Bulls on Parade to Kausani

KAUSANI KHALIFAS

The Ride did not live up to its name. Nothing happened as per plan. We ended up roaming around Kumaon, zigzagging across the district. We are not complaining though.
Our club, Bulls on Parade, had been running through a lean phase for a long time. The last ride happened in February 2011. We are not used to riding after such a long gap. Then 5 of us joined together to break this hibernation in June. Monsoons were starting. But we were determined to Ride this time. The place was fixed as Kaunsani. No one had been there making it a perfect destination. At a distance of 400 kms, it was a bit far but we have now exhausted all options within 350 kms. Another rider dropped out at the last moment citing personal reasons. That left with the four of us to carry on.
Ajit Singh - Royal Enfield Machismo 500 - The Dhaba lookout person
Vihans Gupta - Yamaha FZ 160 - The highly motivated person
Adit Sharda - Bajaj Pulsar 220 - The highly spoken person
Diptinder Singh Chhabra - Royal Enfield Electra 4S - The sleeper

25 June 2011

As I was saying, nothing happened as per plan. Vibhor and I were to meet at Gurgaon Toll. On reaching there, I received his message that he would not be coming. I made my way to Akshardham where the rest of us were to meet. Only Adit was waiting there as I reached there at 4:30 AM. Vihans was on his way, Ajit had just woken up, this despite his idea of leaving earlier at 3 AM. Finally, all of us got together at Noida turn near Sector 62 at 5:30 AM and the Ride started. Traffic was somewhat lean at this time. We had planned to halt at Giani's Dhaba in Gajraula for the first break, only after covering 100 kms.
Weather was lovely with slightly overcasting clouds. We reached the bridge over the Ganges at Garhmukteswar quickly. This point will always be remembered as the Tomar spot. It was at this very spot that our dear comrade, Sanket Tomar took a neat swig of rum from his hip flask in the blazing sun. Something that only he can do.
Ajit was in the lead and I was trailing last. When I reached Giani's dhaba, I did not see anyone else stop there. I called up Adit to ask where they were. They had stopped at a dhaba some distance ahead. I also carried on trusting Ajit's instinct. This was near his turf after all. He might be knowing of some better dhaba. 'Some distance' turned out to be 9 kms and a not so special dhaba. Ajit reasoned that he did not see any dhaba at Gajraula. That has us in splits. Its akin to missing Sukhdev dhaba on the way to Panipat.
Parathas and hot tea arrived. Vihans ordered dal also. Adit miscalculated the hearing power of our server and shouted out the order. The server did not take it lightly and replied, "Haan, sun liya". We ate quietly after that.
Looking at the sky, it was only a matter of time before we would encounter rain. Hell, we face rainfall even in the driest months, this was monsoon season. We crossed Moradabad and turned towards Rampur. We had not done this stretch before. And the experience made us vow that we never do it again. It had a long line of trucks. We had to go off the road on the left side to get ahead. Then asking at a turn, we turned towards Rudrapur. There was no direction whatsoever. The offroad and the long gap since the previous ride was having an effect on the body. We were aching. The heat didnt help. Beer was the need of the hour. We stopped at many thekas on the way to Rudrapur, but none had chilled beer. Ajit reasoned that Uttarakhand has good power supply and therefore we would have chilled beer after crossing the state border only. Logical indeed. So as Ajit raced ahead towards the border, the rest of us stopped for a break at another theka. No chilled beer here too.
Blackberries kept the communication flowing. Ajit had replied on the mail group that he had reached Rudrapur. The rest of us saw this reply on Vihans' phone and replied, "How come? We're still near Rampur". Virtual Wars.
Enter Rudrapur. The city was crowded. We could not stop here. So, in the painful condition we carried on. Regrouping at the outskirts, we decided to halt at Bhimtal for beer and lunch. And thats when it started to pour. We had reached Bhimtal by now and stopped. As luck would have it, we stopped right in front of a theka. On asking around, he told us that we could sit at a tea stall nearby. The stall guy allowed us to have beer in the shop. It was pouring heavily now. Ajit was not with us. He had stopped some distance back. We joked that he must still be in Rudrapur.
Beer was a much needed respite. The stall also offered lunch in the form of Rajma Rice and also some meat. The meat was from a part of the body that we did not care to try. The rain went on for another hour after which Ajit joined us. So, we sat down again for a few more minutes. We dressed up in our rainsuits and started our journey. It was around 5 PM that we stopped for a tea break near Almora. We tasted some of the local sweet balmithai and some homemade chocolates. Kausani was still couple of hours away. It might also grow dark soon. Also, our bodies were not in such a good shape. So we decided to stay at Almora for the night and head to Kausani the next day.
Refuge was taken at Hotel Himsagar. Adit enthusiastically rode into the parking. We had not even looked at the room yet. At Rs 1500 a night for 4 people, it sounded like a decent deal and we took it. Now, we had to prepare to relax ourselves. As two of us were cleaning up, Vihans and Adit went for a walk to the market and brought back snacks. Then Ajit and I went to get beer. At just 5 bottles for the four of us, we were well short of our capacities. But none of us felt like drinking much that night. That is very unusual. To add to it, the beer was Superior 50000, a brand that doesn't get you high no matter how much you drink. More snacks were ordered from room service. But when they arrived, we already had tasted much of the Rs 20 pakodas that were brought earlier. We were not feeling much like eating also. It did not grow dark for another hour. If we had decided to continue to Kausani, we would have made it in daylight. But our condition did not allow. Were it not for the room snacks, we were all drunk and eaten at just Rs 430, Rs 400 out of which accounted for expensive UK beer.

