The first Rider Mania - EVER!
Rider Mania is the annual gathering of Riders of the Bullet (Royal Enfield) from various clubs across India.
It has been going on for a few years now and this is the write up leading to the first one...the one of many!
PS - realised I had written it all but not completed it - cos it was toooo long! :) but a decent amount of writing here so its better for it to remain!
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History in the Making, - Part 1
Thursday, 09/01/2003, 0300AM
I had just got back from a long day at the office - I had had to finish a lot of work before I left for Rider Mania in Goa. I was supposed to stay with Vernon, but got so delayed at work, that I decided to stay at home and then proceed to the Meridien on my own - called Vernon and informed him that I would meet him at the Meridien in the morning and asked him to wake me up at 0430. Reached home and packed my stuff - papers, jackets, riding gear bungee's etc and finally decided to take a short nap - I had hardly put my head down and Vernon called - he too had been awake and decided to start early.
So I went down and started her up, though it was fairly chill, she started in one gentle kick and I managed to wake up a couple of neighbours who came out to wish me luck. My own roommates were sound asleep - under the influence - of course! Anyway reached the Meridien and Mohammed, Roopesh, Rajesh along with the three B's - Bips and Bijesh, and Brijesh. Sathish then rumbled in along followed by Madhu and then finally Shamsher came. A quick check of the bikes and we were ready to rock!!
We eventually left at around 6:00 and Vernon had been delayed a bit and set out to Goa. Stopped twice in the first 15 minutes for Gas and Money from an ATM –
Observation: I think all of these have to be done earlier as this is a waste of time for the first part of the day, What should happen is that we all fill up, tank up and get moolah all ready as early as possible and not inconvenience others...anyway - its all the ride!
Our first major stop was Sri Perumbudur where we stopped for 5 minutes as Rajesh had to get his luggage packed as he had had a pillion till here. He came and we then proceeded on. Our next stop was around 9:30 Near Ranipet, where we decided to stop for a while as we had managed to get past the bad stretch of road and were all feeling rather Hungry, so we stopped of at a decent hotel and all had some nice heavy breakfast.
Observation: Our breaks are too long - we need to all be brisk about everything and try not to have long breaks as this ruins the trip as we always become out of schedule and have to hurry up in the end.
We left after breakfast and our first delay came here, all except Vernon and Roopesh carried on and then we realized that these 2 were not with us, so I went back and found that Roopesh's bike had blown a fuse and they had changed it and were just starting ff when Roopesh's fuse went again – must have been some short circuit someplace. Anyway got them back on and this time it did not stop. We carried on till the Vellore bypass where my dad had come with a few sandwiches and the First Aid Kits, We had 3 of them and these were distributed accordingly.
We carried on riding and it was good to see the new boys slowly picking up the finesse of riding in a group.
Observation - most groups tend to start slowing down because one guy slows down, we need to all be able to keep up with the lead rider, as his speed is the final decision on the ride. What was happening with us was that the lead rider was going a normal pace and as the second and following riders were slowing down the leader had to also slow down to get the rest of the group in shape.
Anyway, after a stop near Mulbagal, where the above mentioned concept was explained to them, the bikes were doing well and an average speed of around 70 was maintained. We were nearing Kolar at around 12:00 Noon, when disaster struck! - Vernon was in the lead followed by Rajesh and Sathish, Mohammed, Shamsher, myself and Roopi was bringing up the rear. The first three had been separated as we were going through a small town and hence traffic split us up.
Observation: In this case there is nothing we can do and the first group has to slow down after the town for the others to catch up. There is absolutely no sense in us moving through the town together if traffic is high; it only makes things more difficult.
Anyway, we were doing around 90 and Mohammed's tire had a puncture - apparently a bolt had gone through and he just had an awfully big puncture with a lil finger sized hole in his tire that eventually reached his tube in a matter of 1 nanosecond!! - I know as I was there. I was behind him with Roopi and Shamsher - YES Roopi and me were coming slow as we were the sweepers. I must say Mohammed did a good job of trying to control the bike; he managed to control it on 2 skids but lost it on the third! - his tire slipped off the rim.
