Maiden Night ride.

For a bit of time now, I've been planning to do a long solo ride, and itching to get out of town, as well. This Sunday, on a whim I decided to do a short night ride - about 150-200kms in all, in about 3-4 hours. The plan was to head out on my favourite, or rather, oft-travelled piece of road - the SH17, i.e., Bangalore-Mysore road.

Being where we are, in Bangalore, means that to head onto the Mysore road, takes me through approx 20kms of Bangalore inner city roads, the attendant traffic, speed bumps, dogs etc., Having been on the SH17 enough times now*, I had a fair idea of what it entailed, and how much time I'd need to cover the distance.

Or so I thought.
Trouble was, that all of my rides on that rode were in the day. Sure, I'd driven at night, but having 2 55W lamps powered by battery is different from a solitary 55W powered by a coil. That was the first discovery.

The second was the humungous amount of traffic that exits Mysore and comes to Bangalore. Since my end point was either the (older) CCD at Maddur or the CCD just past Channapatna, most of my travel was gonna be in Bangalore district, which meant more traffic, more people. And insane amount of car trains.

Car-trains are a trains of cars all with insanely pointed headlights, and insane drivers. I hate car trains, whether on my lane or on the opposite. They're just too obnoxious for any good to happen. On this ride, I had car-trains with all lights on full beam, with strengths of upto 20!! Some included buses/trucks amongst the mix, which just heightened my misery. Half an hour into it and I'd to swallow humble pie and give my eyes some rest.

Didn't help that I'd forgotten to clean my helmet visor. So I was desparately wanting to hit the CCD, just to wipe it clean, and reduce stress on my eyes. Bad, bad, bad.

Lets examine that other assumption of mine. SPEED. Yes, like Tom Cruise said, I frequently feel the need for speed. Unadulterated speed. And SH17 is amongst my favourite haunts for that. So there I was when leaving, telling my mom, dad, "we're heading to Maddur!". They, with their incredulous faces, asking if I was serious (it was 10pm, sunday), and then saying but its "more than 80km away" (from my house its 100kms). Me, with the triumphant smile on my face. "Yeah! Maddur! Will be back in under 2 1/2 hours". Yeah. Visions of hitting 100kmph. Nice road, no traffic, no hassle. Just pure speed.

(Jarring noise)

Introducing, the traffic that exists on Bangalore Mysore road. And the glare from the opposite end. And finally the speed.

Topping at 80kmph... mostly faltering around 60kmph..... Oh yeah, SPEEED RUN. Unadulterated speed. Not even halfway through and I was cursing myself, was cursing the headlights, debating the need for a night run, dearly wishing for HIDs. Not one or two, but 4: two to light up the road, two to blind oncoming creatures.

Amongst other things. Including 2 butt breaks. More eye breaks... cos my eyes were the ones totally tired.

And finally, NIRVANA. Is THAT the CCD sign? YEAAAAH! Thanks, God. So my weary eyes get a wash, some rest, some deep breathing, and my helmet looks clean. Whew!

Thankfully, the traffic's been reduced by then, after all, its nearly 12, and we're about 80km off, in Channapatna. Ah. the ride back should be gud. Yeah, it is, kinda. Its mostly VERY boring. nothing much to see, road doesnt feel good, my eyes certainly still feel tired, and I'm bored. Oh I just wanna get home... which I do.

The one big, unique feature of the ride? the NICE road which's usually the boring part, is the most interesting part. The best stretch.

Learnings from the ride:
1. Get your helmet cleaned up well.
2. Sleep well before night ride
3. Prepare for oncoming glare.
4. Get HIDs.
5. Estimate speed to be 20-30kmph lesser than in daytime.
6. Chill.

Phew! But it was good all the same. Not having been on bike for sometime can atrophy a biker's mind... :-D


*in fact so often, and so many that friends say I'm a roving surveyor, surveying if any speed bumps or potholes got created... :D