My brain slowly limped into activity as I groggily looked around and tried to get my bearings but suddenly burst out of its languid pottering around into a frenetic pace as it tried to figure out what could have happened as my eyes got accustomed to the surroundings and I realized that there were 2 guys snoring away to glory and sharing the same bed as me. Predictably sleep was difficult to find after that minor fright and eventually I threw myself out of bed at an unearthly hour (read 7AM) and went to wake up some of the other guys. There was a lovely chill in the air that had the knack of snapping you right out of whatever little desire you had of going back and tucking yourself into bed. The hotel wore a very deserted look and I didn’t want to waste a lovely morning given the fact that there was a slight drizzle that beckoned me.
The advantage of having a camera that lies somewhere between a simple point and shoot and a fancy DSLR camera is that the build quality is good enough that it won’t conk off if water lands on it (point & shoot) and you don’t have to worry too much about moisture entering it since you haven’t spent a huge bomb on buying the camera and a relatively smaller bomb on the lenses. You still get to play around with the camera quite a bit though and I elected to ride pillion so that I could take a few pictures of the other 2 bikes as we set off on what were very drenched roads.
Do any of us ever see the cages that keep us from being free
Traffic was sparse and it looked as though the localites shared the reluctance of our riders to get out of bed. At least we had a reason, many of our team had ridden from 2 AM to get to Wayanad the previous evening. The local people were, well, just lazy. 10 minutes into our ride one of the guys stops by a small road that snaked up into the unknown and suggested we explore the route. A sharp climb and a couple of steep turns later we sighted a valley to our right but we couldn’t find a road to get there and hit a dead end.
Heading off the beaten track
After asking some of the women from the nearby houses we turned around and found ourselves a lovely spot to click photos of the bikes. The drizzle was steady in its intensity and the forest covered hills made for a glorious canvas that no artist could ever have painted. Who says you need to travel half way across the world and spend a million bucks to get gob smacked by the magnificence and extravagance of Mother Nature. The simple joy of exploring your own back yard ....
Reluctantly we made our way back to our hotel and were greeted by the sight of bikers tucking away their breakfast with an eagerness that would have put any starving person to shame. The rest of the Bangalore group arrived a short while later after having set out at 4 AM which meant that they did the same distance in much less time than we had. The mystery of how we took so long to reach gnawed away at us until we got a plate in our hands which meant it was open season on dosas & toast. Several coffees and burps later our team was off to explore Wayanad, albeit a little behind schedule.
Say what you want about the growl of a Lambhoghini Murcielago or the rumble of an Aston Martin and argue forever about which tingles your aural buds - a V twin or an in-line four, nothing compares to the earth shaking, weak kneed inducing and soul awakening sound of 34 bikes starting up and setting off in unison. One of those Thank You God moments in life.
A few of us started a couple of minutes later as we waiting for or resident photographer to pack up and set off to catch up with the rest of the group. The Sun God decided to make his presence felt which proved to be a damper of sorts but we all knew that the fun was soon to begin and soon enough the 4 of us had to pull over and raincoat up (is that even an accepted phrase?) as it starting pouring cats, dogs, billy goats and mice. Realizing that it wasnt going to stop anytime soon we set off again in the pouring rain and caught up with the rest of the motley crew who had stopped some distance before the dam for some well deserved tea, snacks and smokes which are the lifeline of most bikers.
Notice how heavy the raindrops are as they hit the road
While everyone re-energized themselves a couple of guys carried on towards the dam and came back saying that it wasn’t much use since we had to walk quite a bit and they settled down with what appeared to be rather delicious servings of fried fish. Meanwhile the rest of us rode towards the dam and having reached there we decided to make the climb and see what the fuss was all about. And so just over 25 of us set off on a long and arduous (sic) walk that involved navigating through herds of buffaloes and a steep climb up what seemed to be a million and one steps. We made quite a sight, a long line of weary warriors clad in riding jackets, raincoats and helmets with our gloves being held in our hands trudging up the steps that quite honestly were never ending. The steady drizzle was our steady companion and to outsiders (and the buffaloes) it must have appeared that we were like prisoners being led from one prison camp to the other.
Smiling faces are conspicuous by their absence
All this was forgotten as we reached the top and set our eyes on what had to be the most astoundingly beautiful sight that I have seen all year. Words cannot do this place justice and no camera can capture even half of what Mother Nature laid out for us that day. A large lake lay in front of us with the surrounding hills enveloped by an incoming cloud cover and the lush green slopes with grass that magically swayed with the strong breeze behind us meant that we were as close to paradise as man ever would be. For once I had nothing to say (and I am a bit of a motormouth) and I just sat there taking it all in while the others merrily clicked away to glory without giving two hoots about what damage the incoming rain drops were doing to their cameras. Any man who could wake up every morning to this view from his balcony would be a very happy man indeed.
Cliched but heaven is a place on earth
As always time was not on our side and we rode together to find food and for a while I wasn’t too sure which was louder - the mechanical orchestra of our bikes or the cumulative rumble of our empty stomachs. Our hunger was satiated to an extent by a hotel where we knew we would get proper but unfortunately limited food given the time. Having given them something of an early Christmas bonanza with our order, we plotted the next course of action as some of the group wanted to head back and catch some shuteye and the rest of us wanted to keep exploring.
It was off to Pookoth lake and we were held up for a short while by a badelynge (go google it) of ducks that were crossing the road that actually had me laughing out loud. Wait till Christmas comes round, I’ll be sure to have an extra helping of roast duck on account of their Wayanad bretheren. We managed to scramble into Pookoth lake 15 minutes before they shut for the day which meant no boating for us. Instead we had to contend with an amorous monkey that gave us more than what we bargained for and we managed to click a couple of group photos together as well. There's nothing like taking a walk around a lake that looks like it came straight off the sets of the Lord of The Rings trilogy with a group of rev happy guys errr that sentence didnt come out right.
The marvellous (minus the monkeys) Pookoth Lake
By 6 we had to start making a move and some mild exploring later, 3 of us started riding back to the hotel after having fallen behind the rest of the riders. Corner carving for someone who craves them meant that it was one blissful ride. Darkness soon fell and the once twisting inviting roads reared their Edward Hyde side as potholes and unruly traffic became our foes. My gloves were soaked and my fingers bitterly cold, water had managed to seep into my shirt and my shoes had so much water in them that I could have been convicted by the Kerala government for stealing their natural resources. Visibility was low and yet despite all this, I was having a ball of a time. Go figure.
A hot water bath did wonders to cure the aches and pains from various parts of my body and after dinner we had the mandatory introductory session (discount that it came 28 hours after we all landed in Wayanad) that provided a barrel full of laughs for the tired souls.
Subtlety is a bit of a lost art these days
Since lighting was at a premium, the photo contingent took out their camera flashes which had most of us running to grab our sunglasses.
Don’t look before you laugh
Look ugly in a photograph
Flash bulbs purple irises
The camera can’t see
(City of blinding lights, U2)
Discussions revolved around TopGgear, city meets and just about anything else automotive until we finally decided to call it a day. I could barely keep my eyes open as I stumbled into bed and I’m sure everyone else felt the same. I was just about to drift off into another night of glorious sleep when I heard a highly off tune version of happy birthday wafting across the walls which is when I realized that it was the birthday of a fellow biker who was in Bangalore and despite the sheer exhaustion, the guys had stayed awake and called him.
The last thing I saw that Saturday night
On that cloudy Saturday the goldfish had found more than enough water and was happy to be swimming with fish of all colours, shapes and sizes even if it was only for a few days. Further contemplation was put to rest by my sleep which did a zero to snoring in less than 10 seconds.
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