24th October,2009
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1030 hrs: Our Ops class done, we headed back to the hostel to pack for the ride, woolens and all with winter setting in gradually
1300 hrs: After a quick lunch, we were off. There was just the one motorcycle- my Std 350. Aravinthan, my friend and classmate riding pillion.
1330 hrs: We hit the canal road off the Delhi-Meerut road. (I love this stretch of the road.) Its a narrow road flanked by the countryside on one side and the canal on the other. The fern-like wild shrubs fluttering in the wind made for an awesome sight! We stopped by to take a few shots http://picasaweb.google.com/atmdeo/GTownRishikeshTrip#
With hardly any traffic, we zipped by at 90+ clocking 100 on a few stretches. With the sun on its way down, the temperature dropped gradually and the vegetation got thicker giving way to dense trees as we approached Roorkee.
After hitting Roorkee we took the highway to Haridwar. We stopped for a snack near College of Engineering, watching the sun go down for the day as we sipped tea and savoured the steaming pakodas- paneer was lovely. There is something about food during a ride -it tastes better than it would do otherwise! Maybe its the local cuisine that is unique to the place.
Break over, we hit the highway for the last leg of the ride. We encountered more traffic and the average speed dropped considerably. We were in Haridwar around seven in the evening.
With the temples all lit, the town of Haridwar looked spectacular. We rode on to Rishikesh without stopping. It was decided after reaching Rishikesh that we would crash for the night in the heart of Rishikesh - Ram Jhula. We checked in a cottage closeby (Krishna Cottage)
Brr it was cold- time to get the old mufflers and jackets out. Had dinner at Chotiwala. If at all you happen to be anywhere near, make sure you stop by here. After gorging on the different kinds of paranthas, palak paneer, we decided to take a walk on Ram Jhula. With peak season over, there were hardly any people there.The silver waters of the Ganges lit up by the crescent shaped moon looked poetic. Add to it ,the lovely breeze blowing. It was magical. We walked around for a good hour and a half after which we decided to head back and catch up on sleep.
Next day it was time for some white water rafting. We took a cab to Marine Drive- 26kms off Rishikesh. The rafting was fun. There was no untoward incident ;such as the raft overturning although Aravinthan managed to fall off the raft in the one of the rapids (the bugger wanted to fall off ). We crossed ShivPuri downstream and finally we were at Ram Jhula. It was four in the evening already. After a quick lunch at Chotiwala, we checked out and by 5 30 we were on the highway riding back.
Night riding has its own charm, although I prefer day riding. Roorkee onwards, we took the highway instead of the canal road.(Just a caveat, the canal road has had incidents of robbery in the night )
The moonlit night ride was fun. After covering majority of the 220 km ride, we took a break at eleven at Bikanerwala which was some 40 kms off Ghaziabad. The next stop was IMT.
All in all, a super ride and a super weekend. Aravinthan, thanks for coming along!
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