fsr march 08

The over amplified stressing on people landing up late was quite close to the original and i guess was the latest we have ever started an FSR, that i guess was the only hick up on the ride and well ofcourse the traffic on the way which was also a result of starting late. So i think we need to make it ontime or catch up along the way, but that generally delays the troupe. Well after what felt like an hour of city traffic we reached the Hassan road junction and i went venturing to find a place that can serve us food that can actually be called food, at first i gave up hope but then found this posh place called Dharmshi resorts, i shouldve known by the english speaking watchman that this was going to be expensive but since everyone was obviously hungry and not many other options in place i holla'ed everyone. Trust me no one wanted to leave this place, the pool was way too inviting, but then i guess we had ridden only 30 odd km and that too through traffic and hence doesnt call for a FSR. Matts was really insistant that this route (the one he didnt know) was an owesome route (Dell needs to be really proud of this guy). We headed out after breakfast at about 10:15 and took a turn of the highway that goes past some place called SAvandurga (from what i could recollect). the views on this road were really awesome, and the road was even better with its twists and turns all the way and not even a ditch or bump. Somewhere along the way we decided to stop by the Tyonk, we didnt have any of the Tyonkers present AKA - Indi, Hemant, Suru, blah blah blah. Either ways it was a beautiful place the only problem being us getting tanned and our temperatures rising, so eager to conquer the balance 30 odd kms to Ramnagaram we hit the road again. Hard to believe how in spite of the delay we managed to reach our famous Omkar Dhaba at 12:30. We sat down and ordered the official FSR drink - Gin and fesh lime sodas, which even the first timers appreciated, always works when your out in the sun he he, since there are not patents on this drink everyone is free to share it with their friends - the recipe not the drink (or anything else). Without wasting anymore time, we begged for lunch and after a hearty meal, a lot of thank yous and many more good byes we decided to call it a day and burst back home. Some decided to conquer the "NICE"r roads while we were really keen on riding through more traffic and took the "not so nicer" route. Im sure my bike was running a cool 5 kmph faster thanks to the K&N filter but then on a bullet even my eyeballs were vibrating at that speed. One things for sure, the weather is getting hotter by the day and we are running out of rides and running out of our old time riders - Screech, Suru, Omi, Satya, Indi, Aditya, etc etc, move out or atleast sell your Rd to me.

