Against all odds... My First Road Trip!!!

The odds were against me right from the start. Ok, what are the odds that i would be stuck in between 2 absolute strangers, in a stalled auto, on a flyover, going to a place i dont know forget evern been to, with pouring rain and me absolutely wet even inside the damn auto!!! a million to one??? The day i was to leave pune to go to mumbai and get the scooter was 1 in a million!!! The trip in the volvo was horrible... my pants were wet, the AC was set at 21 degrees.... brrrr (am cold, not burping!!) the only good thing was that they had put jaane tu ya jaane na.... which is a movie i really like!!!

I finally reached mumbai... at 1130 in the night. It was predecided that me and dad would leave at around 2 next afternoon and hit the road early so as to reach pune by evening so dad can return by volvo in the night.
With a few pre road trip preparations (like installing the spare wheel, filling up fuel and checking air pressure, and buying a bottle of chyawanprash) we were ready and Hit the road by 2:15...

Vehicle: Honda Eterno 150 (150cc engine, 4 stroke, single cylinder,4 Gears, 8.5 bhp, loads of torque, and even more trust)
Km reading: 11516 on the odo.
Distance: 113 km
Estimated time: 3 hrs with an average speed of 50kmph.
Weather: Couldnt have been better!!!
Traffic Conitions: It was Ganesh Chaturthi... every one was at home.... absolutely open roads!!!

BUT.... this day was also 1 in a million (What are the odds that there will be 2 days consequetive both 1 in a million???!!! after all the odds are stacked against me remember??!!)... We had cleared the toll naka on the old highway and were doing pretty good with lush fields on both sides, good scenery in the distance, cool wind, when the weather started deteriorating. It started to rain slightly and so we put on our windcheaters but the rain clouds were hovering and soon it started raining heavily. Visibility was reduced drastically and it wasnt wise to ride on so we stopped at a petrol pump and waited for the rain to stop... and we waited....and waited...and waited and waited...and waited some more....and waited some more..... we took this unscheduled stop for a whole 45 minutes!!!! this stop was 7 km before Khopoli, the lonavala khandala ghats not even touched yet...we still had to do 67 km to pune and the rains wouldnt stop......

Well the rate decreased and we were on the road.... by the time we touched khopoli, the rain had stopped and guess the irony of it all....clear blue skies and sun!!! now what are the odds for that???!!! well i was thankful of the weather.... and we touched the ghats.....

And this is where Eterno showed its brilliance.... there was an apache and a pulsar going up....and my Eterno was giving them a tough one!!! it didnt falter even once.... stood strong in 2nd and 3rd gear and even with a pillion and some luggage it went real smooth..... not a single hitch.... amazing piece of engineering man...love this machine!!!

We joined the expressway in the ghats region...and i was feeling really wierd being on a scooter on the expressway but it allowed me to open the throttle and touch a constant 55kmph.... i was even taking turns at 55kmph.... and the one tunnel was amazing.... but but but.....

This day was 1 in a million right??? Now what are the odds that u will be stopped just outside the expressway exit and fined 100 bucks for not having a PUC certificate and that too by the lonavala traffic police??? (Lonavala traffic police?? helloo???)Well dad had to shell out 100 bucks here.....(the first thing i did in pune with my Eterno was get it a PUC it deserved!!!). With the ghats cleared we hit the plains behind the western ghats.... smooth straight roads with not a single pot hole even in the rainy season!!! beautiful.... India is progressing definitely!!! good for that.... I was doing a constant 60kmph here to make up for the lost time and speed...

Eterno rides like a dream....dead stable, good torque, i was overtaking other riders and cars and trucks effortlessly and speed whenever u need it.... Plus a comfortable riding position... Now all u need is a long distance and good tarmac....and we had that.... Soon we reached the outskirts of Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, From here to University is around 30-40 min depending on the traffic... Luckily the traffic wasnt very heavy and we did good time and finally reached the university around 6:15 in the evening....

And so my first ever road trip ended..... Beautiful !!!

I showed dad around my hostel, room (seems to me he wasnt impressed but i am perfectly fine here... may be he should see the baroda hostel....aditya, man... no offence!!!), introduced him to my friends, room-mates, had something to eat in the NCCS canteen and dropped him till Parihar chowk from where he took the volve back home!!!
And so the day ended and so does this blog!!!