Anyway Shamsher, Roopi and I stopped and ran to him and we lifted him up and he was badly shaken - I feared the worst, as it was a bad fall. But thankfully there were no face cuts - he was wearing a helmet. His right hand index finger was cut along the length of the finger and was bleeding profusely, we tried to stem the flow but it was a bad cut...anyway he was ok and probably in shock so no screaming etc We spoke to him and he was able to understand what we were trying to say, so with the help of a few locals we got him to a nearby hospital - that was like 100 metres away and I stayed with the bikes.
I then called the others and told them to come back and then In the meanwhile Shamsher and I picked the bike up and started it - guess what it started in one kick!!! - there was no major damage apart from the fact of the rear tire being off the rim, and the wheel a bit misaligned, so I kicked the wheel and sort of brought it back to shape - tightened all the nuts in the front and then when the others came back we got the tire repaired – we had to put a patch -, and used a spare tube that I had.
Moe had to have 6 stitches and his pant cut up! - he was really upset about that, as it's not easy to get his size. Anyway we called the Bangalore guys, who we were supposed to meet at around 2:00 Pm and then chill out till 4:00 Pm and then leave for our night halt at Chitradurg. And they were very cool and said they would wait for us regardless of when we landed up.
Observations: Unforeseen incidents can happen on the way and the best part of is it that the true challenge comes in overcoming these in our own way with the available resources and...going on!
Mohammed came back and was willing to ride till Bangalore where he said he would decide on what had to be done - So we all left at around 4:30 PM and went on towards Bangalore. Rajesh's bike then gave us some problems, There was petrol but it was not entering the carb, so Roopi sucked and cleared the air in the tube and cleaned the tap and all was A-OK,
We reached Bangalore and had some trouble reaching the Coffee Day on Lavelle Road - where the Bangalore boys were as no one knew where we were heading except Vernon and traffic was really bad.
Finally reached the coffee shop at around 7:00 PM and all the riders who were coming with us were there. All set and geared up to go. It was an amazing sight, seeing the clubs met each other and generally chat on the various aspects of ....everything. We were making new friends and seeing new bikes and basically going bonkers! The Madbulls then went in and had something to eat and drink and we were ready to go.
Moe the big man, decided to go all the way - being the true bulletteers that we are! That was not very surprising! - so we left at 7:30 PM and he was pillion - on his bike - maybe that's where we made the mistake – damaged bike, pillion and also new rider who is not familiar with this bike,
Traffic in Bangalore was heavy and we reached the outskirts around 8:30PM. During the ride out the groups split up and there was no more Madras Bulls or Rolling Thunder. We were all riders. United by the passion we share for this lovely single cylinder thumper. The road was beckoning and we were going out in style. Heading to make history in the first ever Rider meet in India,
Around 9:00 PM the group that had assembled near a dhaba for something to refresh our parched throats and empty stomachs decided to carry on as the others were regrouping elsewhere. Here is where I split up from the Madras bulls completely. I started riding with Adrian and Sukesh on their Machismo A350 and was riding with them. After a point I realized that we were doing pretty amazing speeds of 120+(both our speedos were showing the same so I don't think I was wrong!) Anyway, we did some really hard riding and I was amazed that my bike was doing extremely well. We stopped at one place and went around to examine each others bikes and I was about to complement Adrian on his excellent 350 and he was going to do the same when we both realized that his was an A350 and mine was a 500 :-)
We continued riding and it was amazing, really like poetry in motion, I could only think of the ECR Express, Mysore express and Trichy Express – for those of you new ones - these are the names for Solomon, Roopesh and Narren - the fastest riders in the Madras Bulls. - I think its time for another express ;-). There was one stretch on the highway which is exactly like ECR except its 4 laned and me and my baby just went overboard here. I stopped off at around 12:00 Midnight to call up a friend who was celebrating a birthday and had a small break. It was really amazing standing there out on the highway, all dressed up in fluorescent and having a bullet packed with luggage and all these truckers eyeing me as if I was from out of space! (I had my Samsung R220 torchlight on as well!)
Finally reached Chitradurg around 12:15 AM to realize that there were only 3 others who had reached, Adrian, Sukesh and Ranjith - all guys from the rolling Thunder. We waited and waited and finally a few of us left for the place we were going to be staying. Due to the varying speeds, it was around 3:00AM that guys actually came in, Some of the Bangalore guys were ready to carry on as it was around 4:00 AM anyway, so we decided that we would not stand in anybody's way, if they wanted to carry on they were willing to do so. So finally most of the Bangalore guys left and then we faced a problem, the lodge owner assuming that we had all left, closed up and slept and could not be woken up. So we decided to "adjust:" and were all settling down to sleep in the reception when we heard a few guys come back. They had all gone into reserve and could not find a bunk, so decided to leave with us all the next morning. So eventually went to sleep around 5:00 AM
I think that's it for now, will complete it tomorrow and get you all to have two mails as this is turning out to be longer than I expected.
