When the rubber meets the tar
Day 0 and before
With Legs
moving along the pedal
and Hands
behind the handlebar,
excited to
narrate the excursion,
where Bicycle
rubber meets the tar!
It all begins
with a thought. The brain may not approve it at the first instance, but if the heart does, it can be achieved, definitely!
On the 1st
of July 2021, I purchased a bicycle – a single-speed hybrid with dual disc
brakes. This must be easily the 7th bike in my life. My cousin,
Parag, has always been kind to help me procure the best bikes. I can somewhat
say that I hadn’t utilized the earlier ones to their (and my) full potential. I have no
regrets, nonetheless, as it was always good fun to ride occasionally.
While I would
enjoy running, it was a little boring for me to run amid rains. Hence, I
thought of placing hands and legs on the bicycle. Without holding any serious
thought, I would do nearly 8-10 kms a day, 3 times a week. A couple of friends
did comment that I should start with only 4-5 kms. Well, I don’t know but it wasn’t
taxing due to my running regime, maybe. The rest of the days, I would do
strengthening workouts, the way I did during the running days. Once a week, I
would run too, on the not-so-wet mornings.
Cutting to the
chase, one morning I met Harsh, who was riding his MTB. He is an avid cyclist
who has done a few long-distance tours (600-2200 kms) on his bicycle. He asked me
if I was keen on contemplating a cycling adventure during December 2021. I was
absolutely clueless, yet I gathered some courage and asked him – Where are you
planning to?
He replied with
a thought and a question – Goa, maybe! Or do you have any other place on your
mind?
I countered – You’ve
already done Goa. Anything else that comes to your mind?
He said – If
you are willing to, we can do Palitana (a town at the foothills of Shatrunjay –
one of the most pious mountains as per Jainism, around 650 kms from Mumbai).
Palitana has
always been very close to my heart, and without a moment of hesitation, I said
Yes. I am still unsure, what made me affirm as clearly, I had no confidence at
all.
Man of few
words Harsh said – Ok, let’s start our practice.
Although I had
many questions, I kept it to myself thinking that those will be answered as and
when the wheel of time progresses.
I just happened
to continue regular cycling and occasionally used to meet Harsh. Ironically, we
didn’t speak about the December plan until the last week of September. One day,
Harsh posted his December leave dates and we had a dialogue.
Things seem to
be shaping up. The idea was to leave Mumbai on the 4th of December and
reach Palitana by the 9th day of December. After staying there for 3
days, the plan was to return by train with the bikes loaded on the luggage
compartment.
Until now, I
was doing regular practice but hadn’t made any training plan that would help
to ride for 650 kms over a period of 6 constant days. Harsh and I worked out on
a plan and came up with the following:
2 or 3 Oct – 22
kms
9 or 10 Oct –
28 kms
16 or 17 Oct –
35 kms
23 or 24 Oct –
43 kms
30 or 31 Oct –
54 kms
6 or 7 Nov – 67
kms
13 or 14 Nov –
84 kms
20 or 21 Nov –
105 kms
27 or 28 Nov –
130 kms
The above dates
were for the weekend practice rides. Besides that, we planned to follow weekday
rides as well as strengthening exercises maintaining individual discipline.
It was all
going smooth and after initial 2 weekends (achieving 28 km target), it made me
feel a little confident.
Next on the
cards was to book the tickets for the return journey. We did that during mid-October.
A few days
later, Harsh told me that his uncle, who is a specialist medical practitioner,
wants to join us. He added that Kaka (Harsh would call him Kaka) is 66, a
passionate cyclist and stays at Hubballi, a heritage city in the state of
Karnataka.
Yes, age is
just a number but hearing 66 didn’t cease to amaze me. Moreover, I bowed down
when I heard he will be travelling to Mumbai by train and the next morning
start riding with us. That was incredible, too!
