Motorcycle Story - 3 (Visit to Mussoorie)

On 09 April 2019, I undertook a trip to Mussoorie on my byke. I had been wanting to visit "The Queen of Hills" since a considerable period of time but couldn't do so as my trips to Dehradun were few and far between during my tenure at Muscat. This may be construed as a lame excuse, and rightly so, since Mussoorie is just 45 kms from my house in Dehradun. Anyway, I was visiting Mussoorie after more than 9 years and was looking forward to catch up with old friends and acquaintances.  

The total time taken to reach Mussoorie, which is at an elevation of 6000 ft above MSL, was 90 minutes, half of which was spent in getting out of the nightmarish traffic of Dehradun.  Negotiating the twists and turns of the familiar road, I was appalled to see that every turn which used to serve as a vantage point to admire the scenery earlier, was full of small makeshift cafes and fast food joints. The whole stretch has been commercialized which is a blot on the erstwhile scenic mountainside. On reaching Mussoorie I found the place full of tourists and vehicles causing jams on the road. A lot of construction (mostly unauthorized) has come up since my last visit making the place very congested. 

It saddened my heart to see the sorry state of the town which, in my childhood, was truly the Queen of Hills. With haphazard commercialization, migration from other parts of the state and a floating tourist population, the quaint and quiet little town I once knew has transformed itself into an ugly melting pot of cultures vibrating with a cacophony of raucous sounds which jarred me to the core. I wonder how punishing it would be to visit this place during peak season. 

Having gotten over the initial jolt, there was more bad news in store when I came to know a few old and familiar folks had passed away, some of them untimely. This was a grim reminder that all of us are mortals and will have to pass through the pearly gates when our time is up.

I went out of the town a bit to click photos of areas that are still unspoilt and resemble the Mussoorie of yesteryears. These and some other pics shot during the trip are as follows (click on the photo to enlarge) :

                                           View of Mussoorie from the midway point.

                                        View of Camel's Back Road (nearer ridge) and
                                           Landour/Sister Bazaar area (farther ridge).

                                             Zig Zag Road leading to Mussoorie

                                   View of MPG College from where I graduated in 1976.

                            The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep......view from Kempty Road.

                             View of the snow capped peaks of the Gharwal Himalayan Range.

                                         Selfie with my old friend Ramesh outside his shop.

Motorcycle Story - 2 (HSRP Obtained)

Confused with the title of this post ?? Well, HSRP stands for 'High Security Registration Plate' which is now mandatory instead of the fancy registration number plates which vehicles of yore used to flaunt. Since I had purchased my bike from Delhi and wanted to get it registered in Dehradun, the dealer had arranged a temporary number plate for me which was valid for one month. I had visited RTO office, Dehradun, on 11th March and paid the required registration amount after enquiring about the process to be followed. I would like to mention here that the whole exercise was a pleasant experience and the job was done in a very short time. There was no need to run around in circles and the staff were thoroughly professional and helpful in their approach. I did not see any touts in the vicinity of the office which was very, very surprising ! I recall vividly my earlier brushes with RTOs around the country where nothing would move unless you went through a tout and paid extra money to get the job done.

The same day I received an SMS informing me that my RC was under preparation and I could download the electronic version from the 'mParivahan' mobile app which I promptly did. So I got to know the registration number allotted to me on the same day itself. I had gone to Noida for a short while before Holi, so I could not follow up this issue till 26th March when I visited the RTO again. On enquiring about my RC, I was told that the same would be delivered after affixation of the HSRP. I paid Rs 250/- at the appropriate counter and was told to visit again on the 6th working day to have the number plate fixed. 

On 2nd April, I got my HSRP fitted by the approved contractor and received my RC. The number plate is made of aluminium, has a hologram, a laser etched nine digit code, embossed alphanumeric digits with hot stamped reflective sheeting etc, etc.  I will not dwell upon the utility and quality of the said HSRP over here. HSRP is supposed to have certain benefits besides imparting uniformity. There are a lot of arguments floating around online 'for' and 'against' this topic. I went for it since it is mandatory and the cost is nominal. The total time spent at the RTO office was around half an hour. Hats off to RTO, Dehradun !! 