Watch this space.
History in the Making, - Part 2
After the Bangalore guys came back we had a few discussions on what exactly to do - some of us thought we should stay here for the night and some thought we should ride till we see a dhaba and then crash out for the night. Thankfully Commonsense prevailed and we kind of managed to get some rooms and finally all slept, it was around 5:00 AM!!! - The Madbulls had been on the road for around 24 hours! - we were all totally zapped.
At around 7:00 AM, we had Vernon and Sukesh come in to the room where Sats, Supreeth and I were staying and "tried" to wake us up. I think I was oblivious to them and they gave up and carried on waking the others. Around 8:00 AM I was awakened to a loud shouting from Sukesh, stating that we were the ones delaying the group. Thinking it was his usual tall tale to get us out, I stumbled along to the balcony to see everyone all set and ready to go. I immediately woke the others and we had a quick wash, and were down faster than you can say supercalyfagilisticespialadocious,
Went down and had a couple of teas and a lot of smokes to clear the woozy head and we were ready to ride. We were given instructions as to where we had to regroup so we all proceeded out of Chitradurg around 8:30 AM, Friday. As usual, Roopesh, Adrian and Suks on an A350 and myself, literally took off like our asses were on fire and had a good morning ride. It was here that I noticed that my bike was having a few problems, it would do really well in 3rd and the moment I changed to fourth, it would slow down tremendously. This was so much that I found it difficult to keep up with the leaders.
(Please note that I only found it difficult to keep up and not that I did not keep up!:-))
After around an hour of top class riding we decided to stop at a dhaba and have some tea. The tea was absolutely delicious as it was made like fresh and was truly amazing. During this period, the rest of the guys went past and so we took off after them. In around 15 minutes we saw them all at yet another dhaba, where they had rudely awakened the dhaba owner and asked him to make 40 Aloo Parathas! The curds(which I don't have:-( and the sugar and the parathas were really nice to our craving stomachs, and we all ate – I must note that Vernon ate a lot, he was cleaning up on us :-) Observation - Breakfast was too long as it was a big group and as usual people started to take it easy, we need to really do something about this! After breakfast, I decided to do a slow ride for some time as I was low on gas and engine oil, and I needed to refill, my bike as well us get some "liquid" diet arranged for myself.
So I was among the last riders and I decided I would do this till Hubli where our next regroup was planned. I filled up, both my bike and I and decided to do a nice slow ride, keeping up with Supreeth and Vernon, who were going slow. On the way we passed a few of us bikers, who once again passed us and went on by.
Was coming slow with Ranjith, who was having a bit of starting problems and got caught by a railway gate. Ranjith and I had just missed the last of the group. So we chilled out, swapped stories and then carried on. We came across Vernon and Supreeth again and I told Ranjith to take off, as I would keep these guys company. So we were cruising along at around 70 and the monotony was getting to all of us. Vernon started feeling sleepy, so we decided to stop at - yes you guessed it - the next dhaba and had some tea and washed our faces. Vernon decided to take a "power nap" and so this time Supreeth and I swapped stories. After 10 minutes, we woke Vernon up and then proceeded to the next rendezvous with the gang.
When we reached there around 2:00PM, all the guys were anxious and worried as we had been a while and had a quick laugh when they heard the reason for our delay. We decided to not waste anymore time and carried on. This time all the guys had been well run in as had their bikes and we were doing some good speeds. Vernon and Supreeth were in the lead! Followed by the others. After travelling for around 15 kilometres, Ranjith's bike just stopped and refused to start. Adrian, Sukesh and I had stopped for him. While we were waiting for the engine to cool down, we got a call that Sandeep had had a fall and that we were to go back. I was a little scared as it sounded serious and Big Moe was on Sandeep's bike, or actually Sandeep was riding Big Moe's bike and Big Moe was pillion. So we sent Adrian back to check and I started to remove the plug from Ranjith's bike, to start the diagnostic search for good health. While I was doing that I could hear some hissing sound and tried to look for the source but could not.
