[Archie_27]

Hello everyone,

Let me start by asking you all a rhetorical question, something for everyone to ponder upon. What is your intoxication! Since this is an automobile forum, the answer is somewhat expected and as it should be, mine is motorcycling. (I hate to call it biking as people do because, IMO, that doesn't adequately convey the profoundness and the intensity of the experience that is motorcycling).

So this is about a motorcycling trip to Mussorie from Delhi that I went to with my friend and a fellow BHPian r_nema. We both love motorcycling to a good extent and sharing this crazy stupid love, we go back to our college days. We were discussing since long now to get on our saddles and get riding to some place far (adequately enough) but due to some reason (read work) we just couldn’t. And then, this once, we came upon a long weekend that we got planning in advance to go on a trip to Mussoorie. The destination wasn't as important as the ride itself, and we still wanted to get past the hustle of a life that Delhi gives us!

I had my Veronica (CBR 150R) by my side which has been with me for 6 years now. And in those 6 years, it has never seen a lot of highways (particularly, never 150+ km away from Delhi at once). And r_nema, excited for trying out his new acquisition, his Mriga, was completely thrilled to do this trip (I’ll leave out his side of the story, for he’ll be the better one to tell the tale). So we decided to venture out on our saddles and go someplace far enough to get our motorcycling thirsts quenched but not far enough to get our backs cracking! Hence, Mussoorie. It’s about 300 kms from our place and the ride was supposed to have a mix of urban, semi urban, highway stretches and hills.

We even went on to Karol Bagh some days before the ride to get some touring stuff like bungees etc for the ride. To our bad luck, at the last moment, an issue emanated with my Veronica. It refused to start and developed some issue related to its spark plug (will get to that sometime else). The plan was almost bummed out, but then, fortunately, a friend lent me his CBR 250R which was albeit in not an optimum condition as he seldom uses it and it had developed some rusted bits. But it was my decision to take the CBR 250R and continue with our trip.

So apart from Veronica throwing a tantrum at the last minute, the signs of this universe not wanting us to go on our trip were manifold. Particularly, unforeseen showers & thunderstorms on the weekend we were supposed to go, and the Kanwar Yatra season going on at Delhi - Haridwar route which often causes traffic jams and detours from the main Highway. I’ll not lie, we were very unsure to ride, mainly because of the bad weather even in the morning of the day we planned on leaving and it had come to such a scenario that if any one of us would’ve even hinted on cancelling the plan, it would’ve been a no go. But, determined as we were, we fought through the patch and bravely saddled on to go.

Our Rides: A CBR 250R and A Royal Enfield Interceptor 650!

[Archie_27]

Day 1

I left home at around 8 AM and reached r_nema’s place. From there, began our journey with our rides.


Leaving for the Highway!

We left around 11 AM and after filling up the rides and checking for the tyre pressure, left on the highways. We’ve not done much long distance touring on motorcycles, and that showed on the trip. We pre-decided to take it comfortably and not hurry. Starting the ride, from NH 24, we faced urban areas and medium traffic until we crossed Ghaziabad. After that and before Meerut, there’s a two lane road by a canal that saves us time as we avoid many crowded cities along the way and it was also a detour from the Kanwar Yatra route people take, keeping us safe from any unforeseen traffic jams. I’ve driven on that road several times by car but it was my first time on a motorcycle, and it caught me by surprise, the road isn’t a main highway, but more of a side lane and had some slow moving traffic too. The said road meets up to the main highway 80 km later. We took several stops on our way as the bum was getting sore (missing a well cushioned touring seat on the CBR) and the when you have a Sports tourer, you gotta be ready for the palm aches!

We didn’t face any rain, but just cloudy weather since we left from Delhi but that was all about to change and how. While still on the two lane road, after covering 40 km, the rains started to pour and we started to get quite wet. At one moment it was so wet, that we couldn’t go past 50 kmph ensuring safety reasons. By the time we reached the half way point, we were tired of the rain, the aches and the clothes were all wet (thankfully the luggage was rain protected).

Stopped at a Starbucks around 3 PM, got freshened up for quite a bit, had the sweet nectar of the gods that is coffee and dried up ourselves, all the time waiting for the rain god to slacken his blessings. After an hour or so, the rains were minimal, we were quite dried up and we decided to leave. Oh, and all this rain just ensured that our sparkly shiny rides covered in muck too soon!

Continuing the frequent stops and one stop at the fuel station near Saharanpur, we began on the better half of the highways which ensured the miles were munched quickly. Soon enough, our eyes were rejoiced with the sight of the hills in the foreground which got in us, the sheer joy and the will to soldier on and reach our destination ASAP. We enjoyed the hills taking us up to Dehradun so much, even though it was getting quite dark and by nightfall, and we safely reached Dehradun. Our stay was planned at my brother’s hostel in Dehradun so we went there directly and, man oh man, I still remember that a 7 star hotel bed wouldn’t feel as good as that bed felt after our buttocks and our back went through with this ride. Met with my brother who was also travelling the whole day from somewhere else (by car, Anna) and he reached almost at the same time as we reached. We all had dinner together, had some chats and went off to bed early.

Now let the pictures do some talking.


The Mriga wanted to leap away and munch those miles.


The CBR getting dirty and growing character.


The rides


Look at those gorgeous twin exhaust pipes!


The Mriga flaunting its curves


Photography for Instagram.


When the hills were in sight.

