This was the 3rd day of me being on road, my targeted destination for the day was Seoni in which is on the border of Maharashtra but falls in Madhya Pradesh. Distance between Seoni and Hyderabad is approx. 650 kms.
I was determined to reach Seoni by end of the day, didn't want to halt at Nagpur. Though I had planned, I couldn’t meet a few riders at Nagpur because of time constraints.
I got delayed a little leaving Hyderabad, but then i was able to visit one of my biker friend’s home where i met his wife, had coffee and we had a good time talking about my experience on road so far. Finally by 9 am I left from Hyderabad, Went to a mechanic, got chain cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. Also got brake, accelerator and clutch cables thoroughly checked. Once all was done I was on my favourite place i.e. on NH7.
The beginning of the roads from Hyderabad to Nagpur is a nice highway where you can maintain average speeds of 60 - 80 kmph. From Hyderabad to Nizamabad you have your regular dose of traffic like vehicles, people, animals, cycles, etc. But after Nizamabad the next 200kms of roads are well maintained beautiful forest tarmac, without any disturbances, where you can start talking to your bike or whoever you want to as long as its within your helmet :). I really enjoyed this stretch as it relaxes your mind and gives you peace. But you still need to be careful around here as its an area which is populated with Naxalites!
Once I reached Adilabad, I started looking for a suitable place where I can feed something to my, by now growling, stomach. Couldn’t find anything much on the highway, but just then noticed a small dhaba, where I couldn’t see anyone else. But it was already 1 pm and I was at my wit’s end so stopped there and checked what was available. Finally ordered dal-fry, raita and roti - I just cant survive without ROTI. While I was busy devouring my lunch, i was approached by two gentlemen who happened to come there after I entered. They were curious seeing me alone with a bike and enquired about me, my trip and stuff like that. After hearing about my expedition, they asked to do a video interview which they wanted to broadcast on their local channel. After a brief info on their work and having a look at their professional Id, I agreed for the interview. Post which I quickly finished lunch and scooted off on my journey.
My next destination was Nagpur which was another approx. 200kms. After a heavy lunch at the deserted dhaba, I was feeling very sleepy and fatigue was also building up day by day. I was feeling tired but i wasn't complaining :). After riding about 80km I took a short break to avoid drowsiness. Washed my face, sipped water. I tried all the tricks in the book to remain awake - singing songs full volume inside the helmet “Suhana safar aur ye mausam haseen…”
Solo riding/travelling comes with its own bricks and bouquets. like when you are riding alone in middle of nowhere, you get that feeling of excitement, happiness from within looking at the surroundings, but then you realise there is no one to share it with, at that instant. You want to share it with someone right there but…!!! Well i was calling up a few close friends and mom many times to express my feeling. These kind of voids were few and far between and probably momentary. As they say ‘you win some, you lose some’ :)
But I wouldn't give up solo riding for these momentary spaces. I love solo travelling most ☺ It makes you learn lot many things, you can explore the place in your own way, you can take things the way it comes to you, you need not be very minutely planned and calculative that’s where the real fun of adventure lies and I love that part so only I prefer solo travelling most. And most important, you keep discovering yourself. More of this towards the end.
The last 100kms before reaching Nagpur is where i was taken by surprise. After last 400kms of wonderful riding I noticed that the roads were missing to put it mildly!! You have all the obstacles like stones, potholes, gravel, etc. This condition continued for about 40 km. I had the first small fall of my trip on this stretch because of lose gravel and stones. Nothing serious . So just got up, picked up my bike and continued like nothing had happened. (as if i had any choices :D). Next couple of kilometres were better. But after that a similar bad stretch for another 30 kms. All in all a challenging stretch. During the bad stretch I kept asking local people around for road conditions but was assured ‘Are madam, bahut accha road hai, bas aise hi jaate raho’ (Madam nice roads ahead, keep going same road ;)). So be careful when you hear ‘achha road’ around these area. I was wondering how they manage this stretch during monsoons?
One of the biggest and unplanned adventures of my trip was the part after I reached Nagpur. As I mentioned in the beginning, my plan was to reach Seoni by end of day 3. But I was already quite late by the time I touched Nagpur - 9 pm. Seoni from Nagpur is roughly 100kms. Looking at the roads from there I was confident of doing it in another 2 hours max. What I was not aware of is, that this road goes through ‘Pench National Park’!! The whole stretch turned out to be more that what I was expecting at that time of day. Narrow, curvy jungle roads, infested with truck traffic on both directions, pot-holes, gravel, unmarked speed breakers - you name it. It had all the obstructs of a video game. Just that this was real life and I was in middle of jungle riding alone in the dark. It went from fun to challenge to scary in a few kilometres and at some point of time I was wondering if I had just lost a few bolts from my head for continuing in a situation like this. It took me almost 3 and a half hours for me to complete those 100kms - and I am sure ill remember these hours and miles for the rest of my life. I finally reached my destination of Seoni at about 11 pm, feeling proud and blessed at what i had just accomplished.
Almost felt like getting a new life by now!!
But if it was a new life, it was also a new ‘me’ that came out of that forest that night. I felt like i could conquer the world, fight anything, any fear, any situation, anywhere. Bring it on!!!!!
But if it was a new life, it was also a new ‘me’ that came out of that forest that night. I felt like i could conquer the world, fight anything, any fear, any situation, anywhere. Bring it on!!!!!