Suddenly Suks who was nearby on the ground pointed at something and yelled FIRE!
I Shat!
I could not see it but if it was anywhere near the fuel tank, KA BOOM!! – so we immediately took off the battery cover and it was something behind the battery that was melting away. In this process of removing the battery, some hot melted plastic fell down and the dry grass we were standing on also caught fire. We put out the fire and disconnected the battery and then realized that the ground wire had completely melted out. Not being electrical experts ourselves, we decided to tow it back to the nearest town or the guys - whichever was earlier- ok - so I have been reading the manual too many times!!
Sukesh said that it would be difficult to tow Ranjith, so he would get on Ranjith's bike so I agreed to it. We turned around and then came the question from Sukesh that had me in splits -"where was the rope"??. I simply laughed and then proceeded to show these boys the classic Madras Bull method of towing - So in keeping up with tradition, and the spirit of Solo and Narren (these are the regular "towers" of the Madras Bulls) I towed them.
For those who came in late, I will try and explain Ranjith grabbed my backpack and sat on my bike. Sukesh sat on Ranjith's bike and I told him to push it a little and start moving, once that was done, I stretched out my right leg and rested it on Ranjith's bikes left rear footrest and locked my knees! - that's it - we were off and it was a lil difficult at first as Sukesh was not used to this but soon he picked up the knack and we were doing a moderate speed of around 60, overtaking et al and my 500 was doing really really well. I love my baby. This has already inspired Ranjith to start looking for a 500. To Quote" after riding ur 500 i also have decided to get a 500 and will get it soon....." unquote, and to quote again" that's when i realise how powerful a 500cc bull is.. his bike was cruising at 60kmph overtaking truks etc with me(as pillion), Sukesh(on my bike), my bike and our huge luggage and of course Dodo himself.(Total of almost 80+70+110+168+20=448 kgs)" Unquote.
I love my bike!
Anyway, we reached a small settlement and got a truck mechanic to take a look, during this time we heard from Adrian that the other fall was not very serious and that both riders and bike were on road again. The rest of the others caught up and after some time all the bikes were ready to rock. We were supposed to meet one group at a dhaba, where we decided to have a small break and psyche ourselves for the trip, after the small problems we had.
This time Sukesh took over Big Moe's bike and the others redistributed themselves and we proceeded, Sukesh was going slow as this was the bike with 2 falls and soon we lost track of the others as we did not stop as we could not find the others.
The road from Hubli to Karwar is AMAZING, it truly is, the road is not rubberised but nice gravel, that offers good traction to the tires and we were having a ball. I would see these lovely long stretches and zoom off and then wait for Suks to catch up and then ride slowly again and .... I love the road. I will recommend it with my eyes closed to anyone. At one point we realized that we were leading as we had crossed everyone, and then suddenly we had these two thunderbirds whizzing past us, it was Narendar and Prakash- I think - I am already losing names. So we let them go and then Sukesh started to slowly test Big Moe's bike and soon we were also doing speeds of 80. At one point, I could not take it any further, my bike was itching to go and I think Suks also understood that so he said just go! Thanks Suks.
That was it, the next I saw him was in Goa!
I knew these two thunderbirds were in front and we were entering a Ghat section so I decided to let my baby show me the road and the way, I was literally flying. I soon crossed Prakash and then also Narendar and I knew it - my 500 was the best!! (No offence meant to anyone!) My rear brakes started smoking, so I went easy on them - basically did not slow down! I just kept going on and on and on and on....finally reached Karwar and knew the guys would be way behind and so decided to proceed to Goa. On the way met a firang, who was pushing his bullet as he had run out of gas, so I loaned him some and explained what the reserve was, He has been riding for the past 3 months and did not know what Main and what reserve was.
Anyway the rest of the journey was a slow relaxed ride going through some of the longest bridges I have been on. Finally reached Margao and then found my way to the resort. I had barely reached there when the Roadshakers rumbled in. Anyway finally met up with Vernon and Sukesh who had continued on as there was a lot of work that Vernon had to do.
My next adventure started after I had a wash and will continue it soon.
Keep Watching.