26 June 2011

We woke up early around 8. Checkout time was 10 AM. Odd. The weather looked nice and we went to the roof. We breathed in the fresh mountain air. At 9:30, we were on our bikes ready to ride to Kausani. The stretch was fabulous. We were enjoying it now. It would not have been such fun last night when we were exhausted. Just 10 kms short we stopped for Ajit to catch up. One beer was still left from last night and it looked like an opportune time to open it.

When we reached Kausani, some agents gathered around offering hotel rooms. We asked them on the places to visit. Most importantly, it turned out that the place was dry. No alcohol shops. The place did not fancy us anymore. So, we went 14 kms ahead till Garuda to pick up some alcohol, found a spot and decide on the future course. "Plan on the go" seemed to be a flavour of this ride. The spot that we chose was secluded from the main road where we could shout out as loud as we wanted. After Vihans breakthrough performance of Jumma-Chumma, this point is hereby named as Jumma Point.

We stopped for lunch at Pratiksha Restaurant. As we had lunch, Vibhor had driven with his family and joined us here. They were on the way to Nainital. Now don't ask how Kausani got in the way. Lunch was decent in taste. Maybe it tasted better as the waiter had permitted us to have rum here.
We decided to move to Ranikhet for the night. We had visited that place last year and loved its serenity. But the route taken was starkingly different. We turned from Someshwar. The roads led in between huge meadows. Those 50 kms were covered on a fantastic stretch. We arrived at Hotel Monal of KMVNL. It turned out that it used to be KMVNL. Now, it was privately owned. We fit inside one room for Rs 1000. It used to be much cheaper last year. Even the service had deteriorated. Such a wonderful place had been destroyed. Its one of those rare cases where private developers have ruined a government property.
We had already picked up alcohol for the night from Garuda. The next day was going to be another long haul. So, we started early and finished early. We had to wake up again in less than 6 hours.

27 June 2011

An early wake up and bill settlement. The asshole charged us 15% extra as luxury tax. This place cannot be visited anymore. The weather was cloudy. This time it was decided to make the return via Corbett route. Ramnagar was 100 kms away. But the roads were in excellent shape, much to our surprise. To find smooth roads even in the rainy season is a treasure. The UK Government should be commended for this. 25 kms into our journey and it started to rain. We stopped at a small dhaba. Hot tea was very much required. The cook also served a unique dish. Pakodas mixed with masala potatoes and cucumber raita. The combination of this taste was out of this world. I took three helpings then and there. Maggi was also ordered and it was delicious too.

