The Joy of Solo Riding: 10 year old travelogue and the good old days

It’s good for your soul. It will build your character. You will turn out to be a better man, a better human being. You should do it more often.

BHPian ashkamath recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A bit of context first,

• This is a short trip log that I wrote in 2015.
• The ride is from Vasco, Goa to Shiroor, Coastal Karnataka.
• Motorcycle: KTM Duke 390 - 2013 Model (I still own and ride it)
• Helmet: AGV
• Total distance covered: 495 Kms

Type of ride: Single day ride

The roads were two lane highway those days unlike the present 4/6 lane roads. There were no lane dividers and traffic was much lesser. Motorcycle riding still hadn't caught up with the youngsters as it has done now.

I was 51 years old when I made this trip. Now I am a senior citizen, but prefer to ride a two wheeler more than drive a car.

There are only 3 photos in this trip log. The idea of writing a trip log was never there and I just decided to pen down my feelings and thoughts and that's how this short story took shape.

As I mentioned earlier, this is a 10 year old travel log. Things have drastically changed since those good old days. Ride carefully, being aware of the present road conditions and challenges.

And here we go,

Preamble:

It was the evening of 31st May, 2015 and I had just reached home from Belgaum ride with GEARS (The Goan Enthusiasts and Riders Group), and the phone rings.

The man on the other side of the phone says “Ashok, there’s a survey to be done”.

I say “Fine, where is the vessel?”.

He says something that does not register, I say anyway ”Okie, Let's do it”.

Next day Monday he calls again to confirm. “Ashok the vessel is in Shiroor, and scheduled to be launched on 04th, So you need to inspect it ASAP”, Hmmmm Ok. That is 3 days, and I say without thinking, “I will be there on 03rd June "

I start thinking of the various travel options, train… bus… car…. Train is the easiest and most convenient. Bus may not be ideal as I may have to change more than a couple to reach the destination; car is too boring and tiring to drive. Then my KTM has got new shoes and all set as if tailor made for the ride…. Well that’s it. Ride it is for me. Who needs the mass transport when I have my Duku. The train, the bus, the car all were just a ruse. Deep inside me, I had already decided to ride.

Previous night of ride, I Google to check out how far is Shiroor from Vasco. The map reads close to 250 Kms. And the route is quite familiar to me.. Fine, so I make a check list (as I do in all my rides) Bike original docs, a towel, a spare dress set in case if I need to stay back, Selfie stick (did not use it though), raincoat as monsoon is just knocking the door, Medicines for my Asthma, Camera, Spare batteries for camera, my power bank, a spare mobile with charger and a Cap. Earlier in the day I had called my customer and fixed the time 11 AM at the Boat Builders yard Shiroor for our meeting and inspection.

Since a couple of days, I had been following the Mollem road accident where a Suzuki D’Zire got crushed between two trucks and lives were lost. Also during the Belgaum ride, saw a car ventured in field and a toppled truck and another truck that explored the forest, so the back of my mind warned me to be extremely careful as there are lot of things that are going wrong on road. So I decide that I will maintain 80 Kmph and any way I am riding alone so there is no peer pressure and distance too is just nominal without any need for speed or any conducting hara kiri from my side. I decide to leave at 6 am in the morning and reach Shiroor by 11 am for the meeting that gives me 5 hour which I reckon is just good enough.

The Ride:

Kept the alarm for 5 in the morning and slept. Had a party on previous night and stomach was not feeling good. Had a restless night without much winks. And then the alarm rings and its wake up time.

I was ready by 5.45 am and had my back pack ready (initially planned to take the Via-Terra tank bag)… …. but later decided to keep it simple with a back pack. Also pondered for a while about the Via Terra Hydration pack, but decided I can do without it. and I was out at 6AM on dot. 

It was just dawn and the first light was streaming in and I started my bike, Previous night I had filled a couple of liters of normal petrol (not the higher octane fuel that I fill periodically) as I had decided to tank up at Goa border anyway…. and off I started. 

There were already some vehicles on road at Vasco and I made my way through a few trucks and hit the highway. The advantage of starting early when the world sleeps is that you have a free run of the road and you truly are the king of the road with no other vehicle holding you to ransom by blocking your progress I mean ride…… I kept a steady pace of 70 Kmph as I had earlier promised myself and soon Madgaon came, it was about 6.30 now and traffic was slowly starting to build up.

