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TRACK THE RIDE
8.30 leave Dhingda after a good nights sleep, Neem
'Datoon' to brush our teeth, and a breakfast at the house
of a police inspector, Mr. Vaghela, posted in Valsad. Everybody
says their farewells to our host, but Anand takes more time
since he has a lot of people of the village to say farewell
to, and we realise where he had disappeared since dawn. Odo
reads-25989
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10.25 we ride towards Bhavnagar on an amazing road. Twenty
feet strip of smooth shining tarmac, with a ten feet high
greenery growing right at the edge of the tarmac. At the end
of this road as we take the highway, Amol points to the right
and theres a loud screech of brakes clamped and cameras drawn
out. Thousands of common crane closely packed on a couple
of low trees/high bushes, the white masking the green hugely,
a few crows lending a touch of black to the picture.
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Take a right to reach Velavadar black buck sanctuary which
is about 10km off the main road - 26070
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12.30 the Velavadar sanctuary is a home to the blackbuck
and nilgai and the winter home for the crane. We go off the
road into the grasslands and are instantly greeted by a herd
of about 30 blackbucks. They saw the first few riders in awe
and as more followed, got into a full gallop crossing the
dirt track right in the face of the first riders. The guide
led us further down to the cranes and nilgai and more black
bucks.
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Spent a leisurely 2 hours and left Velavadar - 26082
1.30 to 2.15 lunch at Hotel JK, a guy tries to
con us on the bill. Brave i would say, to try that with a
gang of bulleteers, also turns out to be smart to accept our
calculations. still alive ;-) - odo reads 26106.
2.15 hit the road again towards Amreli. We make the
mistake into getting on the Amreli bypass, the only bad stretch
on otherwise good road. Wonder if they call it that because
they bypasses making it. also wonder if they made the road
or the potholes. Down Amreli we decide to take the alternative
route passing though the south eastern part of gir.
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A misinformation leads us to racing to do 45km in as many
minutes on a road with a sprinkling of potholes, curves, cattle
and men. After dropping her cap (thrice), her camera pouch
and her bedsheets under her seat, through the day, this time
Farida has the bedsheets in flames as they slide down towards
the silencer. It gets dark before we enter the forest and
over tea two opinions surface.
Its seven, the roads are not so good. a half wants to stay
back in the village for the night and pass through the forest
early morning, the other half wants to reach Diu as was the
schedule. Gaurav makes the mistake of calling for a vote and
discovers democracy is a bad thing. The half wanting to go
to Diu turns out be the larger half. So we head towards Diu
through dark forest and cracked surfaces and reach Diu at
10.15. its dinner at 11, gujrati thali. It was a good ride
and we all need the sleep. Some need the stars too. They camp
on the beach. The rest stay at a hotel close by.
10.15 reached diu - 26348
- Logged by Smit Palrecha
Photos by Vinod Panicker
--------------------
Day Three.
It's morning. In a village in Kathiawad. Waking up after a
freezing night (I had somehow felt no need for a sleeping
bag) I am greeted by the sight of a the simple sights of a
village stirring into activity. Cows ( the Kathiawari breed,
if my general knowledge is correct) and Buffaloes lowing for
their morning feed, others being led off to the fields and
so on. First up, I hunt unsuccessfully for toothpaste and
then give it up....going for a walk and enjoying a smoke....
After a lot of Chhai Piyo ( Gujarati for the hospitable, almost
forcible ritual of making guests have saucer after saucer
of tea), we are finally all set to hit the road.
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State Highway No. 1 is unlike any other road I've ever been
on. Flanked on both sides by 4 feet high thorn, it gives an
impression of being some kind of "green tunnel".
The group was in an easy, very flexible formation, with Amol
in the lead and Satish and Histu at drag. Gaurav was of course
everywhere!!
Came to know we are in Velavadhar Blackbuck Sanctuary when
Amol shouts over the growl of his and my RE "Watch out
for Blackbuck crossing the road"!!
Then followed an amazing 17 kilometers ride through the core
area of the Sanctuary, with one of the Forest Department people
riding pillion with Satish.
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Black Buck, Barking Deer, seas of grasses and a road through
all of it. Riding slowly we would be parallel to herds of
Black Buck before they get alarmed and start springing along.
Parallel to us and then crossing the road ahead of us!!
Gaurav, Histu, Farida and Vinod had a field day thanks to
the technology which lets us record memories. I've been a
bit old-fashioned, burnt those sights on the hard disk of
my being.
Saw a rooting Wild Boar just before the ride ended. But before
Kyle or Vinod could "shoot" it, the fellow harrumphed
away.
A wild milestone for me. My odo showed 30100, and what better
place than this?
After Velavadhar, we rode for Gir through really bad roads.
Reached Dhari after a really mad dash through failing light
and then followed an amazing ride through the eastern periphery
of the Gir Sanctuary. 17 kilometers on narrow roads with the
dark, dangerous jungle all around. But then we were in formation
and each of us was keeping an eye on the other.
Another small wild milestone. Odo showed 30200 somewhere inside
the Sanctuary. God save the Lions!
Then at around 10 in the night, after some more riding on
jouncy, shoulder-shaking roads where what you see is what
your headlight shows, we were in Diu.
Most of the group slept in a harbour facing hotel after yet
another dose of typical Gujarati food. But some of us were
really intent on roughing it out!
So at around 12 in the night we (Vinod, Vaibhav, Amol, Aviral,
Gaurav and me) rode around 10 kilometers through a sleeping
Diu to hit a lonely beach. Riding without lights, of course.
Reached the beach, and arranged our sleeping bags by a pencil
flash. And then turned in.
Feet turned towards the gurgling waters, face to the stars
above, here I was on a beach on Diu, away from it all, in
a paradise of my own making.
And what's more, we still have two more days of riding!!
- Write-up by Anand Kumar
Photos by Vinod Panicker
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