Harsh and I
kept talking and meeting. We continued to keep up with the momentum. Until the
67 km regime happened, all went well. While I was preparing myself for the 84
km ride, I happened to fall a bit sick on a weekday. Thankfully, I got
recovered in a couple of days but due to subtle weakness, did only 30 kms
during the 13-14 Nov weekend.
The confidence
had tumbled a little due to the break in the regime but Harsh told me that let’s
clock 120 kms on 20th. This will help us revitalize.
I checked with a few of my friends if they were interested to join for 120 kms. Amit nodded and
we planned to go to a close friend Sanjay’s farmhouse at Badlapur, which is 60
kms from where I stay. I have been to his farm numerous times, but it was a
maiden attempt on the bicycle. With my previous experiences in a motored vehicle,
I didn’t experience much of inclines, except for the flyovers. So, we thought
we shall avoid flyovers and ride flat.
However, my
assumption was incorrect to a larger extent. On the straight roads also, we
encountered many inclines but thankfully they were complemented by declines as
well; and hence, the momentum was on. We started at about 6.45 am and with a few
long and short breaks, we reached there around 10.30 am. We rested for an hour
and resumed our journey back home.
It was quite
taxing while returning. We had umpteen hydration breaks thereby managing
ourselves to reach home by 4 pm. Despite panting to the core, I had an inner
satisfaction of completing my first century ride.
On the other
Kaka (I also had fondly started calling him Kaka) was on with this regular
practice. He was quite an inspiration for me. We would regularly post our
respective rides on the instant messenger group. Between the three of us, we
also did a lot of fun chat on the group. I was the one asking maximum and
silliest queries to them and with a lot of patience, both would mentor me
meticulously.
The weekend of
27-28 November was the last one before our scheduled expedition. Harsh
suggested to do a ride with luggage attached to the bike. His idea was to get a
feel of riding a loaded bike.
On 27th
November, I loaded a pair of panniers, got decked up with the suit &
accessories and initiated the Mumbai mega loop ride that covered Ghatkopar –
Thane – Ghodbunder road – Fountain hotel – Dahisar Toll – Western Express
Highway – Mahim – Gateway of India – Dadar – Ghatkopar.
Both the rides
(20th and 27th) infused a great amount of self-assurance.
However, one portion of the mind kept mentioning that it is no big deal to do
century ride for a day but think about doing it for 6 days at a stretch. I
didn’t ignore what it said but skipped bothering myself much.
Kaka arrived
from Hubballi to Mumbai on 3rd December morning. The plan was that I
shall meet him on the next day (4th December) at 5 am at the place
where he was put up and post that, both of us will ride together till the
Eastern Express highway corner (east side of Ghatkopar bus depot, where the
road merges into the highway) and meet Harsh.
Day 1
Kaka and I
greeted each other (we were seeing each other for the first time) and quickly
began our journey.
At the
north-bound corner of the ever-soothing Eastern express highway, my dear friend
Dhimant bhai (affectionately, we call him DC) was awaiting our arrival. Very
sweetly, he had not only come to see us off but carried chocolates for us. Also, he wished us with prayers and tikka (a
mark on forehead denoting prayer and considered as a good omen). While we 3 of
us were talking, Harsh made his appearance. Neena, his wife, had also come to
see us off. Neena also got us sweets.
Meanwhile, a
couple of cyclists from GCC (the elite Ghatkopar Cyclists club) passed by. They
saw us with panniers and asked us, where are we heading to.
After spending
some time with our well-wishers, we bid adieu to all and flew off. Nearly 10 kms
from where we started, we met Harsh’s elder sister Meghana who had got us fantastic
coffee that actually gave a kick.
Soon, we moved
on and decided to be in sync. Even during the wee hours, Ghodbunder road has a
moderate movement of vehicles. We cruised through and after crossing a series
of inclines, regrouped at hotel Fountain, a popular milestone before the
T-junction that opens one of its arms towards the gateway to Mumbai and merges
into the national highway (NH-48) on the right. NH-48 is a part of the Golden
quadrilateral.