But still it was a breeze as I just throttle through the the sparse traffic, the first of the outstate buses the Paulo , SRS, VRS from Bangalore and elsewhere started to appear on the horizon and they were just bulldozing their way…. Of course I understand that the driver has been driving over 12 hours now and I respectfully give way to them by edging to the corner of the road. Early hours always take it easy and keep your head light ON and honk a bit as the opposite vehicle driver may be drowsy after a long drive and a momentary lapse of his concentration could be fatal to innocent road users.. so I try to just get their attention by honking and with my headlights ON….

Morning dew glistened on the road giving it a wet look. The tree branches all along the road swayed gently and the fresh air was so invigorating . The golden sunrays just rose steadily over my left side with a yellow golden hue all around and the cool breeze made me say aloud. “Thank You God, thank you very much”. I felt truly blessed to be in this Paradise as I gently glided along the winding road, basking in warmth of nature and cool breeze, a true wanderer experiencing a bliss, truly heavenly. I rode at a leisurely pace through the winding Goan road taking in all that I possibly can, the helmet less Bullet rider racing past, the morning joggers, the vegetable and fish vendors setting up their ware on road side, and I just weave on the road. My heart is filled with contentment and I am patient with trucks ahead of me and oncoming vehicles. No honking no flicking the head lights anymore, I take it easy as I have all the time in the world and I am in no hurry to arrive at my destination.

Passed Canacona as I just zoom past the slow moving cars and other traffic on the Karmal Ghat roads and my jacket feels slowly warmer as the sun comes up. I reach the Goa border in double quick time and stop to fill the bike up as that is the last bunk where petrol is still cheap, I fill up to the brim and my odo reads 88 Kms. I think “time for a Selfie”. But then I am lazy to do so and I just ride on.

Karwar comes and goes, and now I am trying to practice my leaning on the curves. I take a deep curve and touch the apex and throttle all the way out and feel elated.. the helmet feels stuffed, so I lift the visor and the cool breeze is so very welcome and refreshing, there are a couple of bikes and cars on the road and I show off taking a deep lean and zoom past thinking how much they all could possibly be impressed with my riding prowess. All the while I am very careful of the oncoming traffic and also aware of the limits to which I can push myself. Being aware that 51 years is not the age to go overboard and do stupid things on road, I ride within my capabilites. I realise that my earlier relentless practising of leaning, hard / panic braking, avoiding target fixation etc on empty roads were paying rich dividends as I was completely at ease in real long distance rides. So, I lean left and then right and left as the road turned and this goes on for a while and I feel like the king of road doing all these biker aspirational stuffs. 

and then stomach knocks tick tock tick tock. Ahh. I remember that I had lot of fluids the previous night (the intoxicating ones) but not much solid food, meaning I just drank and drank but had foregone my dinner, so my stomach was empty and now it was knocking, so Ankola Kamat, the highway restaurant beckons, still a little distance away, the highway traffic having turned sparse and the open road was good, I open the throttle and zoom through the winding roads whiz past in a flurry.

I try to think a bit technical and wonder about the tyres and grip and air pressure and that annoying sound from the chain and the irritating wind buffeting noise inside the helmet at high speed. But then I shrug it off as there was more to offer all around and I find peace within as my bike putters on….., these moments are priceless when your heart is overwhelmed and you know you are a blessed soul to experience this joy.,

It is just past 8 AM when I ride into Ankola Kamat and my odo reads around 133 or so. As my stomach was not good I just order the staple Karnataka breakfast, Idli and Buns and coffee and by the time I finish my breakfast, my stomach is rumbling, I instantly knew that I cannot ride any further with a botched up stomach and need to relieve myself.

I ask the sweet looking cashier to take care of my jacket and bag and asked her the way to the toilet,

She says “Sir toilet is that way and I ask her “Hope the toilet is clean” to which she replies “Sir, the whole toilet section is renovated” and I stress “I need an English commode”, to which she replies as if taking the food order “of course we have an English commode too”.

