RoadShakers' year ending ride of 2006

As I remember, the first RoadShakers' ride of the year 2006 was to Lavasa, and as we planned the year ending ride also has to be the same. Thanks to the insight of Param, our dear rider pal, who on the first ride had said, "Let's do at least one night out here, guys!". So we decided to do that but without him. He had to cancel out his plans. Rohan came all the way from Bangalore and was going to work as crowd-puller. You can see the count and understand the popularity of this guy! Simply celebrity.

Start Point: 1545 hrs at Bu Bhandari on the 30 dec.
Start from there at 1600hrs (RST - Roadshakers Stretchable Time).
Destination: Lavasa Lake City. (Temghar Dam)
Route details: BU Bhandari - Chandini Chowk - Manas Resort - Bunni-da-Dhanba - Pirangut Village - Temghar Dam. (Base camp) - Lavasa.

I was looking forward to the end of the year ride for a long time, as I wanted to end my riding year with a bang which I did the wrong way. Many of the young guys were riding with RoadShakers first time and we were expecting healthy count. 1600hrs 30th Dec 06 - The launch pad After the preparation and packing, I reached the meeting point at 4pm with Anant to find a dozen bikes already waiting. With a few tips from Navin on how to strap my baggage on (the bag just refused to stay in one place when I tried). I, like everyone, got down to rationing up the bare necessities, mainly smokes and snacks. Then the wait began for the rest of the guys to show up. This gave other new riders to get fuel and helmets for their pillion (helmets are a strict requirement for the rides with Roadshakers). Soon nearly all riders had arrived except Baljeet (Chhotu, bas naam hi 'Chhotu' hai) and Sanket (Sanket had his College till 4 in the evening, and Baljeet agreed to ride along with him). To get a move on, the group was told to collect food for the barbeque and rendezvous at Chandini Chowk.

1830 hrs 30 Dec '06 - Chandni Chauk
The ride We had all the requisites for a trip. BBQ, booze and most importantly a good count of riders. After a quick discussion of the route - Pirangut Village - Temghar Dam (base camp), Lavasa lake city; it finally began. The reason the club is called Roadshakers was as clear as rain. The sound of roaring REs in the air was nostalgic. Rohan was leading the group and Kunal and me (doc) were sweeping. For some time we were on straight roads and everyone was riding responsibly, in other words gliding over the highway. After about 20 minutes I noticed that many riders like Navin, Anant and Baljeet were slowing down. At first I had no idea what was going on, then I saw the first strip of ghats approaching. Suddenly everyone started to pickup speed and voila! We were off, like a snake we were traversing the ghats. It was a feeling like no other. You feel alive. We kept increasing speed no matter whether we were going down hill or up. The night was lit by the sparks of the scraping of the footrests against the tarmac; best fireworks I had ever seen in my life. There were a couple of halts in between for smokes, ss regrouping so that no one was left behind; and it was good that they did that. I was pushing my bike hard to keep up. After some time (very soon according to me, I could have ridden for hours more) we reached Temghar Dam, our camping location. We were supposed to camp near the lake; and to get there we had to go through a broken down road, that is if you can call it a road. It was nice off-roading experience in the pitch dark night except for the head-lights. Finally after 10 minutes of bone-crunching ride, we were finally there.

2100 hrs 30 Dec '06 - BBQ time!
After reaching the spot the group realized that we were too close to the lake and there wasn't much area for camping. So few of the off-road enthusiasts volunteered to look for a better spot near by. Kunal saw a spot and tried to take his lightning there, but got stuck in mud adjacent to the lake. But he managed to get out with his 22bhp + 1 bmp (basic man power, thanks to many volunteers). A spot was decided which was on a bit of high ground. After parking our bikes it was time for the BBQ. While master chef Eklavya prepped up to set up for the BBQ with the help from Soumic, others ventured to collect wood for the fire. Baljeet and Kunal chopped down a dead tree trunk with there 'Kukris', others forged in the woods for smaller pieces. Soon enough there was a roaring fire on which Eklavya cooked up the best BBQ chicken I ever had, while Soumic handled the veg department with help from Ram. Food, booze and a bonfire are the only requirements for a good time, and what a time we had! New theories, old trips and riding tips were the main conversation along with rib cracking humor by many (Kunal takes the cake here, hands down). Around 2am Amit and Sanjeev showed up (they were unable to start earlier, but hats off for riding in the dead of the night to meet up with the group). After talking for some more time everyone began settling down for a goodnight sleep. It was comfortable and not too windy in the night. The silence was only broken by some wise crack by someone followed by loads of laughter.

0600 hrs 31 Dec '06 - Wakey wakey!
We all had an early morning due to the dew which had settled down, and I mean it when I say it was cold. Praise the lord that some of the guys had already started a fire. We all crowded by the fire when we stopped to see the breathe-taking scenic view; lake, mountains and fellow members sleeping in really hilarious positions. A quick photo session and it was down to cleaning the place and packing our bedding. Before breakfast we decide to have a go at Lavasa's famous hairpin bends. Soon enough we were back at the base of Temghar Dam after a high adrenaline ride. It was chow time and the local shop owner was surprised to see 25 people clad in strange looking gear, with voracious appetites (we believe in traveling tank topped up, be it petrol or food).

1000 hrs 31 Dec '06 - Back to square one It was time to head back to civilization.
Anant's bike suffered a broken rear suspension so Sahil volunteered to help him out by accommodating his pillion. After a full stomach everyone decided to ride easy, but that New Year resolution didn't last as the ghats approached. I realized what we had missed riding in the night. The sight was what every rider dreams of. We reached Chandini Chowk in practically no time. After a small good bye, everyone parted their ways to head home and sleep; after all it was New Year's eve and you need to be in good condition to party all night! Year ending ride of Roadshakers turned out into a memory that would always be etched in my heart. Looking forward to more memorable rides in the New Year.

Riders:
1. Rohan + Ram TB 350
2. Eklavya Campus 350
3. Navin Electra 350
4. Manish + 1 CITI Bike 500
5. Soumic Prasad TB 350
6. Baljeet 'Chhotu' A 350
7. Amar Ochani TB 350
8. Kunal Agashe Lightning 535
9. Sanket Shinde Electra 5 S
10. Mohit Tanwar ES 500
11. Anant + 1 TB 350
12. Vicky Dhoot Citybike 500
13. Koshish Lightening 535
14. Sanjeev Electra 350
15. Amit Nangre Scoprio
16. Amit Kamte Std 350
17. Abhishek Electra 350
18. Nikku 350 Std
19. Manu +1 Machismo A 350
20. Sahil Kulkarni Std 350
21. Vickey +1 TB 350
22. Santosh TB 350
23. Doc (that's me Prasad Bhangale) ES 500

People we missed on this ride (they are worth a mention) are Aseem Sidhu, Paramjit Singh, KD, Capt. Krish and Vivek.

For photos, please visit the following sites:
http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h287/werewolflegs/Lavasa/ - By Sahil Kulkarni, Anant and Angad. http://in.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/santosh_kb2/album?.dir=/8070scd&.src=ph&.tok=phuNQEGBHo7ZF.84
- By Santosh Kondhare. Wish you all very happy and great riding year ahead. Keep munching the miles! Adios guys and keep thumping...

- doc