While we were
having a brief chat, one guy approached us from inside the gate of the hotel
and asked us – Where are you going? Upon hearing the destination, he smiled
broadly and told us that he keeps traveling to the same town often as his
relatives stay there. He wished us and departed.
All of us were
feeling hungry and we chose to halt for breakfast at Lodha Dhaam, a Jain temple
located on NH-48, nearly 7 kms from hotel Fountain. After soothing prayers at
the temple and delicious breakfast, it was time to move on. As we were donning
our gloves, helmet and other accessories, some people came towards us and asked
the same question that we had encountered few kms ago. Upon hearing our
response, a series of questions were bombarded. Everyone seemed to be so
amazed. One person from the crowd also insisted on taking a selfie. I felt like
a celeb.
Nearly 20
minutes on the highway and we experienced first puncture in the group. It took
us nearly 25 minutes to fix Kaka’s bike and in no time, we regained the
momentum.
We took a quick
break after riding an hour or so. The sun had started dancing on our heads
already, but we chose to ride for an hour more as we weren’t hungry. At nearly
90 kms on our trip meter, we halted for lunch. It took quite some time for
lunch to arrive, but we had no complaints. As it is, we were cooling down. Post
lunch, we rested for about 45 minutes.
Somewhere
around 3.15 pm, we resumed our journey and reached Charoti toll by 4.15 pm.
Immediately after the toll, I saw an ice-cream parlor on the left and my mouth
started watering. I signaled the boys to stop. We had our coffees and
ice-creams.
Before resuming
our journey, we did a rough calculation in anticipation. We had covered about
110 kms by now and were on good speed. We had a couple of hours before it would
get too dark. Hence, we thought that covering another 40 kms would be doable
since it was a flat road, and the sun had also chosen to rest in the clouds.
Too much of
planning at times doesn’t help. It took hardly few meters to realize that the
rear wheel of my bike had turned flat. An investment of 45 minutes faltered our
plans. After riding 19 more kms, it was about dark. We stationed ourselves
outside a restaurant thinking what to do next.
Since we all
were hungry too, we thought of postponing any kind of thoughts. We said to each
other that let’s eat first and then think about the next steps. We had a
leisurely meal and after that, we checked out the maps.
There was no
way we could reach Bhilad (the original plan of riding 150 km on Day 1). Bhilad
was nearly 21 kms away but before that there was another place (named Talasari)
to our rescue. It was about 11 kms away. It was 7.30 pm already and ideally, we
didn’t want to ride in dark. However, we had to stay somewhere overnight, and
the closest decent place was Talasari. Slowly and carefully, we started riding
and at half the regular speed we entered the gates of Talasari Jain temple at
about 8.30 pm.
The manager was
very kind to offer us a room for one night. We changed and slept.
Day 2
Next morning,
he returned us our full deposit and appreciated us for taking this big step of
cycling all the way. We didn’t want to stay for free, so we insisted on him to
take the rental. He refused so we requested to accept it in some form of
donation towards the temple related expenses.
Soon as we came
out of the premises, all we could see was only fog around us. We had no choice
but to wait. After about 45 minutes, the fog had more or less settled down. We
were already 10 kms behind last night and now this incurred another 15 kms of
delay.
We entered
Bhilad Jain temple at 8am. After offering prayers, we marched towards the
breakfast area. At the table, we exchanged few sentences with a father and son,
who were driving towards Kutch. They wished us well.
The mind does
its job so methodically. It started calculating the time and kilometers for the
Day 2 ride. It was 8.45 am and before we could think any further, another flat
tire made us fall flat on our faces. Kaka was feeling the pinch, but we asked
him to sit back, relax and enjoy.
This one was a
bit notorious, somehow. We resumed our journey at 10 am. As per the pre-decided
plan, we were supposed to cover 60 kms on the current day by now but we were at
Zero, or maybe consider 10 just to pacify ourselves. Well, it didn’t matter
much though. First, we had no choice and second but important, we were enjoying
each other’s company. Third, we had a buffer day. Yay!