Happy, I go and settle myself in the English commode humming a nice old Mohammed Rafi song – Roop Thera Mastana Pyaar Mera Diwana and someone knocks the door, tried to pull it apart and I am scared that the door will come off. I hold my nerve and turn the tap as an indication of my presence inside and sing louder, again tugging and knocking and some murmur and all is silent and I continue singing, ten minutes over again knocking and I turn the tap again for sound effects and again all silent, after ten more minutes I hear more murmur and people are discussing something outside, I think some serious issue and I call out and say I am inside and then I take my own time and not to be disturbed, after a while morning ablutions over I open the door to see about 3 people, an old man, a guy with hammer, spanner and other tools and a supervisor.

The old man, apparently a tourist explains that he is used to English commode and as I didn’t open the door for a long time, he thought it is locked form inside and brought the hotel maintenance staff to force open the door… so these guys were preparing to break open the door while I was singing Mohmed Rafi inside, what shameless creatures these people to disturb an innocent persons personal moments. I also realised that the most ecstatic moment for the tourist waiting outside my toilet door was when heard me push the toilet flush indicating I am done and now will be out soon. He would have been most happiest person on earth to hear a toilet flush more than any one else. I would have been, if I was in his place. I am sure of that. 

Anyway I am fresh now and feel light in body and mind and start off at about 8.45 its now another two hours to ride the next hundred odd or so Kms. No big deal. I buy a bottle of water in case I need it for drinking or any other purpose as I deem fit if my stomach grumbles again. And off I go.

The temperature has increased and the road quality not so great and traffic marginally increasing with local cyclist, bikers and vehicles…. and I pass Gokarna cross and Kumta…The roads are all two lane with no median and so extreme alert is the mantra while riding..I maintain a steady 80 Kmph and I reach Honnavar , the Sharavathi bridge appears to be under repairs (it always is) and I whiz past, a couple of Goa registered cars and MH cars competing with each other for a piece of action. I have always observed that MH registered cars are driven a bit faster than the susegad Goan cars (or I may be biased as I over take the MH, GA, KA and what not registered cars and trucks and bikes ) and Murudeshwar looms on the horizon, At Murudeshwar everything is R.N.Shetty. you see R.N. Shetty automobiles, R.N. Shetty Hospital, R.N.Shetty school, R.N.Shetty this and that…..R.N. Shetty a business tycoon at Middle east has single handedly rebuilt Murudeshwar with lots of infrastructure projects and put Murudeshwar on the world tourist map. Goes to show what one person is capable of achieving if one sets his mind to it.

Now it is only about 30 odd Kms to my destination and I feel the heat, the road is patched up and bit uneven and I tread carefully. Every time I overtake I look at the situation and even the slightest of concern I just backed out, at times when the truck or car is even quite far approaching, I decide not to overtake and take it easy, so sneaking or zig zagging between trucks and cars is out and that makes a ride so very relaxed and I have all the time for everything that is happening around, roads are getting repaired at numerous places and I keep my cool, and I pass Shirali, a small town about 5 Kms ahead of Bhatkal and that town happen to be the place of my family deity. I decide to visit the temple on my return journey, and move on.

Bhatkal town comes and the road gets busy with lot of local traffic and I ride slow here as it is morning rush hour. I am overcautious and stop a couple of times to allow the locals to cross me and I slowly wade through the traffic to pass the town, now another twenty Kms or less to Shiroor and it is still ten forty or so, that means I am on time for my meeting and my plan is holding up well. Bcoz of road widening and tree felling the earlier topography has changed and identifying the towns that you pass is difficult as everything looks different.

Shiroor came and it looked different as trees were felled and road being broadened and lots of dust everywhere. The present 4/6 lane road was being constructed those days. And I approach a local guy and ask the way to Kasarkod and he say another 90 Kms further down after Mangalore. I am like what the heck… another 90 kms? are you mad? and I tell him “Not Kasargod but Kasarkod” and he smiles and says ride back and after the bridge after a Kilometer take a left and that is kasarkod and I retrace the path back pass a bridge and see a narrow road on left’ it is not road but a bunch of crater horrible than on moon and I jump and bump on that road and ask a pedestrian about the direction to the boat yard.

I ride back and forth, left and right through some mud lanes, through some personal properties, fields and stuff and then one guy takes pity on me and takes me the Boat builder’s premises (hidden behind a camouflage of trees with a very narrow passage not visible from a distance). And I make a grand appearance at the boat builders yard and it is 11 AM. My side of commitment kept. I reached on time.