We waited till the rains grew lighter. There was no use waiting for it to stop completely. So, we carried on in a single file slowly in the rains. The roads were mostly empty. It would be fabulous to ride here in dry weather.
10 kms before Ramnagar, we stopped at a river crossing, the sorts you see when driving to Corbett. The water was low and inviting. No prizes for guessing what happened next. Off with the clothes and down in the river. Even though we were already wet, we dont miss any chance of freshwater baths. Ajit and Adit were too snug in their DSGs.

The clouds cleared up here. From here on, it would keep on getting hotter. The wet clothes provided respite. We stopped at Hotel Dawat in Ramnagar for lunch. The chicken was well cooked, the quantity enough for the four of us and the cost very, very reasonable. Another group of Enfielders were leaving as we got here. They had come from Mumbai, taken Enfields on rent from Rishikesh and were now on the way to Bhimtal. Quite a distinctive choice for travellers coming from Mumbai.
After the slow start, it was time to accelerate now. The restaurant guy recommended that we go via Thakurdwara. But then, we are intelligent creatures. A massive jam welcomed us at Kashipur. We avoided Thakurdwara as we saw a long line of trucks headed that way. Instead we took the turn towards Aliganj. Straightaway, we were caught behind a truck trying to get past a marriage party. It reminded me of the scene at Bikaner where we danced in front of a marriage party while the actual guests stared. Sadly, the scene was not repeated here as the main catalyst, Nishant Jha was missing.
When we were clear of this mess, a swell state highway greeted us. The going was good for the first 5 kms. Then, it turned into a nightmare. Completely broken down roads with lots of clunks coming from the shockers. Some locals said that the roads will improve after 6 kms. But, it turned out to be a good 25 kms till we touched the actual road coming from Thakurdwara. Even this was not so smooth, but it was a big improvement from what we had been through. Finally, we touched the National Highway after crossing Moradabad.
The motorcycles could reach into their top gear now. We utilized every minute of it. But before that, Ajit called for a stop. He had decided to skip our final beer break and head non-stop to Noida. He had good reason too. Someone special from California was waiting for him. But destiny had other plans. As soon as we zoomed off, and Ajit zoomed off even faster, he was seen in a stationary position 10 minutes later. The electricals were not working. On further checking, the fuse had blown. He didn't had a spare. I had one and he used it. But still, the electricals did not go on. Then Adit came up with a masterstroke. He recommended reversing the fuse placement. He remembered it happening in a past ride to Nishant Jha. He was the brainchild of the operation.
Now Ajit was obliged to join us for the beer break. We stopped at a village before Gajraula. A couple of locals got interested seeing our outfits and came out to interact. Usually, we entertain such folk, but at that time the minor breakdown, the heat had gotten to us. We kept our interaction to a minimum.

Moreover, we had to cross the dreaded Garhmukteswar quickly before the mayhem increased. That bridge is known for miles of traffic.
We did cross it in good time with no waiting. Its a boon. I stopped at a village called, Mussoorie seeing Vihans and Adit's bikes. They were also having their last cheers in the form of tobacco weed. Ajit had become invisible. What we avoided at Garh, we found at Noida. Long traffic lines. They are getting longer every year. If it keeps on increasing at such pace, I wonder if there would be any movement at all. Vihans and I regrouped after crossing the Yamuna at Akshardham. Adit had also taken a diversion at Noida and had become invisible. But before we departed, we paid a visit to the legendary Dutta, aka John. His new black Classic 500 had arrived. We went to congratulate him. The special bottle of Glenfiddich was an added attraction. I hope he gives us the opportunity to ride with him now.