Travel notes: January 2012

Bull 350

My Experiment with Aperture for DOF

I was getting a hang of my camera and I wanted to go click click click. This itch led me to conceptualize a ride to Malshej Ghat. Lonavla was my first option which was eliminated point blank as it was the most common weekend attack site for Mumbaikars and Punekars alike. My head drafted this idea on a Thursday and hence didn't give much time for my mouth to shout and gather a group. My head meanwhile thought and made me arrange a Bullet Classic 350 (Thanks to Willi's friend's work trip to Gujarat, leaving the Bull unattended). Shwetha always pestered me for a ride on a Bullet, so that opened up the gates for my companion and meant an approved seal for the Sunday Ride.

I knew that the way to Malshej Ghat was via Kalyan and Murbad and that its about 150 kms from Sion. Equipped with this knowledge and CamSin (aka my DSLR...read it like the Hindi word kamsin ;-)) I rushed to pick Shwetha from Aarey, Goregaon. She was on time (one of those days) and off the Bull ran towards the Eastern Express highway. It was cold. The cold air was somehow managing to enter my jacket without permission and piercing my skin like a needle. Did that deter me? - No way!!

Hold on -Thinking about how Shwetha was managing? - she claims to be cold blooded - so you get the point.

Chai tym

We rode about 90 km's non stop to reach just ahead of Murbad and took our first break for tea and a vadapav. Getting the stuck needles out of my skin under the pretext of this stop felt like 'Raymond's suiting'...wonder why? Remember 'feels like heaven' :-D. - I know, I know, I have a good sense of humor.

After about an hour from here, just when the ghat road was opening up to the Bull, a check post slowed me down and the cop waved at me - not a good morning gesture but a 'let me check you' gesture. Luckily I hadn't left the bike papers at home and there was no drama except that it broke my rhythm. The best part about the ride towards Malshej Ghat are these meandering sloppy roads. May be I am not able to explain this in words. Please see the second pic of the blog to understand this better (One of the clicks I liked in this trip).

The roads all this while were great, no complaints uttered in my mind until I reached this curve which was riddled with these small stones and pebbles. It was a difficult attempt to control my bike from skidding here. From here for another kilometer, the tar was fresh, probably only laid in the morning and this was confirmed when I saw a couple of bulldozers parked.

We reached the peak at about 11. To my disbelief, all the waterfalls were dried up. As if all of them were on strike against the Congress led Maharashtra Government asking them to save the wild or may be the nation (a bigger objective). The mountains looked dry. No greenery. Very unlike the Malshej ghat I have seen during the monsoon's. The sun was so bright that I wasn't getting good exposure for my shots.

The Prince of Sahyadri's looked like a poor sheikh with dried oil wells by his side - This is analogy at its best.

View from MTDC

Nevertheless I did try a few shots before we rode to the MTDC resort, may be a kilometer ahead of a small tunnel at the peak of Malshej Ghat. There is a nice view point from here overlooking the mountains amidst which is Harishchandra Gadh. The resort is quite big and a part of it is still under construction. We had our breakfast here. Omlette pav and Missile pav (I mean misal pav) followed by chai. Post the tummy filling session and a few poses as a rich shetkari (farmer), we left towards the lake on the way to Shivneri (we couldn't go to Shivneri this time which is about 40 kms away from Malshej). Our first attempt to get down towards the lake turned adventurous as the path was steep and rock laden. My bull gave up and I had to balance myself to stop it from kissing the rocks. I calculated that its a risk not worth taking and I came back up like a dirt biker - Ahem!. We searched for another way through a village and finally reached the lake. It was so calm and peaceful that Shwetha almost rented a small hut for herself and few goats for company and livelihood. But then, yeah, she came back to reality.

My Assignment - Panning

I rode back to the peak for fulfilling some photography assignments. My friend Biju had asked me to try Panning and play around with histograms for exposure. Panning is a trick of photography which freezes a moving subject while putting the background in motion. After about 10 shots, I got it right.. yippee! I was really excited. And thats what I like about this hobby of Photography - when you click something good, you feel great about yourself.

When it was time to move on, I realized that my SLR's lens cap was missing. One of us dropped it somewhere. So we thought of a novel idea and traced our steps back..I mean traced our wheels back till the lake. For any guesses of the result - NO is your word. We couldn't fathom the fact that we were so careless. Then my classy brain got into act and took Shwetha's hand-kerchief to cover the lens and put her hair band across to hold the hanky - So unique and prompt. Problem solved, off we left.

On the way back, we halted at quite a few places for capturing some shots. I did get some good ones as you can see from the ones I have posted. Of course the pics could have been better if I would have controlled the exposure better. But its a continuous learning and I am glad I am at it.

