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!

The Jampore Ride - BAC Mumbai

BAC rides are always special, 30 + friends with full gear and their beloved Avengers, some old and some new were ready for the journey to Jampore beach near Daman.

The Jiffy
Whatsapp messages shared at speed of light right from 4.30 am. “Has everyone got up?”, “where are you?”, “what spot do I wait?”,”should I come directly to Fountain hotel?” and many more frantic ones later we gather.

When all meet

Finally all reached the assembly point and after a short briefing, the journey started in the wee hours at about 6.30 am, the weather was cool and refreshing and every Avy opened their eyes and roared on Mumbai- Ahmedabad Highway!
All energized riders were riding on a single line formation and looked like a long shiny snake cruising on the highway turning every onlooker eyes towards them, all the bypassing vehicles, trucks, tempos, buses, cars, bikes were looking and admiring the discipline.
Pranish (paaro) was leading and Parth and gurpreet (paaji) were at their best on patrolling and Ketan (selfie king) was the tail, around 8.30 we took halt for breakfast at the Kamat Hotel near Manor, this was the time everyone really saw each other, glanced Hi’s & Hellos & check out each other’s gears with a cup of piping hot tea in their hands. Some familiar and many new and got introduced to each other. Ravish uncle distributed pamphlets and told about the noble cause he is supporting for the cancer patients. Everyone had their breakfast, tea, smoke etc and Mitul joined us at Kamath’s and were ready for the onward journey.

That Breathless moment

After a smooth ride till Charoti, we were forced to halt as an incident struck us all & took our breaths away for a moment. Patrolling is never an easy job, and it sure struck us hard when Parth suddenly crashed on to a cow who appeared from nowhere. His bike flew a few feet away while a major accident was avoided.  The pillion on Parth’s bike was safe, thanks to our safety gear policy of wearing helmets, jackets & protective shoes. When things normalized after some time, we regained our momentum & rode ahead like a perfect team. One for all, All for One.

Reaching Jampore

Finally cruising through some broad and some narrow roads we reached the Jampore Beach. Everyone parked their bikes and were about to march towards the beach, some local idiots objected that the bikes being parked will block way to their shacks, although it was a parking lot, fine after a short brawl everything was ok and we entered into a shack, I could still remember the woohoo! reaction of the hotel owner on getting around 40 customers at a time and getting the whole day business done in 2-3 hours.
Everyone was now in a mood to chill, some went on the beach, some selfie enthusiasts started doing what they like the most, some just sat on the lazy chair and relaxed, some were busy in discussion about the way we came and so on....well it was around 12.45 when we reached and no one seemed to be hungry so some ordered cold drinks, some snacks, some Breezers and some went bird watching.. :D

After enjoying lunch and relaxing for a while, we had an introduction session for new members where everyone introduced themselves and shared their experience and suggestions.

Local Spare part hunting
Now Parth had to change the headlight of his bike so he went to some local shops but didn’t find it, so he along with Paaji, Sai, Tushar and Mitul decided to go to Vapi to get it done and other started their return journey, while getting ready to move, many people were inquiring about the group and were appreciating our unity and ofcourse BIKES..
On the way back

Returning Home

Return journey started after a photo session. and Pranish led the way again with same enthusiasm. Rajeev (myself) and Chetan were patrolling and Ketan was tailing. While returning the ride was smooth and we took a short halt at Charoti for tea and snacks and after short fun session everyone was again headed to the finish point and finally we reached Fountain Hotel at about 7.30 pm where the amazing ride was concluded, with smiling fresh faces & nostalgic heart. Every rider went home with loads of memories to cherish with their new found family called BAC-Mumbai

Does this post ring a bell in your mind? If yes, keep following this blog to read about amazing experiences that BAC Mumbai offers. Please leave your comments & suggestions below this post.

Hope to see you all in the next BAC Ride.

Cheers,

Rajeev Telang

Bajaj Avenger Club - Mumbai Anniversary Ride to Dapoli

"Intehaan hogai, Intezaar ki" (I cannot wait any longer). That's right, just 10 more day for our extended anniversary celebration ride to Dapoli and we can wait no longer.

Howdy Fellas! 

Hope you'll are doing well.

A year back on October 10, 2013 when we started Bajaj Avenger Club - Mumbai (BAC - M) with just 11 bikers never imagined that we will be an standing army of 80+ bikers as a part of this club within an year since inception. Year slipped like a sand from fist as our members continued to multiple.

Then -

Our first official ride as BAC - M was to lonavala, a small hill station between Mumbai and Pune, therefore we chose the same location for our first anniversary ride which was on October 12, 2014. The reason behind choosing the same location was simple, we felt nostalgic and that urge to ride back to Lonavala was killing us.

