Nostalgia was high on mind when I planned my 15th Rideā¦Bhangarh was the first bike ride of my life back in March 2008 with Negi & Pravinā¦and what a ride it wasā¦I wanted to re-live the magic of Bhangarh all over againā¦also the fact that most of BOPians could not ride in the August Binsar Bazookas Ride ensured that we had lots of riders signing up for this rideā¦finally we had 13 confirmations and 2 pillions as wellā¦15 was the biggest count BOP has ever had for itās ridesā¦
The Bhangarh Berettas were:
1. Dips on his Black Electra
2. Gyan on his Red Karizma
3. Vihans on his Orange FZ-16
4. Verma & Sharma on the Udhaar ki 5S Machismo
5. Sandy on his Silver 5S Electra ā The Debut Rider
6. Pravin on Marco Polo
7. Veeru on his Black Pulsar 220
8. Deepak on his Black Pulsar 220
9. Katar on his Red Birdie
10. Zaheer on the Udhaar ki Standard
11. Ashok on his Red Electra
12. Rishi on his 535 Lightning
13. Kunwar Paaji ā The Indomitable Pillion
14. Che on The Mighty One
The Ride started at 5:30 AM from The Leisure Valley Park in Gurgaon with the Sun breaking out, birds twittering and cool breeze flowingā¦when the 13 bikes were ready to rock & roll the noise created quite a ruckus and blew the sleep from the minds of morning-walkers who swarm the park every morningā¦not the peaceful surroundings they were hoping for on a sleepy Saturday morning!!!
We made our first stop at 6:45 AM on a NH-8 flyover after 70 kms of fast ridingā¦actually we all wanted to peeā¦thatās why we actually stopped!!!
After the open-air spectacle we all stopped for Breakfast at a decent-looking placeā¦neither a Dhaba nor a Restaurant but looked clean and with well-designated wash-rooms as well...Ordered for Paranthas & Tea without asking for the Menu-Card and that was a cardinal mistake we committedā¦both the things were not gastronomically divine but the bill was worth Rs. 1950 bucksā¦jaw-dropping and we were all dumbstruckā¦but could not do a thing about itā¦paid it while abusing left-right & centreā¦one big learning for lifeā¦never order for food without looking at the menu & checking the pricesā¦
I was the last rider to start after seeing everybody off with Katar Bhai and soon realized that the front Tyre was puncturedā¦managed to ride at 50 kmph till I found a repair shopā¦got the air filled and started again but soon the Tyre completely gave way and I had to stop to get the puncture repairedā¦the 2 guys manning the shop were royally sleeping and I had to vroom the bike to wake up from their deep slumberā¦he gingerly woke up and came out to assess the damageā¦his 1st response was āNAHIN HOGA- Bullet hai Saahabāā¦I told him that I know how to remove the Tyre and he just needs to repair the punctureā¦he found out that the tube was damaged and had to be removedā¦luckily Katar Bhai was carrying a spare tube and it was duly replacedā¦thanks a ton Katar for helping me outā¦
But while putting the Tyre back he hit the Axle Rod really hard with his hammer and the grooves of the rod got damaged and the nut refused to be woundā¦next 20 minutes were spent in fruitless tries with all 3 of us tryingā¦finally he called an expert who took his time but ensured that the Tyre was set though it was a Jugaadā¦I heaved a sigh of relief and moved on with Katar Bhai in towā¦the front Tyre was bubbling vigorously and I had to maintain a low speed of 60 kmph for the next 35 kmsā¦the rest of the gang was waiting for us at a Dhaba and were all excited to see me after the breakdownā¦I enjoyed a much-needed Sutta and then started again for the Intersection point for the Bhangarh Fort where Dips & Kunwar were already waiting for usā¦The Bhangarh Fort was still 75 kms away and the weather was transforming into amazingā¦cloudy & not at all warmā¦we entered the Real Rural Rajasthan in our 13 bikes and invited awe-struck looks of surprised villagersā¦by now we are used to such likes and the adulation never seem to end!!!
Stopped at 12 PM when we reached the Ajabgarh City Gate and clicked picsā¦the scenery was superb and the fort beautifulā¦
I remembered my last yearās ride and this was the exact spot where we had stoppedā¦soon a long picture session followedā¦and the nostalgia was not getting over soonā¦I went ahead and stopped at the same Theka where the 3 Haunted Spookies had beer on 21-March-08ā¦a long BBB session followed with beers getting gobbled up in no timeā¦I called up Negiā¦my Riding Comrade who was in Kinnaur-his native place and told him that I was really missing him and wish he was with usā¦and took a swig from the beer bottle in his name!!!
Finally we reached the Haunted Bhangarh Fort at 1 PMā¦and it had transformedā¦it was extremely crowdedā¦there was a new designated parking spotā¦loads of vehicles parkedā¦sadly another peaceful & tranquil fort taken over by commercial interestsā¦I sadly entered the fort premises and the crowds had rammed the fort inside as wellā¦but I thought how long this beautiful fort could have stayed safe from the eyes of touristsā¦plus there was some Pooja also taking placeā¦that was also a probable reasonā¦
We went to a temple and sat on the chilled marble floor with cool breeze flowing and down below we saw a man just falling down and experiencing fitsā¦an epilepsy attackā¦Pravin, me & Dips rushed to his rescueā¦took him to a shady placeā¦gave him water and comforted himā¦he fell down on concrete after the attack and had a big wound on the back of his head which was bleedingā¦I used my first-aid kit and bandaged his headā¦soon he got up and went awayā¦his right body was paralyzed and he was blabbering something which we could not understandā¦I prayed for his quick recovery and went ahead to explore the rest of the fort with the gangā¦
And then we experienced a memorable sceneā¦we all have heard that monkeys are scared of Langursā¦but we saw something totally against the heard factsā¦we saw a solitary monkey moving towards a big herd Langurs and looking straight into their eyesā¦and scaring them awayā¦also stealing their foodā¦one amazing sightā¦just proves a factā¦GAAND MEIN DUM is all which is required to stay ahead and scare the competition!!! Would never forget that scene of unabashed braveryā¦
Soon all our eyes were transfixed on a Hill-Top sight which was the perfect place for the all-important BBB Session with the full fort-view in sightā¦we all huffed & puffed our way to the top and the view didnāt disappoint us at allā¦
Soon beer bottles & Namkeen packets were opened upā¦there was also a new snack variety waiting for usā¦courtesy Deepak Bhaiā¦Peanuts!!! Yes Peanuts as a Beer-Snakeā¦a first for us!!! The Bakchodi session which followed was hilarious and filled with bouts of loud laughter whose sounds must have been heard upto Jaipur which was some 70 kms awayā¦yes we were that loud!!!
