversation with a Stranger

October 3, 2011October 3, 2011 ~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Last Friday, my wife was running really late and asked me to pick her up mid-way from her office. I reached the destination point a few minutes early and had just parked on the side of the road, when I saw a man staring at my bike. At first, I didn’t pay much attention, but then I made eye contact and asked him what the matter was. He didn’t respond, but just kept staring at the bike. After a couple of more minutes of staring he asked me:

Stranger: “Which bike is this?”
Me: “Yamaha R-15”
Stranger: “How fast does it go?”
Me: “I have read that the bike touches 150 kmph”
Stranger: “How fast have you driven?”
Me: “Approx. 105kmph, but my brother has touched 130kmph on the bike”
Stranger: “How much does it cost?”
Me: “Approx. Rs. 115,000”
Stranger: “Wow!! Even more expensive than Thunderbird??”
Me: “I think they are priced more or less the same”

Post this, he stared the bike for another minute or so, smiled and then left. Reminded me of the conversation I had with my cousin a few years ago when I was in Michigan. He had come to pick me up from the bus stop in his Jaguar and I asked him why you didn’t buy a BMW. He replied back saying that “A Jaguar will always turn heads”. I guess I can now understand what it means. An R-15 will always turn heads 🙂

Bike updates

March 28, 2011March 28, 2011 ~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Lately, there has been some strange sound coming from the rear tire of the bike. I have to get the same checked and tested by the guys at Yamaha. Hopefully it is not a major problem. I think I am just fascinated with my bike. I know I have mentioned it earlier, but I simply just cant get over it. So far, I have traveled approx. 800-850kms on it over the last 10 days or so. Just letting it go on the empty highway gives me a high. I have already touched the speed of 97kmph, however the 100kmph mark still eludes me. The best part about the bike is its handling and braking. I have gone down from 95kmph to 0 kmph in less than 7 secs. It is also awesome riding through the traffic and cutting corners.

Even though I have traveled 800kms on it, I still think I am learning new things every day. I think driving in Mumbai traffic is the ultimate thing. Here the cars, ricks, buses, people and sometimes even animals can come out of nowhere in front of you and you have to brake really hard. Before, I used to wonder why do people in India honk so much. After riding for last 10-12 days, I know why. Here anything can happen any time. You think you are cruising and all of a sudden something comes out of nowhere and bam!! you have hit them. Just today, I was doing 90kmph on the highway and all of a sudden a rick comes all the way from the last lane to the first lane and still going left towards the shoulder and almost hitting me in the process. Somehow I averted the accident and continued on my way to work.

Nowadays, the random checking of the vehicles by the police has increased. Today was the first time I was asked to pull over on the side. I got down from the bike and the cop asked me for my driver and insurance papers along with the PUC. I gave him the same, he looked at it, verified it, noted my vehicle number. While he was checking my papers, another cop came along side me and asked me about my bike, its top speed and how much mileage did it give. He was impressed hearing that the bike can easily touch the speeds of 130kmph. Finally, after 10-15 mins I was on my way.

All my rides so far have been from home to office and back. Looking to go on a long distance trip.

Addicted to R15

March 22, 2011March 28, 2011 ~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Lately, I have been addicted to riding my bike (Yamaha R15) everywhere I go, be it to work or just outside even to do the most smallest of things. I never knew I would like riding my bike so much. Previously, I would shy away from riding the bike, was afraid that I would hit someone or crash the bike or something nasty would happen. But thanks to my brother, wife and my parents, the fear of riding the bikes on the streets of Mumbai is going away. However, there are still challenges when it comes to riding the bike on slopes. This is one area where I need to improve and improve quickly, if I am to take the bike for long distance rides. However, so far I am just enjoying the freedom it provides.. just getting away from any place, at any time I want and not being dependent on anyone else.