K2K-2012 - Day 1 to Day 3 and the days/months before...
The first time i tried i had a Pulsar 180 DTSi UG3. The second time it was a Karizma ZMR. Never managed to make it happen then. Third time's a charm? It looks like now huh
This time i had a Ninja 650 and unlike the previous bikes, it took most of my mental bandwidth. The learning curve was steep and i found it extremely hard to focus on the trip planning since most of the time it was bike prep alone. Also to complicate things the bike used to stay back in Bangalore most of the time while my body was in Pune since i work out of this location. Again if not for friends and the Ninja 650R Owners Group i would have kept searching for another year for answers and this would have been a K2K 2013.
Like a school kid, i took a printout of a custom calendar that counted down three months prior to the planned trip. Funny thing is - the trip dates, trip schedule etc were never planned until the last week of departure. I started counting down for only a week, after that it went straight to the dustbin due to my frustration. One day things used to seem to fall into the right places and the next day i wake up look at my SMSes and emails and understand that i would have to start with a clean slate... say when somebody who had assured to join you opts out, or you call your fabricator to know that what had to be ready last week was forgotten until today, or that i was still in two minds about the luggage carrying option failing to lock on a purchase etc.
With my previous bikes, it was a matter of throwing on a saddle bag and heading off. But this was a big and heavy bike and i was not going out on a picnic to a place that was a stones throw away!
Most of the days either began or ended in "what the hell" moments. Also i had to book flight tickets for my wife to coincide with my arrival to Leh.
All is well that ends well and though i had a bad taste in my mouth then, its all sweet now. Those days bring uneasy feelings within me, but it also makes me smile. Do you folks still dream about going to a college exam? The dreaded subject which you think you will flunk? Well that was the exact same feeling most of the days.
I shot out an emotionally loaded email to my manager and that earned me a 1 month leave. The person who happened to fabricate a gate for my home in Bangalore was so affected by my passion for this trip that he agreed to give the luggage carrier a try. This was the first time he would fabricate something that was not a gate or a window grill. I bit the bullet and started to plan the luggage rack around a luggage solution which i still had not purchased - so all measurements were approximate which i had dug out of internet forums. My friend Renu kept aside his working Saturdays to coincide with my shopping chores to help me out with what ever bike related purchases i had to do. The 650ROG was always there with important bits and pieces of information (mirror mounts, getting the bike naked, crash guards, luggage carrier ideas, tyre options, fuel can options ... the list is endless). Venkat Shyam (owner of AutoService - my service center at MonoType bus stop Banashankari) was always there reassuring me that if things went critical, fashion goes to the garbage and he will help me get a functional setup ready on the 650. My friend Lijo from my Pune office took great interest into the luggage rack planning and also made me a great K2K logo.
Even after all this, i must confess that i was complacent with the bike prep due to the fact that a few friends Guru and Akhil had promised to be there with me at least on the Leh circuit. They did keep their promise and that too royally!! I get luggage space in a military specced Xylo in Leh... Also the reassuring from time to time that if my wife has a problem on the bike she can always hop into the Xylo was a huge relief! These are two persons who have been to Leh multiple times in different seasons of the year. What more can i ask for.
But i got to know about their participation only after crossing Srinagar
A special mention goes out to HV Kumar Sir from "HV Kumar - Fan, Forum & Message Board" facebook group ( http://www.facebook.com/groups/hvkumar/ ).
If Guru and Akhil were instrumental in ensuring i reach back home in one piece, Kumar was instrumental in making sure i reached Leh from Kanyakumari in one piece with sufficient energy left to complete the return journey. Kumar is the walking talking map of India. His knowledge puts any GPS provider in India to shame and i can vouch for that.
K2K-2012 - Day 1
So with all the above, i take a flight to Bangalore on the 14th of September. Prior to this i was in Bangalore almost on every week end to get the bike prepped up. Butterflies in my stomach i reach home late in the night and start packing up the new luggage option that had landed in Bangalore only two week ends before. I had to sleep early to start early the next day. The packing went almost into early morning which delayed my departure from home on the 15th. Two of my college buddies decide to accompany me on the initial leg to cheer me. Sanu and Kamli were waiting at the highway to tag along with me on the Bangalore - Kanyakumari - Bangalore leg. They had to do a two up on Santu's Karizma since Kamli's bullet was not ready for this by the 15th.
If i were to leave solo i would have done this leg in two days. But i would not push my friends who were such a sport to come all the way during the start. Their presence soothed my nerves, i was trembling in my knees the moment i left for the trip from home. The grandeur i was longing for was in front of me and it was so big that i was unable to carry such a weight on my shoulders alone. Thanks to these two bikers i started off on the right note
Plan was to stop at Tirunelveli (Hotel Janakiraman) on day 1. Do a Tirunelveli - Kanyakumari - Dindigul (Hotel Rockfort Palace) on day 2 and come back to Bangalore on Day 3. But like the saying goes - Man Proposes God Disposes.