FSR#14 - Bagepalli

FSR#14 - Bangalore -> Bagepalli -> Chintamani -> Hoskote -> Bangalore Woke up to the shrill alarm of the phone and got ready in a jiffy ..... I knew I was late, then got a call from Indi he was still at the petrol bunk, rode off from home all rushed..... metup with Indi, filled gas and started riding toward Mekhri Circle. When we reached Mekhri Circle it was evident that eveyone had started and we had to catch up ... we waited for Subbiah and Nargis with Karthik and then we were off ......... Man it felt good to be back!! It was really cold and I was regretting not wearing anything warmer and the moment we descended the Hebbal flyover we encountered fog ......... it was not too bad and visibility was about 30m and oncoming traffic was a profusion of silhouettes and headlamps. The road was wide and straight and I was gunning the Roadie and pushed it past the 100+ mark a few times ........ it was awesome but the elation was shortlived as it seized promptly ......damm, but it fired up promptly after and I was riding again albeit a litttle easier on the throttle. We reached Chikballapur and met up with the whole gang, about 19 of us .... it was a great turnout and I hadn't seen anyone for about 2 months and after first congratulating the newly weds(Abhi and Kavitha) I met the gang ........ it was good and man it felt good to be back. Over breakfast Mats had us all convulsed and cringing at the same time with his stipulated 10 PJ limit(which was blatantly ignored anyway) After breakfast and PJs were washed down with hot kaapi .... we headed out towards Bagepalli ...... I was trailing the gang and trying to catch up .... about 10 Kms outside Chikballapur .. the bike seized again .... I realized I was gunning it a bit too much and stopped for a smoke ....... to allow the engine to cool down. I started again and was riding solo ...... the road was smooth barring a few bad patches and there was the construction of the 4 lane Highway on both sides. The landscape was great, rolling hills on the horizon and greenery all around .....the only thing jarring was the construction trucks and the dust raised by them ..... but hey nothing stands in the way of progress :-). I caught up with the gang in Bagepalli, they'd stopped to do some repairs on Vodka's bike. We took a right into Bagepalli and headed towards the hills ...... the greenary in the interiors was a refreshing change and we were all riding as a pack because no one knew the route ....... we headed towards Mittemari and turned into a mud road into the village towards a lake ....... we rode on the Tank bund of the lake and turned into a mud road leading right up to the bank of the lake....... and parked up there. The lake and the view of the rocky hills behind was fantastic, we hung out there for a while listening to PJs and bouncing stones on the lake surface and then we decided to backtrack towards Chelur and head towards Chintamani. We started riding towards Chelur and the roads were pretty bad, there were many stretches of the road under construction and at some points the roads were just gravel and dirt ........ it was exactly what was needed, the big thumpers had a blast and the other bikes were also having a blast ....... though a bit bone jarring and saddle sore ..... but it's fun for us .... right :-) Presently we reached Chelur and headed towards Chintamani ..... the roads were ok and pretty soon the group was spread out ....... I was going a little easy on the throttle as I didn't want the bike to seize again and get stuck as it was long haul to Chintamani. As we had done a part of the same countryside in one of the previous FSRs it looked very familiar...... the winding narrow roads the green countryside with Hills all around and familiar T junctions with Bus stops and black and white painted signboards to small villages. There was not much traffic on this road and it was wonderful riding on this stretch..... both my mind and the bike were on cruise control :-) ... Subbiah caught up with me and gestured that we should exchange bikes .......so we stopped and I got on to Subbiah's 79 Enfield ..... he had just rebored it so he cautioned me to keep it in the 60-70kmph range. We started off .... it was great riding the Bullet, it was thumping along majestically and it also gave me a chance to look at my bike in motion .... it sounded good and it looks good too ..... ok maybe I'm prejudiced but who isn't. :-) We were cruising along and we spotted the gang had pulled over and near a village and pulled up. Robin had crashed up, his front brake had jammed and he had taken a toss, thankfully he wasn't hurt too much, just a big bruise on his arm but his bike was a different story .... the headlight was broken and electricals were dead ...... we tried all kinds of stuff but the bike just wasn't getting any electricity. We decided to tow the bike to Chintamani to get it fixed there, towing involved Robin riding his Bullet with another rider pushing Robins bike with his foot on the back footrest of Robins bike .... all of us tried it with little luck we couldn't get the hang of it ..... Indi's finally got the hang of it and we all followed at a sedate pace. We reached the dusty town of Chintamani and found a Bullet mechanic ...... and parked up ..... it was hot and we had a long wait ........ with chais and biscuits. After a long wait and lots of undue attention from the local inhabitants because of the Big thumpers we decided to head out to dhabha for lunch as it was getting late, we all started out with Indi remaining with Robin to get the bike fixed. We reached the dhabha and relaxed for the first time since morning ....... we ordered food which was gobbled down ....... pretty soon Robin and Indi caught up. Everyone was tired as this was the longest, bone jarring and an incident filled FSR ........ and it get dark in about an hour and a couple of the bikes had no headlights. We headed back towards Hoskote and Bangalore. This FSR was a pretty gruelling one, in terms of distance, the bad roads and the delay but it sure feels good thinking about it and one more FSR nailed, we had our hearts and minds set on this route for a while and we finally did it. Looking forward to more FSRs and hey let me take this opportunity to wish the UA-08 riders a safe and a fun filled trip........ have a blast guys!!! Cheers, Suru

