An Ocean, A Bike and a Beach – What makes for a good road-trip!

“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! :)

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