Mahabaleshwer Ride- A view from Rajeev's Room

Hey Bikers & Bikernis,

Wanna know how the ride panned out? How we gushed ourselves out of beds & roared our bikes out on the roads just to ride together? What kicked us the most? the roaring sounds of 40 bikes together or the serene views of the curvy roads and the whistling sounds of breeze passing through our helmets? Keep reading :)

Pre-ride preps

Route planning - checked
Ride Stops & Accommodation - checked
Briefing schedule - checked
Safety gear - checked

With every passing moment, the excitement to meet was gathering momentum & the gut getting gushier to reach our starting point. And that moment FINALLY arrives.

We meet

It was decided previously that the ride will strictly start by 5.40 am from McDonalds, Kalamboli and whoever comes late has to catch us at the breakfast halt near Kolad so accordingly riders started gathering from 5.00 am. By 5.30 am almost everybody were present at the meeting point. After a short briefing we started the ride at 5.50 am, the route was decided via Panvel bypass-Khopoli- Pali- Nagothane- Mangaon- Poladpur- Mahableshwar...

We decided to ride in groups on 10-12 people since managing 40 riders at a go was difficult on the road, so 3 groups were made and lead and tail were appointed for each group.

We Ride
It was a typical summer morning, with a little chill in the air and the surrounding hills and fields covered in mist. I thought of stopping to take a picture of the beautiful surrounding and sunrise, but i was enjoying the ride so much that i didn’t feel like stopping and also since I was leading the group. It was warm at the places where there was sunlight, and it was bit cold at the spots where there was shade.

We were cruising through beautiful curvy roads between Khopoli and Pali and since few of us had bluethooth devices in helmets, we were coordinating between the lead and the tail to make sure everyone is with the group.

But the funny part was yet to come, the last group headed by AMD went through the Pen- Vadkhal route, thanks to the helmet bluetooth device that we were in touch for the entire stretch and finally met them after the Pali turn. Out first halt was already decided to be at Hotel Raveez near Kolad (Navazbhai coordinated with the hotel owner a week before the ride to make sure everything goes smooth) at around 8.30 am, we reached there at 8.15 am..husshh what a streach was that, beautiful misty morning, snaky curves and 40 avengers in a row, nobody even realised that they covered a distance of around 100 KMS ;),

After the breakfast and quick photo session by BAC official Photographer Kalpak, we started our journey at 9.15 am, the BAC pune people were supposed to meet us near Mangaon Bus depot at around 10.30 am but we reached Mangaon by 9.45 am, I called Amit (BAC Pune) and learned they might take another hour to reach Mangaon so we decided to move ahead till Poladpur and told them to catch up.

We crossed Lonere and I got a call from Chetan that one bike had a problem and they had to stop near Mangaon, it was Sheldon's bike but the problem was not big just bit petrol overflow which got rectified in 5 minutes and they jointed us in sometime. We reached Poladpur at around 11.00 am and decided to wait for BAC Pune riders, till then the sun started to heat up the climate, everyone ran towards the Nimbu Sharbat stall to cool themselves, all local people there were looking with amazed reactions and some were enquiring about our group and rides, I was in touch with Amit and he told they might  reach  Poladpur in 10-15 minutes. we decided to wait there and start one all reach.

Poladpur to Mahableshwar is a good 35-40 km road passing through Ambinadi ghats , the road is good and turns are awesome with good biking scope that we were able to go ahead at nearly 50 kmph.... felt like we were playing MotoGP, taking every turn tilting our bike to the maximum, to get the full pleasure.....Kalpak, Neil, Chetan and some others were talking pics and videos on the go,  If you truly wanna enjoy cruising, Ambinadi ghats is the best place for you... I really like riding through the ghats rather than just ripping on straight roads, since on the ghats u really need to be 1 with the bike to take those curves with good speed , and I like to be with the mountains.

Finally we reached Mahableshwar at 1.45 pm, 15 minutes ahead of time, thanks to all the riders who took extra care for getting their bikes serviced and tuned before the ride. Mahableshwar welcomed us with a nice cool breeze and lot of greenery, felt like someone hugging us after a long tiring journey, all the tiredness vanished in seconds and we all headed towards our abode which was a huge 10 BHK bunglow called Gurukripa Nivas between Mahableshwar and Panchgani. the owner was waiting for us on the road to welcome us and help in parking.

Everyone settled in their respective rooms and got refreshed since it was almost the lunch time and the food was ready, so after getting fresh everyone headed towards the dining area, the food was excellent and everybody enjoyed since all were hungry :). We had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves & were instructed to be back to the hotel by 7.00 pm, some people decided to explore the area, some decided to go shopping in market and I and few other decided to take a nap since i hardly had any sleep in the night.

