The Mahwa Marauders

21 Aug 2010

This ride was a spontaneous one. It was very late that we realized that August was passing away and still there was no ride. It was attributed to the fact that Ladakh had just happened less than a month ago. Then there was the Independence Day gathering at our dear buddy, Vihans' home. Another long ride to Dalhousie was solidified in early September. Things were hectic. But then it pinches us a lot if a whole month passes by without riding. Now, came the problem of destination. Most of the close by places have already been covered. Then suddenly, while browsing through my blog site, I discovered this place called Mahwa. It was first seen in our Children's Day Ride, but not explored. We have a penchant for Forts and the one at Mahwa surely looked like a visit's worth. And so, this month's destination was decided. Notifications floated around. But with the rains playing havoc in Delhi and around, many were reluctant to ride. In the end, only the following were confirmed:

1. Vibhor Bhardwaj - Royal Enfield Machismo 500 - The Cameraman
2. Saurav Keshan - Bajaj Avenger - The Loaner
3. Avi and Jha - Yamaha R15 - The Russian Lovers
4. Diptinder Singh Chhabra - Royal Enfield Electra 4S - The Narrator

I reached the gathering point at Leisure Valley Park in Gurgaon earlier than the allotted time, 4:30 AM. I waited till 5:10 AM till the others arrived together. Since we were behind schedule, I waved at them to keep riding. Introductions would be held later. As soon as we hit the Faridabad Road, it started raining. I stopped and took out my raincoat. Being a one day ride, I hadn't bothered to pack the lower. Big mistake. To my surprise, none of the others had brought theirs. This had been categorically told over the mail chains. Oh well, not my loss. They were already drenched. It got heavier as we progressed. "Badal ghul gaye thhe". We had to take a stop at the temple near the BoP-credited Jhaag Lake so that Vibhor could keep his camera inside my waterproof covering, courtesy Vihans bhai.
The others were now conscious as to proceed further or not. I was all game. Keshu was all drenched and said it didn't matter now. So, we decided to take a call after reaching Palwal. At Palwal, the weather cleared up. "Badal khul gaye thhe". So, we stopped at a nearby dhaba to have tea and parathas. Finally, it was here that the introductions were made. And straightaway we started on the leg-pulling. Keshu was the first victim. His hands were all black and blue from his Rs 1800 gloves. Jha was next. He was lured to come to Gurgaon last night in hopes of meeting a Russian. Hence, the nickname, Russian Lover. This is how we welcome debutantes into our rides. If you can't take the heat, you are better off without coming.
The parathas arrived. They were tasty and spicy. More importantly, we got Amul butter, not those fake nutrelas. After satisfying the stomachs, we moved on. The road conditions were fantastic. In no time, we reached Mathura and took the turn towards Bharatpur. U.P. is overtly criticized. But the Bharatpur road is one of the finest, save for a few backbreakers. The road conditions deteriorate when you cross into Rajasthan, surprisingly. But, just before the crossing, came the important matter of conquering a new theka. We stopped at one. Unfortunately, it did not have beer. So, I took out my reserve of Rum and Coke. The Rum was imported from J&K from the Ladakh Longbows Ride. None other was too eager. Keshu did take a sip after learning about the Rum's origins. Avi and Jha were not much of drinkers anyway. Moreover, they had some the previous night only. Or maybe, they were just sore about the denial of Russian Love.
After crossing Bharatpur, we touched NH-11. This is one of the last remaining great highways in our country. All the others have grown pathetic. They have much traffic and long toll lanes. The other highways do not offer any faster commute at all. But, the NH-11 is a great respite. With so little traffic, this stretch can be used to test the max speed of any vehicle. It took us less than an hour to cover the 65 kms to Mahwa on this highway. Enroute, we also picked up a couple of beers to be had at the Fort. By now, it was past noon. We were all dried just 10 kms before reaching Mahwa, when Mother Nature again unleashed her fury. We were drenched in seconds. From the highway, we could make out the Fort-like structure on a hilltop. But we could not find the access road. As we took the road into the village, there were no signs indicating the final stretch to the road. As the rains grew heavier, we took shelter on and underpass under NH-11. On asking a few of the localites, it was found that no Fort existed now. It was all ruins. There was no access road and the path leading to the top would be all slippery due to the rains. So, we had to open the beer bottles at the underpass only. The return journey would start after the beer.
One thing was clear, that we would be reaching home hours after it grew dark. So, whats new? It was our usual practice, whatever may be the distance. We stopped at a dhaba after 10 kms for lunch. The rains still hadn't stopped. There was some worry about sleep catching up but that would come after gorging time. Paneer Kadhai, Dal Makhanai and crisp rotis. Keshu was disappointed on stopping at a Veg dhaba. I wonder where he finds a non-veg dhaba. It did not come as a surprise to find the intensity of rain increasing as soon as we were about to leave. God has his ways of playing with us. But after 5 kms, it all dried up. It seemed all the rains were centered around Mahwa only.
The return journey is always boring. You get the feeling of heading back into the trap. Moreover, traffic masses up. To liven things up, we stopped at a theka just near the U.P. - Rajasthan border. A good time was spent here as everyone was reluctant to head back. At this time, a diversion was planned. Keshu had to buy some stuff for his mother. So, we would have to go to Vrindavan. No problems for anyone.
On reaching Vrindavan, first thing we did was eat. Burgers, Aloo-tikki, Panipuri, anything that cold be seen around. Keshu got busy in searching for his merchandise. We also had banta. Avi and Jha had lassi. How that tasted over beer, don't know. Vibhor also bought a couple of those dhoti-kurtas.
It was now 6 PM. We were going to be very late reaching home. It was speeding time to cover the maximum distance in daylight. We got as far as Hodal. The Palwal-Sohna route is not advisable to cover at that time. If it hadn't been raining, we would have taken the chance. So, we had to pass through the painful traffic at Faridabad. We parted ways with the Delhi guys at N.I.T. chowk.
One day rides have a thrill of their own. Sadly, not many pictures could be taken for this ride due to the rains. We would certainly be planning more of such rides but would now need suggestions for nearby places to go to, within a 200 kms radius. Help out.