Thursday, June 24, 2010
Suicidal Butterflies
800 kms in two days, national highways, single lane roads by the Ghats, small winding mountain roads, adrenaline junkies, suicidal butterflies....pure awesomeness. A few words to describe the Royal Enfield 'Trip' to Yercaud.
Didn't have a good beginning though. I was repeatedly asked why I was wearing shorts and the pillion rider 'Maruthu Pandian' was asked why he was not wearing a helmet! And then a few minutes into the ride I saw a bird fly past a truck. It struck the frontal glass and then fell 'splat' right in front of my bike. Then we lost the pack which took a right somewhere on the highway. Hari a close friend and a fellow rider abandoned me, to ride with the pack, even though we had decided early on that we will ride together.
But then the beauty of the ride increased four fold. It felt like I was Alice falling into the rabbit hole. It started with a few, then it became a few tens, then a few hundreds and finally a few thousands of migrating butterflies, which flew right across the highway. A few got killed by speeding motorists but their sacrifice provided for bike riders an ethereal feel of wonder, along with insect splatter on clothes and helmets.
The Ghats were beautiful, like genetically modified vegetables- firm, big and out of shape. Coconut trees and green wild grasses sprawled all along the concrete monster pathways. I had a feeling animal and insects like the butterflies felt- 'what monsters are these that flock through our valleys, spewing smoke and killing our young that cross it'. Then there was the steep hill climb to Yercaud. We didn't take the commercial route, this was a smaller road with fewer hairpin bends that lined the other side of the hill. Steeper and hence shorter this route felt like a one way road to heaven. The Angels beckoned as we made the curves without any barriers on the roads protecting us from a free fall and if we fell off the clip it looked a certain hell, even though these were not the tallest hills I have climbed.
This was the route. Now for a detailed report on the people and the ways of the pack. I present to you a few case studies-
Case Study 1
Leaders of the pack. Adrenaline junkies who never slowed down for anything...speed bumps, bad roads, monster curves...anything. Will probably die young. Probable cause of death in the near future- vein pops at high speeds.
Cool Quotient- Unbelievably high
Case Study 2
Bald, big bellied, short...the modified seats of the classic 500 made him look shorter. Wore a red scarf under his helmet which made him look like red riding hood with a hormonal imbalance. Too old to die young. Probable cause of death eventually- hit by an overtaking motorist.
Cool Quotient- Unbelievably low
Case Study 3
Tight jeans, RayBan sunglasses, weird beard. Very wannabe macho man. Will die young. Probable cause of death- testicular cancer from wearing all that tight clothing.
Cool Quotient- Negative
Case Study 4
The bullet geek. Talks tirelessly of modifying his bullet. Won't run out of bullet topics. Will die young. Probable cause of death- hit on the head with a bullet silencer by an annoyed mechanic.
Case Study 5
The old dude whose bullet keeps breaking down. Smokes continuously and coughs at the same time like a TB patient. It's a miracle that he is still alive.
Case Study 6
Slow coach. Old looking dude with his daughter. Or was that his wife. Will live long enough to see his grandchildren.
Case Study 7
The sweepers of the pack. Very tall and very big bellies. Very good mechanics. Chew Gutka. Will die young. Probable cause of death- Hypertension from sweeping slow riders.
Case Study 8
Young wannabe bulleteers. Think that overtaking and then slowing down is a sport. Very annoying for riders of the pack. Will die young. Probable cause of death- Negligent riding. Name: Hari. Big bellied. Looks like he won't bald just yet.
The ways of the pack
It's as simple as follow the leader. I have vibrant memories of playing follow the leader as a kid. The leader would take his cycle through unbelievably hard obstacles like through the gutter or on the pavement and the line of cycles behind him will follow suit. The person who fumbles goes right to the end of the pack, and the chance of becoming a leader comes when everyone in front of you has fumbled once. But in the pack of bulleteers there is no room for fumbling, fumbling at 90km/hr means a certain means death. Which explains the extra protection the seasoned riders were wearing.
Knees pads, elbow pads, cramster jackets, thick rider boots and gloves. There were a few with camel packs or back packs with water which they could suckle water from while riding. At 1st it looked very funny and the wise guy that I am I cracked a joke- maybe they should carry a catheter bag too...ha ha. But after riding with the pack for more than an hour straight I could feel dehydration setting in and I almost flashed my lights.
