Rajaji of RenukaJi

This Ride happened because of one person, Veeru. He had recently returned from US and wanted to meet BoP folk. What better way than on a Ride. The two of us planned for a weekend Ride to Kunjakadak as both of us didn’t have any leaves to spare. The distance was long, 370 kms, but it was doable. The other interested participants didn’t share this idea. The reason was genuine. For a proper BBB, you need to arrive early and one should be able to leave late the next day. So the destination was changed to RenukaJi. We had been to this place earlier during our Nahan Ride, but we had left the stretch to Jamu unexplored last time. We picked up the opportunity this time.

All of the Riders from Arki Amigos, except Shera, joined us on this Ride. If Shera hadn’t caught fever, even he would’ve joined us.

Wishing him good luck, the following gathered at the infamous Delhi landfill site at 4 AM on Saturday morning, 2^nd Aug, 2014.

Veeru – “Gujjar aa raha hai, Gujjar ja raha hai” – Bajaj Pulsar 220

Ashok and Zaheer – “Rajajis” – Royal Enfield Electra

Ankit and Vihans – “Rajaji ke dost” – Royal Enfield Classic 350

Vikas – “50 ka mileage” – Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350

Dips – “Jagah achhi nahi hui to pankha karna” – Royal Enfield Electra

We were back to our normal places this time. I was the slowest and picked up the back. The pace was good early in the morning and we made good time, regrouping at Panipat Toll, till we reached the Mayur Dhaba at Karnal. This place was our pit stop last time too. It is in an ideal location, away from the city and less crowded with good food. Zilmil dhaba is close by but that place has become too crowded nowadays. While we were having breakfast here, a large group of superbikes were making their way to Zilmil. We prefer our own privacy and had our own fun here.

The first pit stop builds up the mood for the rest of the ride. Much of the BBB material is a continuation of what happens at the first pit stop. This time, since majority of the group had been together in the earlier Ride too, the discussion contained material from the Arki Amigos Ride. Vikas and Veeru might have been left out of the knowledge for some time here, but they soon caught up.

Zaheer was entitled “Rajaji” and this title would remain for the rest of the Ride as well as for days to come. He was even presented with a NOx producer at the dhaba during the knighthood ceremony.

We continued on our journey and then soon stopped after covering a very short distance till Shahabad. This was where we turned towards Kala Amb. Since, we had already stopped we could not help ourselves engaging in a drinks break and a mini-BBB. The subject of Veeru’s college came and we became curious when he did not present any intention of visiting it on the way to Kala Amb.

State highways in excellent condition took us to our next destination. The monsoon season had made the surroundings lush green. Although we did encounter many thekas on this stretch, but we held on to our thirst till we hit the mountains. As soon as we did, we stopped at the first theka. The beer on offer was Daredevil and Meakin’s 10000. 

This spot is a junction where routes are taken to Nahan, Paonta Sahib, etc. This spot would be remembered for our visit during the ride to Chail way back in 2008. We had taken a very long route from Delhi and reached this spot quite late in the day. I was crucified because of my navigation skills.

After fetching the drinks, we needed a spot. It was a good 25 kms later that we reached a spot, after crossing Nahan and then taking the turn to Renukaji. It was a near-perfect spot. A grassy area with clear and cool water flowing down the mountain. Our destination was only 15 kms away and the time was just after noon. Zaheer got busy in building a dam here. We utilized it to cool our beers. 

Luckily, I had stopped earlier to pick up some snacks. The peace of the hills was shattered by our BBB. The only thing missing was more beer. We wouldn’t have gotten up from this place otherwise.

The remaining 15 kms to our destination were covered quickly. The place was humid. But worse than that, it was vegetarian. We ordered lunch which composed of a couple of Himachali dishes. Actually, all the local dishes had the same sort of preparation. All were cooked in spicy curd, only the main ingredient differed. It could be potatoes or rajma, or chhole. It didn’t matter as all tasted great.

Post-lunch we went for a brief walk besides the lake. The main attraction was the large turtle near the shore. It attracted the other tourists too. We were getting droopy-eyed now. It was decided to have a power nap. This annoyed Rajaji. We feared the worst for tonight’s BBB. But the nap was badly needed. We then decided to visit the spot which we had missed during our last visit. The locals say that from Jamu, a village 10 kms away the shape of the lake looks like a lady. During our last visit, the road was covered in loose stones and we made it up to 5 kms when one of the motorcycles developed a fault and we had to turn back.

This time we intended to climb higher. To boldly go where none of us had gone before. The stretch soon turned rough. It would continue like this for the rest of the way. This time all the loose stones were grounded into dust. The regular passage of the bus service must have been responsible for it. The ability of these drivers is admirable. While we were struggling at few places to get our Bullets uphill, the bus was climbing effortlessly. It was intimidating to see a rearview mirror full of the vehicle, even though the driver at no point honked at us or tried a passage. He let us climb at our own pace and even stopped quietly, when I was struggling at one spot.