FSR 13 - Kabbal

What a way to celebrate the last ride of 2007! The charm worked again. 13th ride and 13bikes. A gorgeous winter sky to ride under and awesome roads to compliment the day. Whats more - Bombay celebrated its first FSR today! Congratulations team - we've just gone national. Initial grouping and breakfast at Kanakpura - no one had a clue of what was in store. We took the road as it came and had no map in mind. After the next re-grouping the hills were more than inviting. Having cleared the thorn fence at the base of the hill, it was a deep breath and no looking back. Intense riding where there is nothing in mind except the road ahead and you making it to the top in one piece. Splendid rock temple with an endless sight. Then it was about rolling down hill. The minute flat ground was in sight - it was a water to the desert if you know what I mean. Fancy speeds and easy roads brought us back to land of the mature Gin. The bloddy mary decided to send us home and call it a day. Thanks all you guys for being there. Today was something else. For those who were not there - you'll would have loved it. Abhi & Kav, Omi, Screech, Suru, AVG, Vodka and the rest. notes by Nargis See you'll next year for FSR 14 - 2008. Take it easy. Ride safe.

FSR#5: My Rs.0.02

Aloha Fellow Riders, Whew! Feels good having nailed down FSR #5, that makes it 3 in a row, not bad at all. I usually end up procrastinating and something else usually comes up, but not for the FSR, touch wood. Well this write-up is really not necessary as there's already one on bikes zone but since it's a hot afternoon and self having not all that much to do, am putting the pedal to the metal or rather the finger to the keyboard. :-) Actually the FSR #5 started a little early for some with Screech, Indi and Harsha heading to Bharat's Farm the previous day for Bharat's B'day Bash. Well for me it started as usual at the crack of dawn, Satya(SRK :-) ) landed up at my house at 6:00 am on the dot, in fact I think he arrived a little earlier, as usual, I was ready and in a couple of minutes Satya and I were riding towards Mekhri Circle Flyover Table top which was the rendezvous point. We were the first to arrive, and then people started arriving and a couple of chai's later, our tibe had increased to 12, with the snap of the line up from Mekhri Circle being taken we all headed out to Doddaballapur Raliway station which was our first pit stop for Breakfast and the place where we were to meet up with Screech, Harsha and Indi. Just as we were crossing Yalahanka, Deb rode up and told us that Richie's bike had a flat, Satya rode back to help. We continued on towards Doddaballapur, the road was bad, pot-holes the size of small craters and sand all over, but we rode on and after a while we stopped to wait for Sats, Deb and Richie.Samarth and Vodka joined us at this point. We decided to ride on to Doddaballapur Station, where we were joined by Screech and Indi, Harsha having decided to catch up on his Zzzzz's at Bharat's Farm. The break-fast was ok, thatte-idli and Vada, I guess we were a little disappointed with the spartan fare but then we got over with the breakfast and the inevitable cuppas of chai and coffee and headed out to Ghati Subhramanya. The Road to Ghati was a lot better with some good twisties, not hairpin bends or anything but anything to bend the bike a bit.We rode up to the top and stopped off on the way because the Beamers and some intrepid souls wanted to do a bit of off-roading. The scenery was beautiful and I was freaking out with Screech's Monocole with which I could count the girders of a railway bridge a good 3-4 kms away. Post the off-roading we rode to the Ghati Subramanya temple, where we only stopped for a couple of minutes asking for directions to Nandi. The road to Nandi was as bad as the road to Doddaballapur, passing through small villages and hamlets. I was riding Indi's Enfield Machismo, as my "t"rusty Roadking wasn't exactly road-worthy for this FSR. I was having a ball of a time on the Enfield, the thump-thump of the exhaust and the bike had a real head for speed. I was riding with Vodka on his Enfield Lightning 525 for a part of the way which was also as loud as hell ....... I can imagine the racket we must have been making. (Cacafonix and Deafenix) We finally reached the foothills of Nandi Hills where we had a stop for the inevitable ciggi and some really cool tender-coconut. Post this some of the riders decided to hit the top of Nandi, we ambled into the Eaucalyptus grove behind the Manu Bar and Restaurant on the first curve. We