An extended weekend, a long ride, rain filled clouds, wet roads, malabar biriyani, some OH, partying, moozik, petrol fumes ! All eyes looked forward to RTMC 8 A at Waynad, Kerala.

As most of the guys having taken off to Bangalore the previous night, only a handful of folks were riding out on 2nd morning. The usual suspects, Shantanu, Amar, Deepak, Kanaku and Myself were all decked, prepped to meet up on the highway and rip as hard as we could to cover the 650 km stretch that lay ahead. Getting off work and hitting the highway at 4 in the morning after Prayer and chai by wifey dear, the ride was on.

Riding through Anna Nagar and all the places that leads towards Poonamalee, the turnings felt a spot chirpy with a little skid everytime i cut gears. Dismissing any thought, carried on riding past bridges and flyovers toward the open highway. Sleep was somewhere at the back of my head and i was sure Chai was taking care of it. What really got all my senses alert was during an overtake and i could feel the rear wheel wobble. Damm, another flat tire ! I had had one a couple days back and was’nt very thrilled about it. With the recent wobble, one can quite imagine my state of bliss, especially when i know that its a new tube sitting inside.

Pulled over, checked air pressure and she was tight. Air pressure was good and i hopped back on, dismissing all lingering fear. Hardly 500 m later, there it was, the familiar swing, wobble and that very faint but growing strong grating noise. Pulled into a Petrol bunk nearby and checked her out. Chain sprocket still had some teeth on it, wheel looked clean. Shantanu and the others had caught up and it was a big relief seeing that i had some company to boot. As we passed the first tool booth, I had asked Kanaku to check the level of wobbling and he confirmed that it sure did jingle a bit. Stopping by a roadside chai shop, all the long expectations of the party, the ride and all that came with it seemed to be sliding away.

It is said that the best laid plans are formed on the fly. It is also said that fantastic plans are formed when you have a glass in your hand. IF it was not said earlier, i just did

Though the bike seemed to be swaying left to right with the wheel threatning to pry out loose, she sure wasnt going to go down easy. Single cylinder thumping at 90km/hr, rear wheel dancing, it was “heart in mouth” everytime i was overtaking any other vehicle. Different thoughts waved by with every passing mile. What if it was the sprocket ? What if it was the bearing ? What if it was my head ?

Chai at Vellore, a couple of enquiries saw us near CMC where all shops were closed. It wasnt surprising as it was only 6 50 in the morning. But this one had the mobile number listed. A quick wake up call, a super polite request and a half hour wait saw the mech come over. He was as baffled as us, but then after he removed the wheel, daylight hit clearly. Balls from the wheel bearing tumbled out and that explained a lot of things. The sprocket had been hit a bit, but would still live.

Breakfast, 1.5 hours later, the wheel had a good bearing and i was finally smiling. The sun was shining and the time read 8 15 in the morning. Another 1.5 hours later, I was still smiling. We were at Krishnagiri. That was a nice 120 km in 90 min. Kgiri to Hosur was fun, there was an avenger trying to keep pace, there was an impatient Sumo who ended up offroading while overtaking from the left, the air was changing and just as crossed Hosur, the fuel prices changed as well.

Getting to the NICE corridor is definitely not nice. Thanks to the flyover construction at Electronic city, traffic is a snarl here. With vehicles moving in inches, it took up quite a bit of our time before we hit the NICE corridor.

This road brought back memories of RTMC 6A where DD was leading us via this road. At that time, there was still construction work going on and it look bare. 2 years later, the place has changed ! There is building constructions on both sides, the buildings look massive, the greenery is fantastic and the roads are an absolute bliss. The connection from Bannerghata road to the mysore road is still the same, while the mini dakkar rally experience was missing. We were still laughing about how last time we were here, we had missed a turn and was greeted by a group of buffaloes walling in the water.

The roads toward Mysore are straight, fast and very pleasing to ride. Traffic is high, but moves very fast. It lives up to its name as express highway. We had made fairly good progress despite the wait at Vellore. Hunger was catching up as well, but then we werent too keen on eating much. Some chai and biscuts took care of the hunger bit. We were all keen rather on getting to Waynad than anything.

Riding through Mysore, we managed to get a glimpse of the Palace and the Church. There are quite a bit of places to see around Mysore, maybe next time. Time was ticking and we were soon at Gundlepet. From here it was Sultan Bathery and then Kalpetta.