Harsh had asked
one of his friends to meet at Valsad. He had requested for some stuff related
to valve as we were suspecting some challenge with that. Harsh’s friend
recommended to have lunch at one famous restaurant on the highway. We met him
there at around 12.30pm.
The
recommendation was quite worth. The lunch was pleasurable. After savoring the
pause, we resumed at nearly 3pm. The heat was no less but since we had invested
a good amount of the earlier portion of the day, we wanted to cover up as much
as we can. The re-scheduled thought was to ride 37 kms to reach Alipore before
6 pm and stay night at the guest house in the campus of the Jain temple.
On our way, we
took a good amount of hydration pauses. Compared to Day 1, we were slow on our
wheels on the current day. Also, for me Day 1 was more of settling down and
focusing on the ride pattern. Day 2 initiated self-talk while riding. Despite
all of us riding together and regrouping at regular intervals thereby
chit-chatting, the feeling of solitude had started sinking in. The experience
of being with self on a not-so-busy highway was relaxing and unwavering.
At one point,
we were feeling thirsty and wanted to drink something that was different than
water. We stopped by a small stall and asked the man if he can make us some
lemon juice. It was quite an average roadside stall but that was the only
choice in the vicinity. He was selling some food, but we assumed that he would
be having what we asked for. Without a moment of hesitation, he rushed
backwards. We observed that he entered a dwelling. It was his house.
He came back
after few minutes with 3 large glasses of lemon juice. We quenched our thirst
and offered him money. To our surprise, he refused. Upon asking the reason, he
said – Sir, I don’t sell lemon juice but since you guys asked for it, I thought
you guys must be thirsty, so I went to my house and made it for you guys.
I was zapped at
this amazing gesture. Trying to come back to normalcy, I requested him to take
it as we had asked for it assuming he is selling it. He was firm about not
accepting any money. He kept saying that how can he take money for something he
is not selling. After a lot of back and forth, he asked us to hand it over to
his kids as a gift.
I kept
wondering for a long time about his absolute richness. I felt so happy thinking
that such wealthy people do exist on this planet.
At about 5.40
pm, we reached Alipore. We clocked 87 kms on Day 2.
Fresh bath,
washing gears, dinner and ice-cream – These 4 items were done and dusted before
we hit the bed. Besides, we also had a soothing 3 km walk as the restaurant was
nearly 1.5 kms from our transitory abode. Even the current house that I sleep
in is temporary. The difference might be a few thousand nights of stay, albeit.
The alarm was
kind enough to wake us up from our sound sleep.
Day 3
The morning was
clear. We offered prayers and marched towards the highway.
Harsh is a
Spanish language expert and before we start or resume our rides, he would voice
out with full energy – Vamos! It means – Let’s go.
We re-assembled
on the highway and thereafter, placing our feet on the pedal, we initiated our
cyclic motion. There was no fixed plan for breakfast halt today. We thought of
stopping by at any good restaurant after riding about 30 kms. At about 20 odd
kms, since the bellies started making sounds, we stopped by and grabbed a quick
tea and Gujarati brekkie.
Despite sky
being clear and the sun shining brightly, the weather was quite supporting. We
moved swiftly. On our way, we had coconut water and bananas. This helps us
maintain the thrust.
While riding on
the service road, we saw few cyclists wearing uniforms. We went ahead of them.
I was following Harsh and Kaka. One of those guys came close to me and I smiled.
Further, I asked him about this school. We exchanged few sentences. He
mentioned that he wanted to become a medical practitioner. I felt proud about
him and wished him the best for his career and life.
At around 11.30
am, we stopped by Kamrej. On the opposite side of the highway, a beautiful
temple was seen. We parked our bikes and crossed the highway on foot. Post our
worship, we came out and sipped in a cooler. After an hour of relaxing ride, we
reached a fantastic looking restaurant. It was nearly 1 pm and we gestured each
other (for something obvious at that hour). All of us nodded in agreement.