Now - 

But this is not the end, one year of togetherness, brotherhood and biker spirit is an achievement and it indeed calls for a grand celebration. After couple of meetings and series of discussion amongst BAC - M members we finalised Dapoli as the location for our celebration.

Dapoli is a town located in Ratnagiri district in the state of Maharashtra in India. It is 215 km away from the state capital of Mumbai. This place is notably known for it's rich history, fishes, places of interest and white sand beaches of which most of beaches are hidden, still untouched.

Dapoli beaches - 

We will be staying over night in dapoli at one of our member Nilesh Telkar's (a.k.a Papa) farm house.

This will be our hideout to spend the night - 

We already have a confirmed count of over 40 members excluding their pillions who will be riding to dapoli and there are many more yet to confirm. I'll leave it to your own imagination of how would it look and feel when you see 40+ bikers riding in a single lane formation.

We will be exploring places in and around dapoli, arrange jam sessions in the evening along with bonfire and there is much more.

Now let's kill the suspense, here is our plan for dapoli ride - 

Date - November 01, 2014.

1. We assemble at Kalamboli McDonalds, Navi Mumbai at sharp 05:30 AM for briefing and basic explanation of traffic regulations and hand signals. (There are no exceptions for coming late this time as we need to reach dapoli as early as possible so that we get adequate time to explore place). We will leave at 06:00 AM.

2. After 5.4 Kms ride we will stop and wait at Panchmukhi Maruti Temple for 10 minutes for those who turn up late.

3. After Panchmukhi Maruti Mandir, our next stop will be at Vadkhal for a 20 minute tea break. Distance covered - 47.7 Kms.

4. Stop # 3 at Mangaon for air and fuel check. (Last petrol pump until dapoli). Time - As per requirement. Distance covered - 111.1 Kms

5. Stop # 4 at Toll phata for rider count. Time - 2 minutes. Distance covered - 130.5 Kms

6. Stop # 5 at Deshmukh Baug for a 25 minute tea break. Distance covered - 174.6 Kms

7. Final destination stop - Dapoli. Distance covered - 212.6 Kms

Click here for route direction on Google maps


Return journey on November 02, 2014 - We may not run on a specific timetable as time would differ depending on the stops taken at places of interest and for photography.

P.S - 
1. Full pants, Shoes and Helmet is mandatory for rider as well as pillion.
2. Please carry two copies of all the mandate documents required to ride a motorbike as per Indian law.
3. Carry a spare key, just in event of key loss.
4. As the count is more than expected, bedding arrangement will not be possible for everyone so please carry an extra blanket as climate is cool in dapoli for most of the seasons.
5. Extra clothing for those who love beaches.
6. Some cash for lunch, dinner or unlikely bike breakdowns.
6. Anything and Everything else you may need to spend a night away from your home.


For more details, you can search Bajaj Avenger Club - Mumbai on Facebook or leave a comment along with your contact details and we will get back to you or you can check event details on Facebook

Damn, you have so many options. :P

Cheers until we ride again. Ride hard, Ride safe.
Dasvidaniya!

Back from Lonavala & Esha Gupta ride - A round up!

Dear Reader,

Our best wishes to each one you. Hope you enjoy our experience on Lonavala  Anniversy ride.
Every BAC Mumbai member was looking forward to this ride for two primary reasons… one, the first year Anniversary of the club and second… Esha Gupta.

Assembly at Kalamboli near MC Donald’s

It’s not easy to be rider especially when you have to wake up early and reach the assembly point at 6.30 AM. When we reached the spot the place transformed from a quiet and boring to full of positivity and enthusiasm. All you could hear is about rides, riders and Esha Gupta. We took a small Tea session while waiting for all riders to arrive. Each member was welcomed with a warm greeting from each member. It all commenced when Parth briefed riders & gave instruction on hand signals and keeping the head lights on. Iswar led and Dinesh took up the responsibility of the tail.  Parth & Preetham patrolled. We could say all four were awesome and key factors for this successful ride.

Entry of Esha Gupta

Esha Gupta is the lone girl traveler on a challenging mission to ride Golden Quadrilateral Highway route of around 6000 Km for a cause. Esha Gupta’s arrival filled the air with excitement and passion towards riding. We could easily feel respect from each BAC member towards the lone Girl traveler. Esha Gupta proved to be the most open minded person we had ever met.  She connected with members as if we knew each other for ages. We wanted her to ride with us to Lonavala but she couldn’t as this was against her mission of riding solo. So we let her ride alone ahead & decided to meet once at just after the Lonavala ghats and then directly at Lonavala for breakfast.
Igniting the bike and Gods came in power:
Once the briefing was completed and ride was flagged off, all riders geared up with helmets and jackets on the bike. Bikes were turned on and Gods came into power. Only thought in everyone’s mind was to ride hard and ride safe. Best thing about BAC Mumbai is we never compromise on safety and riding rules. So every member had carried all bike documents and each member including the pillions had helmets.
Fortunately the weather was awesome so riding was very pleasant. Cool breeze sifting through our faces and headlights of fellow Avengerians in the mirror added to the fun.