I got up at 6.30 pm and saw there was no one except Chetan in the room, so we decided to head toward the market to get some stuff for the night (you know what I mean), went to market and returned by 8.00 pm, by that time most people returned and we decided to have some entertainment session so the Bonfire was arranged and we decided to play Dumb Charades and dance. When you are lost in the wild with the friends on the floor, it’s difficult to tell what happened! So, let the pictures tell the tale, not me… but, what I generally experience on dance floor and on the tables flooded with high spirits ;) is that it’s wonderful to lose oneself and know others in calm dim-light, it’s astonishing to break the barriers and get closer. It continued till 1.30 to 2.00 am. Forgot to mention, in between a "Know the new" session happened and every new member introduced themselves and shared their experience. The Bonfire deemed and all went to sleep to get up next day for even more enchanting return journey.

Next morning i woke up with Pranish's bark, half woke up, more than half slept, It was already a bright day, though the breeze was cool enough to get us some welcome shivering! some early wakers were already ready and want to visit some points. Rest all got ready and had breakfast, a bit disappointing one though.

The return journey to Mumbai was scheduled to start at 1.00 am via Panchgani- Vai- Pune- Lonavala- Panvel, after refueling we started in small groups on 15 each and regrouped en route Vai. After reaching Vai on NH4 the wide roads felt inviting and we decided to skip the Shivapur lunch break and halt directly at Dehu Road junction for food since the weather was cool as rains just made a visit to Pune and surrounding areas making the breeze cool enough to fell pleasant to ride.

We reached Dehu Road junction at around 3.15 pm and everyone as everyone refreshed. We started again by 3.50 towards Lonavala in groups and decided to take a small halt near Khandala bridge before the expressway for a group and bike photo session. Had a good time there and all the people and passerby there were staring at the group and bikes and were taking pics with us, many small kids from families there also had a photo session with us.

We reached Panvel at 5.45 pm, again 15 minutes ahead of time and that made the ride most memorable, everyone shared their feedback and departed to their respective homes.

As a ride, 400 and a few kilometers may not be much, but the score of friends we got is some kind of big achievement!  We may not be able to be in touch with each and everybody all the time, but a few with whom we will meet again on this ride and would be riding again with........

Hope my version of this ride motivates you to get more in the future rides.

Hope to see you soon then.

Dont forget to share your feedback on this post & feel free to get in touch with us.

Ride hard & ride safe.

Rajeev Telang

The Avengers are gearing to cruise - Mahabaleshwer

BAC Mumbai is back again with yet another fun filled riding experience. This time, the planned destination is the Land of Strawberries and the Origin of River Krishna in India, Mahabaleshwar. This was also one of the key staging areas for Shivaji’s army in the 17^th Century for construction of the Pratapgad fort, a key Maratha Fort from historical perspective. 

The Ground work

Having a 2 day plan had been a suggestion from many of our members. Finally it was taken into purview along with one of the most scenic destinations to have been chosen for the ride. But to back it all up, a strong plan was required to be put in place. That is where the core committee came in with the initiative and started setting the wheels in motion for planning the ride.

After having an internal discussion and taking opinions in view, a plan was finalized. Club meeting for the announcement of this plan took place on 24^th May at 5 Gardens, Matunga. In this meeting the long awaited plan was finally revealed and put up for approval by other members.

The Plan

We start by assembling at the McDonalds in Kalamboli, which is famous as a breakfast point as well as assembly point for many biker’s clubs. From here we leave by 5.40 am for Pali via Khopoli using the Panvel bypass road on the Mumbai Pune highway(old). This will be the first continuous ride before coming to our first halt after Pali.

Second major part of the ride will begin here, leaving from Pali at about 8.45 am and reaching near Poladpur by 11 am, where again we take a halt for refreshments and head-count.

From Poladpur, it is a nice 35 km route to Mahabaleshwar through the Ambenali ghat which is a mountain road. It is one of the best ghats for bikers to ride in since it has many turns and twists without having a lot of change in elevation. In fact, the main characteristic of the Ambenali ghat is that it takes many turns without gaining or losing much height. So this is one of the top attractions of the ride ahead!

We reach Mahabaleshwar by 2 pm and there is where the second Phase of the Fun begins. There are a lot of activities planned for rejuvenation of the members till late in the evening. Members will also have the option to go and explore Mahabaleshwar.

The Wait

Now with just 2 days to go, the bikers are pepped up to hit the roads. 

We can just hope to have a good time. At least before the ride actually begins. But it is worth the wait. So stay tuned… lot of fun filled curves and twists ahead. 6 June, here we come!