It was a relaxed ride all the way to Dindigul. The sun beating down on you is very much a norm so that did not matter to us. I had taken most of the luggage from my friends and loaded it on my bike. I was following them making sure i do not push them to speed up in any way. But still.....
The Karizma breaks down with a blown valve. It stopped all of a sudden and then there was a complete loss of compression when you try and kickstart the bike.
Lucky for us, a bike mech who was passing by in the opposite direction spots two bikes parked beside the highway and busy tinkering on the ZMA. He offers to help, confirms that the engine needs to be opened up after a lot of different try outs. We have no other choice and tow the bike to a nearby tea stall cum garage of his friends'. This was at 3:30 in the afternoon.
As soon as we reach the tea stall, it begins to rain cats and dogs for 10 minutes. We were also in touch with the ZMA mech in Bangalore to make sure we were doing the right thing. End of the day there were two options - either get the bike transported back to Bangalore or get it ready to an extent that it will at least make it to Bangalore. We choose the second option and this cost us time. We decide to stay back in Dindigul that night. It was around 11 in the night by the time the bike was back to life. Thanks to this person who worked without a break to get us back on the trip!
I reach Kanyakumari at 12:30. Tank up, get some cash from the nearby ATM and then call up my friends.
We had hit on an idea before leaving in the morning. It was not possible to reach Bangalore before sun down for my friends. So i asked them to check into a good place in Salem and i would come meet them late in the evening.
As planned they checked into Hotel AMS (Nandhi circle, Kondalampatti bye pass, Salem, ph: 9789173434).
I meet them at 7:00 in the evening. Have a good nights sleep after lots of chatter and catching up with my friends.
Note: Both the hotels in Dindigul and Salem had basement parking which was the only thing i wanted. I could have even gone with a shared toilet as long as my bike was safe for the night.
Except for my wife, everybody else thought that i had company from Bangalore for the rest of the journey. I'm pretty sure then and pretty sure even now that my parents wouldn't have let me start if they knew i am going to go alone to Leh.
Also till that day i had not planned my journey forwards. Tentatively i was supposed to take the eastern route (Bangalore - Hyderabad - Nagpur - Jhansi - Delhi). But HVK advised me against this and asked me to take the western route. So it was on Day 3 i decide the direction for Day 4. That was how un-prepared i was.
Could not sleep the entire night. Restless waiting for the dawn and hoping the entire journey goes well.
As soon as we reach the tea stall, it begins to rain cats and dogs for 10 minutes. We were also in touch with the ZMA mech in Bangalore to make sure we were doing the right thing. End of the day there were two options - either get the bike transported back to Bangalore or get it ready to an extent that it will at least make it to Bangalore. We choose the second option and this cost us time. We decide to stay back in Dindigul that night. It was around 11 in the night by the time the bike was back to life. Thanks to this person who worked without a break to get us back on the trip!
K2K-2012 - Day 2
I leave at 8:30 from Dindigul towards Kanyakumari. Its a dash. Apart from the greenery and the heat the only thing that caught my attention were the wind mills as Kanyakumari got closer. Its just right for them - the winds are so fast that its full paisa vasool for the wind mills.I reach Kanyakumari at 12:30. Tank up, get some cash from the nearby ATM and then call up my friends.
We had hit on an idea before leaving in the morning. It was not possible to reach Bangalore before sun down for my friends. So i asked them to check into a good place in Salem and i would come meet them late in the evening.
As planned they checked into Hotel AMS (Nandhi circle, Kondalampatti bye pass, Salem, ph: 9789173434).
I meet them at 7:00 in the evening. Have a good nights sleep after lots of chatter and catching up with my friends.
Note: Both the hotels in Dindigul and Salem had basement parking which was the only thing i wanted. I could have even gone with a shared toilet as long as my bike was safe for the night.
K2K-2012 - Day 3
Though the three of us left together at 7:30 in the morning, i was back home at 12 in the noon and began packing up for the big trip ahead. My friends were back by 5 in the evening and the ZMA went straight to the mech while they took the bus back to their homes.Except for my wife, everybody else thought that i had company from Bangalore for the rest of the journey. I'm pretty sure then and pretty sure even now that my parents wouldn't have let me start if they knew i am going to go alone to Leh.
Also till that day i had not planned my journey forwards. Tentatively i was supposed to take the eastern route (Bangalore - Hyderabad - Nagpur - Jhansi - Delhi). But HVK advised me against this and asked me to take the western route. So it was on Day 3 i decide the direction for Day 4. That was how un-prepared i was.
Could not sleep the entire night. Restless waiting for the dawn and hoping the entire journey goes well.