Thud.. and then there was this amazing experience

Thud was the sound that my bed made when I jumped on it.. with the weight of the overwhelming experience flowing through my entire body.

What a trip it was, GOA on a bike with 2 other friends, or should I say Morons with lower reasoning abilities. Thats what people told us.. "Are u Nuts going on a Motorbike to Goa", "have you gone out of your mind".. "Be sensible, take a train to Goa and then rent a bike"..

To begin with it was me and Devendra, the official Goa trip members. We had only one criteria - Goa on a Motorbike. 100 others were ready to join us, but not on a bike. Between the two of us, we have done long trips, but this was gonna be one of a kind.

After floating this idea we had few other people interested. And then we had Bharti.. crazy but daring girl.. who wanted to bring her Nova for the trip. Imagine the group with all other 150cc bikes, and then this burrrrrrrrrr burrr burrr Nova..

Anyways.. her enthusiasm was more of a 500cc bullet, so we said its ok.. you can bring it.
Slowly and very steadily we found out that there will only be the three of us.. and the rest started to slowly phase out.. ofcourse with their VALID reasons..

Plan was - "not to have a PLAN at all"

2 days before the D day.. we had to come across this question.. how do we
travel with a Nova.. and 2 motorbikes. Pulsar - 150, Unicorn - 150 both bikes capable of reaching speeds of 100km/hr and beyond. Both riders capable of driving the bikes at high speeds for continuous long durations, and a supercharged Girl with a Nova..

Poor Devendra tried his level best and then gave up. "This girl is next to impossible" he said. So it came to me to make her understand the ill-effects of taking a Nova. It took a lot of examples, persuation, practical examples, and not so practical ones. but I succeeded, yes frnds I did.. and she is still supremely angry with me.

And we set off.. to one of the most thrilling, fast, free, untamed journeys I have experienced so far.

It was 4.30 am, when the phone rang. "Aashu bhai ready hai kya, Bharti yahan aane waali hai" that was Devendra (call him Deva from now on). 5.00am and the three of us met at the Vashi Junction below the bridge. Funny Part - It was raining.. and the three of us were laughing about it.



Bharti who by now had got her scooteret (we will call it a bike, though it was a Burrrrrb burr bur burrr Nova) serviced, insured was cursing us.. before we said lets goooooooooooo.. she said.. "Mujhe bhi bike chalane ko milegi, decide kar lo kaun dega".. nd the two of us were laughing..


God knows from where she got herself a Helmet, the one Johnny Sako used to wear in "Johnny Sako and his Flying Robot" if anyone remembers that serial, I was a big time fan of this. She looked like a little Robot. anyways.. we started.. and yes we did.. One of those days.. where I wished, No Traffic, Smooth Road, and cloudy sky.. thats all..

So the two fastest and safest drivers were ready to take on the roads. Lolzzzzzzzzz
For any bike freek this is one the best routes to travel. 600+ kms of dark black TAR.. smooth road with loads of curves and straights..

We exchanged one set of keys for each others bike, trying to show off how smart we are.

I knew the way till Panvel, so I lead the journey to start with. Reacing Panvel, I remembered something, hehe not that I forgot the papers, but wanted to reset the trip meter. Took a 5 minutes break, filled up our bikes, and were ready to take longer strides.

It was around 5.40am when we were on the Goa road, and we were driving pretty fast. The patch of road when Alibagh junction and the Old Goa road bifurcate is/was and will be the worst always, if you are using this route. I missed the left turn, trying to navigate the pot holes, and when Deva said "Boss we missed the route" it was like shit, turn on this shitty road, and submerge your floaters into the murky potholes. The good part hasn't started yet :)..

The moment we started on the Goa road, it was smooth (obv with the kind of potholes we experienced, this was like jannat). Within seconds we were driving above 100. Deva was leading this time. The Sun wasn't up yet, but the day was clear, slight drizzle, black road, cool wind into my face, and greenery everywhere. This was something .. and best part, it was gonna last for the entire trip.

Both of us thought we will drive for 2 hours and then take a break. Unfortunately, there was a dam on the way.. and guess what came out of Deva's mouth.. Photo.. photo.. ppplllleeeeaaassseeeee.. Not that we didn't wanted our pics to be taken, but then Deva is different. Add to that, Johnny Sako was jumping up and down, "meri bhi photo".. What the heck.. "Meri bhi photo" ..

We took the morning tea break, and I realised the foot rest/silencer connecter frame was broken. "Bharti weighs a lot" and my poor bike had to face the danger of riding heavy pillion.

So we started again.. this time to repair my bike.. taking tiny little stops at each market place.. asking for a Bajaj showroom.. at around 1pm we finally got the showroom and the repairs were done.. I think it was Dapoli..

After this stopover and some hot wada pavs.. we set the throttle on again.. what we had planned was not happening.. and the 2 of us decided to take on the roads..

Mmmmmmmm... the scenic views are sooperb.. nd in between Bharti tried her hands on Deva's bike.. she drove around 40-50 odd kms and touched a Max speed of 80 kmph..

After we had crossed Ratnagiri.. the roads were even better.. it was slightly raining.. but then looking at those roads.. we couldnt resist...

The second half of the Journey took care of the delays that we had in the first half.. while reaching Goa we took a break to have some tea and searched for Bharti's kanda Poha.. which she was dying to have.. but in vein..

The time was of Ganesh utsav.. and rockets were flying all over.. people were dancing celebrating and enjoying the whole thing.. it was looking pretty beautiful..

The sun had set by this time..

Another 1.5 hrs of drive bought us to the Anjuna beach, where we took shelter in a hotel - 700/day for 3 people.

It happened that the Lehman brothers who supposedly started the economic crisis of 2008, had to make news on the same day.. so for the remaining trip except for the first day... we had the market to discuss in Goa. My friends at that time were working with Lehman and hence the discussion was the result of a majority interest.

It is relatively safe to travel to Goa on a bike, but I would recommend that you take the route to Kolhapur via the Pune Bangalore Highway, which is one way unlike NH 17, which is 2 way with much crazy drivers on the route. Benefit here is that during monsoons there are not many travellers, the hotels are empty, and you get everything and everyone completely at your service..
Disadvantage of travelling during this season, is you cannot take a dip, the shore is locked out of tourist access and there are no water activities available either..

So in case you like travelling away from the crowd, and yet be close to the beaches with a good descent weather (love monsoons in other words) this is the best way to have a lovely time away from the troubles of your daily grind.

While returning we also made it to the Ganpatiphule beach at ratnagiri, where we stayed at MTDC resort.

All in all a lovely drive a lovely company.. great weather, some very beautiful sites and relaxed stay. i just loved the whole experience..