Travel, Tentativeness and other Travails

In the eight odd months since I quit my job (that means, technically for the last eight odd months, I didn't need to apply for leave "to go on a ride"), I have been on probably three rides.

One was to the forests near Narsapur (where incidentally M and I lost our way in lush, monsoon-replenished trees, grasses and nullahs and ended up trekking /stumbling our way for something like 5 hours before we found our Bullets), a invigoratingly good and relaxing time, but for all purposes a "small" ride.

One was to a Dhaba around 35 kms on the Nagpur highway. I was alone, just wanted to eat and drink in the sights, smells and slipstreams of an authentic trucker's Dhaba, (and also belt) so did just that. I remember this so well because I hadn't put on a jacket (this was in end November) and it was really, really cold getting back home at almost midnight. Going by the cold it was as freezing as the stretch from Kargil to Dras (no I don't mean in terms of temperatures) but still.....

One was to a friend's farm on the Shameerpet stretch for the New Year.

Apart from these three (alleged rides), zilch.

Three rides (even if we remove the "alleged" tag) in eight months would be a bit of a shame for any rider / motorcyclist / biker.

And a real big shame for me.

So let me clarify.

I did want to ride down to Jaipur for the Literature Festival. Didn't happen for a variety of reasons, along with the usual waves of (post poetry-writing) tentativeness attacking me.

I missed out on Rider Mania too, (this time near Mumbai of all places), which means I will need to wait another year before I get to see, feel and experience the magic of 500+ Royal Enfields parked (or burning rubber) together.

It didn't help at all that the Lit Fest at Jaipur and the Bullet Fest at Vikramgarh (near Mumbai) clashed, so I couldn't prioritize and choose one over the other till the last minute and ended up going to neither.

It now looks like I will be missing the Kala Ghoda Festival too (folks are traveling from today and someone has to be home and secure it for them to enjoy their travels in peace).

What this means is that in all probability, I will seriously get around to doing some (long overdue in its own way) road-related ramblings :-)

And probably some quick (ride-out-in-the-morning, ride-back-in-the-evening types) trips where hopefully all this tentativeness will fall off me, blow off me, vanish away...

One thing is for sure. I will do some cycling again, since I got the cycle repaired yesterday and rode out on it today morning. The skies were almost like those I talk of in "Unslept", but I wasn't thirsting for it to rain today and I also ventured out on a stretch that is different from that mentioned in the poem.

I was unslept though. :-)