Rendezvous at Enfield Showroom,Vizag at 0630hrs 01 Feb 09 was the plan.It remained just the "PLAN".Ramesh was the first to arrive at the scene,right on time,only to find it bare.Frantic, worried,he calls me up to check,afraid that the others have left already.It was his first ride with us,he would soon learn about the punctuality of the Vizag Royals :).
Kuldeep,thiagu n myself were already at Rasoi restaurant on NH5 NAD junction where the rest of the pack had to meet us at 0700hrs.We decided to have a quick snack at the restaurant as we waited. 0800hrs,just our three bullets parked together had attracted a crowd .The same questions: "whats your Mileage,?How much is it costing now?Is this the new model?"I wonder even if one of these people are ever plannin to get a bull.Anyway, I do appreciate their regard and respect for the bull.As they were caught in the trance of the three bulls shining side by side,they were woken up to the roar of the whole pack.
Sandeep,with his full riding leathers on TB,Vijay in his freeway Bike gang look,complete with his multiple gold chains and bandanna and french beard TBTS,Suman on his Mach350(yes!! he was carrying his trusted SLR camera behind him),Gandhi (with our club's livewire Jagan behind him)on his Std 350,(the bike 7 yrs older than the biker.)...Karthik was on his Electra5s, nicely modified into a machismo and a much relieved Ramesh on his red electra.Bulleticians,Ranga and Venky our friendly RE service centre mechs, were as always, riding with us. I fired my Minotaur TBTS in sync with Thiagu's twinbrother TBTS, and we were off.Kuldeep's std 350 thump seized the attention of anyone who had been spared the previous crowd.
Once we were off NH5,it was a straight smooth road.Narrow,made narrower by apsrtc buses on the opposite side.The drivers must've been either drunk, schumacher devotees,pilot training dropouts or simply blind to drive like that.We meandered through the din and regrouped on the suburbs road. The scene assumed a brown yellow tint,spectacular!With railway line to the left,and sprawling fields to the right, we stopped for breakfast. Vijay and most others were not satisfied with the food and we decided to move to another already tested outlet ahead. So we rode to the latter and had breakfast.Food, fags done ride continued to a scenic lone tree that stood inviting by the road side.We stopped and Shreekant on his TB,who had started an hour after us from the city had caught up with us there. Suman put his camera to work and some of the best pics were shot..No more stops until Araku.Safety first,Pack speed limit set at 60-70 kmph.We made good time and reached the foot hills.As we crossed the TYDA tree houses,we could hear the thump of all the pack reverberate through the valley.All cars,buses,bikes passin by wavin joyously at us.It felt good.It always does.
Swerving roads up the hills,n some spectacular movement shots by sandeeps pillion bro.And before we could realise we were there at the vizeroys rock.A small hill clearing rock where we always divert.Ramesh's,single beam crash guard had ditched him and rolled of when his bike fell to one side.Ranga waved his wand and it was clamped on in no time.My battery was running down and ES not working.I rode then on, with headlamp switched off .Next stop Haritha resort view point wher besides clicking some snaps, we met some doctors who had just been back from Leh on their car.Took some pointers from them and we were off again.It was noon already and Suman lured us into a kutcha track promising to feast, those willing, with bamboo chicken.But we learnt about the catch.The order will be ready only after three hours.... atleast.
Grumpy and hungry we rode back to Vasanth restaurant.Filled the parking lot and our stomachs and rode to the "BRIDGE." Off roaded under it and spent an hour chatting and drowsing off under the huge shady trees.I realised my tbts can double up as a very comfortable bed with the raised camber shape tank :).We had tea and rolled down the valley.Riding down hill is always more interesting than riding up.Almost near the foothill,screeeeeeeech.The vizeroys jinx of every trip, shows up in this trip.Another rear wheel problem,Sandeep is the victim.
This time.Ranga detects burnt rubber and jammed rim and removes the wheel.With ranga and venky gone to get the wheel look round again,we sat and chatted.Night fell and they returned after an hour. From then on it was fire at will,we did very good speed and regrouped at a teastall close to the city.Kuldeep thanked god and his brakes for sparing the life of the villager who incarnaed in his path suddenly... sheer suicidal tendancy.We dispersed in our own tracks from NAD junction and another exciting ride comes to an end.Looking forward to the next ride and to share it with all.Cheers.Happy Thumping.!!
