Xbhp.com Bike trip to Lavasa

Trip Log
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Man what a ride this one was. Though I don't have the specifics we must have had around 20 bikes on this one with Rubber Smokin Angels (RSA) and Absolute Insane Riders (AIR) having thrown in their lot.

It was raining right from the word go, reminiscent of the B'day G2G to amby valley, and this one was equally fun.






However, the trip was marred with incidents. To begin with, at a halt for tea and snacks we noticed some riders going off ahead without realizing that most of us had stopped behind. I thought it apt to catch up with them and bring them back. I was able to do so with all except one who was nowhere in sight. I later on realized that he was an AIR rider who was literally throwing the bike to the curves and didn't stop before reaching the top point. With my numerous halts talking to guys and asking them to turn back coupled with phone calls back to the base, it was quite impossible to catch up with the errant rider. I turned back from after the dam without him. Still, this was the highlight of the ride for me as I rode back and forth, as hard as I could, with low visibility, leaning, sprinting and hardly a soul in sight. Biking nirvana at its best. As a side note, the white lines marking the lanes are a biker's nightmare come true. Paint that offers almost 0 traction and makes your bike fish tail like crazy. Stay on it too long and you are bound to have a spill. I survived a few scares today. :-)

Later on as we all rode as a group to the top, my friend prasun had a tangle with three locals on a boxer. Apparently they met somewhere on their side of the white line with their bike suffering some cosmetic damage and one of them being gifted a cut on his feet. It was all sorted out by paying them off 800 bucks, arrived at with the help of rash and a few other riders. Thanks guys.

But the worst was still to come. On our way back the same AIR rider I wasn't able to catch initially had an accident in one of the villages. Apparently he was hit by an Indica in the wrong lane causing him to lose his line and pile into a group of locals on the other side of the road. One of them was in a bad shape and was taken to the hospital right away. The locals ganged up on our guy and bashed him up even though he was himself bleeding with a very broken finger. Things cooled down by the time all of us arrived and he was taken to the hospital as well for some much needed attention. Needless to say he was wearing a helmet and protective gear without which it would have been a different story altogether. Dude, I sincerely hope for three things. That you recover from this as soon as possible, that you have a comprehensive insurance policy and that nothing untoward happens to the local.

The locals at the foothills of the ghats are pretty miffed about the gang of bikers who invade their terrain every Sunday. As I heard one of them of complain, they would rather have pot hole ridden roads than the new smooth tar ones which cause horde of bikes to descend upon their measly towns.

Ride and ride safe!