Chasing young ladies 

Your eyebrows are rising, I can see, the unspoken reprimand forming: “Surely, at your age…!”, or at worst, “This DOM…!”. But in the early morning of June 20 on NH45, I was actually chasing two young ladies, among others! That definitely demands clarification before your judgement on my character is final and irrevocable. 

Young Gautam Sinha (YG) proposed an overnight ride to Coorg with a group with whom he had ridden before. The ride was planned for June 20, with an overnight stay at a resort called Rafter’s Retreat near Shettigere in Coorg and a return the next day. This was the first ride for me with a group, led by a young lady, Ms P, who ran a biking group called Biker in Her. I was a little worried about the dynamics of a large group, all the members being complete strangers. The planned meet-up was at 6 am near Kadamba Veg Restaurant, a little beyond Nelamangala on NH75. YG and I were late by 15 minutes, but others joined in after us. The group of 11 riders, one pillion, and 11 bikes consisted of: Ms P – Team Leader – Himalayan 411; V – BMW S1000 XR; A – Himalayan 411; R – Himalayan 411; YG – Himalayan 411; C – KTM 390 Adventure; D – KTM 390 RC; V & Ms S – KTM 390 Adventure; Ms A – RE Hunter 350; Ms H – RE Hunter 350; and yours faithfully – Honda H’ness CB350. Looking at this roster, the hierarchy of power and speed was instantly clear. The final three riders—Ms A, Ms H, and my geriatric self—possessed the smallest engines by brake horsepower. I wasn’t just bringing up the rear; I was practically in a different postal PIN code. 

From the very word “go”, the hierarchy became reality. The bigger bikes took off, led by V on his BMW S1000 XR. Our team leader, Ms P, was batting at 100 kmph on her Himalayan 411 (I suspect she’d modified the ECU and also fitted a performance air filter and exhaust), the KTMs zoomed ahead with their characteristic rasping exhaust note, and the Himalayans followed suit with their gruff exhaust note, in that order. That left the two young ladies on their Hunters gasping to catch up, and yours faithfully following them! There, you have the true, unglamorous reason for me chasing young ladies at my age! I was just trying not to get lost. Mercifully, V & Ms S on their KTM 390 Adventure played ‘marshal’ and patiently waited at every turn, and there were many, on the route. 

For nearly 150 km, we rode on NH75. Being a Saturday morning, traffic density was high, with Bangalore residents seeking respite in the verdant surroundings of Coorg and its neighbouring areas. Biker groups sped past us as we overtook families in cars. The cloudy skies gave us respite and made the ride pleasurable, and mercifully, it did not rain. The ride on NH75 was pleasant, with three lanes, and it was easy to maintain a cruising speed of around 90 kmph. At Channarayapatna, we joined SH8 for another 50 km or so till Arkalgud, and then turned left onto SH21 and rode on, crossing Periyapatna before joining SH90 at the Anechowkur Forest till the small town of Gonikoppa. There, we took another left and joined SH89 towards Shettigere. These roads were narrower but reasonably good. In some stretches, heavy oncoming traffic made us stick behind buses or cars for long intervals, forcing me to shift down to third gear, even second. One of the young ladies, Ms H, had this dangerous habit of overtaking while still in fifth gear, taking her sweet time while a steady stream of traffic came from the opposite side on the narrow road! Every time she did that, I was all nerves, riding 50 metres behind her. As we pushed on, it became painfully clear that the gap between the younger riders and myself was measured in more than just engine displacement. It was a complete clash of eras, energy, and spinal health. 

The winding road and the greenery on both sides made for an engaging ride. The BMW was completely out of sight, the youngsters leaned forward aggressively on their KTMs like sleek aerodynamic predators, while I sat bolt upright on my Honda. My riding posture closely resembled me reading the morning newspaper in an armchair. They leaned into the curves, full of youthful faith in the laws of physics. I approached every bend with the same cautious apprehension as checking my retirement portfolio. During tea and nicotine breaks, the generation gap between these Gen Z and Millennials, and me—Gen Jurassic Park—was evident, but to their credit, they were very polite! 

About 10 km before Shettigere, V on his BMW took a lazy turn, probably strayed over to the middle, and came face to face with a brand-new Tata Curvv, with its garage number, en route to delivery. Probably both drivers were distracted by the beautiful verdant scenery, and hence this head-on collision. The group stopped and rallied around V. As luck would have it, a policeman was in the car, taking a lift to his duty post. What ensued were prolonged discussions and negotiations, which took nearly an hour before reaching a satisfactory conclusion about redressal for both parties. YG, in the meanwhile, worked on the BMW to remove the damaged panels with his toolkit, stem the coolant leak, and the BMW became rideable. V was injured slightly but was in a position to ride his bike to the resort. His bike limped its way to Rafter’s Retreat, and we thanked our stars because a head-on collision could have been much, much more serious! 

The approach to the resort was a narrow, 3 km track full of pebbles, with two deep ruts and a pronounced hump in the middle. This made for a challenging ride after nearly 300 km of riding behind us! The resort was beautiful, with a large shaded dining space overlooking a rivulet that cascaded over two sets of rocks, and hillsides on both sides filled with manicured tea plantations. We took in the view over lunch. Some of the youngsters went ahead to have fun at the small catchment in the river. The evening was enjoyable, with the customary bonfire, and the surroundings became ethereal under the moonlight! 

With a leisurely and heavy breakfast, we set off at around 10 am. The two young ladies on their Hunters decided to take the shorter route via Mysore Road on their return journey. The rest of the group decided to take the same scenic route back. V rode to the nearest small town and loaded his BMW onto a small truck, and rode along. We stopped at a roadside restaurant, and the rain started in earnest. When it slackened, we put on our rain gear and continued. We ambled our way along the now familiar route till we hit NH75 and ran into a massive jam that clogged every inch of the road leading to Bangalore. We inched our way along and finally gave up! The rain gear was unbearable and had to be removed. Two rounds of tea, another short distance, and yet another round of tea. By that time, the jam had cleared a little, and our return journey was uneventful, if torturous. Straining my eyes against the glare from vehicles coming from the other side and trying to locate the tiny flashing light at the back of YG’s helmet (so that I didn’t get lost) gave me a headache. We reached home well after 8 pm, and getting the saddlebags off the bike was an irritating chore. 

I couldn’t help but smile. I had chased the youth, survived the hill roads, and lived to write the tale—even if I couldn’t sit down properly for the next three days! 

Stats: 11 bikes, 11 riders + 1 pillion, 599 km on the odometer. My darling H’ness returned an average of 39.4 kmpl (no thanks to grinding along in first gear while threading our way through cars stuck in the jam), fun ride onward and drudgery on the return, aching in places that doctors haven’t even named, a cautionary experience not to take my eyes off the road even for an instant, and a firm decision not to ride my bike after sunset! 

END OF ARTICLE