We ordered half
the items on the menu (Exaggeration yea, but we were super hungry). By this
time, we had clocked about 68 kms. We consumed a luxurious meal and thereafter,
were looking for a place to relax. The lawn behind the restaurant was easy to
locate. I settled down on a swing for some time while Harsh and Kaka opted for
a nap.
The idea was to
cover another 35 odd kilometers and enter Bharuch city by 6.30 pm. After
entering Bharuch, the plan was to stay at the guest house of a historical Jain
temple. The temple was roughly 5 kms inside the city. We resumed the second
half of our journey by 3.30 pm.
An hour or so
was a little taxing due to the roasting heat. Adequate hydration did help. The
best part was yet to arrive. Harsh was ahead of us and after a while, he pulled
off on the highway. He showed us an alternate route on the map. Until now we
were on NH-48. Now, as per the suggested navigation, we had to make a diversion
on our left and merge into NH-64. This route was supposed to penetrate through
Ankleshwar city, get us on the Golden bridge and then take us to Bharuch city.
Kaka and I
thought for a while if it will be a wise call to get into the hustle bustle of
city or to stay on NH-48 and enter Bharuch from Narmada Chowkdi. However, since
the maps showed both time and distance less, we opted for NH-64.
For initial few
kilometers, the 2-lane road appeared quite busy with a lot of vehicles moving
around, and we started doubting our choice, but after that it was all cool.
Before anyone
wonders, what was the best part, let me take you to the Golden bridge. This
140-year-old and about 1.5 km long bridge connects two sister cities –
Ankleshwar and Bharuch. Both the cities are located on the banks of extremely
pious Narmada river.
The experience
of riding on this heritage bridge was beyond mesmerizing. For those 6-7
minutes, my heart was completely absorbed with the thoughts about the holy Narmada
(also known as Reva), the parikrama and the stories around it. After
crossing the bridge, the road ahead was extremely peaceful for some time. Due
to this, the I could soak in for a longer duration. What an impactful
experience it was!
A huge crowd
welcomed us as we entered the Bharuch city. No-no, they weren’t waiting for us.
They were busy with their hustling, which probably would be a daily affair for
them. Sailing through the small lanes amid the noisy market area was quite
different to eyes and ears.
On the previous
day, my mobile had gotten conked off, so I thought of getting that fixed as
well. I handed over the phone at the repair shop. He told me that it will be
done in an hour. Meanwhile, I had already requested Harsh and Kaka to reach the
temple and complete the check-in formalities.
Just a couple
of kilometers before our destination, the front wheel of my bike gave up. Upon
asking, a kind person told me that the shop was very close to the temple site.
When I reached, the person responsible for executing the repairs wasn’t around.
He was expected to be back in few minutes, so I chose to reach temple thereby
thinking of coming back after checking in and getting refreshed.
It was nearly 7.30
pm. We were craving for a leisurely dinner and were hopeful of finding a good
restaurant as Bharuch is relatively a big city. Before that, Kaka and Harsh got
their stuff arranged and I got the bike fixed.
At around 8.15
pm, as we were getting ready, the mobile repair guy called on Harsh’s phone and
informed that my cell phone was sorted.
While those 2
boys headed towards the restaurant, I made a detour to grab the hand phone and
reached the pre-determined place. Post
yummy dinner, we settled for a flavorsome paan.
We set the
alarm for the next day and dozed off. We were so sleepy that we didn’t even
think of patting our backs for the 110 km accomplishment for the day.
Day 4
As it happens
with almost all the cities, the difference between the last night and early
morning was immense. We rode through the quiet roads for nearly 8 kms before we
hit back to our old companion NH-48.
The highway
welcomed us with a cool breeze. After riding about 14 kms on NH-48, we paused
for breakfast. I was hungry but not as much, so had tea, a couple of biscuits
and a piece of Idli (rice cake). Harsh and Kaka also had lesser than usual.
