The 3rd Gear Ride

This Republic Day Weekend, when most of the nation was watching as the US President Mr. Obama and the Indian PM Mr. Modi hugged each other, drank tea in the lawns, and took ruminating walks, me and my good friend Khera (with Mrs. Khera as his pillion rider) were riding our bikes towards a peaceful, serene, picturesque and an educational vacation.


Educational how? I am glad you asked:


 
Lesson 1: When going for a bike trip on a foggy morning, keep a handkerchief handy - to wipe the water droplets from your helmet visor, (or from your spectacles, if you wear a pair).


Lesson 2: Go for lesser-known vacation spots; the quieter and more isolated, the better. In this case, we thoroughly enjoyed our choice - the hill station Lansdowne in Uttarakhand (Garhwal Rifles Headquarters).


Lesson 3: The sweet clean sugar doesn't become sugar until it goes from many stages of huge fields, traffic-jamming carts, husk snowfall on the riders on roads, and the stinky pulp. We saw and smelt and slowed down to the sugar industry's whims when we crossed the sugarcane country - starting from Meerut, through Bijnor and Najibabad.

Lesson 4: Gear-up as per the weather: the 5 layers of clothes, 2 pair of socks, and the heavy-duty gloves were barely enough to keep the chilling wind from numbing me.

 

Lesson 5: It is more plausible that you will find a peaceful place to stay with a better view a few KMs on either side of a well-known vacation town/city. The guest-house we were fortunate enough to stumble upon (Jai Hari Jungle Resort) was 6 km ahead of Lansdowne, in a village called JaiHariKhal. The view of the valley, hills, and the sunset was more than we had expected, and definitely worth more than what we had to pay for. And to top it off, we had the entire resort all to ourselves (literally, the entire resort was ours for 2 days. the rooms were interconnected, and we got 2 extra rooms for free).







The relaxing 2nd day:
A cold chilly morning with coffee at the vantage point of the resort, and then the breakfast of paranthas in the welcome (and most needed) warmth of the sun. While we ate, the local cricket tournament matches started the Sunday for the people of the village - the shuddh Hindi commentary over a speaker system could not be ignored.

Later, we trekked down the hill, through the currently uncultivated terrace farms, and enjoyed some quiet time in the sun on a plastic mat our Inn-Keeper had given us. Amidst the total silence of Jungle, the only sounds were that of the birds, and the slow songs playing on my phone's music player. The short trek back up was in itself a small adventure through the moist jungle - we crossed paths with a couple of Mountain dogs and a few Monkeys.

After lunch and late afternoon baths, we headed for a little sneak-peek into the town of Lansdowne; though the window shopping didn't last long as none of us wanted to miss the awesome sunset back in our Jungle Resort.


Not a tea-drinker myself, even I couldn't resist the romance of having a cup in my hand while we saw the sun play hide & seek with the clouds, and finally disappear behind the hills. The picture itself says a thousand words.


And if you think that that was a perfect way to end the day, wait till I tell you about the bonfire!

Oh Yes! In the middle of nowhere, we spent the hour before the dinner kindling the fire, chatting, and sometimes just staring philosophically at the flames.
Oh Man! Bike Ride to mountains, sunset, bonfire - the word "Rugged adventure" comes to mind, doesn't it?

The Return Cruise:

The drizzle that had started in the night, stopped as soon as we were ready to move. 60 km de-tour (to & fro) to Tarkeshwar Temple proved more than worthy - the winding, smooth, well-banked, slightly soaked road with pine trees around and pine-cones dotting many curves made it the best 3-hour ride of my life. The temple itself - a short path into the woods, surrounded by Deodar trees all around - was a spot both within this world, and yet, something out of this world.

It was 26th of Jan, and while the Contingents of Indian Defense forces and other tableaux were marching down the Rajpath - we were cruising and snaking on an equally well-kept road from Tarkeshwar Temple to Kotdwar. After Kotdwar, the goal was pretty much to reach home and have a long hot bath. The long coffee break at Rohtak Road Crossing CCD proved a decision well taken, considering the traffic snarls between Meerut and Ghaziabad. We managed to reach Gurgaon by 8 PM.


The trip was over and we were tired; and yet, we were talking about the next ride.
With the knowledge (as opposed to blind hope) that that will be soon, I sign-off this with some more pictures on the other pictures-blog:
We Live Young, We Live Free, We are the Living.




Route:
Gurgaon (our current home) - Ghaziabad - Meerut Bye-Pass (Awesome resting spot at the Garden City Resorts, near Rohta Road Crossing, NH-58, Meerut - a Nathu's and a CCD)- Khatauli (mind the right turn to Khatauli after the toll gate) - Jansath - Bijnor - Najibabad - Kotdwar (amazing food at the Aangan Resturant) - Dugadda (the last petrol pump we saw on this road) - Deriyakhal (the point where the scenic, curvy, and very well-maintained road to Tarkeshwar Temple forks out) - Lansdowne (the Army Cantt. town which, lets face it, doesn't have good views of the hills in itself) - JaiHariKhal (the village 6 km further on the Kotdwar-Pauri road).





P.S.: I almost forgot, the reason behind the title 'The 3rd Gear Ride':
When we were climbing the hill from Kotdwar to Lansdowne, I observed I could stay on the 3rd gear, and enjoy a constant smooth ride on the curves and the ascent. Many-a-time I could have gone to the 4th gear, increased my speed - but that wasn't the mood - it was a vacation, where time should slow down. It took some patience, and I climbed most of the road in that smooth-flowy-speed.
The effect: a calm mind, a peaceful inner-self, and a lot of time to take in the surrounding scenery; a mood which stayed with me throughout the trip.
Hence, The 3rd Gear Ride.