Flashing the lights mean that there is an emergency of sorts and the entire pack stops. Just one of the few benefits of riding in a pack, you get to avoid being stuck in the middle of no where with a broken chain. When riding in a pack you ride in two files. You shift to a single file only when really necessary like overtaking in between two trucks or in traffic. You overtake in the same side as the leader overtakes. You never unnecessarily overtake a member of the pack and you don't allow an external cars or bikes inside the two files of bikes. What this means is enhanced safety as cars and trucks slow down when they see such a big group of bikers. And I don't know if this is true but I could surely feel a decrease in wind hitting me so I have a feeling that group riding streamlines the pack and hence reduces friction atleast for the bikes in the back.
The sweeper makes sure that everyone sticks to the pack hence making sure no one is left behind and if any bike lands up in trouble he goes to help. Now the route we took was really good, apart from the amount it took to wait for bullets which went the wrong way or were too slow. We started an hour behind schedule from the Bullet showroom in Adyar and I raced past our 1st meeting point at Saveetha Dental College to get to Red Chilli restaurant on Poonamallee. I was the 1st to get there as the rest of the group actually stopped at Saveetha. We started off from there just behind the leader of the pack and kept up with him for a long time till Vellore we took a detour to get a helmet for pillion rider Maruthu Pandian. Then Hari and I blasted our way to Vaniyambadi where the pack was waiting for us. Constantly hitting speeds of a 120km/hour we encountered the butterfly migrants, most of who commit ed suicide by coming in our path. After reaching vaniyambadi we washed our gear off the butterfly splatter.
Then from Vaniyambadi we rode to Kuppanur via Thirupattur and Harur. The stopovers increased a lot during this stretch making it a long and tiresome affair. But after a few chocobars at Vaniyambadi we climbed to Yercaud where we stayed at the Star Holiday Resort. The return journey was pretty much in the same route.
From this blog the reader might read between the lines and think that bulleteers who ride in the packs are all adrenaline junkies who all want to die young. Far from it, riding in a pack only increases the element of safety, a method to the madness. Suicidal butterflies are only a part of the whole metamorphic experience.
Didn't have a good beginning though. I was repeatedly asked why I was wearing shorts and the pillion rider 'Maruthu Pandian' was asked why he was not wearing a helmet! And then a few minutes into the ride I saw a bird fly past a truck. It struck the frontal glass and then fell 'splat' right in front of my bike. Then we lost the pack which took a right somewhere on the highway. Hari a close friend and a fellow rider abandoned me, to ride with the pack, even though we had decided early on that we will ride together.
But then the beauty of the ride increased four fold. It felt like I was Alice falling into the rabbit hole. It started with a few, then it became a few tens, then a few hundreds and finally a few thousands of migrating butterflies, which flew right across the highway. A few got killed by speeding motorists but their sacrifice provided for bike riders an ethereal feel of wonder, along with insect splatter on clothes and helmets.
The Ghats were beautiful, like genetically modified vegetables- firm, big and out of shape. Coconut trees and green wild grasses sprawled all along the concrete monster pathways. I had a feeling animal and insects like the butterflies felt- 'what monsters are these that flock through our valleys, spewing smoke and killing our young that cross it'. Then there was the steep hill climb to Yercaud. We didn't take the commercial route, this was a smaller road with fewer hairpin bends that lined the other side of the hill. Steeper and hence shorter this route felt like a one way road to heaven. The Angels beckoned as we made the curves without any barriers on the roads protecting us from a free fall and if we fell off the clip it looked a certain hell, even though these were not the tallest hills I have climbed.
This was the route. Now for a detailed report on the people and the ways of the pack. I present to you a few case studies-
Case Study 1
Leaders of the pack. Adrenaline junkies who never slowed down for anything...speed bumps, bad roads, monster curves...anything. Will probably die young. Probable cause of death in the near future- vein pops at high speeds.
Cool Quotient- Unbelievably high
Case Study 2
Bald, big bellied, short...the modified seats of the classic 500 made him look shorter. Wore a red scarf under his helmet which made him look like red riding hood with a hormonal imbalance. Too old to die young. Probable cause of death eventually- hit by an overtaking motorist.