It was 4 pm when we stopped for lunch at a hotel just at the outskirts of Kalyan. It was a pure veg restaurant if we were to go by the banner outside had to say but the menu inside had a different story to tell. Prawns Biryani and Masala papad made way to pacify our growling stomach followed by malai kulfi. For Kalyan this place seemed to be the Taj ;-). I expected a lot of traffic inside Kalyan city but to our good luck there wasn't any and we rode out quite easily. I wanted to take a shot of the Thane city at sun set, but we couldn't get a good location to stop and explore this.

Our last stop was for chai but this time at CCD, Powai.
340 km's in about 10 hours was our coverage value and I must say it was swift and fun.

Gaonwale Uncle

Helmet me

Q - Factor

I am sure the first thing that would have pinched your brains when reading the heading of this blog would have been why the hell is Q of tranquility in caps? – For those with no pinch, don’t worry, I know you are more interested in reading than analyzing – ‘clap’ ‘clap’. Okay, now for the actual reason to make sense you need to see the route map for this trip of ours…Carefully. The route is an imperfect Q on paper :-).

The trip was organized by a group called Konkan Motors.The trip was to Tapola, which is 28 odd km’s away from Mahabaleshwar. The plan was to reach Tapola via the NH17 and come back to Bombay via the NH4. The formation of a circle or an oval by these routes and small straight line to connect Mahabaleshwar to Tapola gives this whole trip a ‘Q’ factor – the creativity was explained by Abhishek, one of the organizers and a brainy chap.

I was introduced to Konkan motors by my friend Bala. He had done 4 trips with them before this one and still was ready for the 5^th – A sure sign of a fun group.

Willi on his Fazer

This time even I decided to join him on my Fazer… (I should declare – not mine but my brother Willi’s Fazer). Though most of the riders in this group have a bullet, any bike above 150 cc is allowed to be a part of the tours. The initial plan was for Bala (in his thunderbird), Josie, Jaideep (my school friend) and me on Fazer to make the trip along with the other riders from Konkan Motors. But Josie mistakenly got a call for an interview (the poor company got fooled by his fake CV) and I had to rope in my brother, William at the last moment – now you know the reason for declaration of the ownership of the bike.

6 am on the 17^th December Morning – My blanket refused to leave me and was stuck on me like a leech and whispering in my ears please wait for some more time, some more please – It was cold to be precise and perfect for extended sleep.

But then my alarm didn't like been shooed, I mean snoozed and it managed to separate me from my blanket. I woke my bro who made faces like I was some general making him wake up for the early morning drill. Bala actually qualifies for being a perfect dictator in that sense; He was already cleaning his Thunderbird when I got down to meet Mr. Fazer. We 3 left (with Willi as my pillion) at about 6.15 am and reached Vashi in like no

time. Here we met Jaideep – I must

mention that this was his maiden bike trip and he was excited and had bought a new Jacket and camera but forgot the most essential helmet (a spare one was arranged for him). We were to meet the rest of the gang at Datta Vadapav in Panvel, just before you take a turn towards Pen. What caught my attention here was the ‘Royal Enfield Desert storm’ which Swapnil was riding - The exact same bike which will be mine in a month’s time. I just loved the sight. Post a little socializing we filled our tanks with the 1 rupee cheaper petrol found outside the Bombay limits and left for Kamath’s Veg Restaurant near Karnala. Raj - my friend was waiting to greet us and surprise us. ‘How come he is here’ – my eye rolling question was answered when he said he wanted to surprise his brother Bala and us. The trip just became more interesting. Raj is a Wikipedia on bikes and cars and music systems and some more stuff ;-). His ability to relate to these stuff is amazing. He isn’t like me who doesn’t get into depth of things but enjoys everything. He enjoys by getting into the depth of things – Right Raj?

Briefing

We had our breakfast here. The Tour organizers Abhishek and Pratish briefed us about the route, some do’s and don’ts, provided us with the tour tee shirt, stickers for our bikes and Helmet – so that we could be recognized on the way and also introduced us to the Mechanic who would be in a van trailing everybody and on time specific help anybody in need. Wow! It was just perfect – a tension free ride. All I had to do was enjoy the cold breeze getting warmer, the long and winding tar roads and the green, brown and blue colors of nature surrounding the roads. The icing over the previously described cake was that we could keep our bags in the van. That is like telling a school kid, your bag will be carried by a bagman. Imagine the joy.

Leaving from Kamath's

This was also my first ride with my Canon 550D SLR. Raj, was so excited seeing the camera that on the spot he decided to buy one too (Last I heard, he had already booked the Canon 7D – Big people, Big choices ;-)). From Kamath’s we had to reach Vadkal Naka ahead of Pen and then take the NH17 to Kolad, Mahad and then Poladpur. There was no restriction in terms of where to stop, time limit to reach Mahad for lunch etc. Each rider could enjoy the ride as per his leisurely speed and liking. This was another highlight of Konkan Motors. We took a lot of breaks still reached Mahad – our destination for lunch, by 12.

