Recovery Ride.

One of the most popular English Language Dictionary defines the word RECOVERY as follows:

re·cov·er·y (r-kv-r)
n. pl. re·cov·er·ies
1. The act, process, duration, or an instance of recovering.
2. A return to a normal condition.
3. Something gained or restored in recovering.
4. The act of obtaining usable substances from unusable sources.

Taking a cue from the same it was definitely essential for me to :Return to a normal condition and that meant to be able to clock miles under my wheels and to be able to do that with some amount of decent speed. Unlike one of the Bollywood flicks where in the lead actor develops cold feet and what not when subjected to similar conditions on the road, I had no other option but to learn to ride the same way as I used to before my crash.

So I took off on Saturday the 29th of September and headed off on the NH 4 towards Satara, the plan was to ride the Bike and clock at least double digit figures on the odometer and decent three digits on the Speedo. This was essential to re-build the confidence. A lot of patchwork had been done on the face and the Bike was also repaired.

So off I went from my place in the morning and headed towards Sinhagad road. After passing through a suburban village called Dhayari, I headed towards Khadagwasla Lake which used to be one good watering hole for most puneites some time back. A smallish break at Khadagwasla and a cuppa tea later I was off again towards the base of Sinhagad, the Maratha fort near Pune. After some good riding beyond Khadagwasla I reached the foothills of Sinhagad and then decided to turn back.

Somehow after riding a little distance I decided to turn back and actually take my bike all the way up towards the top of the fort. A reassuring nod from my pillion rider made me take the risk and extend my adventure. The climb up the hill was an good combination of slopes and twisties although road quality was not so great as this road ends in a dead end and is not so frequently used. Neither is it wide enough. Dodging traffic at places and avoiding revving too hard to overtake, I finally managed to reach the top and then parked the bike and proceeded inside the fort. Wandering all over the now abandoned and overgrown with grass and weeds fort I came across the huge ammo dump/room right at the entrance just after the Horse parking lot. There was a monument inside commemorating the Maratha warlord Tanaji Malsure who captured this fort in 1700 AD after whom this was named Sinhagad, and was called Kondana earlier to that. There are a number of microwave towers inside the fort as this is perhaps one of the tallest peaks around Pune and offers good view of the entire region. I also went till the cliff which is a perfect straight wall and it is said that Tanaji actually captured this impregnable fort by climbing this side using the help of a monitor lizard.

Read more about this fort here...

http://www.punediary.com/html/singhagad.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinhagad

Lunch was a rustic Zunka Bhakri meal coupled with buttermilk and some Bhajiya. After a rather heavy lunch we decided to descend and started off from Sinhagad. As we came down the slope we came across a point from where we had a detour pointing towards NH 4 going towards Satara. I decide to get off the regular road going via Khadagwasla and Sinhagad road and took off on this diversion. After riding through some bad roads and lots of twisties descending on the other side of the mountain I finally managed to hit Satara road. A quick left turn and I was already zooming towards Pune. By this time evening had already set in and roads were still vacant enough for a decent speed. I managed to clock a good indicated 107 KMPH in the straight stretch after the new Katraj bypass tunnel on NH 4. Dodging heavy vehicle traffic I managed to reach home quite well in time and then called it a day by watching a good movie over a nice cup of tea. End of story. Conclusion. – Recovery Ride had served its purpose.

I could still ride. Far and Wide Fast n Smooth. No hitches no glitches. I guess once a biker always a biker. I clocked around 102 kms on the odo and some good 107 on the Speedo which was decent enough an effort from my side. Was happy doing this achievement. Guess I have many more miles to clock before I hang up my riding leathers.

So That was it.....Until then Keep Riding !!!!!

Catch Pics Here !!