Rann Ride : Ride to Home

My mama tells me I should stop
Go and get a real job
That can't be the way that I roll
And everybody’s growing up, having kids and paying rent and all getting cars of their own
Gonna ride my bike until I get home!!!!

Today was the saddest day of the trip, a long ride back home.
Radhanpur-Amdavad-Navi Mumbai

Packed up, settled the bills and hit the road at 7:30 Am. The roads initially bad for 20 odd kms owing to the construction work. Near Sami, fueled my bike. From here the roads were smooth, 2-3-laned without a divider. Mehsana was up and working when I entered, The traffic cops were out. “What were they doing at 9 in the morning?” Somehow managed to escape the chaos of Mehsana and Hit the toll road to Ahmadabad and within an hour I was there. The Mehsana – Amdavad stretch was the best stretch I ever ridden on. 4-Laned, with zero truck traffic and few state transport buses.

10 Am and I am outside Himalaya Mall, Vastrapur, Amdavad waiting for my cousin sister to arrive. One hour of time pass later, stopped at US Pizza at SG Road. US Pizzas have an “As much you can have” lunch offer with Soup, Cheese Garlic breads,3 variety of pizzas ,around 20 varieties of salads and a desert at the end ,all for Rs. 155. I was one of the main reasons for stopping at Amdavad .After a Kumbhakaran Lunch, bid goodbye to my sister and began the journey to home at around 12:30.

Tanked up at Sarkhej. By now the so-called Fried Rice that I had consumed yesterday was displaying its power. Stopped at Bareja, for a small nap on a charpoy under a tree. The small nap lasted almost an hour. Left Bareja at 1:45 PM for Baroda, but it turned out to be nonstop ride till Surat. Crossed Surat by 5 and took a small Butt break, Reached Vapi by 7. Getting out of Vapi was a headache. With construction of flyover and rains few hours back, there was a big jam at Vapi. Crossed the border and entered Maharashtra, refueled and changed to shorts at the first Fuel Pump in Mah.

After a cup of coffee, Started the final leg of the ride at 8:30 Pm. Maharashtra part of the NH was completely wet due to the rains. I was following the taillights of a Maruti 800 till Charoti. The spray from the trucks and cars covered the headlights with mud. Just before the turn for the toll-naka, Maruti 800 suddenly disappeared and so did the first lane of NH. I only noticed at the last moment and before I could take any actions BANG!!! I was licking the tarmac. Got up immediately, checked my limbs; only bruises on my right knee and cuts on my right index finger. On realizing that all the limbs were in place, I rushed to the bike which was lying 10 yards behind me. No much damage to the bike, just a few scratches on the headlight and crash guard. Also the lady luck was on my side, the bike didn’t fell in to the first lane of the road which was under construction. I need someone to help me lift the bike, if I lifted it alone, it would have fallen into the pit. I called a guy from a dhaba nearby, brought the bike on main stand, and thanked him and the lord.

Started the bike soon and reached home just before midnight. Had a bath, had my dinner hit the bed hard with the satisfaction of riding in the RANN.

Total Distance Covered: 1840
Day 1:680 Kms Day 2: 410 Kms Day 3: 750 Kms
Expenses: Fuel: Rs. 2700 Food and Lodging: Rs. 1200