We rode at a
stretch for next 20 kms until we hit a huge snack store just before the Karjan
toll plaza. We sipped in a cold drink and rested for few minutes. Kaka sweetly gifted
us chocolates. I quickly unwrapped and relished it. After riding another about
6 kms, it was time to say Good-bye to NH-48 for the rest of the trip. I
conveyed to the magnificent highway that although you won’t miss us, but we
will, for sure.
After about
another 5 kms, we reached a beautiful Jain temple located in a small village
Anastu. It was nearly 11.15 am and we had covered nearly 52 kms from the
source. Technically, we are halfway considering the target for the current day.
Since it was too early for lunch, we moved on. On our way, we purchased Guavas
from a sweet little girl selling the fruit. She was amazed to see us on bicycle
and asked where we have come from.
The road was
now a narrow one. Single lane both side with no divider. Now, we used to keep
over-taking each other and changing the sequence. It was fun to overtake Kaka
as when anyone of us would pass him, he would yell with joy – Oy Oy Oy!
Although the
national highway had its own charm, this one was pretty soothing too. The
locale was green and vehicle movement was very sparse. In about 45 minutes, we
reached a very small village named Sarasvani. We enquired about lunch but there
was hardly any place to eat except for one small outlet that served a couple of
fried snack items. Converting the snack into lunch was the only choice for us.
Besides, the stitches
on my footwear had come out. I placed the pair aside and asked at a shop, if
there was a cobbler around. The response came in form of a smile and I could
gauge the outcome. In less than a minute, a guy wearing a school uniform (who
was at a shop when I was enquiring) came and started applying an adhesive on
the footwear. Before I could react, he offered a broad smile and said, it’s
nearly fixed but if you want to get it properly done, you will find a cobbler
much ahead once you reach the junction. With a lot of surprise in my mind, I
expressed my gratitude and offered him money. He refused. I insisted but he
didn’t budge. He said, I have just used a droplet and it’s absolutely ok. I felt
so lucky to find another affluent being. It was extremely stimulating.
After fueling
in, we started checking out if there was a place to rest. I could see one house
and requested the owner if we can borrow the wooden bed (Khatiya / Chaarpai)
that was lying outside. The lady affirmed and we asked Kaka to rest there. On
the backside, we found a temple that was closed but had a clean area outside
it. Harsh and I lied down.
Another 40 kms
of ride was to be executed for the day. Before resuming our ride, we thought of
confirming the route with the villagers. We did trust the maps, but on the
smaller routes, it was always safe to check with villagers mainly due to
unanticipated road closures, diversions, etc. We were fed with a detailed route
information that was difficult to grasp at one go. However, after a couple of
repetitions, we could gauge that we got to pass through Sadhi, Ranu, Mahuvad,
Kinklod & Bhadran to reach our night out destination, Borsad.
At the junction
near Mahuvad, I could see the cobbler sitting and immediately I remembered what
that boy had mentioned. I stopped by and after showing the footwear, asked the
cobbler if he has time to stitch it. At the same instance, he started working
on it and handed over the footwear in a couple of minutes. Upon asking the
charges, he smiled and said – There are no charges to be taken for such small
work. I was speechless. I couldn’t digest a thing and for a moment, I was
dubious whether I was dreaming or was it real. After insisting a lot, he
accepted money, but he was surely unwilling to. He did that only to make me
feel good. We resumed, but my mind was full of thoughts about these super rich
people.
Meanwhile, my
friend Kirtan and I were communicating with each other. Kirtan is a very dear
friend, who stays at Vadodara. As per our original plan, we were supposed to
stay at Anastu (about 35 kms from Vadodara) and Kirtan was planning to visit us.
Now, since the plan of staying night had shifted to Borsad, it was a longer
route for him. However, he sweetly offered to meet up. I had informed him that we
will let him know our whereabouts and sync up on the time we were scheduled to
reach Borsad.
