Coast2Coast: Day# 1

17th Sept 2009, 10:30am: Arrrghhh...raj thinks he owns the motel or somethin. Gimme some space man! Am darn sooooooooo tired to open my eyes, just feel like lyin dead wherever I am right now. But this SAP fad follower on one side n a wounded rider on the other, I can barely stretch my shoulders. hmmmppphhh. Lemme look around for other place to die(opened my eyes slowly, n believe me it needed sheer will power at that moment!). It seems abhi is getting up n don't see any competition around, thank god.....bless abhi for this favour. Got a mattress on the floor, I had all the space I needed to streatch everythin around :p Slept like a puppy:)

^me on da floor, rahul n raj on bed(watch the space between these two, where I was struggling to fit in:/)

It wasn't as soft as my mattress at home, but couldn't ask for more at such times. Tried to get enough sleep(psychologically), as I knew.....'THIS AIN'T ALL!". After some time, I heard someone pleading to get up....usually I play that role, and as am in bed, this ain't me. Must be dreamin......"Bhai mere utthhja, Goa bohot door hai! Bakiyon ko bhi utthana hai!!!". Hmmmm.....now this is it. Jeetu is leading, and you can relate this to the famous saying - "With great responsibility , comes great pressure !!!"(w it's the 2nd best after the one u might have heard in the movie Spiderman!). As I had had enough of sleep(though I needed more, but didn't want) and I have to wake up n support Jeetu, to push things further. so got up n went for a shower. Once done with m,y chores, felt fresh n as other members were getting up n getting ride, I got some time to goof around, take pics n look out of the window......

^just got up


^me, rahul n jeetu

view from the window

^abhi's done n now raj's turn

Once everyone was ready, we packed our bags n checked-out from the lodge. A bright sunny day awaited us outside....There were few things that needed attention, before we could start for mangalore. Rahul needed a titanus(to avoid any infection due to the wound) and my bike's mudflap needed a fix, as the terrains ahead won't be that nice;) So rode around the town lookin for a clinic. Found a few, but all were closed. Stopped at a service center which is authorised for Bajaj, Hero Honda and Suzuki( rare combination:p). Due to the skid, rahul's head unit had lost half the glass n a new one was pretty expensive to afford that moment. So decided to get a minor
servicing done, so that bike can be ridden without any issues. And my bike front tyre was a 100/90, so a stock mud flap was out of question, so the garage guy had to find a workaround. I handed over the bike after the assurance that he'll come up with something. While the mechs were at the servicing, one fellow from the service center took rahul to a nearby clinic. As it took time for rahul to come, I got a bike wash done, as because of the broken mud flap, engine was completely covered in mud, and seeing the ghats ahead, i was worried that engine may over heat. After an hour or so, the mech came out with my steed, all shining. He indicated me towards my mud flap n said, it's done n it'll be suffiecient for the road ahead. In the first look Icouldn't notice much, but when I turned my handle....

^ a spare from Suzuki used on a Honda (this is called reverse engineering:p )

Rahul came back all serviced, just like our bikes, but needed rest, so decided to ride pillion. Raj(The One n Only), said he can't ride pulsar, so I gave my keys to him n I rode the pulse. Now only thing that was left in out Pre-ride checklist is 'Lunch'. So headed towards mangalore and kept checking out hotels on the highway side. After skipping a few, stopped @ Hotel Pragathi





After the grand lunch, we were all set to ride....after all, the road ahead was no ordinary route...it was 'The Western Ghats"! I always dreamt of riding through the western ghats, and my dream was about to come true...I was pretty excited n was looking forward to it!....(to be continued...)