Bulls On Parade to Corbett

A Roaring Ride

Luck is changing. This trip was planned 90 days back. And it was implemented successfully. Things are moving quite positively. No last minute cancellations, No dropouts. Plus, a plan covering so much detail that there was little chance of mis-navigation. All thanks to Sanket. The guilty party this time was:

Arun Khatri - The General

Royal Enfield Electra

Sanket Tomar - The Mastermind
Royal Enfield Electra



Ashutosh Rana - Lord "Mount"Batten
Royal Enfield Electra


Rajesh Chopra - The Group Picturizer
Pillion with Rana


Varun Doegar - The Lensman
Royal Enfield Thunderbird


Nilutpal Hazarika - DevD
Bajaj Pulsar 200


Gyan Moshahari - The Bartender
Hero Honda Karizma


Vihans Gupta - The Hard Luck Mate
Yamaha FZ-16


Siddharth Sharma - Panditji
Pillion with Vihans. Also rider.


Myself - The Humble Speaker.
Royal Enfield Electra


On 24th morning, we gathered in front of Nalli's Silk Store(not a place that we visit otherwise) at South Ex, Delhi. I wasn't the first to reach this time, thanks to Sinha saab(Nilu). But still, all of us were there by 7 AM. Sidharth would be joining us from Ghaziabad. Arun's family was travelling by car with a driver while Arun himself was on the motorcycle. After clicking a few snaps, we set off. Soon, we reached a hurdle. There was a long line on Yamuna bridge owing to an accident. We had to turn back slightly and then cross over to the left lane. Arun took it upon himself to clear the traffic jam since cars were backing on the wrong side. This attitude is admirable, since most of just keep on cursing and dont act on it.

After a few minutes, we picked up Sidharth from Ghaziabad and carried on towards Hapur. We stopped at a dhaba at 9 AM, just ahead of Hapur bypass. Parathas and kullar chai were ordered. Sanket had a leaking problem on his motorcycle and he went to get that corrected. After 40 minutes, we were on our way again.

The road was pretty smooth for 20 kms. After that it got bad. Lots of diversions and rough surfaces. Still, it wasnt as bad as I had expected. We were making decent progress. We stopped again after 25 kms to regroup at the Ganga bridge at Brijghat. By now, it had got warm. To warm ourselves further, Sanket took out his hip-flask. Now, I feel a little guilty of binging by the Ganges where people come so religiously. Nahh, what the heck!


After Gajraula and Zoya, the road turned into an expressway, all the way to Moradabad. Riders were ripping through. The lighter Karizma, 200 and FZ made full use of this road. They disappeared within seconds. I did spot Gyan and Nilu at one point accelerating side by side, trying to outrun each other. No, I wouldnt tell which one took the lead. Its not a race.


We regrouped at the turn just before Moradabad that goes towards Nainital and Jim Corbett via the New Rampur Bypass road. This road was also superb to rip. We rode together on this stretch. Heads were turning in all of the vehicles that passed us and the ones we overtook. You can almost sense the admiration (or envy) that you leave behind.

Soon, we reached a signboard indicating the turn towards Corbett. We stopped to let Arun's car catch up with us. That's another thing I love about motorcycle rides. No Toll Plazas. To pass the time, we gave directions to lots of cars on their way to Corbett too. It seemed that the whole NCR was heading there on the long weekend. The India Gate parade must not have been too crowded.

We were getting hungry now. The road to Corbett is also decent, although one has to be careful here with village traffic. Upto Thakurdwara and unable to find a nice eating place, we stopped at the first dhaba that came in sight. HMU Restaurant that advertised beautiful rooms. I met an unexpected person here. Sachin Golechha, my batchmate from college and ex-roommate. He was on the way to Corbett as well with his family. Nilu was so shocked to see him that he was unable to give any reaction for a full minute. Food was bad with pink-coloured paneer. We decided to have less of it and make up during dinner time.