parked the bikes in the scant shade and found places to sit, it was really hot and getting hotter. We ordered for a few chilled ones and spent the next one hour relaxing and exchanging bike stories and basically having a good time, in general. Some people decided to call it a day and head home for various reasons and calls of duty. Finally it was time and we had to leave for the last leg of the ride and the destination was Bharat's Farm.We all rode to Devanahalli turn-off and waited to regroup, Bharat's Farm was a good 27 Kms from there. We all started off, the road was pretty good and soon we were all speeding and the group divided with Indi, Santosh, Abhi and Samarth all speeding off ahead and I was a little behind them and there was another group with Screech a bit behind me.Pretty soon I was all alone with the groups ahead and behind out of sight. I reached the town of Siddlaghatta and decided to head on knowing that if there was a turn off the group ahead would have waited and after a point I pulled up onto the side of the road and called Santosh, he told me that they were lost and a little ahead of me and we agreed to regroup at Siddlaghatta. I rode back to Siddlaghatta and pretty soon the group returned and Indi having remembered the way proceeded towards the Farm, we reached the farm in about 10 mins and were greeted by Harsha who was standing on the road and directing and soon pulled up under the shady trees in the Farm. Indi and some of the others who had again over shot the farm soon joined us. :-) Dude you need a GPS on that beamer. :-) Bharat was there to give us a warm welcome and soon we were sitting in the grass with chilled beers and waiting for lunch to get ready.Satya's bike was firing only on one cylinder due to a clogged petrol filter and he soon had it ready with advice flowing from all corners :-) , the onlookers were really enthusiastic :-) :-). Pretty soon lunch was ready and man was it delicious, there was a spicy red mutton curry, Mutton Stew, Soppu Saaru for the veggies and Rice and rotis. We dug in and pretty soon were full up, having satiated our hunger we relaxed outside for a short while and decided to hit it back as it was getting late. The group decided to split into 2, the riders going towards South Bangalore were planning to go back on the Devanahalli Road and the Riders heading towards East Bangalore, your truly included, decided that it would be closer to ride towards Hoskote which was about 35 kms away. We said our goodbyes to our gracious hosts, and headed out towards Hosakote. The road was fantastic and straight as an arrow for most parts and we were sending the bikes past the 100 mark for most of the way. On a mellow sweeping right hander curve, I saw the most glorious sunset, the sun was almost setting and I could see the silhouettes of the hills on the horizon and the sky was in different pastel shades. Damn I wish I had a Camera with a panorama setting, I have been saying that for every FSR, next time will make a note to carry one on my hip, even an aim n' shoot would have done. I wish we had stopped but we were all riding fast and pretty soon we pulled into Hoskote and the Bangalore-Chennai Highway, we passed Hoskote and pulled into a Dhaba for a couple of chais. Reclining on the metal wire cots in the Dhaba, I was recounting the day and I had to say, I had a great time. After the chais all of us rode back to town, traffic, loud horns blaring and our respective woes and worries :-). As usual I get melancholy after the FSR, but it's a great feeling to wait and let the excitement build for the next FSR. And last but definitely not the least, a huge thank you for all our hosts till now, for the past 3 FSRs , in alphabetical order Baba,Bharat,BK and Omi, without you guys going to all that trouble we would probably not have had such a good time, every time. And the riders, Thank you guys for being there and making it happen, every First Sunday and hope to see you there for the next ride. Adios Amigos, Au revoir and all that sort of thing. Surdeep Riders Line-up (Guys I apologise for any omissions, my memory's like a sieve, please respond in case I've got anyone's details wrong) 1)Abhi & Kavitha - Enfield Thunderbird 2)Aditya - RD 350 3)Harish - RD 350 4)Satya - RD 350 5)Arvind -RD 350 6)Screech a.k.a Hemant Kumar - RD 350 7)Santosh - BMW 650 8)Samarth - BMW 650 9)Indi - BMW 650 10) Vodka -Enfield Lightning 525 11) Siddharth(Deb) - Honda CBZ 12) Richie - RD 350 13) Ram Nagarajan - Enfield Thunderbird 14) Surdeep - Enfield Machismo 15) Harsha - RD350 - Missing in Action :-)