Cool Quotient- Unbelievably low
Case Study 3
Tight jeans, RayBan sunglasses, weird beard. Very wannabe macho man. Will die young. Probable cause of death- testicular cancer from wearing all that tight clothing.
Cool Quotient- Negative
Case Study 4
The bullet geek. Talks tirelessly of modifying his bullet. Won't run out of bullet topics. Will die young. Probable cause of death- hit on the head with a bullet silencer by an annoyed mechanic.
Case Study 5
The old dude whose bullet keeps breaking down. Smokes continuously and coughs at the same time like a TB patient. It's a miracle that he is still alive.
Case Study 6
Slow coach. Old looking dude with his daughter. Or was that his wife. Will live long enough to see his grandchildren.
Case Study 7
The sweepers of the pack. Very tall and very big bellies. Very good mechanics. Chew Gutka. Will die young. Probable cause of death- Hypertension from sweeping slow riders.
Case Study 8
Young wannabe bulleteers. Think that overtaking and then slowing down is a sport. Very annoying for riders of the pack. Will die young. Probable cause of death- Negligent riding. Name: Hari. Big bellied. Looks like he won't bald just yet.
The ways of the pack
It's as simple as follow the leader. I have vibrant memories of playing follow the leader as a kid. The leader would take his cycle through unbelievably hard obstacles like through the gutter or on the pavement and the line of cycles behind him will follow suit. The person who fumbles goes right to the end of the pack, and the chance of becoming a leader comes when everyone in front of you has fumbled once. But in the pack of bulleteers there is no room for fumbling, fumbling at 90km/hr means a certain means death. Which explains the extra protection the seasoned riders were wearing.
Knees pads, elbow pads, cramster jackets, thick rider boots and gloves. There were a few with camel packs or back packs with water which they could suckle water from while riding. At 1st it looked very funny and the wise guy that I am I cracked a joke- maybe they should carry a catheter bag too...ha ha. But after riding with the pack for more than an hour straight I could feel dehydration setting in and I almost flashed my lights.
Flashing the lights mean that there is an emergency of sorts and the entire pack stops. Just one of the few benefits of riding in a pack, you get to avoid being stuck in the middle of no where with a broken chain. When riding in a pack you ride in two files. You shift to a single file only when really necessary like overtaking in between two trucks or in traffic. You overtake in the same side as the leader overtakes. You never unnecessarily overtake a member of the pack and you don't allow an external cars or bikes inside the two files of bikes. What this means is enhanced safety as cars and trucks slow down when they see such a big group of bikers. And I don't know if this is true but I could surely feel a decrease in wind hitting me so I have a feeling that group riding streamlines the pack and hence reduces friction atleast for the bikes in the back.
The sweeper makes sure that everyone sticks to the pack hence making sure no one is left behind and if any bike lands up in trouble he goes to help. Now the route we took was really good, apart from the amount it took to wait for bullets which went the wrong way or were too slow. We started an hour behind schedule from the Bullet showroom in Adyar and I raced past our 1st meeting point at Saveetha Dental College to get to Red Chilli restaurant on Poonamallee. I was the 1st to get there as the rest of the group actually stopped at Saveetha. We started off from there just behind the leader of the pack and kept up with him for a long time till Vellore we took a detour to get a helmet for pillion rider Maruthu Pandian. Then Hari and I blasted our way to Vaniyambadi where the pack was waiting for us. Constantly hitting speeds of a 120km/hour we encountered the butterfly migrants, most of who commit ed suicide by coming in our path. After reaching vaniyambadi we washed our gear off the butterfly splatter.
Then from Vaniyambadi we rode to Kuppanur via Thirupattur and Harur. The stopovers increased a lot during this stretch making it a long and tiresome affair. But after a few chocobars at Vaniyambadi we climbed to Yercaud where we stayed at the Star Holiday Resort. The return journey was pretty much in the same route.
From this blog the reader might read between the lines and think that bulleteers who ride in the packs are all adrenaline junkies who all want to die young. Far from it, riding in a pack only increases the element of safety, a method to the madness. Suicidal butterflies are only a part of the whole metamorphic experience.
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