By this time, it is so hot that I am drenched totally inside outside all side, I gladly remove my helmet and jacket and go to meet the yard owner. Mr. Shankar Mesta a very senior and well known name in boat building industry in the Konkan coast and there he is on the boat, giving directions to his staff about some machinery fitment. He is aware of my arrival and we shake hands and exchange pleasantries and he announces that my customer, the boat owner (from Vasco) is on the way from Goa to Shiroor and I need to wait for a while.

I start my work, check the vessel details, machinery details, give some gyan to the staff (just to show off who is the better informed person in boat building and architecture) and they are in awe about me. I know these guys are more experienced and knowledgeable than me in every aspect, but I strut around majestically and note down my observations.

It is 12 AM and still my customer has not made his presence. I am just sitting on a bench and then start a chat with Mr. Shankar Mesta. He has been building boat for over 30-35 years now and this yard was once a haven for snakes. There were snakes everywhere. ( it was evident to me as there were thick and dry leaf foliage around everywhere and a perfect place for snakes). He said that snakes would make appearance very often and that disturbed the peace of his mind and his workers. So upon advise from his priest, he built a Naga Katte ( a small alter for snake with many snake carvings in rock under a huge tree cordoned off with a proper wall). He offers his prayers to the snake Gods daily and he and his workers have not been disturbed since.

A wooden boat costs about Rs. 35 Lakh to build ( Hull / bare boat only) and with machinery and accessories cost close to Rs. 80 lakh and with Net on board is worth about Rs. 1.25 Crore. On a good day, a purse-seine fishing boat can rake in fish worth about Rs. 8-10 Lakh in one trip. There are instances where a boat has brought in a bumper catch of a few tons of King / Tiger Prawns worth over Rs. 15 Lakh in the market. So I was thinking like it is better to be a fisherman rather than a software engineer or a Marine engineer. But then these were passing thoughts and the customer came in his Toyota Innova.

As my inspection was over, I just had some pleasantry exchanged with the boat owner and took some additional details that I need to know and I was done with my work. I bade good bye to him and it was about 1300 hours when I started my bike on my return journey. The Odo read 245 Kms.

 The return ride:

I retraced my route, passed Bhatkal and was at Shirali at about 1.25 PM and to my pleasant surprise the Mangala Arati / Puja or the afternoon prayer session was in progress. I was just exactly at the right time to witness the Puja and I felt absolutely thrilled about it considering it as the grace of God to allow me to be there at his abode at that precise time.

After the Mangal Arathi, I had a heavy lunch at Annapoorna Hall (the temple serves delicious lunch / Prasad to its devotees without any charge). The double serving of the Sweets made me burp and I walked with a heavy stomach and just sat for a while at the temple premises. Now that the stomach is full and heart is content, I bid good bye to the priests (who know me personally from earlier visits) and start my bike. It is 2.15 PM and the sun is at his blazing best.

While topping up at Goa border I had decided that I shall not take fuel in Karnataka ( I calculated I will be riding close to 300 Kms in Karnataka, 150 Kms each way). So my bike had to give me at least 300 Kms on the topped up tank else I will land taking up petrol in Karnataka. So I was riding leasuerly at 80 Kmph with an eye on the fuel guage and the heat increasing with every passing kilometer. I was sweating profusely and I knew it was not a good idea to just ride in hot sun and I need to take a break and have a drink of chilled water in my bag.

I have noticed a particular occurrence in my fuel guage reading. Suppose there are only last 2 or 3 strips remaining and I switch off the bike and restart, one or two strip will disappear. So if I stop my bike when the last strip on fuel guage is showing and switch off the engine and start, it is possible that the fuel guage reserve light will come up indicating that I am in reserve.( which may not be the true case). So I decided not the stop the bike and ride ON till my fuel reserve light indicator lighted up so I will have an actual figure rather than the error induced by the sensors.

Honnavar, Kumta, Gokarna Cross, Ankola pass by and I am holding my bike steady at 80 Kmph. No sudden brakes or stuffs. But then there are no shortage of idiots on roads. On one gentle upward gradient left curve, a Suzuki Swift car ( I don’t know why swift car drivers always drive so swiftly / ) while negotiating the curve just came to the extreme right side, right in front of me leaving me no space to wriggle pass. And I was like thinking “ Boss keep the road for yourself but just give me 2 feet on extreme left so that I can pass” and somehow I manage to squeeze through. These type of lane cutting by opposite vehicle in blind curves is a real problem and happens more often than we think. Drivers just cut the lane and come extreme right and at the last moment jerk to left and whizz by. And my thoughts are like “Many morons out there driving need to be really whipped and their license cancelled….”. But then this is India. Chaos is a way of life here and we thrive in it and if we are lucky to survive, we see another day”. 