Crossing Kashipur and Ramnagar, we reached Jim Corbett's territory. It was late afternoon now and getting cooler. Arun and Sidharth had left the restaurant early along with the car. The road in the park territory was curvy and brilliant. Every biker knows the delight of seeing beautiful curves. We were so overwhelmed by this sight that we rode on for a distance of 18 kms till we reached the Dhanagiri gate. All this time, Gyan and I were coaxing Nilu to emit sparks from his bike, as he did during our Lahaul Spiti ride, but he didn't. On reaching the gate, we learnt that our resort was 15 kms back. The place was crowded with people going for evening safari. The bikes were an added attraction for them. We overheard comments, such as, "Is it the MTV people?", ______

The gatekeeper was kind enough to let us park our motorcycles in front of the gate for some group shots. No regrets on missing the turn for the resort though, since it gave us the opportunity to go back on that trail. According to my odo, this gate was 291 kms from South X. Still Nilu didnt bank his bike enough to emit sparks. However, Vihans did confess that he can do it too. We were wondering that Arun and Sidharth must have reached the resort and must be waiting impatiently. This time, we didnt miss the turn and both of them didn't lash out at us, thankfully. The days' coverage was 308 kms.

The Jungle Lore Resort looked wonderful with tents, cottages, hammocks and a river flowing some distance below. It had a central bonfire place. We had tea and snacks at the resort restaurant and it was here that formal introductions took place, a good 14 hours later. Varun had the great brains to buy chicken from Ramnagar and getting it cooked at the resort. He and Sanket came back with 5 kgs of chicken. The manager had set up our arrangement at a shack just close to the bonfire since it was not allowed to drink at the central, public place. We didn't object.

We took out our household stock and were soon busy. Everyone had brought Old Monk XXX. How united we all were. It was a great bout of ass-whipping. No one was spared. Two bottles were finished in no time with Gyan doing the bartending. Our comrade, Nishant Jha a.k.a. Che, called up to relate his experience at Rider Mania. I was flabbergasted on hearing that there were close to 600 Bullets. And as Che so dearly says, "G__ fatt gayi". By now, we were all very hungry and went back to the eating place. The cook had made excellent gravy.

As it happens in these circumstances, we were emboldened and decided to head down to the river after dinner. Arun had proposed the idea. 7 of us agreed while the rest went to sleep. We took the trail with Arun's LED and my mobile acting as the guiding lights. It was a serene place although we couldnt see anything. The sound of a flowing river has a tranquilizing effect on the mind. Varun had brought along his camera and we clicked a few snaps. Getting down was easy, but getting up was all that much exhausting. Couple that with our 9 hour ride and we all were panting when we reached the top. Good nights were exchanged.


Arun and I went back to the bonfire where the caretakers were warming themselves. It is always interesting to hear the local stories at such locations. They were appalled on hearing that we had been down to the riverside in the dark. It wasn't allowed since theres a good probability of wild animals roaming there in the night. This sent a chill down the spine. The animals would have found a fantastic dinner in us with all our chicken and rum breath. Finally, we went down to sleep since next day, the Safari would start at 6 AM.


25th Jan - 6 AM.



This time the group was ready by 6:30 AM. The driver of one of the Gypsy showed us some videos of tigers found in the park. We had been told earlier that the chances of spotting a tiger are miniscule. So, we left in the dark with huge pessimissism. The drive was 18kms long till we reached the Jhirna gate. The road was excellent and it was decided, that if time permits, we would come back on this road with our motorcycles. It didn't happen though.


After the permits were checked, we were let in and the Safari began. By now, sun was rising. It provided an excellent photography shot given the environs. We spotted deers and barking bears. The driver gave interesting descriptions about the widlife and the park. We learnt that a National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary are two entirely different things. But still, our guide fell short of Gyan's knowledge. Gyan has profound information on mating cycles of wild animals. No one can beat him.


After half an hour, we were sure that this drive is going to be a failure. So, we just tried to enjoy as best we could, making jokes. We asked the folks that were returning if they saw a tiger. No luck. About an hour later, we reached the mid point where there's a guest house right in the middle of the jungle. A blackboard mentioned that the last time a tiger was seen dated back to 15 Jan.


We began to take interest in the other form of wildlife, the humankind. This was much more amusing. After breakfast, we set off again. Our Gypsy was following another that had a couple of gals. No boss, it was not deliberate. And as it happens in such circumstances, they stopped and we had to overtake. Rana was most disappointed.


To make up for the dull drive, I asked the driver if he would let me drive for a while. To my surprise, he agreed. Now it got so much interesting. I had a most wonderful time driving through the jungle. There were panic cries from the passengers as I switched to fourth gear. Hey, it was only for a short while. You can't drive more than 50 kph in that territory. Plus, the vehicle didn't have power steering, a point deeply punctuated by Nilu.