History in the Making, - Part 3
Friday Evening, 11:00 PM
Had a quick but refreshing wash and came out and was told that we had to fend for dinner and some liquid refreshment if needed. So Supreeth who had reached earlier had actually done some good research and knew where to get some - "cheap" - drinks and food. So I trusted him and we took a short walk along the beach and we came to these shacks, which were right on the shore. It looked nice and the atmosphere was amazing, quiet and only the roar of the waves to keep us company.
Met 2 others from the Bangalore club - these were the dudes who had ridden off into the hills at 3 AM in the morning from Chitradurg. Anyway, had a look at the prices and the Bangalore boys said that they were outrageous. Being from a place where a ¼ of Monkeys Blood costs Rs 65/- I was not the one to decide oh and for those of you who aren't into lingo as I am Monkeys Blood is our favourite Old monk!!
So we decided to just have one drink and then explore - I mean we were in Goa weren't we??? - This was the place they said that flowed with Booze and Honey(s) - yes I can spell ;-)) So we went back to the Resort - nice place I must say, a little too posh for me, but who cares, I was in for the fun and I was in it for good, I had been struck by the bullet and I was not complaining,
We took the bikes and my baby started like a bomb all in one smooth caress of the lever. I must tell you that she never ever did that - she'll usually kick me back and then proceed to act like the baby that she is. Well it must have been the sight of all the other bikes, she probably did not want to make a fool of herself!. We left and roamed along the streets near our resort and everything seemed closed...well obviously not everything - if it was everything, I would have been sleeping right?? - well we heard this nice music coming from this place called Hot Lips! - I was a bit dubious to enter a place like this - I had heard a lot of strange things happening to ye, once ye enter these hallowed places.
There were a couple of friendly number plates outside (KA XX) so we decided to take the risk, went in and saw a few of the others from the Bangalore first group and went and found a table there. I saw the bar and literally fell...hey all you others out there I come from Chennai where choice is limited and this place was like paradise. I did not want to leave! – and then I really fell - I saw the prices and I knew it - I had died and gone to heaven!
Anyway, started slow and the guys at this place apparently had some connections with the Commissioner and hence could be open later than normal - Thank god for connections! - Slowly heard the night rumbling like thunder and saw bike after bike roar past us toward the resort. And as news got around that this place was the only one open. Surround sound happened – we had riders from all over converging to Hot lips! - all of the guys who shared more than just love for the bike landed up and soon there was a noisy and loud fun party happening,
The food also was great and being a connoisseur of good food and drink, I must have overshot my budget that day itself. To be honest I was too far-gone to do accounts and hence I have just written it off as "suspense account"!!
Anyway around 4:30 AM, the owner came up to us and politely said that he must sleep as he had miles to go before he sleeps and basically had to wake up to come again the next day, so with a lot of sighing and complaining we left. I think it was Supreeth who took me back to the resort - I don't remember, whoever it was - Thanks.
I wont go into the official activities, as I was involved in registration and all and think that someone else can cover that. And will proceed from waking up at 10:00 AM with no blanket - as Supreeth and Roopesh had decided that I don't deserve one to around 4:00 PM when I went out to Margao, to the dealer - Saini Motors. If you remember I had some problems with my bike and it was now starting to ping like crazy and also started to backfire a bit.
Took it to the dealer and as I had reached late, I was among the last to get the bike fixed, anyway the guy had a ride and said it was the timing - duh! - I knew that much anyway on a hunch I told him to check the clutch plates and was right, they were burned out. Thankfully spares were available at dealer prices!- but it was Hobson's choice for me, so got them changed and she was as good as new. Adrian had to get his head removed- I mean the bikes - to remove the silencer, it was the first time his bike was being tampered with so that was disheartening to see- a grown man almost cried. I must say that he had apparently had run in his bike for close to 6000 Kilometres and hence never had any problems. Kudos for patience. Roopesh had a few problems and got them done as well.
Observation: It seemed that only people who really knew the bike were in for these minor tweakings. Maybe we should all get to know the bike better.
Went back and the Royal Enfield night was on and in full swing - some of the boys decided to cut it short and head for North Goa -where parties happen all nightlong on Saturday, Sadly I was not in the first group that went as I was not in the mood...yet!
After some dinner, headed back to Hot Lips and had a couple of drinks and was then persuaded to head out to North Goa for a night ride and so decided to do the same, It would help me get the bike sorted out and check the Clutch et al.
