Chapter 3 : The goldfish comes home

Need more sleep. Need more sleep. I fumbled around for my phone in the semi-darkness, reset the alarm and obeyed the strict instructions that were being relayed by my more than half asleep mind and gratefully traced my steps back into slumber land. Eventually though the realisation that we had to ride nearly 300 kays back to Bangalore in a big group with rain certain to partner us got me out of my near comatose state and on a mission to get the team ready to ride. We all had quite a distance to cover and proceeded to started packing as we knew this ISG2G was slowly winding down. Frankly as we sat down for our final meal together nobody would have said that we had met many of the other bikers less than 36 hours ago and had ridden with then only for a day. Which is what an ISG2G is all about.

The heavy downpour and the omnipresent humidity which refused to go away like a bad habit or a nagging ex girlfriend meant one thing - everyone was walking around all geared up except for their shoes which were still soaking wet. It is a little known fact that the Kerala Government was considering awarding our group a special green award due to the rain water harvesting activities carried out by our band of merry bikers but reversed their decision when they realised that some of us were from other states. Im not making this up!

Eventually we had to bid a fond farewell to the riders from the other cities as we realised that we were the last ones to leave. A not too perfect stomach for one of the riders and the distinct lack of understanding of how to read a clock for some of the other riders meant that we were delayed well beyond our planned departure time which resulted in slightly frayed nerves on the parts of all of us who were ready to roll.

All the annoyance and the soggy shoes were a distant memory as we were soon riding through the deep and dark forests with sunlight seductively peeping through the thick foliage. Again we were the recipients of thumbs ups and puzzled glances from the people we passed by who seemed to be in an even lazier mood as it was a Sunday.

The enchanted woods

The highlight of the ride though had to be riding past what seemed to be a late 50's Cadillac in a jaw droppingly stunning shade of green. We stopped for a quick photo break in the forest and while some of us tightened the fairings on our bikes, the cameras came out and plenty of passing shots were taken.

Notice the ever so subtle yellow tank bag

This is also where I realised that I had a passenger. I spotted a beetle that had clung onto my saddle bag and since he wasn't going to split the cost of the petrol and not wanting to incur the wrath of forest officials who could claim that I was smuggling wildlife out of the state, I ensured he didnt play any further part in my road trip by shooing him away.

Cheapskate didn't even pay for the lift

The forest patrol had something to say about our photography and sent us packing but a little ahead we paused for a minute to say hi to a van full of excited young men who were more than a little happy to see us riding such distances with full riding gear. The tiger conservation police pulled up almost immediately (they actually came out of nowhere) and we ran or rather rode for our lives without pausing anywhere else until we were safely out of tiger country. We halted a few more times to get pictures of us riding but the wow factor from the pictures was missing. Until we reached our first sunflower field.

Not to be sexist or anything but one would normally expect a bunch of girls to go bonkers on seeing a field full of flowers in full bloom. "Awww cho chweet" "Isn’t it beautiful" "If only these sunflowers were pink in colour" are some of the comments you would expect to hear if you were in a bus full of pretty, (notice the comma) dumb women and stopped at one such field. So you can understand my rather noticeable surprise to see a dozen guys going ga ga over a glorious sunflowers field and my shock when I see them taking their bikes to get themselves photographed in the middle of these lovely flowers. Well if you can’t beat them join them.

I was intrigued by this one flower that for some strange reason broke the norm and was facing the opposite direction of all the other flowers in the field.

Dare to be different

As the not so often quoted quote goes - Still waters run deep and the flowers apparently had had enough of intruders stomping in and taking cheesy photographs of themselves. At first I thought it was just my imagination but my worst fears were realised as the flowers began taking their revenge on all humans who dared to enter the forbidden land (Yes I have read too much of Dr Who in my childhood...)

One of our riders screaming for help as the flowers make a meal of his soon to be missing feet

Things got crazy out there and after dragging our by now feetless biker we were running for our lives which is when I woke up with a start and found that the guys were still snapping pictures in girly poses while I had dozed off for a bit.

Run for your life!

Our plans of reaching Bangalore before dusk seemed had by now gone for a toss and we were back on the road after having packed up our rain gear. Treacherous does not begin to describe the conditions as strong gusts of wind battered us mercilessly as we struggled to keep our bikes in check. Some of us were hesitant to overtake trucks lest the strong winds push us towards the vehicle we were overtaking half way through the move. Seriously. It was almost like dancing with a very noticeably unwilling and unhappy partner to what used to be your favourite song and however nicely you smile and whatever cheesy compliments you whisper into her ear, she will still make you struggle on the dance floor.

A couple of breaks later we were on our way to Mysore and rather annoyingly bright sunshine and strong drizzles took turns playing peek a boo and I had to keep putting on my raincoat and removing it and then putting it on and then removing it at every break.

Lunch was a deliciously spicy biriyani at a roadside dhaba that was sure to wreak havoc on our stomachs the next morning but frankly we didn’t care considering it was already 4 o’clock. We tried our hand at a mini videologue of our trip between mouthfuls of food and glasses of lassi, safe to say our attention was more on the food than what we were saying into the camera. Our departure was delayed rather amusingly by this kitten which refused to move out from under our vehicles. Revving up my bike only served to move the kitten to the next one and each time we gently pushed it away it came scurrying back to what it thought was a safe haven. I suggested flinging it away into the unknown but my suggestion wasn’t met with approving glances. What? I’m a dog person.

Progress was smooth and as dusk fell we stopped at a coffee shop for one last break of sorts. No one was really eager to leave as we had the painful Mysore Bangalore Sunday evening traffic to contend with and our new Honda CBR (and its owner) came in for some serious attention from a Gujarati family that included an uncle who was once a bike nut, an aunty who was surprised to see us biking for such distances and their daughters who showered all their attention on our Mr CBR. All of us were predictably green with envy until we heard the prettiest of the girls refer to our friend as 'Uncle'. Major Ouch!

I'm sitting at the wheel

I got a green light

Not afraid of nothin' cuz heart and soul

I'm built for life

So let the engine roar

Push the pedal down

I want the white lines on the highway

To lead me out of town

Chorus:

I'm rolling on and on and on

Who knows where i'm goin'?

Life is an open road - it's the best story never told

It's an endless sky – it's the deepest sea

Life is an open road to me

(Open Road, Bryan Adams)

As we got set to ride back, the lyrics from Bryan Adams' song came rushing back to me. Traffic was terrible and uneventful as we finally reached the toll gates that signalled the beginning of the NICE. After one final round of confusion, we finally parted ways and I was cruising at around 80 when I spotted some rapidly incoming headlights in my rear view mirror and I heard the rest of the gang overtake me, some of them with a war cry that would have made any red Indian proud. The madness that grips Bangalore bikers while they are on the NICE road on the return journey from any G2G had struck again. Eventualy I reached home, exhausted and worn out from the lack of proper sleep and the distinct spike in the activities for the weekend. I switched on my laptop and checked my office emails, Monday sure was going to be a long and lousy day.

Livin' easy

Lovin' free

Season ticket on a one way ride

Askin' nothin'

Leave me be

Takin' everythin' in my stride

Don't need reason

Don't need rhyme

Ain't nothin' that I'd rather do

Goin' down

Party time

My friends are gonna be there too

I'm on the highway to hell

On the highway to hell

(Highway to hell, AC/DC)

There was only one song that the goldfish needed to listen to before popping into his aquarium on Monday morning. The goldfish knew he probably would swim mindlessly in circles for the next few months until the next big ride or the next ISG2G. And till then he had the memories.