We reached a spot from where the lake was visible and it looked down. The shape of the water body looked nothing like a lady. It looked more like an amoeba. 

We thought the correct spot must be some distance ahead. So we advanced forwards. Vikas was told here that his Thunderbird returns a mileage of 50 kmpl. After this, he was not stopping. The Thunderbird just flew higher and higher. The rest of us were just wondering how far we’ll go. We had even turned away from the lake now and were going in the wrong direction. But no one stopped. A couple of locals also asked if we were lost. I guess no tourists head this way. We were just enjoying the offroad spell.

Finally we reached a clearing and stopped. We had come a long way. At one spot, we could see eagles flying below us. That’s how far we had ascended. We stopped for a while to let the Bullets cool their clutch plates. Here we noticed that one of the mounting nuts of Ashok’s Bullet was missing. The engine was supported by only one nut. 

Hoping that the engine doesn’t fall off, we started our return. We stopped for tea at the first village and ask the locals about the Ladylake myth. They supported the myth. The theory must have spawned by a hermit living in solitude for years. When he descended from the high mountains, everything must have looked like a lady to him. The news just spread. I have seen better images in Udaipur where there are two hills side by side visible from the Sajjanpur Palace. Now, that surely looked in the shape of a lady.

We descended swiftly down the mountain. Zaheer and Ashok went ahead to Dudahu to look for the mounting nut while the rest of us started to prepare for the evening ahead. Being a holy place also meant that we couldn’t have liquor openly. But the staff was glad to provide room service. After Zaheer and Ashok returned, the BBB started. Rajaji was again at his best. The place was spared its criticism as Rajaji okayed it. Vihans provided a good supplement to him. Late into the night, we went to the huge, wide balcony to get fresh air. The night was cool, but humid. Life was good. We retired for the night when we couldn’t stay awake any longer.

3^rd Aug 2014:

I woke up late. By that time others had had their tea and were just going down for breakfast. Ashok and Zaheer had already been to the zoo besides the lake early in the morning and reported that there was nothing interesting to see. There were no lions anymore. Even the leopard was absent. Just some bears were present. That saved a lot of time for us.

We thought of going for boating on the lake while having breakfast of poori sabzi, lassi and tea. The most in-demand seat was besides Vikas, the peddler, I mean, pedaller. But when we got to the side of the lake, temperature was warm and we decided to skip the boating. That left only one activity to do here and that was visit the RenukaJi temple.

We are usually not a religious sort, not all of us anyway, but we did visit the temple. Nestled among the mountains beside the lake, the place does bring inner calm. What I didn’t quite understand is why Parshuram’s temple was so much bigger than the RenukaJi temple. But then who am I to question.

We planned to take our motorcycles for a round around the lake, but then not many were enthusiastic about it. So we just continued on till Dudahu and then took the diversion to Paonta Sahib. Taking the same route on the return seemed boring so we opted for a longer route. It turned out that we could bypass Nahan through this route, but this being a shortcut, tarmac disappeared quickly. The ascent was steep and the road was rough. This continued for 11 kms when we finally touched the main road.

Clouds started to gather above us, but it didn’t rain. We had faced minimal rainfall in the plains and now there wasn’t any encountered in the hills too. After the hills were behind us, throttles opened on the fantastic roads all the way to Paonta Sahib. These wide open stretches just before the foothills are magnificent to ride on. I planned to bring my Thar here soon.

Veeru was enthusiastic on visiting the Paonta Sahib gurudwara. Sadly, none of the rest, not even me, shared his enthusiasm. We just wanted to Ride. So, we took the turn to Jagadhari and entered the excellent Kalesar sanctuary.

The offroad stretch after Dudahu had left us tired. We took a break at a small dhaba inside the sanctuary. 

The mood for a BBB was setting in. We had to find a place soon. But nowadays all the thekas beside the highway are closed. It was hard to find a spot. The navigation through Jagadhari to Ladwa was painfully hot. Being Sunday we were spared from a large amount of traffic, but it still wasn’t light.

Our scouts then discovered a lovely place for BBB with non-veg food to serve. We had had 4 vegetarian meals since the day before. We cannot function properly this way. Wolves need their meat. Platefuls of chicken were ordered while we had some Tuborg. The combination of the rising temperature and hot chicken was not too good, but we enjoyed it.

We joined the NH-1 at Karnal and now began the boring stretch to Delhi. Since we were still making good time, a regroup at Panipat toll happened followed quickly by another stop at a dhaba just after the Panipat flyover. The final regroup happened at the starting point, Delhi landfill where we left our own ways.

Two quick rides in two months. The only drawback is that these rides are happening early in the month which leaves a painful waiting period till the end of that month. Plans for September are not laid down yet, but we do need good, new places to ride to. A weekend ride does leave much to be desired.

Until the next one:

JAI BoP !!!