We all left the fort at 3 PM and it also started to rainā¦little we had thought that the ride ahead would be wetā¦really wet!!! I made the customary BOP Ride Video in amazing weather with 12 bikes going past meā¦another video for the history booksā¦
The ride back home started and some 20 minutes into it, it started to rain cats & dogs and we had to make n emergency stopā¦it was more of a torrential downpour than a rain!!! After staying out for some 15 mins. we all decided to keep in riding as the rains were showing no signs of slowing downā¦packed all our electronic gadgets safely in plastic polybags and moved onā¦
The next stop was also a nostalgic oneā¦the same Dhaba which had served 3 famished riders last yearā¦shockingly the Cook recognized me & Pravin instantly and remembered the fat tip we gave himā¦we ordered for our very late lunch and then kept on waiting till the lavish meal was servedā¦passing our time munching away innumerable packets of Parle-G Biscuits and gulping teaā¦our anticipation was soon overā¦the meal was served and soon got over as wellā¦Kadhi-Pakoda, Gatte ki Sabzi,Dal-Fry and Palak ki Sabzi served with Hot Rotisā¦quite a meal it wasā¦
We started the ride back to Gurgaon in pitch-darkness and soon were hit by a bout of heavy rain but kept on moving as we knew waiting would have been of no useā¦the rain Gods were there to stay with usā¦my last 4 trips have been filled with non-stop rainā¦Bharuch, Mt. Abu, Binsar and now Bhangarhā¦Indra Devta surely loves me a lotā¦and for the next 250 odd kms it was all about fighting the elementsā¦the rain kept battering us and we kept fighting it like brave warriorsā¦never getting bogged downā¦
It was extremely tough riding in the heavy rains and with no lights on NH-8ā¦itās a pity that one of the most important highways of India connecting Delhi & Mumbai has no lighting whatsoever and inspite of the exorbitant toll-tax collected nothing much is done for the lighting partā¦Rain was surely playing hide & seek with usā¦we got dried up but to get wet againā¦the trucks were splattering away muddy water on us but our spirits were never doubted but surely testedā¦
We had to stop due to a problem with Katarās bikeā¦the electrical system screwed up and his bike just didnāt workā¦he decided to park it at The Bawal Police Station and come back to pick it up in 1-2 daysā timeā¦he became the pillion of Dips thereafter and we made our last stop at the Manesar McDonalds for a dinner stopā¦by this time Gyan, Veeru, Zaheer, Ashok, Deepak, Vihans, Pravin & Rishi had left us and went straight towards their homesā¦
We wished Katar for his birthday and dropped him at the Gurgaon Toll Plaza where his friends were to meet himā¦Verma & Sharma also left for their homeā¦but one final ritual was still remainingā¦you would guess what now???
Yesā¦we hadnāt made any beer stop in our return journey and we never end our ride without one final Beer Pit-Stopā¦this time as well we followed the rule and enjoyed a chilled pint of Tuborg: The Official Beer of BOPā¦just the 3 of usā¦me, Kunwar & Dipsā¦some strange coincidenceā¦my first Bhangarh Ride was with 2 fellow riders and my second Bhangarh Ride ended with 2 fellow riders as well!!!
My 15th Ride was finally overā¦after some 508 kms on the road and 21 hours with my riding buddiesā¦
High Points of the Ride:
1. Veeruās elaborate preparations each time we startedā¦the bandannasā¦the glovesā¦the protective gearā¦the gogglesā¦it was hilarious
2. Sandy-The Rookie Riderās brave & fast ridingā¦the power of the Youthā¦
3. Verma & Sharma Duoā¦their first ride and they were simply amazingā¦never ever complaining about anythingā¦
4. Riding in Heavy Rainsā¦very tough & challenging but a great learning experience
5. Kunwar Paaji- The best Pillion I would have ever wished forā¦some great conversations with him while ridingā¦
Pics & Videosā¦
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YD-CQ1utb4 - BOP @ Bhangarh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZBzN7FgOC4 - BOP BBB Session on the Fort-Top
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/jha.nishant/TheBhangarhBerettas?feat=directlink ā Che
http://picasaweb.google.com/mailtovivek.sharma/BikingToBhangarh?authkey=Gv1sRgCI32q Cd-fvs5QE# - Sharma & Verma
http://picasaweb.google.com/virendra22/BhangarhFortRideWithBOP# -Veeru
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/pravinmac/BhangarhBerettasRevisited - Kora
More about Bhangarhās History & the Map:
http://ghostsofindia.com/bhangarh/
http://www.amanresorts.com/uploadedFiles/Aman/___Group_Website/interactive_map/AmanbaghMap.pdf
Che would be back on the road againā¦
Till then ride safe & have safe sexā¦
Hasta la Victoria Siempreā¦