He had reached
before us and with open arms, he warmly welcomed us. It was so good to see him.
Harsh and Kirtan were college buddies so they also knew each other well. We
introduced him to Kaka. 4 of us earned good times together. Before that, we
checked in at the Sun temple and washed up. The authorities were generous enough
to offer us a decent room for our night stay.
Kirtan drove us
to a very good restaurant in the vicinity, where we had a gala dinner. On our
return, we had ice-cream together. After exchanging hugs, Kirtan started his
journey back home and we entered the habitat that was limited to one night.
Day 5
We checked out
early morning and handed over the room keys at the gate. Around a corner, we
found a tea vendor. The road ahead was fantastic.
Riding almost
non-stop for an hour helped us reached ManiLakshmi tirth, a huge Jain temple
that was open to public around 5 years ago. The temple is an architectural
marvel. We went inside and prayed for some time. After that, we were all set to
hog on. The kitchen offered mouth-watering varieties. By 9 am we were out of
the temple and back on our respective saddles.
Few years ago,
it was a single lane road. It had completely transformed now. 3-lanes on each
side with a series of flyovers, but hardly any vehicles around. The ride was a
good fun. Three of us were riding at some distance but we could see each other.
I happened to encounter
a milkman who was riding his bicycle. I could have gone faster but stayed parallel
to him with an intent of initiating a dialogue. I enquired about his and family’s
health amid the pandemic wave. He looked up and quoted – Everything is very
good with the grace of the supreme lord. I asked him about his business to
which he said – Every morning, I deliver milk in a few nearby villages and now,
I am heading home. God arranges enough for us to survive happily.
With a feeling
of respect for him, I told him that I am happy about this brief meet. Further I
waved bye-bye and sailed ahead.
From Manilakshmi,
the ride to Vataman was about 38 kms. We had factored in 3 hours to reach
including the breaks, since it was a bright sunny day. The plan was to have
lunch at Vataman and rest for a while. On our way, we found a garage that was
shut but we couldn’t miss noticing a couple of benches that were lying under a
shade. It was a good opportunity to lie down and stretch. Needless to mention,
we grabbed it. We were fortunate that on day 2 and 3 also we had found a couple
of similar opportunities – One was at a bus stop and the other was a few tables
laid beneath a shed that must have been built for a small gathering.
I observed that
after we left NH-48, we kept taking frequent breaks and chatting even more.
This was so cherishing.
10 minutes to noon
and we entered a Jain temple that was situated near the Vataman crossroads, popularly
known as Vataman Chowkdi. From Vataman, we had another 41 kms of drive pending
for the day so we thought of booking a room for a couple of hours.
After consuming
simple but healthy lunch, we entered our room and peacefully slept for about 90
minutes. This was the best afternoon siesta in last 5 days.
It was about 3
pm when we grabbed our handlebars and started pedaling. Although, the Sun was shining
and the temperatures weren’t low, we did enjoy cruising because the single lane
road was extremely beautiful with lush green fields on both the ends. The sky appeared
to be low and flat. We could witness the horizon on either side.
Even though the
ride was going smooth, I kept taking good number of pauses to absorb the landscape.
While driving car or riding a motorbike in the past, I must have passed by
similar geographies a lot of times but seldom must have pulled off and taken a
pause to celebrate the nature.
20 odd kms
before we enter Dholera, which was our scheduled night halt, the signboards welcoming
us to the smart city were seen. We were transforming from the lap of the nature
to the smart structure.
At around 5.50
pm, we reached Dholera. The temple site was inside the old part of the village.
We met an office bearer at the temple office and requested him for a room. He enquired
as per formalities and then asked about our cycling trip. He was happily surprised.
He instructed his staff to navigate us to the room. It looked like a new building.
Rooms were nice and neatly maintained.
