Rewind...

Another generic Sunday it almost was as I was watching the setting Sun though the study room window, the phone rang... With-in 15 odd minutes, I was seated pillion on a bike with my helmet on and a back-pack with my favorite lens in it.
Few quick shots before it gets dark, and I did wear the riding gloves. I was riding a bike after long. 5 seconds of uneasiness and I was in full control of the throttle. Few overtakes on DND Expressway before hitting the ton mark and at 113 kmph it was like an achievement. And soon entering to city limits and weaving through city traffic on usual Delhi roads after ages was like getting the wings back again... Damn, I need to grab a bike soon :|

Thank you Amit Bhaiya for the much needed recharge shot...

Am I a BIKER anymore!

This was the first thing which came to my mind when I was about to ride to Puri from my hometown Bhubaneswar, roughly 60 odd kilometers starting from my doorstep. Honestly, I was hesitant to go for the ride all alone and in the scorching summer in this coastal part of India. Damn! How it can be! I was missing a good and seasoned bike and then my riding gloves, and at the same time I was also wondering when I rode last to the core in last 2 years, starting from mid-2010. Should I count the only touring I did for some 200 kilometers on a Honda Activa when I was back to India or should I count those test rides of bikes like KTM Duke200 or Yamaha R1-5 V2.0 or the Hero Impulse!!!

Puri, always was a special place for me, in-fact it is. Reasons are many; being a Jagannath devotee I used to visit the temple with family as a kid and then a good and extended play session on the golden sandy beach before ending up with getting wet throughout in the sea water. Ah, nostalgic those memories are. Once started growing, especially after getting a set of wheels, Puri was THE destination. At an age of 15, doing this 60 kilometer ride and back was heroic (that is what exactly the whole friend circle used to think), who cares if you are on a 65cc moped like ‘HeroPuch Shakti 3G’! I literally have lost count on the number of rides I had. Along with time the gradual progress carried on, from a moped to a 100cc bike then the first wing (read Honda Unicorn, 150cc decent monster) and then behind the steering wheel with a proper and valid Driving License, a ride to Puri never needed an occasion. A compulsion of riding/driving on Puri-Konark marine drive was just an icing on the cake. My core friend circle mostly remained constant, though we all had a different stream/profession, we always hanged out together. Most of them being close to others families’ broke almost any restriction from parental side, another added advantage which made us to do some crazy ride to the place even in mid-night. As I mentioned, a ride to Puri never needed any reason and most of the times, out of nowhere we used to land somewhere in the holy town. Anyways. Soon we moved out one by one to different parts of the country (even world) to make our carrier but the home-sickness was always there and those occasional visits even had a reserved day for Puri, though it mostly was restricted to get the blessings of lord Jagannath. The life is still continuing in the same manner and this time I’m here for some social occasions and  all these golden memories flashed back in some nook of the brain only when I started thinking to use the public transport to reach the place, especially when there was a HeroHonda Hunk in my service.

10 minutes of fight between the mind and heart before I revved the throttle of the bike, flat 60 minutes and I was there covering 55 kilometers and in the year old biking avatar. I did came over those feelings of not riding in hot summer, riding among crazy people who think the NH even is their ancestral property (as I had not ridden a bike in such conditions in last two years, it was bit difficult to take a call on it, I am not a white collar guy but at times the profession has its own shade) and also riding without the gloves. I should not lie, it took me 15 minutes to get set on the road and to the weathering conditions before I started riding crazy. Little less than 200 kilometers including lots of city riding after 24 long months was absolute bliss.

After all; Once a biker, always a biker ;)

Ride hard, ride safe.

Been there Done that!

What a nostalgia it is!!! 2 years back on the same day I just rolled down from the hills with a heavy heart and dampen eyes... The fortnight long dream ride almost came to an end when we hit Manali travelling from Keylong. I was sad like anything and it gulped down all the words coming in the mind and at the same time I was getting irritated finding myself so close to the plains. Why why Why I need to come back to the same life again, same people all around and ofcourse the same old lost memories! Absolutely nothing excited to create a mild curve on face. I so much wanted to stay there not only all the time but for couple of more life, simple innocent unknown people around but loveable than most known, a smile from a unknown at every node but sweeter than whom you loved, 10 minutes of friendship and 5 minutes of chit-chat but memorable than any hour long gossips... Enough, 13 seems to show it's lucky charm again... Yes, 2013 ;)

Something to call SEXY...

I never knew that 'm living beside a SUZUKI... don't know, how I missed this!!! Though thats a bit unusual route... All of a sudden I got to see the display board and immediately dashed inside. And thanks to the guy who owns the dealership, had a long extended discussion session over biking around the world... after all the frequency matches for bikers....
He is really keen to ride in the Himalayas someday and we also discussed issues on hiring a motor cycle. Actually renting a bike (read Super Bike) for a day here in UK costs almost 5-7 times than renting a car. According to him, the higher insurance amount is one of the issue and also many people ended in crashing all these big and expensive bikes which makes the bike rental thing a very unsuccessful business deal.
I personally contacted to one of the agency few days back to hire a bike but they do only give BMW 1200GS after seeing your riding profile and it may cost you some 100+ GBP per day and there also are some critical terms for the insurance. Another thing is that they don't provide riding gears on hire unlike few other operators around the world. And it makes impossible for people like me to grab a bike once in a while as riding gears need a proper investment which makes no sense if you are riding here in the foreign land occasionally...

My all time favorite... 2011 GXR. Super SEXY.


And the exhaust of B-KING...

Biker by Choice

I was wondering since many days that what 'm I missing the most!!! After banging my head after a long time I got myself an answer..... BIKES



This image was shot during first grand meet of 'Bhubaneswar Bikers' and it was a real pleasure to eyes to see the thing that I once dreamed during 2002. BBC (Bhubaneswar Bikers Club) never came out in reality during my whole stay in Orissa but I returned with a big grin from the meet when I was there in Bhubaneswar recently and I was quite happy to see the growth of Biker Breed in my hometown.

Ride SAFE, Ride HARD....