House to home in 140 minutes

Note: The sole intention of this post is to record my drive from Pune to Mumbai. So, if you are looking for anything interesting to read, proceed at your own risk!!

Last week I decided to drive down to Mumbai on my bike. For people who don’t know, I own a Yamaha Gladiator RS. This drive came as a relief to my bike, which was waiting for an opportunity to prove itself for some while. I didn’t want to risk driving on our famous highways after dark (which is when the devils have their headlights aimed at your eyes to blind you (Indian drivers are pathetic and are blessed with zero traffic ethics)). So, morning it was!! One of my office colleagues decided to be the pillion (this guy is relatively new in office and he isn’t aware of my driving skills (fyi, none of my friends want to be around me when I drive. As per them I drive too fast and too rash, which I feel is an exaggeration sparked by jealousy)). I tanked up the bike, got the air pressures right and also got the brakes tightened.

Next morning, I hit the road with my 125 cc machine at exactly 6:55 a.m. It was chilly and I cursed myself for not donning my jacket. Nonetheless it is such a pleasure to drive early in the morning. The empty streets, cool breeze and sparse traffic give you a much-needed kick, which plays an important role in lengthy drives. At exactly 7:05, I picked up my pillion. Since both of us had our own bags, we were a little cramped up. But this was soon forgotten as we hit NH4.
Very soon we reached the Pune Expressway diversion. I cursed the Babus for not allowing bikes on the expressway. Driving a bike on the expressway from Pune to Mumbai is something I have always dreamt of, but I guess it will never happen. We crossed the diversion and were still on NH4. The old highway as it is called seemed very well maintained too. The traffic was sparse and the road was good. This was all I needed to break free. A slight move of the fingers on the throttle and we were cruising at 80-90 kmph. The winding roads gave me a feeling of playing Roadrash and I enjoyed it immensely.

Exactly at 7:50 we stopped at Ramkrishna restaurant in Lonavala. A light breakfast accompanied by tea was all I needed to refresh myself. The usual smoke did its job too. We were back on the road at 8:10. My colleague guided me to the stretch of road where the Old Highway is the expressway. As soon as I hit this patch, it was like driving in a football field. The expressway is hugeee, and when you are on a bike, it seems bigger. I enjoyed the stretch, which was full of steep curves and turns. Soon the expressway was history and we were back on NH4.

At exactly 9:10, we reached Panvel. Since my colleague stays in Panvel, we decided to take a short break. The crowd at this stop was awesome and my colleague boasted of his knowledge about it.“I made you stop here to check out the crowd.” he beamed. We were back on the road at 9:20 and I dropped him at his house at 9:25. I was in Panvel and my bike was now a good 80-85 kgs lighter. It felt as if my bike was on fire. We lit up the streets, zoomed and zapped and I was at home in Vashi by 9:45.
I raced up the stairs, when fatigue hit me and I realized that my body was a numb of all the driving. But this lasted only for thirty minutes after which I was back to normal.


All I have to say is that everyone needs to try out this drive atleast once. Its awesome!!