Sane Bike Loony Rider Ep 10 : The Last Ride
As I stood atop that giant rock, taking in the magnificent view before me, I knew I wouldn't feel like this again in a long time.
At an unearthly hour for a Sunday morning, us 9 riders, in 3 cars, headed out towards the ride destination, Ramanagara. It is also known as the 'Silk City' and is home to some of the oldest granite outcrops that were immortalized in the iconic Bollywood film, 'Sholay', and other great films too. I didn't know any of that until after the ride when I asked: "Where are we?". As we reached our rendezvous point, a farm owned by a relative of one of the riders, I got glimpses of the natural beauty that awaited me on this ride.
By the time we started the ride, the sun was up and the day was just perfect for a splendid ride through the lovely roads through Ramanagara. Sunny enough to make the sky and the grass and everything else look amazing in their colors, and cool enough to not tire us out too much.
This route was mainly tarmac and the road would be winding through the greens, rising and dropping. The way our route was mapped, it meant we had many steady inclines and fast drops, which made it fun while getting a good cardio too. But the best part, through all of it was the weather and the scenery. It felt so surreal. To be just 40kms outta town, and to be able to ride around in landscape like that, it was so freeing.
About halfway through, we came to a point where I could see a long and fast drop down the road. I let half the group go on ahead, hoping someone might catch on video what I did next. I lined up and started pedalling like a mad man, going through the gears as fast as I could without the chain getting jammed, and headed down the hill.
The drop was steeper than I expected, but that just meant I was gonna go faster than I hoped for, which to me is a good thing. It was sooooo much fun to be riding down that I was actually woo-hooing the whole time. I whooshed past the guys ahead, and that's when I saw it. There was dead left coming up on a flat bit. Straight ahead there were thorny bushes and farms, on my left, there was a drop to the fields below, and on my right, there was a tall bush along the road. I started applying the breaks, skillfully to avoid flipping, but I barely slowed down. Then the breaks locked up, and I was skidding down towards the bushes on the right, still going fast enough for the crash to hurt pretty bad. If I had stayed on the breaks, I'd have definitely skidded into the bush, so I did the only other thing I could, pedal to stop the skidding and use the traction to point myself away from the bush and then get on the breaks again. I stopped just in time. I'd had a bit of a scare but I felt I did okay, just a gentle brush against the thorny bushes. Then the rest of the group caught up, particularly the folks who had the best view of the whole thing.
Their faces said plenty before they started to. The different reactions can be summarized to say that they were really scared for me and thought that I was gonna crash for sure, but they're glad I was okay and nothing went horribly wrong. Now, there is no footage, no pics, and no records (my phone was switched off so the app didn't get to record it), but I'm certain that I had a top speed that day, on the way down, of about 70kmph. I'm really glad I always wear a helmet while riding.
After that, we headed further down the route, with similar steep drops, but this time I stayed near the group, going fast enough but not losing control. The route took us to one of the rocky hillocks, where we could get to the top after a short trek. Now, this rock was not the largest in the area, nor challenging, but it had a spectacular view all around, and it was a sight to behold. I'll just share the pics for you to take in :
The ride back to the farm for lunch was a short one, but still just as pleasant as the day had been. In time too, because it was noon and by then it really started getting hot. We had a quick lunch and a nice chat before we headed back into town.
Now, if you're wondering why this ep is titled as it is, allow me to elucidate. It was my last day in Bengaluru, and I'm now back in Delhi, where I don't know if and when I'll start riding again. The loon doesn't even have a bike to start. But I think this was a fitting ride to have as my last one, for now.
I want to thank all you readers for your support of this series, and I hope you guys enjoyed it and felt included in my adventures. As always feel free to share and comment, and subscribe to stay tuned for the latest from the loon.
At an unearthly hour for a Sunday morning, us 9 riders, in 3 cars, headed out towards the ride destination, Ramanagara. It is also known as the 'Silk City' and is home to some of the oldest granite outcrops that were immortalized in the iconic Bollywood film, 'Sholay', and other great films too. I didn't know any of that until after the ride when I asked: "Where are we?". As we reached our rendezvous point, a farm owned by a relative of one of the riders, I got glimpses of the natural beauty that awaited me on this ride.
By the time we started the ride, the sun was up and the day was just perfect for a splendid ride through the lovely roads through Ramanagara. Sunny enough to make the sky and the grass and everything else look amazing in their colors, and cool enough to not tire us out too much.
This route was mainly tarmac and the road would be winding through the greens, rising and dropping. The way our route was mapped, it meant we had many steady inclines and fast drops, which made it fun while getting a good cardio too. But the best part, through all of it was the weather and the scenery. It felt so surreal. To be just 40kms outta town, and to be able to ride around in landscape like that, it was so freeing.
About halfway through, we came to a point where I could see a long and fast drop down the road. I let half the group go on ahead, hoping someone might catch on video what I did next. I lined up and started pedalling like a mad man, going through the gears as fast as I could without the chain getting jammed, and headed down the hill.
The drop was steeper than I expected, but that just meant I was gonna go faster than I hoped for, which to me is a good thing. It was sooooo much fun to be riding down that I was actually woo-hooing the whole time. I whooshed past the guys ahead, and that's when I saw it. There was dead left coming up on a flat bit. Straight ahead there were thorny bushes and farms, on my left, there was a drop to the fields below, and on my right, there was a tall bush along the road. I started applying the breaks, skillfully to avoid flipping, but I barely slowed down. Then the breaks locked up, and I was skidding down towards the bushes on the right, still going fast enough for the crash to hurt pretty bad. If I had stayed on the breaks, I'd have definitely skidded into the bush, so I did the only other thing I could, pedal to stop the skidding and use the traction to point myself away from the bush and then get on the breaks again. I stopped just in time. I'd had a bit of a scare but I felt I did okay, just a gentle brush against the thorny bushes. Then the rest of the group caught up, particularly the folks who had the best view of the whole thing.
Their faces said plenty before they started to. The different reactions can be summarized to say that they were really scared for me and thought that I was gonna crash for sure, but they're glad I was okay and nothing went horribly wrong. Now, there is no footage, no pics, and no records (my phone was switched off so the app didn't get to record it), but I'm certain that I had a top speed that day, on the way down, of about 70kmph. I'm really glad I always wear a helmet while riding.
After that, we headed further down the route, with similar steep drops, but this time I stayed near the group, going fast enough but not losing control. The route took us to one of the rocky hillocks, where we could get to the top after a short trek. Now, this rock was not the largest in the area, nor challenging, but it had a spectacular view all around, and it was a sight to behold. I'll just share the pics for you to take in :
The ride back to the farm for lunch was a short one, but still just as pleasant as the day had been. In time too, because it was noon and by then it really started getting hot. We had a quick lunch and a nice chat before we headed back into town.
Now, if you're wondering why this ep is titled as it is, allow me to elucidate. It was my last day in Bengaluru, and I'm now back in Delhi, where I don't know if and when I'll start riding again. The loon doesn't even have a bike to start. But I think this was a fitting ride to have as my last one, for now.
I want to thank all you readers for your support of this series, and I hope you guys enjoyed it and felt included in my adventures. As always feel free to share and comment, and subscribe to stay tuned for the latest from the loon.
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