Back from Kelve Beach - Ride of Glory

Dear Readers,

BAC is growing in numbers, and our rides & riders are witnessing it. Ride after ride, the excitement grows exponentially. The members are not only willing to optimize their schedule to be a part of rides, but are now also getting new exciting members to complete the BAC Family. :)

BAC team at Kelve...

It was the first time BAC had done a two ride schedule in 3 days.But high from the inter-city independence day ride, everybody was cracking for more...Safety of our riders is paramount and well in advance all riders were told to bring along

1. All bike documents which should be clear.
2. Carry 2 litres of water bottle (mandatory)
3. Helmet, shoes and BAC T-Shirt mandatory (exception for those who did not receive T-shirts) applies for pillions also.

We felt safety of our riders was paramount so this ride it was felt that all riders and pillions would wear helmets. Through internal coordination all our riders were in helmets, All pillions except one were in helmets & mandated safety gear. Next time we hope the figure will be zero.

Assembling for the ride...
The ride was to commence at fountain hotel, Ghorbunder Road Junction, where our riders coming from Western and Central sides would meet up. The assembly time was 7am. The excitement of the ride ensured we had members who hadn't slept!
Members coordinated groups and made it to the meeting in batches. The members started accumulating as early as 6.45 am. Unfortunately, a couple of our riders got a little delayed in reaching. However,team consensus decided that we would wait for them. The time was well utilized by introducing between old and new members and do what we do best - talk about our bikes! Riders shared their experience and insights with each other. They shared experiences with their bikes, gear, riding styles, etc.

All in all, we had 29 bikes and 6 Pillions bringing the total count to 35

The Briefing & the start!
As always, we started the ride with the introductory prep talk about the basic rules for riding. Founder Parth gave a brief summary of the trip. He explained the rules of riding, headlights on at all times, the hand signals we use to communicate and what was expected of the riders. With that we had the riders fall into single line formation and with a head count, the first part of the ride commenced.

The first stop was some 30 kilometers ahead. With open highway roads in front of us, we did what we do best. We ride!
All the riders stayed in formation and we had riders Pranish and Preetham who were on constant patrol to keep riders in formation and help riders get around vehicles and obstacles. Nawaz stayed as the tail rider ensuring no rider fell back behind him. We had our first stop at the side of the highway, to stretch our legs and enjoy the view.
With a 10 minute break, we were off to our next stop which was directly for breakfast at Manor.

Riding patrol Shahnawaz went and spoke to the local police personnel and he in turn suggested a place which was frequented by police personnel for sustenance. He helped us to find a small; no actually a large corner to park all 29 of our bikes and even came to check on us after we settled in!

Breakfast consisted of misal pav and sweet n crunchy jalebi with sev on top; which were both hot and tasty. Our riders devoured it and topped it off with tea. With a solid breakfast in our tummies, we took off with next halt at Kelwa Beach in mind.

Or so we thought.....

Shortly after starting from the breakfast halt, rider Anabik had a rear puncture which was quickly spotted by a fellow rider. The line halted immediately and our Ride Patrols Preetham and Nawaz went in opposite directions in search of a repair shop. Preetham won! And with his luggage unloaded we started towards the shop, which was only a short distance away. We suggested that a couple of us would stay back and the rest should proceed but the bonhomie is such that everyone unanimously agreed to wait for the repair.

 

With nothing else to do, some engaged in photography; while the remaining broke into song. We had a guest in our ride. Rider Harshini had brought along her guitarist friend Prabal who had come down from Ahmedabad, Gujarat just to feel the BAC experience along with his guitar.

Luckily the cause of puncture was a single nail. A quick patch and the tyre was fine for the rest of the ride. Here is happy Anabik with the nail! To ensure we had no other problems, a quick check of all the tyres and we were back on road again with a single line formation. The road was winding but we kept at it with discipline and determination.

                                                   

Oh yes, people love us :)

We had a motorist pull us over and he enquired about the group and its destination. The smile on his face said it all. He left us and proceeded, only to halt ahead and enjoy the sight of 29 beauties going down the road!!!!
Hand signal chains for potholes and turnings ensured that the chain carried on unhindered. It also ensured we had eyeballs on us wherever we went. From smiles to waves, to the locals moving to the side to allow us to pass, to people turning on their cameras and taking photos of us; the fun just never stopped! Each and every one of us felt like Gods on their Chariots.

Kelwa FINALLY!