I stopped just before the gate to let the driver back in his rightful seat. I was the only person who had enjoyed the safari. But, to dull the enthusiasm, none of the guys took my picture while doing so. That too, with four cameramen present in the vehicle. They defended themselves saying that their hands were occupied in gripping something or the other to hold on to, since there was so much shaking. Gnnaaahhhh!!!


We returned to our resort by 10:30 AM. Had tea and planned to go to Corbett Falls and Kaladhungi. Arun had some electrical problems in his Enfield. He went to Ramnagar to get that corrected. This would lead to a bigger problem later. Sensing that it was taking more time than expected, he told us to go ahead without him. He would be catching up later.


We set off at 12:45 PM. We had a small dose just before leaving and as a consequence, I opened up the throttle a little bit more than the others. It all depends on the size of the dose, you see. The road to Kaladhungi is also crisp and curvy(not mountain curvy). We covered 30 kms in half an hour. Vihans did let loose some sparks from his bike on this ride. Nilu still didn't. The scraping guru was losing his sheen. There was a restaurant right opposite the Corbett Falls gate, Sagar Restaurant. Had lunch there. what else? parathas and curd and makhan. Its always the order for the first meal of the day.


An hour later, after paying the entry, we reached Corbett Falls. It was crowded. Nothing special, but we did experience good hiking there. By now, Rana had become quite anxious seeing that Nainital was only 35 kms away. Nobody knew what Lord 'Mount'Batten's reasons were and he wasn't telling. But everyone agreed.


We also stopped at Kaladhungi at Jim Corbett's bungalow, which has now been converted into a museum. This was another place which only I found interesting. So while the rest itched to carry on towards Nainital, I took my time here. Even bought a memento, a pin box. Now the road turned even more thrilling. Mountain twists and turns. A smooth and waxed road. The bootscraping kind. Nearing Khurpatal, I noticed our convoy slowing. When I reached the ahead of the pack, I saw the culprit was a Scorpio. No need to mention what was there on the last side-facing seats that slowed down a whole bunch of motorcyclists. The 30 kms passed within 45 mins. It would have been much shorter had it not been for that Scorpio.


The lake side at Nainital was crowded. But with so many bikes on parade, the crowd automatically gives way. We took the lake circuit thrice. Rana still didn't reveal what he was so excited about. Lots of photographs later, we eagerly turned back to take the turns again. Surprisingly, Nilu wasn't riding like he usually does on this terrain. He was taking a casual, easy-going approach. Maybe it was because he had been denied the opportunity to look inside the resort cottages.


By the time, we reached Kaladhungi, it got dark. And we all sensibly, took a formation. Varun was leading while I trailed. The oncoming traffic was hostile with all the vehicles driving at high beams. Its times like these that I wish I had searchlights fitted on my machine to give a befitting response to such drivers.


Neverthless, we enjoyed the ride and reached Ramnagar. Varun still had the bright brains to stop and pick up chicken. Sanket went to shop for condiments. We reached back to the resort at 7:25 PM. The days coverage was 146 kms.


After freshening up, we gathered back at the bonfire. Another group had arrived in a bus that evening and had taken up our place of yesterday. So, we created our bar besides the bonfire only. Gyan was in full form this time. His arrangement and pegs were truly proffessional. Now went another round of bashing. We were accompanied by a trio coming from Delhi in a car. They told us how hard it had been to find a place.


By now, our stocks were running low. Then, Vihans came out with another Monk. Our conservative drinking suddenly exploded. Rum and Rides turn total strangers into dear friends.

Getting hungry, we headed to eat. The chicken was again well made. This time we got tandoori rotis, unlike tawa rotis last night. Each ate to his full. No adventures this time. We said good nights.

26 Jan - Republic Day.

We woke up lazily today. Arun had sent his family ahead by 8 AM. By 9 AM, we were having tea. An idea of going back down to the riverside was put forth and found many supporters. Except Gyan, everybody descended the slope. He went to his tent and fell asleep. Two nights of bar-tending must have been exhausting for him.

Sanket had the bright idea of bringing a toothbrush and paste along to conserve time. There were two sections to the river. It was split into two some distance upstream. Arun was so eager to get to the second section that he just walked across with his boots on. Sanket tried to make a bridge and walking across. One slip and his shoes got wet. He also followed Arun. Vihans was the third and final guy to cross. He had the sense to untie his shoes and tie them to his pants.

