Bangalore-Spiti - Day 5-8: Mumbai to Delhi

Day 5:

        I woke up at 4 AM, packed all my stuff, loaded the bike, and got ready to start the next phase of the ride. I had planned to start by 5 AM and ride to Udaipur today. The weather was better today, a little cloudy but no rain. If I rode without unwanted breaks, I would reach Udaipur by 7 PM in the evening.

        I got onto the Gujarat highway in an hour and took the first halt near Wapi for breakfast and chai. I was feeling a little sleepy, so I had chai and decided to take a 15-minute nap. But the person on the counter rudely asked me to leave. It had started raining now. I had seen the amount of damage that rains could do to my luggage and was reluctant to ride. So I went to another small restaurant close by and had a quick nap. By the time I woke up, it had stopped raining. I continued my ride, but within 15 minutes, it had started pouring down. I continued riding till I reached some place close to Surat. I stopped at a highway-side restaurant as I couldn't go on anymore. I waited for almost an hour here but the rain continued lashing down. Eventually, I got bored of waiting and started riding again. The rain reduced, and eventually stopped as I passed Surat. It got sunny as I reached Ahmedabad. The road was all dug up though, and I had to ride through a lot of traffic for almost 30-35 kilometers. I reached Ahmedabad by 6 PM. My riding boots were starting to bite now. I stopped for chai after Ahmedabad and left my boots there, and got into my regular shoes. I had to get new riding boots on the way now. The route to Udaipur was a smooth 4-lane highway with a good number of street lights. It was the most comfortable part of the ride that day.

        I was staying at this hostel called Keekoo Stays in Udaipur. I reached there by 11 PM. The caretaker showed me to my dorm, and fortunately, I had the whole place to myself. I quickly got all the wet clothes out and hung them up to dry on the bungee cable. I would be staying back in Udaipur for a day before continuing the ride to Delhi.

Day 6:

        This was my second visit to Udaipur. The last time, I had stayed for 4 days and explored most of the place on foot. This time, I got my bike washed clean, left it at the hostel, and went off on a walk around the city. Udaipur is one of those cities which still has its old-world charm intact. While walking through the lanes around the lake, you can see a lot of buildings that are made in the old Rajput-style architecture. I had some nice street food and went off in search of some nice riding shoes. 

        By evening, it had started to drizzle a little and I decided to go back to the hostel. I didn't get good shoes here, so I decided to buy them in Delhi. The running shoes I was using now weren't waterproof, and the water seeped in, made the socks wet and the skin was left wrinkled. It was really uncomfortable.

        I packed my stuff and loaded my bike overnight. The hostel compound was secure with a huge gate that was locked, and a CCTV camera for surveillance as well. The caretaker assured me that it wouldn't be a problem.

Day 7: 

        I woke up at 4.30 AM and prepared to leave. I had to wake the hostel caretaker to open the gate for me. He wished me luck for the journey ahead. I left Udaipur at 5.30 AM, while it was still dark. The highway out of Udaipur was also smooth and comfortable. I immediately stopped for chai at a dhaba before continuing towards Delhi. The distance to be covered today was over 650 kilometers. It would mean riding at least 12 hours without rain halts. It was sunny, but not very hot - the perfect day to ride. 

        By 2 PM, I reached Jaipur and halted for lunch. As I was eating, it started raining again. If this continues, I might not reach Delhi tonight. As I waited, the intensity of the rain reduced. The rain continued interrupting the ride at different intervals.

        I reached the outskirts of Delhi by 7 PM. The traffic was bad, the roads were covered in slush and there was steady drizzle. I did not want to stop now and continued riding through the rain till I reached the hostel by 11 PM. It was a tiring ride, and I dozed off as soon as I reached the place.

Day 8:

        It was a gloomy day, and I felt too lazy to do anything. I had ordered my shoes over Amazon on the way from Udaipur, and they arrived on time. After giving my clothes for laundry, I decided to go on a walk around the hostel, and have some delicious street food. It rained the whole day, and the weather report suggested that it would be sunny tomorrow. With that hope, I packed my stuff and went to bed early. After 9 long days since I started from Bangalore, tomorrow I will reach the mountains, hopefully.

        I had prepared for the rains before starting my journey, or so I thought. But that is the thing with travel, you can never be prepared completely for any kind of travel. It doesn't mean that you stop traveling. And I did not intend to turn back now after coming this far, no matter how much it rained. 

Bangalore-Spiti - Day 1-4: Bangalore to Mumbai

Day 1:

Let me start this blog by assuring you that I love the rain. Growing up in Mumbai, through the scorching heat of May, which left you drenched in sweat, the city used to be parched for a few drops of rain. And when the heavens did open up, and the petrichor rose from the withered earth, it convinced me that everything would be alright again.

