Pondicherry, A Biker's Diary...

Over 700Km of Bike ride, Absolute adventure and thrilling Indian roads to battle against the heat this summer. I (Carthik) and my friend Angry Banker (Sanket) Decided to ride to my hometown Pondicherry. To our surprise, we left Bangalore at 5.30 Am on a Friday morning the 8th of April 2011.

I was pretty much excited, as my brother Sriram, was an expert on the unexplored beaches in Pondicherry. One thing was decided before we begun the trip, we maintain speeds not more than 70-75kmph. I drove my Yamaha FZ and Sanket his Bullet. As we drove to our destination, we halted at soolagiri for breakfast @ A2B. When we were about to leave, we met couple of other bikers. They were heading to Kodai. What an Irony! But, they were well mannered gentlemen all working for Bill Gates :) One thing that i must admit is the roads from silk board Bangalore to Krishnagiri, was wonderful! The next 70-80 Kms was treacherous; the roads were very moody like a girlfriend ;) There would be a sudden stretch of smooth roads, and then there would be humps! And thanks to some real sensible driving by the Tamilnadu bus drivers. They wouldn't care to kill you. I saw blank images like 3-4 times. Like a lucky to be alive kinds :) The bus drivers would sway from right to left like drunken monkeys.

As we approached Tamilnadu, i could experience a total sense of belonging, my people etc... Given a choice, I’d stay back and never go to Bangalore. However, i need a means of survival, my life style has changed, and I’d find it difficult to cope up. Sanket and i took regular break to make sure that, we don't stretch too much. The best part of the highway ride is when the breeze hits you hard on the face, the sweet smell of burning rubber(Tyre's) and the excitement to clock more Kms. Ah, i brilliantly, forgot to get my bike papers( RC book, License etc...) I realized that i dint have my papers half way through! However, i was quiet confident of not getting caught :) Soon we crossed couple of towns like Thiruvannamalai, Gingi. End of Bad roads. We reached Thindivanam, and halted for some Tender cucumber. I mentioned to Sanket, that we will never find such stuff in Bangalore. While we enjoyed the cucumber, we were few Kms away from our destination. Finally, we reached Pondicherry. I and Sanket were waiting for my brother to arrive, in the meanwhile, the cops in Pondy saw Sanket with is mask, helmet, knee caps, Leather jacket and leather gloves. They doubly wanted to make sure he was not a terrorist :) I however, managed to escape without my papers. Oh, i totally forgot. It was election time in TN and Pondy, hence we could find a lot of campaigns, fake promises and crowded streets.

Sriram, my brother arrived, and we managed to find a descent place to stay. AC, Television and the room rent was 750 bucks for a night! We rested for a while, and went around a couple of places. It was Nostalgic Moments as i showed my Co- biker Sanket, right from my house to school that i was educated in. We had loads of fun. In a place like Pondy, it's a crime just to visit and not consume loads of Alcohol. Plus, the advantage is, you get alcohol at dirt cheap prices there. We bought 4 bottles of Budweiser beer for 200 bucks. Sanket was astonished. Absolutely exhausted by the bike ride, the beer was consumed like chilled water. After the sweet pain, it was time to quench some thirst! Sriram, i and Sanket talked all about tattoos, bikes etc… while watching a true war Chennai Super kings Vs Kolkata Night Riders ;)

Saturday Morning was time for some beach hopping; Sriram took us to some unexplored places that i have not seen since my childhood! We covered about 4 beaches in Pondy. The best was near kirimambakkam, close by his college, we drove on our bikes on this beach. It was an exhilarating experience i must say. We had a mega episode happening on this beach. Sanket's bullet got stuck and the waves just gave his bike a free bath :) Yes loads of water entered the silencer, and the bike wouldn't start. I and Sriram managed to get out to the shore, while Sanket was struggling and yelling for help like Tom Hanks in the move Cast Away! It was a site to watch a banker yelling for help ;) Couple of my friends (Niranjan, Sam, Preethi and Vasu) had come to Pondicherry from my French class, they invited me to catch up with them, and meanwhile, we visited another island beech called the chumabar. A boat takes you to an island beach. It was a great experience! We had a gala time at the beach. Later, we headed to a Punjabi dhaba in the city, great food! My co-biker was surprised by the quantity of chicken that they severed! 1/2 butter chicken = 2 full butter chicken's in Bangalore. Just when the night was creeping in, we met my French class friends. They were staying by the side of the beach, it was an amazing place. We partied at the rooftop! Until about 2.30 - 3.00 AM in the morning! And went on to eat the most expensive food! Yes we paid 500 bucks for 2 plates of biryani and veg curry!

We had to leave the next day; we had another episode of my co-biker's bullet not starting up. The hotel owner was kind enough to find us a bullet mechanic on a Sunday Morning at about 7 AM. The bike was fixed and we rode back to Bengaluru with a heavy heart! However, we were glad to be back as we had to meet one of our friends who wanted to her wedding. Actually both the bride and the groom :) we browsed over the pictured that we had taken in Pondy and rolled over laughing. The Coffee shop turned into a real fish market! We created so much of noise. In all, the trip was one hell of a ride!