I approach Karwar and as I pass the Karwar circle the reserve indicator light comes ON. So I have ridden through Karnataka without refilling and the reserve indicator light just popped in. I decide not to fill the petrol at the HP pump within Goa border, but to push it to Canacona where I thought of taking a Coffee break. I know for sure that my bike can run 50 Kms + in reserve having done it many times and so I just ride on without much concern.

The narrow Goan roads begin and I start my leaning and fun stuffs. There are a couple of humps and I ride fast and brake at the very fag end to see the ABS in action . Every hump means ride full throttle and brake at the very last moment. While doing so, the load on the arm and shoulder is tremendous and you feel the pain creeping in the shoulders as the bike screeches and slows down. So, what you do press your thighs to the fuel tank, sit upright and hold the handle bar very lightly without putting any load on the arms. It was fun and more leaning and Canacona is in my sight.

I park the bike at Canacona junction and head into a small hotel for a cup of coffee. I ask for lime juice and the hotel owner says Not available. Okie Give me a cup of Tea. I say. Power was cut off in Canacona town ( some pre monsoon repairs by electricity department I guess) and it was sweltering inside the small 3 table hotel. It is 4.45 PM now and I think I did good distance in good time without actually whacking the bike. 

Tea felt good and I ride away in good spirit. HP pump at Canacona is actually a few kms out side Canacona on Madgao road. I ride into the pump and get filled for Rs. 300/- My odo reads 40.5 on reserve reading. Now the Bike is drunk (petrol), I am drunk ( tea ) and still it is early evening and I take it easy to Madgao.

There is this guy on a splendor who is doing all fun antics on road. He over takes me, leans a lot and I look at him astonished. No helmet, slipper, Honda Splendor and man he is leaning and ripping. I had a silent prayer for him “ God save this guy”. Please don't call him to your place soon. Let him lean and rip more. Don't make him R.I.P. 

It was about 5.45 I ride to my Mech’s garage in Madgao and I complain him of noise in chain and doubt the wheel setting. He checks everything thoroughly, tightens the chain and all the nuts and bolts in the bike, hits here and there, does his work and says “Sir Bike is good. No issues”. It must be 6.15 or so then. I acknowledge him, pay him and ride my last 30 Kms to home, as they say, "The Nut, Screws and Bolts"

It is 6.45 PM as I ease my bike in my apartment and the Odo reads 495. The bike total Odo shows 26,200 Kms (that’s 1000 Kms since the Michelin were fitted last Saturday at 25,200 Kms) and I pat the bike with affection and carry my tired legs to the elevator and then I am home. The total time for this trip was 12 hours 45 minutes in total. Actual ride time was much lesser, as is the case always.

I did not take any photograph except a couple of photos of bike at the builder’s yard while waiting for the boat owner. I had 2 stops (1 fuel stop at Goa border and 1 food stop at Ankola) towards Shiroor and 1 stop at Canacona while returning). The distance was not much so no butt stop. Though the seat felt hard after the initial 100 kms and I did stand on the foot pegs a couple of times to ease the butt pain. 

The Bike behaved wonderfully, the Michelin gripped the road remarkably well (though I missed the Metzelar a lot and nothing can beat a Metzeler in terms of road grip), I had my headlight ON throughout the ride and every second bike or 1 in 4 cars that I came across flashed their light or signaled to indicate that my head light was ON. Even pedestrians were signaling that head light is ON. I was happy that people cared.

Solo ride is a Soul ride. You are the master of your destiny. You decide your course of action. You don’t have a friend to help you choose your breakfast, you choose to sit in the toilet as long as you wish and / or when to stop or where to stop or photo shoot stop or chai stop or butt stop or take a deviation. You choose to ride slow or fast, you choose to just stop or go off road without any reason. Solo riding brings the best out of you and you know you are stronger and capable than you ever thought you were.

It’s good for your soul. It will build your character. You will turn out to be a better man, a better human being. You should do it more often.

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