On the 15th of September, with the monsoon season behind me, I left Bangalore at 7 AM. It took me around half an hour to load the luggage onto the bike, and I realized that this would be a part of my daily routine till I got back home.

Chitradurga

The weather was a little cloudy, but no rain. It was the perfect day to ride. It was an uneventful ride for 3-4 hours. There wasn’t even any traffic on the Bangalore roads to talk about. I rode up to Chitradurga, where all the windmills are. I was always fascinated by these and decided to visit one of the huge fans close by. After leaving the highway, and riding on an uneven path, which was really a dirt track for more oversized vehicles, I got to the base of one of the windmills. I got a few pictures of the place but wanted to explore more. And went off to the other side of the highway for more. I realized after riding for fifteen minutes that they were a lot further than it seemed. And hence, I dropped the idea and decided to continue my ride towards Mumbai.

I’ve ridden this road so many times now, and yet, I had the map on for some reason.

After leaving Chitradurga, and a quick halt for lunch, I was on my way again. I reached Belgaum at around 4.30 PM. The clouds were starting to gather now, and the sky looked dramatic. I did stop at Belgaum for a few pictures, at the Hidkal reservoir. It almost feels nostalgic to ride on this road now.

Kolhapur

It started raining by the time I reached Kolhapur. I tried to keep going but it kept getting heavier, and the visibility got poor as I rode on. I got to this cozy little restaurant called The White House after the Nippani junction and decided to take a break till the rain stopped. I had chai and misal pav, which is a local cuisine. A rainbow appeared just as I finished eating, and the rain stopped.

It was 6.30 PM now, and it would take me at least 5 hours to reach Mumbai if the rain allowed. It started to pour down when I reached Satara, still 250+ kilometers from Mumbai. I decided to take refuge in this lodge on the highway called Harsh. I told the guy at the reception that I’d give him a mention in the blog if he gave me a discount, and he gave me a "massive" Rs. 100 off on the stay.

I took some time to get the luggage off the bike. It was drenched with dirt that needed to be scrubbed off the surface. I got to work right away, emptying all my bags, washing them clean, and hanging them up to dry. The room was filled with wet clothes, bags, and dirty shoes. I hoped that these would dry off tomorrow, and I could continue my ride to Mumbai.

Day 2:

          The weather was a lot more forgiving this morning. I wanted to cover as much distance as possible before it started raining again. After having a quick breakfast, I packed my stuff and loaded it onto the bike. It was just 250 kilometers left for Mumbai now. I hoped to get there before 5 PM even with rain interruptions.

Satara

      However, the rain kept coming back heavily at regular intervals. I realized how helpless my riding jacket was against the rain. The landscape was all green and looked fresh after the rain. I had another halt for breakfast before Pune as the rain lashed on. A vada pav and a chai later I was back on the road.

       As I reached Pune, it was a fight to keep riding in the rain. The traffic in the city made it worse. And just to take it to the next level, there was ankle-deep water on the road. I did not expect to find a water-crossing this early in my journey. It drenched everything loaded on the bike.

I proceeded at a slow pace and decided to stop for lunch at Lonavala as it continued raining. I waited for an hour at the restaurant before resuming the ride as the rain was reduced to a mere drizzle.

       A heavy fog gathered on the road, and visibility was hardly 10-15 meters. I continued cautiously till I reached the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Although it was pouring down again, I sped up, impatient to finally end the day’s ride.

       I was staying at my friend Dnyanesh’s place, as no one else was staying there, and I had an embarrassing count of dirty luggage to clean. I reached his place at 5 PM, and his sister came to help me settle down. As soon as she left, I emptied my bags and got to work, cleaning up all the dirt and hanging it all up to dry.

       I met another friend Ashwin in the evening. We visited a restaurant named ‘Navratna’. It is as old as I can remember, I visited it with Dad around 25 years back when his office was close to this place. The food still tastes good here, or maybe it’s just nostalgia served on a plate for me.

       It wasn’t raining now, and I got back by 10 PM. Tomorrow, I had a shoot for the office football tournament. It’s always a highly emotional event, and I was rooting for my house (Prithvi) to win this time.

Day 3:

National Anthem

   It was sunny today, very different from what I had been dealing with over the past two days. I got up early and went off to enjoy the game of football.

       It was nice to meet so many old friends. The games are usually high-intensity, and people give it their all. I've been a part of these matches in the past and know what it means to be on the field. There are internal rivalries to look forward to. This year as well, it was no different. It rained for a bit, but it was sunny for most of the day. Prithvi did win the trophy this time. I felt so proud about it, gave me hope for the ride ahead in some way.

Team Prithvi - 2022

       After having a quick dinner I came back to Dnyanesh's place. I had to pack up before restarting my journey. My next destination was Delhi. The weather report stated scattered rains along the way. I hoped to reach Delhi in 2 days, get the bike checked for issues, and proceed to Kufri in Himachal as soon as possible.

Citiustech Football Tournament

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