Following are the pics of the bike with the new registration number :

                                                                   Front HSRP

                                                                    Rear HSRP

Motorcycle Story -1 (The First Long Ride)

On 06 March 2019 me and my elder son left Noida for Dehradun on our bykes at around 1100 hrs. This was my first long ride on the Interceptor which had clocked just 100 kms or so till that date. My son was riding his KTM Duke 390. I was just a wee bit jittery as I was embarking on a long ride after nearly 14 years (having sold off my Bullet Machismo in 2005) and being used to the old Bullet which had it's rear brake on the left side. I had ridden bykes in the interim period on a few occasions but never for long distances.

The dealer had advised me not to exceed 60 kmph till the first free service at 500 kms. I had resolved to do just that, much to the chagrin of my elder son, who was riding a high revving machine and this limit would be tough to follow. I advised him to go at his own pace and he could wait for me to catch up at intervals. He did not pay heed to this advice and kept pace with me. Just after leaving Noida it took me 15-20 minutes to get used to the chaotic rush of traffic on the so-called highway leading to Dehradun. It was only when we hit the toll road bypassing Meerut that the ride became enjoyable. We knew that the going was good only till the toll road ended short of Roorkee, so we took the Muzzafaragar - Saharanpur toll road which is also very good and thus avoided the bad areas.

We had one short break for lunch midway and one break at the 'Daat Kali Temple' before entering Dehradun for performing a 'puja' and seeking the blessings of Goddess Durga. It is customary for residents of Doon valley to visit this temple with their new vehicles and perform the said ritual. We reached our house in Central Hope Town, Dehradun at 1830 hrs owing to the speed restriction and the two breaks. The journey was enjoyable and my jitters were totally unfounded as I had no problems negotiating the good, the bad and the ugly traffic scenarios which unfolded in this 270 km ride. Following are some pics of the said ride:

About to Resume the Journey after lunch at Haldiram's

                                                'Puja' being performed by the Panditji

                                                         Completion of the rituals

Royal Enfield Interceptor - Intercepted !!

Long before my tenure at Saud Bhawan Group (SBG) in Oman was about to end, I had resolved to purchase a 'Bullet' and resume 'biking' (old age and creaky bones notwithstanding) once I relocated to India. This used to be a frequently discussed topic during various informal interactions with colleagues at SBG and was an important part of my bucket list. Around that time we heard about Royal Enfield introducing two new models with twin cylinders viz: Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650. The former is a retro styled bike with an upright seating stance and the latter is styled as a café racer which for me has a very awkward seating position. The promise of 47 bhp of power and 52 nm torque in a twin cylinder 650 cc bike with good looks was really appealing. The focus then shifted to possessing this particular model. 

Once I had settled down at Noida after leaving Oman for good, I booked this model at the local Royal Enfield dealership and was promised delivery in the first week of Feb. A query on 5th Feb revealed that there was no hope of getting it before March end owing to heavy demand and a slowdown in supply from Royal Enfield. I had nearly decided to purchase a Bullet Classic 500 instead as I was not willing to wait for an indefinite period to get an Interceptor. It is at this point when things got interesting - my elder son and a biker cousin of his started to dig around using their resources and 'जुगाड़ ' and informed me of a particular dealership in Delhi where just two Interceptors were available for sale against cash purchase. This is what my Omani friends would call using 'Vaastaa' (वास्ता ) to get the needful done. Anyway, by the time we called up the dealer near Rohini in Delhi, we came to know that only one bike was available. We proceeded to the said dealership on 15 Feb (the ride to that place on my son's KTM Duke 400 was a nightmare) and finally laid my hands on this 'beauty' which is a 'beast' as well. The sales in charge told us that this was the only bike available in Delhi NCR. This was truly a case of 'Intercepting' the Interceptor !

Haven't ridden it around much as I want to get it registered in Dehradun and get the first free service at 500 km done at that place. The first impression is really good. The positives are good looks, smooth engine and gearbox, enough power on demand and the entire package being very competitively priced. The only negatives  discernible at this point of time are awkwardly placed foot pegs for the rider and position of the handlebar. These are minor glitches which one can get used to or get them corrected. Following are some pics of this beauty/beast (click to enlarge):

                                                  The bike at BNT Motors Showroom

                                                                   Receiving the Bike

                                                       Taking a spin within our colony

                                               At Sector 63 after dropping my younger son

Watch out for "Motorcycle Stories" in due course. Gotta sign off now ! Adios !!