By 2 pm BAC Mumbai was at Kelwa Beach. A sight indeed to see an army of avengers parked in a row. The sight was such that tourists launched into impromptu photo sessions atop our beasts. So off we went to the beach. One group headed to the waters under the watchful eyes of the others. Second group sang songs with Guitar bhaiyya; while the third just walked around.

Everywhere we went, the same t-shirts ensured we had everyone's attention. The group huddled around guitarist Prabal and they sang songs one after the other in chorus. On a lighter note, Even Pranish tried his hand at the guitar and his collection for the day was impressive. But Guitar bhaiyya wanted his baby back before Pranish damaged it further!Prabal announced that he was shortly to get married; and the group wished him the best for his happy future!

The dip ended with Dinesh 'Machy' doing a baywatch run out of the water.... A rare sight indeed. Golden words are not to be repeated; and Golden actions like this, even more so! After a quick show of hands, it was decided that Machy would not be allowed to attempt the same again!

Harmeet, who makes sketches in his pastime; decided to make a larger-than-life sketch of an Avenger Bike on the sand. The sketch seemed incomplete without the BAC logo, so on popular demand, he made that too. Everybody was incredibly pleased with the outcome.

Here is our artist with his masterpiece. Some even tried to pose for a pic on top of the sand sketch! It was then time for lunch. Nilesh 'Papa' Telkar suggested a local restaurant where thaali was made available for all. The food was tasty and the riders were hungry. Once lunch was over, a consensus was drawn for the next meeting and potential plans for the 1st Anniversary Celebrations of BAC Mumbai. BAC Mumbai was formed on 10th October 2013.

Bye Bye Kelwa

With the meeting over, we decided to start on our way back. Given that we were a little behind schedule, it was felt that there was need for better coordination to maintain a decent pace and clear the highway before nightfall.It was thus decided to have Parth as the lead rider, 3 patrols (Pranish, Preetham and Gitesh), and one tail rider (Nawaz) to ensure that there are gaps in coordination. If all 3 patrols were not in sight of each other, the lead would slow down till the entire length was together again.

Thus off we went.

One rider's chain cover fell down and a couple of the riders slowed down to help. Given there were a lot of turns, the tail end got stuck at a cross road not knowing which way to go. A couple of old aunties came to their rescue!  They pointed in the right direction and said they went that way without the riders having to ask a single question! The next part of the journey consisted of winding downhill ghat roads. But  with great riding excellent coordination, tight patrolling, and passing down of signals by all riders and even pillions to each other ensured we made it to the highway well before we lost daylight.

                                   

                                   
The riders liked it so much that they wanted to go up the ghats and come down once again!

Once on the highway, we were able to pick up speed. The entire pack moved in single line formation like a train on 2 wheels. While some vehicles slowed down to watch us roll by, at other times the patrols helped by allowing riders to negotiate obstacles on the road with ease. The simply magical and synchronous coordination between all the riders meant we never needed to slow down and absolutely nobody wanted to stop! At 6pm sharp, before we realized it, the ''Road Train" was within city limits and come to a halt on the highway just before the Vasai exit for tea and refreshments. We didn't stop accumulating crowds even at the small dhaba where we stopped.

Concluding the ride...

With piping hot tea in our hands, we huddled into a circle where feedback was taken from all pillions and riders. The first timers were absolutely thrilled. The pillions also thoroughly enjoyed the experience and vowed to be back for more rides. The best compliment for everyone was that the formation was maintained excellently by all riders, including the first timers. Even our more experienced riders were thoroughly overjoyed to see the formation rolling down the highway like water in a stream. The riders appreciated the help provided by the patrols and the lead and the tail riders. All the members agreed to think of ways to increase ridership on the trips and boost the club numbers. The attention we have started to garner is definitely going to help towards this cause. Parth then once again congratulated the riders on another ride successfully completed. The tentative dates for the next meeting and ride in September and October were once again announced and thereafter it was decided to disband from Vasai Naka itself to their respective homes.With all the goodbyes said and with the promise to most definitely accumulate again, the riders got on their silver steeds once again to proverbially ride into the sunset…

But the riders still wanted more!

Even after disbursing the mini groups that split off continued the use of single line formation and hand signals all the way up to Dombivali where our furthest riders stay.

In short, the riders wanted more!

Even though the name has the word CLUB in it, it would be wrong on my part to not say we behave like a FAMILY

We hope you enjoyed reading about our ride just as much as we enjoyed riding through it. Keep coming back to this space to get a glimpse of what we are up to next. Make sure you do not miss the next opportunity to ride with us. Also do not miss to share this post & leave your valuable comments.

See you around soon.

Care,

Gitesh Gangadharan
BAC,