Yes guys you read it right it’s our HONEYMOON but it not trip its RIDE
Well to be honest I am not very fond of writing and do not have the patience for the same also. However after almost a year of completing the trip thought of writing down the travelogue for the same.
Since this is my first travelogue so please excuse me for the mistakes I do or for the lack of information if there is any. I apologise for the same. Also pardon me if I make this a bit lengthy as I wanted to share my experiences for having a Honeymoon Ride
Going back to 2016 -
Well my fiancé Taniya and me always wanted to have our honeymoon in our motorcycle only; apart from conventional way which most of the people do. But for that there were lot of hurdles we had to overcome starting from family oppose till making my wife habituated in long distance motorcycle rides. She is not from any riding or car enthusiast background however do have immense love for cars and bikes which grown into larger version after we started dating and this is going to be her first big motorcycle ride.
It is really a tough job to go for a ride just after the marriage ceremony as normally what happens there are lot of rules and regulations which we need to follow being in a joint family and also after the whole affair people normally gets stressed out a lot for a ride! Still we were very confident and eager for the ride.
The preparation –
Coming to the Points directly if anyone plans for a pillion ride more than 1000 kms few things are to be checked before planning for a ride only.
1. Your health condition and body fitness – Riding solo is a different part but when you are with a pillion, you have to take special precautions; there is no room for mistake also. So the physical fitness is very much required for both of us for riding more than 14 hrs. Also once you are going to higher altitude with your motorcycle and with pillion after such an exhaustive ride the day before you have to have good fitness. Foods needs to be chosen very wisely before and during the ride also. We started doing some cardio and regular fitness exercises beforehand only.
2. Riding Gears and Safety measures – We rode from Kolkata to Lava and surroundings thus the riding gears are necessary. I had my riding gears since
I started riding long back and currently I use Nerve Riding jacket
Locally Sourced Knee Guards, Zeus Highway rider Gloves, Locally sourced riding boots, Via Terra Saddle bag, LS 2 Duality Helmet.
Had to get a new set of few for Taniya also for the safety and winter. Contacted Deep Baba (Owner of Gear Up store in Kolkata) and we got exactly what we needed.
Jacket from Rynox, MT Blade Helmet and Scoco Gloves for her.
The problem we faced is purchasing shoes for her s the size was not available and also we didn’t like the boots which were available for girls. We then decided not to go with riding shoes as we have to walk a fait bit also which is extremely uncomfortable wearing the riding shoes, instead we went to high ankle woodland shoes which will suffice both the purpose partially.
3. The Ride – we already had our trusted loving Renesseme 2.5 years old CBR25R which has been my companion in past many rides I did, took her for the service in specific workshop only and did all the necessary mods along with accessories required for the ride.
I had to do some modification in the rear section to accommodate the saddle bag which I borrowed from my rider buddy as I had Via terra claw which is not for pillion carrying. Also I fitted auxiliary LED 10W lights for better visibility after dark again sourced from Gear Up store.
4. Route mapping and booking – Since we two were only one who will be going thus I chose to play it safe and also I told the stories of my first ride in Himalayas and it was lava and I knew the place and route also thus it was the best choice for both of us. We booked the WBFDC Cottages in Lava, Old British bungalow in Fagu and left the Siliguri for instant booking as we reach. I had chosen the route which I will share next.
The Ride Starting
After the whole ceremony the next day morning we went for some Puja in my in-laws place and after that with a final check u for the ride in the workshop and then finally packed our luggage and mounted the same and parked the bike in my garage and went off to sleep. Idea is to start by 5am in the morning and reach Siliguri within 7 in the evening.
We started around 5.35 in the morning next day and headed towards Dankuni Toll Plaza
The route map we selected is as follows
Kolkata - Burdwan via NH2
Burdwan – Moregram Via SH7
Moregram – Dalkhola via NH34
Dalkhola – Siliguri
Night Halt at Siliguri
Just crossing Dankuni Toll we faced tremendous fog which made the ride more thrilling. Visibility was really low and I had to keep the needle below 60 to avoid any unwanted circumstances, Couldn’t even take out the phone for a first selfi or pic also. It was chilling cold and somehow we were clinging on with our riding gears on. We reached Satkigargh around 7.45 am and had a cup of tea. It felt like heaven after that cilly ride. We didn’t wait for long and proceeded for our next planned halt which is in Moregram
After getting into SH7 we again faced dense fog and this time at 9 am the weather was absolute chilling and almost zero visibility. Again had to slow down due to this weather conditions. However we reached Moregram around 12.30 and had our Brunch (Breakfast cum lunch] as we were already late .
The first selfi at BP Moregram
Renesseme waiting to howl the roads again.
We started around 1 from Moregram and continued the way till Dalkhola within minimal stops which were necessary.
People here are already acquainted with the route so am not elaborating about the same again.
Reaching Siliguri we took a hotel from Oyo rooms which were decent enough and had all the basic amenities required for a short night halt along with bike parking inside their own garage which was again important for us.
Day 2 – Siliguri to Fagu via Dooars
We Satrted from Siliguri around 7.30 am and headed towards Fagu through Sevoke road. The real journey began then as now the landscape changed from paddy fields and 4 lane highways to enticing Dooars roads and Himalayas in the view.
Reached Fagu around 12.00 with some good photoshoots of us and our beloved CBR.
Reaching Fagu we were again surprised to know that we are the only ones who will be living in the total bungalow.
The rooms are literally huge with fireplace inside the room.
The windows are also huge and does have British culture embedded into it everywhere.
The view from the balcony is also very romantic and the stay is peaceful also. The food was excellent and homely.
The link for Fagu Bungalow -
http://heritagebungalows.com/fagu-tea-bungalow/
Few snaps from Fagu
The food was also awesome at the end of the day in Fagu