A day & a while with an old flame

[suman]

Now, now, sorry to disappoint you guys but before you start getting ideas, it’s not what you think!

The Beast had been dropped off at the workshop on Wednesday afternoon for some work & I realized that I needed a ride to work on Thursday morning. The kids were having their mid-term exams so they had study leave. A golden opportunity, I thought, to meet up & spend some time with the “other” one in my life – the Moondust Silver Streak, the Fiesta 1.6 SXI!

Dropped my wife to her Office & off I went down MG Road, in the general direction of my Office. Wohhh! Almost immediately I had to back off & take my foot off the accelerator – it had been a while & I wasn’t used to this kinda response from an engine. Wheelspin, whoosh, snarrrl & roar – I could feel a broad smile curling around my lips, which I hastily wiped off, least anyone seeing me go by thought I was batty. I mean why else would anyone smile on the way to work!

DMRC have been doing up the MG Road & had filled up the potholes in most places so I decided not to waste the opportunity – had some real good fun zipping down & diving through the gaps (zipping through the gaps is what I miss the most with the Beast since there its more of people hastily getting out of the way as I lumber by). Had to be way more careful in & around the Call center cabs though as I didn’t want any nudges or scratches.

Oh & the other thing – the noise or rather the absolute lack of it! Man, it was so surreal – I mean, with the Beast, I know that I’m on the move because of the accompanying hum of the engine that intrudes into the cabin as well as the crashes as I fly over the craters – with this one, silence takes on a whole new meaning! No engine noise, no plastics noise, no road noise (thanks to Ishan tyrewallah), I could hear myself think, LOL!

The last kilometer or so to my Office is pure dirt track & stones & that’s where I was really so careful with her – the Beast simply zips through the ruts & craters but I just didn’t have the heart to put her through it! So it was a crawl all the way to the Building entrance – and then a couple of quick hairpins through the basement, two sharp right turns taken at a fair lick, a quick reverse & there she was, slotted perfectly into the parking space. The entire maneuver taking at least a minute less than usual!

Couldn’t wait for the ride home in the evening but had a couple of conference calls so had to be patient. It had begun to drizzle so it was a real nice ride through light rain, the lights blazing & the wipers making short work of the weather. The muted thud from the occasional pothole, then the faaaasssssst stretch down our mini expressway (Delhi-Gurgaon border to Phase V) & back home into the basement parking slot for the night.

Siggghhhhh – why can’t I do this everyday? Because (said the voice in my head) –

• You prefer bullying other road users in the Safari & don’t want to get bullied yourself
• Petrol is 54.32 per litre & your daily commute is 120 kms
• You’d be cringing every time you hit a pothole by accident
• You’d be cringing every time a Haryana roadways or a DTC bus came sneering down your ORVM

Hmmmm, reason enough huh! Right. (Yawns & goes off to sleep)

Got up this morning & had a silly grin plastered all over my face when I realized that the Beast hadn’t got back yet & I had to drop the kids to school!

(Our father who art in heaven, give us this day our daily dose of Duratec)

So, off we went & I had my cheap thrills – the expressway was, of course a bonus. God, I love the Duratec engine & its snarl, it’s addictive. I love the way the speedo & tacho needles climb. I love the way she holds the road & takes the curves, thanks to the Energy XM1+ 185x65s. And I love the adrenalin rush.

Is there something I don’t like? Yes, it feels like I’m sitting on the ground man! And yes, I hate it when the monsters on the road don’t get out of the way!

Back from dropping the kids to school, got ready for work & with mixed feelings, asked the driver to drop me off at the workshop to pick up the Beast. At the workshop gate, said bye to the Silver Streak & made a mental promise to do this more often. Climbed into the Beast, went for a test drive & then ambled my way through the mad NCR traffic to my Office at the other end of town. A long drive spent peering out from my cabin on the top of the world, feeling safe & secure! Back to the routine guys! It was wonderful to have spent time with my old flame; God knows when I’ll get a chance again.

(Broad smile curling lips again) – Hey, hang on! The kids have study leave next Tuesday and I do need to get that alignment checked, don’t I? Well, well, well……

(Not to be continued. LOL)

[benbsb29]

Nice write-up., Suman. But how come you dont get to do this more often? Its your own car after all. Or is it?!

[kpzen]

Fantastic write up!! Two very different kind of rides u got.
Have fun.Drive Safe. Good luck for tuesday.

[suman]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Nice write-up., Suman. But how come you dont get to do this more often? Its your own car after all. Or is it?!

Can do it every day Benny! But, as I said, Petrol is 54.32 & I also wouldn't be comfortable giving the Safari to the driver on a daily basis.

Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder

Originally Posted by kpzen

Have fun.Drive Safe. Good luck for tuesday.

Thanks Prajesh, I'm looking forward to that one!

[phamilyman]

Lovely saab.

So now I know exactly why you didn't pick my call that evening

[suman]

Thanks Hitanshu!

Originally Posted by phamilyman

So now I know exactly why you didn't pick my call that evening

This was yesterday evening. Your call was day before. My life is a maze of conf calls. At least two or three days a week.

Early retirement is the only answer

[phamilyman]

Let's sit down some day and hold a "Early Retirement" meet in good old gaon

That is my goal for the next seven years.

[Sam Kapasi]

Very well written Suman, thank you for an excellent read.

Oh and YES, you got my attention with that title, lol.

[suman]

Thanks Sam, yes the title was a sudden brainwave

[esteem_lover]

And I thought that you took a drive in your 'real old flame', the Ikon 1.6. Nice write up Suman.

[suman]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Nice write up Suman.

Thanks John.

Originally Posted by kpzen

Have fun.Drive Safe. Good luck for tuesday.

Originally Posted by suman

Thanks Prajesh, I'm looking forward to that one!

Couldn't resist a quick update! Left home a little earlier than usual yesterday, just so that I could enjoy the Duratec snarl. As luck would have it, on the mini-expressway that I've mentioned earlier, as I took off from the red light, I saw in my mirrors a new Corolla & it looked like he thought the Fiesta was easy meat for his ride. Well, well, well.....

Floored the pedal & we leapt forward before he could go past. The speedo needle climbed, 100, 110, 120 & there was a long curve coming up. That's where I was sure that he'd back off (I've heard that the Toyota is not a great handler at high speeds, more so on curves) so I just kept the pedal married to the floor. 130 & I could see a sharp curve & then MG Road thereafter - looked in my mirror, he had backed off & was quite some distance behind. Slowed down to a respectable speed & joined MG Road. No rush. After a couple of kilometers, he stomped by on the left, let him go with a smile - I think he'd got the point!

Way to go, silver streak!