The air was changing, lush green fields, fine drizzles of rain, Kerala’s magic chill and the speedo at 85 kmph. It was a beautiful mix of emotions, peace and bliss as we thundered down the ever straight, thickly forested roads. Nostalgia at its best as we passed through locations passed during Rain Ride 07.

Sultan Bathery was raining and our stomachs were only too eager to munch on whatever the bakery had to offer. Amidst queer stares from all around, we were getting ready to cover the last leg to Kalpetta. The roads are dark, horrendous and pot holed, but the joy of getting into Green Gates took over all of that ! We were finally there, at the venue, at the spot and the feeling was splendid !

Rounds of hugs, greetings, introductions and all of that later was the familiar Moozik scene. Though tired and weary it still didnt stop anyone from shaking a leg or two.

Day 2

Next day morning saw me wake up surpisingly early to find familiar faces in the swimming pool having a jolly good time. Planned events for the day was all on a setback courtesy the rain, but that didnt put these gents off course.

The day had laziness written all over but then contrary to thought, it also saw 4 vehicles leave the venue toward Nagerhole Wildlife sanctuary.  A Linea, 2 bolero’s, a wagonR housing about 19 in all were in bliss speeding through the country side roads of Waynad.

The Wildlife sanctuary is a must see - 24 kms of Jeep trail accompanied by a forest reserve person who supposedly helps spot animals. We however managed to sight a tusker, loads of deer, a royal stag, some black faced monkeys, a bison. The trip lasts about a couple of hours and is extremely worth the experience.

The 65 km drive back to the resort saw me sleeping most of the way. A whole day had gone and with the fun we had, it was fantastic ! The evening was all set for the event of the year, 8th Anniv of the RTMC.

The atmosphere was charged, the moozik was electric, the party chains were breaking loose and before one knew it, it was pandemonium. The auditorium at Green Gates was one big dance floor with everyone swaying to the music and having an absolutely amazing time of their lives. Curtains had to come down by 11 in the night, but then after loud cries of “one more”, “one more”, the last song of the night - Stairway to heaven, threw everyone into a mellow calm. Dinner was excellento with lip smacking desert !

Time had been the better of everyone gathered. It had ripped through everyone of us and 2 nights had just rolled by and one never felt it at all.

Day 3

The plan was simple : wake up early, take a different route, get home ! But after 2 nights of partying especially in God’s own country with exotic coconut oil dripping food, sleep and time dont go together. Nevertheless, we did manage to get to the parking lot and saddle up at 7 ish. Just as Kanaku was getting ready to lay his saddle bags, he discovered that his rear tire lacked one little thing, air !

After fixing it and watching the sun come up after 2 days of downpour, we finally took off at 9 45 in the morning. Dry empty roads saw us at a steady 80 - 85 km/hr towards Gundelpet. The roads from Gundelpet to Mysore was littered with Bullets, all from Waynad, heading home. Steady speeds saw us at NICE corridor pretty soon. A while later, we were crossing Hosur and into Krishnagiri. Just after Krishnagiri, we noticed a very familiar group along the service lane. Ajith’s bike had broken down and was being loaded into a mini truck to find its way back home. Irony is that Ajith’s 535 was being loaded into a mini truck who’s registration number was 535 !

That being witnessed, the sun was on its way down and we had close to 200 odd kms before we rested our aching and sore backsides. Another interesting bit of humor we had was at Vaniyambadi Toll gate when Vinod’s silencer fell to the ground leaving a very humoured guard.

Stepped into Ambur and the temptation to have biriyani was waay too high. Sadly for us, the restaurant wouldnt serve until it was 6 30 PM, which means a good half hour wait. Star Biriyani did have food, but was the last lot from afternoon. One packet, 4 hands - stopped the drooling tongue.

Charged with that, we were back on the roads. 2 Avl’s, 2 Cast irons, brilliant formation, giving every car on the road a run for its money. The highlight here was a merc and a jetta. Dumb buggers must have been driving them. Brilliantly powered machines and pathetically sensed drivers.

Two and half hours, we were at poonamalee junction. The ride was fantastic, exciting and had one longing for more ! Thanks be to God for protecting every rider through different routes, terrain and tarmac.

Three cheers to RTMC for hosting this event. 4th cheer for reading this.

Mustang