19 and life to go
On an idyllic afternoon in June 1991 with two weeks left for the college to reopen, four of us decided on a road trip to Kemmanagundi. This scenic hill station is located around 260kms from Bangalore, part of the pristine Chickamagalur district. It was just nature all around almost untouched by traffic (trekkers excluded).
We needed two bikes for the four of us. For some reason I couldn’t take my bike. So we wondered how to make do with just one and decided to do the journey by bus. And as were planning to do so when a friend’s friend came by and suggested that he could spare his two-wheeler. But there was a catch! We had before us a grey coloured Bajaj Chetak scooter. The block/piston, crankshaft, tappets, clutch and transmission either needed repair or replacement. We were told the scooter was being put together after years of rough use. Though this news lifted our spirits, we had to wait till this process was actually completed. Nothing more could pep-up the 19 year olds, it was a bike and that’s what mattered. So off we went to get things together for this trip. At around 7 in the evening, the mechanic was still at it - got the scooter in some shape literally at the 11th hour. So the four of us got together and loaded the bike and the scooter with our stuff. Three of us were a bit tense it was our first bike ride out of town. We chalked out a plan, because the scooter’s lights were just enough to see 2 feet ahead! So the bike – Kawasaki RTZ would ride just behind the scooter to give enough light for both the bikes.
Around 12 in the night, the rubber hit the road in Malleswaram. And guess what, we just crossed the Yeshwantpur junction (Metro Cash n Carry), when the silencer gave away. So we got into a petrol station and asked him to switch on some lights so that we could fix the silencer. They obliged! Imagine lying down in a petrol station to fix a scooter. This indication was good enough that the trip was on! Once fixed, we continued our sojourn. Next few minutes, it was business as usual as we were still in city traffic. Once we crossed Nelamangala and after a quick tea break, it hit us. This was a beautiful feeling, the roads without traffic, moon in the sky and tarmac passing by underneath our feet. The night was cold and the breeze was hitting our faces. We crossed Tumkur in over 2 hours. Fingers were getting numb and we were gradually losing sense of time.
We were doing a lot of swearing and singing just to stay awake and ensure the pillion rider (not the rider) doesn’t doze off. And we had keep the two vehicles together without blocking each other. Guess my singing skills irritated of all us no end and there was no way to put a stop to it. The only silver lining was the Kannada renditions of some Iron Maiden numbers, which kept us awake. Considering the distance we expected a ride of 10 hours with the scooter. The Chetak was very comfortable. No wonder it is billed as one of the most versatile and resilient vehicles around in any Indian conditions. However, since the scooter was just back with a piston job, we couldn’t push it beyond 30Kph. We chugged along in the night till the break of dawn with couple of breaks.
We crossed Tiptur without any incidents. Had a bite at Kamat Hotel in Tiptur. All the lorry drivers gave us stares as we were looking like zombies. As we approached Arsikere, the scooter gave some problems. It was early in the morning to find any garage open. So we looked around town and found one which was just about to open. We came across a wonderful mechanic who fixed our bike and as a bonus gave us some tips to ensure we come back home safely. He took one look at the scooter and said it would just be a minor job. His humility and concern for us touched us - he felt that he shouldn’t charge us because we still had lot of distance to cover. Arsikere to Birur was uneventful, other than the fact we were tired physically but not in spirit. At Tarikere we came to know that there was no petrol available for the next 60 odd kms. There were some cycle shops, which had an odd bottle of petrol, or two at a premium. Then we hit Lingadahalli.
We needed two bikes for the four of us. For some reason I couldn’t take my bike. So we wondered how to make do with just one and decided to do the journey by bus. And as were planning to do so when a friend’s friend came by and suggested that he could spare his two-wheeler. But there was a catch! We had before us a grey coloured Bajaj Chetak scooter. The block/piston, crankshaft, tappets, clutch and transmission either needed repair or replacement. We were told the scooter was being put together after years of rough use. Though this news lifted our spirits, we had to wait till this process was actually completed. Nothing more could pep-up the 19 year olds, it was a bike and that’s what mattered. So off we went to get things together for this trip. At around 7 in the evening, the mechanic was still at it - got the scooter in some shape literally at the 11th hour. So the four of us got together and loaded the bike and the scooter with our stuff. Three of us were a bit tense it was our first bike ride out of town. We chalked out a plan, because the scooter’s lights were just enough to see 2 feet ahead! So the bike – Kawasaki RTZ would ride just behind the scooter to give enough light for both the bikes.
Around 12 in the night, the rubber hit the road in Malleswaram. And guess what, we just crossed the Yeshwantpur junction (Metro Cash n Carry), when the silencer gave away. So we got into a petrol station and asked him to switch on some lights so that we could fix the silencer. They obliged! Imagine lying down in a petrol station to fix a scooter. This indication was good enough that the trip was on! Once fixed, we continued our sojourn. Next few minutes, it was business as usual as we were still in city traffic. Once we crossed Nelamangala and after a quick tea break, it hit us. This was a beautiful feeling, the roads without traffic, moon in the sky and tarmac passing by underneath our feet. The night was cold and the breeze was hitting our faces. We crossed Tumkur in over 2 hours. Fingers were getting numb and we were gradually losing sense of time.
We were doing a lot of swearing and singing just to stay awake and ensure the pillion rider (not the rider) doesn’t doze off. And we had keep the two vehicles together without blocking each other. Guess my singing skills irritated of all us no end and there was no way to put a stop to it. The only silver lining was the Kannada renditions of some Iron Maiden numbers, which kept us awake. Considering the distance we expected a ride of 10 hours with the scooter. The Chetak was very comfortable. No wonder it is billed as one of the most versatile and resilient vehicles around in any Indian conditions. However, since the scooter was just back with a piston job, we couldn’t push it beyond 30Kph. We chugged along in the night till the break of dawn with couple of breaks.
We crossed Tiptur without any incidents. Had a bite at Kamat Hotel in Tiptur. All the lorry drivers gave us stares as we were looking like zombies. As we approached Arsikere, the scooter gave some problems. It was early in the morning to find any garage open. So we looked around town and found one which was just about to open. We came across a wonderful mechanic who fixed our bike and as a bonus gave us some tips to ensure we come back home safely. He took one look at the scooter and said it would just be a minor job. His humility and concern for us touched us - he felt that he shouldn’t charge us because we still had lot of distance to cover. Arsikere to Birur was uneventful, other than the fact we were tired physically but not in spirit. At Tarikere we came to know that there was no petrol available for the next 60 odd kms. There were some cycle shops, which had an odd bottle of petrol, or two at a premium. Then we hit Lingadahalli.
The last few kilometres were beautiful once we started the uphill climb. The green fields on both sides surrounded by tiny hamlets were picturesque. An odd vehicle or two crossed us reminding us to come out of our reverie. As we approached the Kalahatti turn, we got off our bikes to venture into a stream under a small bridge and discover rushing water. The water was fresh and cold. We sipped this ambrosia and to do justice we took this candid snap. As we recall, it was really not comfortable getting into that position for the sake of the snap. Now and then an odd KSRTC bus would come down the road followed some estate owner zooming off in his Jeep. And finally we saw the last milestone to KR Hill Station 1Km. It was 3 pm the next day and we had ridden for 15 hours instead of 7-8 hours on a more efficient vehicle. But we had reached safely with no bruises.
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