“What makes for a good road-trip?” asked she, sitting on the
pillion as we cruised ahead towards Alibaug. I wondered. Was it the bike, the
road, the pillion, the rider or the emotion?
“Emotion. Road-trip is an emotion”, said I. “It is
liberating. It makes you forget that you have a home, a job, and your mundane
routine. I think that is what makes for a good road trip.” She nodded her head
in agreement – I saw that in the rear view mirror. I also saw her clicking this
pic.
Wait a minute, I think his travelogue needs a better narration. Let me attempt!
It was my birthday week, and she wanted us to go to some remote place,
away from the ever bubbling maximum city. We chose to go to Kashid via Nagaon
and Alibaug. And boy what a decision it was!
The trip started with us packing all our stuff in small bags
and tying it all up onto Faisalwa (my Avenger 220 cruiser). We reached ‘Bhau-cha
dhakka’ – a small time port in south Bombay. The name is funny but it is
actually well-christened. For 150 bucks, some 3-4 ‘Bhaus’ (Bhau = Brother in
Marathi) pushed my Avenger up on a small ferry.
A bike on an ocean. Ain’t that amazing!?
A couple of hours later, we got down on Rewas fort. From
there started a rather refreshing bike trip to Alibaug. The road is single
lane, and pretty empty on weekdays. On one hand you have hills, and on the
other, the ocean. Tall grasses lined up the road shoulders and we cruised ahead
humming songs of Lucky Ali.
(aS Note: The helmet was taken out momentarily only for the photograph. Pl. wear helmets while driving and ride safe!)
A bit about the tarmac and road safety here. At places the
road was super smooth, but intermittent were stretches full of gravel. It was
becoming even trickier at the turns. I was noticing a fellow biker who was
ahead me for some time. He wasn’t wearing a helmet and calling his style of
driving rash would not be an exaggeration, judging by the way he was swinging
his fazer side-ways. Suddenly a tractor came out from the left and I did see
this biker almost hitting the mega-vehicle. Thank God for his brakes and well
threaded tyres. I also applied the brakes and thanked God, for I was
maintaining a comfortable distance from the biker. I bent forward and looked at
my front
CEAT
tyre and felt a re-assurance. I always make it a point to check my bike’s tyres
before cruising out. Maintaining safe distance from heavy vehicles ahead is a
deliberate choice, and maintaining comfortable speeds of around 60-70 kmph with
a Helmet on never killed anyone! (Bad pun, I know!) A quick and timely disclosure here. I’m chronicling
my road trip adventure for
CEAT Tyres in association with
BlogAdda. And you thought product placements were only a thing in the movies! ;)
Anyway, this small incident did not dampen our spirits and we
went ahead with the road trip, stopping for lunch in Alibaug. And then we
skipped its beaches for better places ahead. At night we stayed at a small
private homestay at Nagaon – a place almost mid-way between Alibaug and Kashid.
I just cannot further this travelogue without talking about
the sereneness of Nagaon beach. Imagine this. A beautiful sunset with ocean
till the horizon and a glossy thin layer of the water extending on the beach,
touching our feet in waves.
It was mesmerizing. I took my Faisalwa for a ride on the
beach while she clicked pics. Have a look.
(aS Note: The helmet was taken out momentarily only for the photograph. Pl. wear helmets while driving and ride safe!)
The Babe, the Bike and the Beach.
The next day we biked ahead and reached Kashid. A secluded
place with another beautiful beach and waves. We came across a wonderful resort
adjoining the hills which bracketed the small beach town. Amazingly well
designed resort with rooms having private balconies overlooking the hills and
the ocean. The night went on a high. Quite literally. It was an amazing experience,
lying on the grass on a random balcony on the side of a random hill, overlooking
an ocean as random.
Cheers to the places life takes one to!
With a couple of content hearts and travel-worn souls, we headed
back the next morning.
(aS Note: The helmet was taken out momentarily only for the photograph. Pl. wear helmets while driving and ride safe!)
The Alibaug-Nagaon- Kashid trip definitely raised the
bar for our future road travels. And some months later, we went to Goa. But that’s another
story for another time! Keep visiting
arbitSpeculations.com/travel for the next
update!
:)
Admin.
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