Way to inner peace - 800 km to Pushkar and back
Hello chaps, I am back!! Riding never stopped but it was not inspiring enough for me to start writing again. Most of it was around town a couple of hours getaways but nothing to stir the soul.
Let me start with sharing some words of wisdom on work life balance (I was on a receiving end of this for complaining about too much work!) - Assuming your life is 80 years and you retire at 60 then effectively you live and enjoy life after 60 and perhaps the start till you are 20 years. This knocks off 40 years and the 40 years in the middle you only slog and work. WORK - LIFE Balanced
Now with the "Genius" in my name I figured I can do better. I followed my doctors words - To live longer you need plenty of fresh air, exercise and meditation. Therefore off i went to
Pushkar with the 3rd Northern Hog rally. ...and already I feel like I have extended my life by a couple of months
Allow me to explain - Ride over 800 Km @ 80km/hr average in 2 days and you will have more fresh air in your face than months on the jogging track. Also 18 hours of V-twin humm under you will blow the biggest stresses in life away effectively increasing your years. Married men please take note and buy a Harley!
Now the HOG rally was from November 7th to 9th in Pushkar which is a religious town in Rajasthan some 30 odd km ahead of Ajmer. The event was organized by the Dune Chapter of HD. Like any other national HD event it has participation from all regional chapters and people drive insane distances for the fun and party. This time, I chose to buzz off work and live life.
I struggled with the same old insomnia of losing sleep before an exciting road trip i had as a child. I suspect I am on the same list of men who never really grow up...Its good to feel childlike. Sharp assembly at 6:30am in Gurgaon showroom and flag off at 7:30 with the throaty roar of over 60+ bikers in group.
Now I suspect the excitement got to people as for the initial part we were like school kids let loose. People were going all over at every speed imaginable but thankfully the Marshals kicked in and organized. People got themselves in groups and speed they were comfortable in. The road to Jaipur was being constructed in patches with some serious biker hazards including steps and channels on the road from the top layer being removed for repairs.
We stopped for breakfast after around 150 km at a Highway king hotel. The people there were seriously fascinated with sheer number of bikers and swanky riding gear. A barrage of typical questions - kitne ki hai, kitna deti hai and aapki light on hai
and we were off. Just to make a note - A friend was taking a car along so we were spared from carrying our luggage. But if you do carry stuff on bike make sure it is secured. A fellow HOG almost lost his luggage on the highway.
Awesome sights ahead as Rajasthan welcomes us.
It was strangely comfortable doing 250+ km on the Iron despite the distance till Ajmer. While waiting for our gang, we gave into that the very human vice of updating everything on Facebook and furiously liking each others posts.
The rest of the road was bliss except for a drunk driver who nearly got me off-road from his idiotic driving near Pushkar. This town has the only Brahma Temple in the world and is one of the sacred places in Rajasthan. Also it is famed from the great Pushkar Mela which is the largest market for horses and camels. We were lucky to reach a day after the mela so were spared the world that throngs down to this little town. The destination was a camping site on the outskirts of Pushkar. The road was decent but we had to struggle with the small town traffic over the last mile finally reaching the site.
I was taken back with the sheer excitement. There were people who had ridden over 800 km to reach there and were so charged up like they had slept through the journey. There was also some superbikers who had come down from Surat. I was wondering how their backs were treating them given the distance and stance.
This is called power recharge. I thought I could run a marathon then.
We stayed offsite as we were only there for 1 night so after checking in came back to the venue for the main function. Serious stuff but thoroughly enjoyable.
Eat, drink and be merry ruled the evening. A scintillating rock show, tug-of-war and arm wrestling. Men will be men
It was a giant tsunami of biker regalia, excitement and party. The place gave a very authentic desert experience with the sand that got everywhere. I suspect we landed back to our hotel around 2am after getting lost in a myriad of back road and village paths from the venue to our hotel.
Late to bed and early to rise makes you a damn good biker - We were up and about by 7am. After a healthy breakfast, we gathered our bikes and took off for the way back.
Exhilarating ride except for the traffic near Gurgaon. We struggled with some fuel pumps in Rajasthan but a hugely rewarding ride. 2 days later with a NHR patch and a mildly sore back, this proud biker reach home to a comfortable bed and a warm hug from the better half and kiddo.
BE A BIKER and LIFE IS BETTER. Cheers!!