Hyderabad-Mumbai-Bangalore and back: Day 5 – A lazy bum

Me: Thanks for the bed man, I’ll be outta here by some 5 in the morning. Hate riding at night and have to be in Bangalore before that. 

Amrit: No problems. I have to go for a cycling event at 5, should be back by 10.

Me: Then this is Goodbye I guess! I’ll see you on the road somewhere. 

10 am in the morning, I had just about packed my bags when Amrit came back from his cycling expedition. It helps to be shameless.

I have never been a morning person, and no matter how hard I try it never seems to work out. As a biker, it’s extremely helpful if my routine involves getting up before dawn, getting done with the bowel movements, and hitting the road just after sunrise. What ends up happening is that I laze around till late morning, then run around like a rabid monkey, and hit the road in peak office rush, only to find out I need a place to shit in the middle of nowhere.

There’s a very fine line between doing what your heart desires, and being a dick to yourself. It’s very easy to not do anything at all under the disguise of following your heart, and it’s also very easy to overwork yourself in the pursuit of some non-existent goal. I’ve always tried to find myself in the middle, but I generally happen to be much closer to the not-doing-anything side.

Amrit’s house is pretty close to the highway, and there I was, on it again. The Mumbai-Bangalore highway is pretty brilliant, especially once you’ve crossed Kohlapur, but it’s just a bit too good, bordering on boring. On top of that, I’ve done it far too many times, in every season, at every hour of the day. Keep it steady at 120, look as far ahead into the horizon as you can, and let your mind wander in the wilderness of your own thoughts.

Meet Major.

After a pretty unremarkable ride I spent a remarkable few days in Bangalore. Went to Jeepers & Bikers shop, which is a beautifully designed place, but with a rather gloomy owner, kinda like Moto101 Mumbai. Then saw Moto101 Bangalore, whose owner is pretty cool, a fact that can be attested by his wife driving from India to London recently.

Wanted to meet Sapna and Sukesh at Let’s Gear Up, but the shop was closed, so went ahead to Cafe Torque and sipped some coffee over there. Got a call from Roshni and waited some more, and finally met up with her as well, the result of which was this article. I, like everyone else, hate Bangalore traffic, so I ventured out either in afternoon, or late in the night.

The next day was as fun as it gets. Shreyas was in town, and he along with a bunch of friends had planned an evening of random stuff. So we first ate at some famous but un-findeable restaurant. Then it was time for Go Karting, followed by Bowling, then Laser Tag, and food at a gorgeous restaurant. After we were done, Shreya’s lady friend insisted on riding my 390, and the 15 minutes that followed had me gurgling balls. Luckily, she knew what she was doing, and returned in a few minutes.

I rarely ask anybody to ride their bike, and I rarely give mine to anyone. It’s not that I mind it, but a broke-ass fucker like me can’t afford even simple fixes like a bent handlebar or screwed gear lever. Crashing your own bike is alright, even fun, but someone crashing yours is just unbearable for me.

It was time to end the party and head on back to Hyderabad.