[Archie_27]

Day 2

We woke up well rested and had our light breakfasts. My brother was supposed to join us for the next leg of the journey, the more delicious hilly leg – Doon to Mussoorie, so he got rented out a KTM Duke 200 from someone he knew. The bike was in pristine condition, was just a month old and had not more than 1k kms on the odo.

Working all that out and adjusting our luggage on our rides, we rode forward towards our destination looking forward to the upcoming hills, but we encountered traffic jams within Doon city itself.

Crossing the clogged up city stretches, we moved forward but at a safe pace as we weren’t in a hurry because the journey was short and we had all day. The three of us, looking forward to the hills, rejoiced once the twisties started. It was one hell of an experience, and I was enjoying myself quite a bit on the Sports Tourer that is the CBR 250R taking on the curves and enjoying the precision of the motorcycle. The ease with which it climbs on to those hills is amazing.

Then, while we were riding along the hills and Mussoorie was 15 km away, my brother stopped us on the way and asked to take a detour off the main road. The detour was quite steep downhill and was in fact very narrow. But, what we saw there, was worth it all. We witnessed one of those not-so-populated attraction which people just miss going on the main highway, and if not for my brother, we would’ve continued on too. But, there was it, a hidden waterfall among the hills, Bhatta Falls. There was a ropeway too for people to reach it, but we preferred the steep, narrow and sharply curved path that led to it. That was one well deserved break with only a handful of people. There were souvenir shops as well as Maggi points. We went to the restaurant which offered an amazing seating experience, with benches and chairs put in the middle of the shallow river, you sat some feet away from a small waterfall with your feet soaked. Mesmerising it was. We had what we were supposed to have there, Maggi and Coffee and loved the overall experience.

We left Bhatta Falls, and reached Mussoorie enjoying the hills again on our way. We checked into the hotel, rested a while, had lunch and went ahead to Mall Road. We spent the evening there appreciating the beautiful Doon-valley views before coming back to the hotel and having some delicious dinner and soaking in all the mountains.


All three of us filled up and ready to go.




A little photoshoot in front of the FRI in Doon.


At Bhatta Falls.


Mesmerising valley views from Mussoorie.

[Archie_27]

Day 3

Next day, we woke up to a serene atmosphere of Mussoorie. We knew, the ride home was supposed to be long, so, we left early and reached Dehradun where my brother bid adieu to us. We had breakfast there and left for Delhi around noon. The hills went behind quite soon in our enjoyment of the twisties and back to the straight Highways we were.

The previous days’ riding along with some tiredness started to take its toll by now. We were tired, and we were taking quite a few stops. Somehow, we reached the halfway point between Dehradun and Delhi and had our lunch and some rest at Carl’s Jr.

After getting our backs straight, we left off towards Delhi. Our stops getting more and more frequent majorly because of the Sports Tourer I was on. The palms were aching, the butt was numb and the back, sore. By the time we reached back near Delhi, we started to encounter traffic jams and they were a real pain. Interceptor was starting to be a little handful tackling long jams as at times we were stuck for 20 mins without moving.

It was nightfall, by the time we reached Delhi and as we climbed upon the good leg of the NH 24 near home, there was a sense of relief along with proud upon us. AT last, we stopped at the crossing from where we parted our ways for homes, and, there we stood, feeling tired, feeling broken, aching, but at the same time, feeling a sense of accomplishment, achievement and feeling (wait for it) Victorious!

Hence, Thirst Quenched (for now )


Serene Morning in Mussoorie!


Epiphany!


And we be Victorious!


This was an amazing journey with this amazing ride.


P.S. Some observations during the ride: The CBR 250R, an able Sports Tourer no doubt. It had a brilliant confidence inspiring attitude all the way. The fairing and the stock windscreen takes away the wind blast from tiring the rider, to such an extent that riding in the rain, my legs and knees were totally dry. Also commendable is its performance from the Single Cylinder 250cc engine which is more than adequate for our highways, it can cruise comfortably at 90-100 kmph (more than which on our state highways isn't safe at all) and can overtake slower moving vehicles with ease. Coming to the negativities faced, a softer suspension setting for touring, a well cushioned seat and a raised handlebar would make this motorcycle an able and comfortable tourer.

Cheers and Happy Motoring everyone.

[vb-saan]

Thread moved from Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thank you for sharing!

[r_nema]

Originally Posted by Archie_27

Let me start by asking you all a rhetorical question, something for everyone to ponder upon. What is your intoxication! Since this is an automobile forum, the answer is somewhat expected and as it should be, mine is motorcycling. (I hate to call it biking as people do because, IMO, that doesn't adequately convey the profoundness and the intensity of the experience that is motorcycling).
...
...

Wow Archie,

That is a pretty epic description to our first ever bike trip, I do assure you my side will be coming as soon as I am able to pen it down, but alas work, even at the time when I cant actually go to work comes first.

I do assure you however, it shall include a KTM Duke 125, some pretty heavy rains and even some superbikes that were slowed down to a crawl because of the weather.

Cheers.

P.S.

[GTO]

Moving thread to the Motorcycle forum for our 2-wheeler fans . Thanks for sharing!

[Archie_27]

Originally Posted by r_nema

Wow Archie,
I do assure you my side will be coming as soon as I am able to pen it down, but alas work, even at the time when I cant actually go to work comes first.

I do assure you however, it shall include a KTM Duke 125, some pretty heavy rains and even some superbikes that were slowed down to a crawl because of the weather.
P.S.

Well, it's been quite a long wait for your side of the story man! Pen it down faster