So it came to pass that Ranjith, Mahendra, Sukesh and Jude, Adrian, Roopesh and one other person -sadly - names are only a vague memory to me now - faces and rides will be in my heart but names - well those things come and go! I think it was Prakash??
We decided to proceed and so had a nice chilling ride - not many of us were chill as we were nice and warm on the inside -come on guys - read between the lines! And had to make a small detour as it was night and no one but Jude knew where we were headed so we just followed him. We got separated once as Roopesh and I had to fill some gas but eventually managed to catch up and our first stop was when Sukesh decided that he needed a break, he was finding it difficult to control his brain and basically try to stop it from shutting down for the evening. His legs would automatically reach for the road and so Jude decided to get Sukesh to feel the road with his own feet. It was here that Ranjith was smitten like so many others before him by the love for a 500. He stands true witness to the glory of my baby. Ranjith – I will drink to your health.
Supreeth then decided to head back as it had started to drizzle and he was not feeling quite up to it anyway. We the bad boys decided to head on. MISTAKE! At one stretch, Mahendra's pillion - my friend ol'whatsisname decided to jump on to my bike as they felt that the Tbird was skidding a lot. Little did we realize that all of ours were doing exactly the same thing. With the added weight my bike was a bit more stable and I was not exactly worried.
Riding on quietly, suddenly I see 2 bikes down and Roopesh also just getting up and telling me to slow down, as the road was REALLY SLIPPERY. I did not brake and realized my bike was slip sliding away as well. Thankfully both my good friend - damn -I am really sorry I don't remember you name dude – you were a good sensible pillion - well both of us put our legs down and stabilized the bike before we brought it to rest by the side of the road. I looked ahead to see Jude's bike, and Adrian and Sukesh and Ranjith all on the road. Thinking it was something serious - oh by the way there was some puny 50cc TVS also along the road someplace - who cares! - ran to the boys to see them in splits of laughter. To cut a long story short and to quote Adrian," I was riding at around 50 and the bike just went one side, so I went one side and Ranjith also decided to go another side" There was something in the road - oil grease something - I don't believe it was only rain and hence all these guys just took a toss as the road just did not offer any sort of traction. While I was getting my camera out, we saw an RX coming and I said I must catch him as he falls and before I even said it - those dudes fell - ran and told them to slow down as they picked them up and they did not heed my advice till they very gloriously fell again! Man it was hilarious.
Anyway after a couple of smokes we pushed the bikes a certain distance and from then on it was a edgy slow ride till we reached the location where Jude's friends were supposed to meet us. They came after some time – during which Sukesh decided to go and get something to eat and then we basically roamed all around the beaches there till we found this place that gave us a crate of beer and allowed us to use the benches opposite his place till we decided to leave.
We drank till the wee hours of the morning and then decided to head back though some of us wanted to stay on. Adrian was a blast here. He refused to wake up and we spent around one hour just trying to wake him up. Finally he just woke up to the sound of 6 bullets revving up at 6:00 AM. The ride back was uneventful and we reached around 9:00 AM - went in and crashed and woke only at around 13:00.
See you tomorrow.
Watch this space - there may be only one more edition,
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And there it ends.... :)
The roads were not that great in comparison, the view made up for it though. An exciting ride awaited me, mist, rain, low visibility (I mean really low – I was actually a guiding bike for a couple of cars who were too scared to make it!) Stopped a few times for tea along the way – when I was waiting for Brij to catch up – he had nicely told me to carry on as he would be coming slowly. 
The road to top station was weird – we were in Kerala, we had to go back into Tamil Nadu as this was there and the funny part was how the roads leading to top station were unusually( for TN) horrible. There was sludge, mud, puddles, streams of water, pot holes and no tarmac for quite a while. Finally reached there and then had to take a trek for about 20 minutes to reach the spot. Thing was it was so cloudy that we could not see anything major, but slowly in a bit, it cleared up and we managed to take a few photos. 
We did the usual sightseeing stuff and then on the way back to where we had parked the car(with great difficulty owing to the huge number of tourists/vehicles) it started pouring, Thankfully one of the others had had the presence of mind to ask our hosts at the home stay for umbrellas which we then took out. 
Finally reached the car and headed back into town (did I mention I was on the car and not the bike?) Again a few traffic jams on the way. This time around - we found time to stop at one of the view points and took some really nice snaps that really dont do justice to the actual views. 