We did our routine
stuff and relaxed for a bit. Post that, we walked down the road that we had
came in from and searched for a place to eat. Since the items on the menu were
limited, we didn’t have the problem of plenty. We had a decent dinner, reached
the stay and hit the bed.
By now, we had cycled
550 kms on our journey and the forthcoming day was supposed to be the last leg
of the stunning expedition.
Day 6
The temperature
this morning was a bit low compared to the other mornings. We had to take the
Bhavnagar – Pipali highway and the first prominent milestone was Nari chowkdi.
We kind of planned to have lunch over there. The highway was quite deserted. From
the map, we could assume that we won’t be getting a lavish breakfast today.
We had a basic morning
meal at an average (best amongst the few we saw enroute) eatery. Dry-fruits and
home-made energy packed sweets came to our rescue. During the initial phase,
the speed was a bit slower than other days. However, we gradually caught up and
targeted to reach Nari chowkdi by 12.30 pm. On the way, we passed through Sanes.
Harsh and Kaka were ahead of me. I could see a Jain temple that was under construction.
I paid a brief visit and resumed.
As per our
anticipation, we reached Nari chowkdi on time but couldn’t locate a good restaurant.
Upon asking someone, we got to know that Vartej has decent places to eat. The
map showed 4 kms and we resumed pedaling.
Since we were
quite hungry, we simply focused on eating without even analyzing the taste. Post
lunch, we had an engaging chat with the manager. He was mentioning about operating
a restaurant in Mumbai and the challenges he faced with his experience.
On one side of
the restaurant, few beds under the shade of the neem tree were arranged. We didn’t
have to apply our brains to seize this opportunity.
The next and
the last milestone for the day was Songadh, about 20 kms from where we had
lunch. We calculated the time and started accordingly. At 3 pm, we reached.
Songadh has a huge campus that hosts few temples. After paying visit, we continued
the voyage.
We were 26 kms
away from our final destination. We assumed that we should be easily reaching
by 5 pm. Well, we had considered the rosy picture which was not the fact. The
road was relatively rough compared to what we had experienced until now.
Besides, there were quite a few steep and not-very-steep inclines. At 5.15 pm,
we were yet 10 kms away.
Somewhere around
5.40 pm, we entered the gates of the Palitana town. We wanted to reach the base
of the Shatrunjay hills before it gets dark. We increased our momentum. While
we passed through the market area in the town, we could hear a lot of human
voices that were collectively creating a buzz.
Our eyes sparkled,
our brain was at a standstill and our hearts skipped a beat as we terminated at
the base camp. Our feet had turned into pillars and our eyes couldn’t get off
the majestic hill. We were speechless for few moments thereby savoring the most
beautiful pause of my life.
The travel
might have ended but the journey had begun.
Epilogue
The above
description was pre-dominantly about the experiences during the cycling
expedition. So, now I shall be rushing through the remainder. We had another 4
nights and 3 days to go.
On Day 7, we
climbed the hill through the popular path and worshipped at few temples including
the main temple. Shatrunjay is of extremely significant importance as per
Jainism. One may want to read more details over the web.
On Day 8, we ascended
through an alternate path. This path branches out after covering nearly 75% on
the popular path.
On Day 9, we packed
our bags and booked a 3-wheeler who agreed to drop us along with our bikes at
Bhavnagar railway station. We reached Bhavnagar at about 1 pm. After completing
the formalities regarding packing the bikes and placing it on the luggage compartment,
we reached a very popular restaurant for lunch. The quality and taste of food
surpassed our expectations. We returned to the railway station at about 4 pm. The
train was scheduled to arrive at 5.45 pm.
Day 10: At 9am,
we greeted Mumbai, alighted ourselves and the bikes, came out of the terminus
and rode to our respective homes.
Gratitude
Before signing
off, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude towards all the names that
are mentioned on the blog above, the ones not cited but were a part of the
journey and the supreme power and the entire ecosystem that always keeps ensuring we sail through
the thick and the thin.
:-)