There was a feeling of laziness in everybody. Our intial plan had been to leave at 8 AM. 10 AM and we were still down there. Reluctantly, we got back to the resort, settled our bills and packed the bags. The resort was vacated at 10:30 AM.

Crossing Ramnagar, we stopped at Welcome Corbett Kumaon Dhaba, just 10 kms away. The cook here took his time to make parathas. The service was so slow that many riders went straight to the kitchen. They were left waiting there also. Meanwhile, Nilu refrained from eating anything complaining of a bad stomach. On half-filled stomachs, we set off. It was 12:40 PM now.
The traffic had now gotten worse. The number of vehicles had increased compared to what we experienced earlier. But when the Moradabad-Zoya expressway started, ZOOOOOMMM. Maybe it was the anxiety to return home, maybe it was the late start, but rpm was rocketing. We reached Zoya within 2 hours of leaving the dhaba. Stopped at Bhagwati dhaba here and ordered a full meal. The hunger had now got to everybody and food was quickly devoured.

Plenty of other vehicles stopped here too after seeing the bikes. Maybe, they thought this must be a nice place to eat with so much attendance. Vihans even asked the waiter for a discount for becoming a crowd-puller. Sadly, it was denied.

A common sight in such situations is that when the motorcycle group gets up and starts to leave, all the public at the dhaba stop eating and just watch fixedly, until the group disappears from sight.

Things looked positive and it appeared that we would touch Delhi by 7 PM. But it was not to be so. Nearing Brijghat, there was a traffic mess extending more than 5 kms from the bridge. Its a pity that the government doesnt make an effort to widen such a busy stretch of road.
An incident occurred here. Until a few meters, the motorcycles were able to overtake the traffic by going offroad. Then this Hyundai Verna was blocking the whole leftmost lane. Unable to overtake himself, the driver was stopping others to overtake too. Sidharth got pissed and overtook the car by going offroad over the slope of the road right in front of the car and braked. He told the driver to move aside and let the 2-wheeler traffic pass. Sensing that this guy was alone, the driver lashed at Sidharth. What he didn't see was Arun had reached the driver's side window now. Arun gave him an earful. Now the driver saw the rest of the group too. This shut him up and he obediently gave side to the traffic.

We took a diversion here towards Bijaura village. As soon as we turned, Arun's Electra started smoking. It was an electrical burn. It couldnt be verified how many wires had been burnt inside the battery cable. We even unscrewed the fuel tank. But since it was getting dark and we didn't find any mechanic nearby, we parked his bike at a Jitender Singhji's house nearby. He was most kind. Arun planned on fetching the bike later. So technically, his trip is still in progress. (it was completed 3 days later.). He got on my motorcycle as a pillion.


We continued on the diversion through village farms. Fog was starting to set in. On reaching back to the highway, we took another detour. An under-construction road parallel to the highway. Another off-roading adventure. However, coming to the end of this parallel road, was a slope that had enough dust to swallow a bulldozer. A Toyota Innova tried to climb, but got stuck and gravity took it back down. On the second attempt, it made it, but it left us concerned. We all know how bikes love to lie down in loose dirt. A plan of action was created. Arun got off and stood halfway up the slope. As the bikes climbed, he gave the much-needed push to take them over to the top of the slope. This also gave him mouthfuls of dirt. He instructed everybody to take the path at the center. One by one, we made it. It was a feeling akin to reaching a mountain pass.

The diversion had brought our convoy right to the edge of Brijghat. Although, it had also brought along with it heaps of dust that now covered every inch of our body. Even the insides of our nostrils was layered.

Its hard to keep in a group in the dark. We all regrouped at the same Shiv Tourist Dhaba near Hapur, that we had stopped at earlier. Had only tea. Arun received info from his wife that they had not reached home also, after 11 hours.

The road between Gajraula-Hapur is dangerous at nighttime with so many diversions and few lights. But after crossing Hapur, we were able to stay together all the way to Delhi. We touched Delhi at 9 PM. Fellow riders were seen off one by one with promises of meeting for the next ride. The days' coverage was 312 kms upto my house. The total distance covered was 810 kms.

Bottomline: Yes, I would like to take the route again.