A halt in the ghat

We freshened up and had a sumptuous thali. We took a good hour and half long break here. We were joined by other 2 riders, who were late to leave from home. Post some clicks we left for Poladpur from where we took a left which connects us to the Mahabaleshwar ghat road. I gave the bike to my Bro and he just loved riding this stretch. He has a better grip over this bike and he was zip – zap – zoom. The road is full of steep curves, no dividers, crazier vehicles form the opposite direction and a breathtaking view of the valley below. The back tyre of Fazer was close to being worn out and hence the grip that it could get on the turns wasn’t optimum. This though scary didn’t deter Willi – the pucca Tamilian (Visit his FB profile to understand what I mean). We reached Mahabaleshwar with one stop in between to grab some water and snacks. The sight of 15 BULLETS roaring through the Ghats masked the presence of the 2 humble Yamaha Fazers and 1 TVS Apache. We humble creatures basked in the glory though and enjoyed the waves from the kids on the way.

The Resort

From Mahabaleshwar we rode another 28 km’s to reach Tapola. Tapola is another hill station, situated between two rivers, Koyana and Solashi. It’s one place where you will get to see Shivsagar Lake, Dam, Rivers and Ghats – all in one! We were to stay at Nisarg Resort which overlooks the Shivsagar lake and the rooms here are well built, clean tents with attached baths.

view from the resort

We reached Nisarg by 4 pm. We chose our tents, had chai and garam garam bhajiyas and spent some time chit chatting. Infact we were chit chatting where as some intellectuals like Raj, Bawa, Abhishek, Pratish and others were engrossed in the technicalities of Bullet like the

spoke size of the tyres and oxidization process when painting etc. Bouncers for me – quiet a long way for me to be equals with them. But I must say it was nice to be there and hear them speak such intricate stuff. I learnt a few things nevertheless.

Did the thought of sunset just cross your mind...it didn’t? Ok, pay attention to the flow…how could we miss a sunset from Mahabaleshwar? My SLR was longing for some good shots. Off we went towards the sunset point overlooking the Koyana River. We reached there at about the right time - Just when the sky was golden orange and the mountains were about to gobble the sun like Hanuman. I was happy with some of the clicks I got. Swapnil, a pro in photography gave me some tips and they were really useful. He had his tripod with him and I could see for the first time the difference in clarity due to the negligible shake in his pictures. Our shoot was followed by a chai, some play time with a puppy there and a galore of jokes. In the hurry to meet the sunset I had not worn my shoes and didn’t carry my gloves. The temperature fell sharply and I was shivering my way back. I couldn’t even hug Bala – I was a pillion on his bike this time – Tags are dangerous.

Maza at night

The terrace of the resort had a conference like setting to begin with but the booze and chakna and the RIDERS made the conference look less professional. The night was spent having fun; some interesting chats; lots of aerated and fermented drinks and yes of course a round of introduction session which included some sections of blurred speeches. I was one of the firsts to hug my bed and catch sleep. Reason – I had an agenda for the morning.

Arrival of morning and opening of the aperture of my eyes (and yea of the SLR too) coincided. Believe me – I was the only one to be awake for the sun rise (curious me). I tried a lot with my camera settings but I couldn’t manage perfect shots as the sun’s brightness was too much too soon for a novice to capture efficiently. Anyways I was happy with my trials and some pictures I clicked.

Morning Golden Rays

We left from Tapola in the morning by 10. We visited a strawberry farm on the way. We spent an hour here buying and clicking strawberries and once in a while annoying the ‘kaka’ by eating a few ‘on-display’ strawberries. From here our next step was the tableland in Panchgani. This time I was riding the fazer and didn’t want to be left behind. Jaydeep (my pillion) and I cut the corners like butter at 70 and 80 km’s/hour until we reached a corner which I couldn’t manage to cut like a butcher and drifted off the road like a blind horse and jumped in the air some 2 – 3 feet like a monkey before landing on the ground like a hawk. My initial thoughts in my head were like I can control this (my way of telling myself to be calm) but with Jaideep shouting in my ears I thought this is going to be a crazy scene. But yes, I managed to control it and I threw a fantastic spectacle for the cars which had stopped expecting a disaster – sorry guys to disappoint you all, huh! Quickly I checked my bike – no scratches. I asked Jaideep – he was fine (Thank God) and I was perfect. But the riders behind me Karan and Aditya couldn’t relate to the adrenaline we just experienced and did give me some sound abuses ;-)

Discipline

Tableland was quiet crowded as it was a Sunday. Here we planned our next halt for lunch – Surur, ahead of Wai. The ride from here on was just amazing. One of the best rides I have done in my limited riding experience. The bends were overcome with panache and the calculated overtakings just added to the thrill. We stopped by a local restaurant on the way just about 1 KM before Surur for Lunch. The lunch break was for 2 hours :-o. It was 3 pm by the time we left. But post this we didn’t stop anywhere till we reached Khandala – Actually I did halt in between for chai ahead of Pune. This stretch was long and longer.