The Ride begins
Biking gear - Helmet, jacket, pants, gloves, boots - check
Saddlebags - check
Mobile charger, power bank, headphones, googles, - check
Repair gear and spare parts - check (Not that I can contribute anything here - this is bawa territory)
Papers, IDs, photocopies, air tickets, - check
Medicines, bandages, etc - check
What else? Ah yes…
A few clothes and couple of woollens
And that’s it!
WOOHOO!
WE WERE GOOD TO GO!
And so we went.
There was a nice direct flight from Mumbai to Guwahati, the capital of Assam state, and when we entered the arrival lobby, I clutched Delzad in shock!
‘EEEK!’ I screamed! ‘Rhino!’
‘EEEK!’ he screamed! ‘Crocodile!’
‘Crocodile? What crocodile? Where?’
‘You gripped my arm so hard that I thought a crocodile had bitten me!’ Bawa grumbled, rubbing his arm. ‘Who you calling a Rhino? You are a Rhino! Bloody fatso! Just because I have a big nose, doesn’t mean that I should be called a Rhino! You ….nose-ist!’
‘Nose nose….Er…I mean… No sir, No sir…. There is a Rhinoceros on the loose in the airport! Look! Look!’ I screamed, pointing at a giant grey Rhino with a nasty look in its eye.
Saddlebags - check
Mobile charger, power bank, headphones, googles, - check
Repair gear and spare parts - check (Not that I can contribute anything here - this is bawa territory)
Papers, IDs, photocopies, air tickets, - check
Medicines, bandages, etc - check
What else? Ah yes…
A few clothes and couple of woollens
And that’s it!
WOOHOO!
WE WERE GOOD TO GO!
And so we went.
There was a nice direct flight from Mumbai to Guwahati, the capital of Assam state, and when we entered the arrival lobby, I clutched Delzad in shock!
‘EEEK!’ I screamed! ‘Rhino!’
‘EEEK!’ he screamed! ‘Crocodile!’
‘Crocodile? What crocodile? Where?’
‘You gripped my arm so hard that I thought a crocodile had bitten me!’ Bawa grumbled, rubbing his arm. ‘Who you calling a Rhino? You are a Rhino! Bloody fatso! Just because I have a big nose, doesn’t mean that I should be called a Rhino! You ….nose-ist!’
‘Nose nose….Er…I mean… No sir, No sir…. There is a Rhinoceros on the loose in the airport! Look! Look!’ I screamed, pointing at a giant grey Rhino with a nasty look in its eye.
A taxi ride to the bike rental place later, we were sitting with Imu the bike-lord - (If a guy who rents out houses is a land-lord, then a guy who rents out bikes should be a bike-lord.) - and Imu was probably wondering if he was doing the right thing in giving his motorcycles to these two fat crazy guys who claimed to be bikers.
‘Er…’ he said, delicately - tapping his teeth with his pen. ‘Er…you know how to ride motorcycles, right? Good…good…. Er…you will be able to get on and off the bike, right? …good good…you have insurance and all that, right? … Good good…’
‘Er…’ he said, delicately - tapping his teeth with his pen. ‘Er…you know how to ride motorcycles, right? Good…good…. Er…you will be able to get on and off the bike, right? …good good…you have insurance and all that, right? … Good good…’
We put on all our riding gear - Jacket, Pants, gloves, hydration packs, helmet etc and came clomping down like a couple of aliens about to attack earth.
Our Himalayans were there to welcome us! What lovely bikes! WOOHOO!
Royal Enfield used to specialise in relaxed cruiser-style bikes - and this was a major departure from that style. The Royal Enfield Himalayan was an adventure-cruiser - which was built for the …er…Himalayas! The tall frame and the long shock absorbers made it much better at managing bad roads than the relaxed Thunderbirds which we were used to.
I came to the bike and looked at it consideringly. Hmm - this would take a little bit of getting used to, as it was much taller than the bikes to which I was accustomed. Even just getting on the bike was a challenge! I had to climb on the footpegs to be able to stand and swing my leg over the saddle! EEEK!
Our Himalayans were there to welcome us! What lovely bikes! WOOHOO!
Royal Enfield used to specialise in relaxed cruiser-style bikes - and this was a major departure from that style. The Royal Enfield Himalayan was an adventure-cruiser - which was built for the …er…Himalayas! The tall frame and the long shock absorbers made it much better at managing bad roads than the relaxed Thunderbirds which we were used to.
I came to the bike and looked at it consideringly. Hmm - this would take a little bit of getting used to, as it was much taller than the bikes to which I was accustomed. Even just getting on the bike was a challenge! I had to climb on the footpegs to be able to stand and swing my leg over the saddle! EEEK!
I could see Imu covering his eyes with his hands in despair, and quickly rode off before he demanded the bikes back!
We fuelled up and rode out!
WOOHOO!
WE WERE ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
We fuelled up and rode out!
WOOHOO!
WE WERE ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