Small Photo session and break at Express Highway
Photography with Esha happened not only when we commenced the ride but also when she met us on the expressway right after we rode through the Ghats. The beautiful mountains & breathtaking views of the Lonavala & Khandala valleys with Esha’s company made these moments long lasting & a cherishable memory.

Back on bike towards Lonavala
This time BAC Mumbai started first and Esha left later to ride alone and meet directly at Lonalava near Kumar Resorts. From this point to Lonalva the ride was very beautiful as we caught the valley view on one side and experienced the ride on finest Lonavala highway.

Eye Opener and Take back lesson
We all thought that we knew Esha’s cause to Ride. We thought that the cause is “India’s global image of not being a friendly place for lone female travelers”. But when Esha explained her cause we all fell flat on our faces. After knowing the depth of her cause all we could do is agree with her and respect for her cause increased. So what was her cause?

1. She is not fighting for the women’s rights and current situation of women. She isn’t riding for any specific gender. Crimes are not gender bias. It happened to both men and women and many times it is not highlighted.
2. Crime happens all over world. Life is same around the world. But we are boosting too much about our country on the Social Media that we are creating a negative Image of our country.
3. We should not crib about the situation but fight for it not only by preaching but also by Acting.
4. We should not trust media and form opinions. By not allowing girls to step out of the house after 6.00 PM out of fear will only push our society a decade back. Girls should be encouraged to live their desired life and should be allowed to do whatever they want to do without fear.
5. We are bikers, our acts while riding reflects image of entire Biker communities. So we should behave in public and follow all rules. We need to create awareness that bikers are not only who perform stunts and race. All the people who ride a bike are bikers.

No discussion is good without debates and questions. So some members of club were in debate mode with Esha and we all finally agreed with her.

Bye Bye Esha … Esha on her way to Pune alone
Finally it was time say good bye to Esha. Everybody gave their best wishes to Esha for her ride and she was on her way to Pune.

Here we come Tiger Point
After the long discussion with Esha and her farewell, we all headed towards Tiger hills. As soon as we entered it did not take much time for the buzz to spread & we got loads of attention from everybody around. All were just staring at numbers of Avengers and our straight one line formation. Bikes were put to rest and we all assembled for delicious Corn, cheese and Kanda pokada. This was the perfect time to get the introduction of each other especially the new members. The best introducing was given by our new member Atul he was able to make sure everybody remembers him.

Tiger Point to Amby Valley
If you want to enjoy Ghats in Lonavala, Amby valley route is your ticket for fun and joy. Curves and turns of the road is what made the ride beautiful and memorable. Once we were at Amby valley gate we experienced a sense of achievement of successfully completing the ride. The plae was peaceful & quiet. Everybody just wanted to enjoy the peace as much as possible as you cannot find that in city. In a short while we moved to small Dhaba for another tea session.

Good Bye Lonavala. We are coming back Mumbai!
After our tea break it was time to say good bye to Lonavala and ride toward s Amchi Mumbai and Thane. On the way back all we did is ride, followed our hand signals and followed a straight line formation. We all feel one when we started getting messages from fellow riders once everybody reached home safe.

Hope you enjoyed reading about this ride. Well, we had fun riding through it though. Please feel free to leave your comments & feedback on this write up & the club with us on this blog. And keep following us for latest updates on our upcoming rides.

What’s next? Dapoli on Nov 1st and Nov 2nd

Hope to see you soon.

Cheers,

Stephan Swami

Ride with Esha Gupta - Change in date & plans

Hello Readers,

This is a notification of change in plans for the Esha Gupta Ride. Due to a change in Esha's schedule we have delayed the ride by a day, this means we now ride with her on 12th October. The tentative plan for the ride is as below.

Meeting day - 12th October 2014 ( Sunday)
Meeting Venue - Mc Donalds Kalamboli, Panvel

The route

We start the ride from Kalamboli & then reach the old Mumbai-Pune road via JNPT. We will escort Esha till the Lonavala diversion towards Pune & bid her farewell for her journey ahead.

We will then ride on till Tiger Valley & Amby Valley. Our way back will be through the same route while we conclude the ride at Palaspa Phata after Khopoli on return.

Please feel free to get in touch with us in case you have any queries regarding this ride.

Thanks & Regards,

Team BAC