Chakrata: My first solo ride in my motherland

I got a new bike!! Well almost.. After pampering my bike with new chain-set, clutch plates, cone-set, brake shoes and battery, I thought it was time it got some work out. As usual I could not afford holidays from office so it had to be a short trip. So one particularly chilly morning I left from home at 5am. Destination was Chakrata. Route: Delhi-Meerut-Roorkee-Chhutmalpur(you bloody pervert..)-Dehradun-Mussoorie-Yamuna Pul-Chakrata. I had gone through the Roorkee-Muzaffarnagar route last year on my way to Harsil and even the thought of riding through it again made by body ache. It had some of the worst roads I have seen in my life with biggest pot-holes. So I prepared myself for the ass-breaking journey and started towards Roorkee. Initially the road was smooth. I knew the "joy ride" will start after Muzaffarnagar. After crossing it, I slowed down. No signs of the pot-holes. I knew they were there somewhere.. May be after the next turn.. Slowly my speed increased. I could not believe this.. UP road and no pot-holes.. Have I fallen asleep?? But yes the road till Chhutmalpur was smooth tarmac with light traffic. (Click to enlarge the pics)

As I crossed Chhutmalpur, I was in the UP I knew.

Pathetic road for some distance, then it got better but there were pot-holes scattered here and there. This continued this way even as the hills started.

Even the mountain roads were not as interesting as the ones around Shimla or in Kumaon, but still riding in mountains is always fun. Lotsa pics on the way..



So I reached Mussoorie.. View of the lake..

A coffee at the Kempty Falls, some posing..

A view of Kemoty Falls..

View at Yamuna Pull..

Wildlife photography..

The 72km route from Mussoorie to Chakrata was a quiet, desolate weather beaten road. For hours I met no one, saw no other vehicle and was riding through the twisties lost in my thoughts, enjoying the calm, the stillness around me and the inner peace it bought.. Moments of retrospection..

And moments of relaxation..

After hours of riding, I reached Chakrata at 4.30pm with the skies bursting out to greet me..

I wanted to spend the night at the Deoban (pronounced by locals as Devban) Forest Rest House. Outlook Traveller had said that booking had to be done in Chakrata. Locals directed me to a check post 6km from Chakrata. The guard there told me that the booking was done at Kalsi and anyways the road was closed due to snow. Mention of snow made my eyes lit up and it moved up to the first place on next day's agenda. I took a room at the Hotel Snow View in Chakrata and tired after the ride, retired for the day.
I got up at 7 the next morning just in time to capture the sunrise..



First target: mission snow.. I started towards Devban. First the road was ok.

Then it got bad..

Then there wasnt any road to take pictures of, only rocks and dirt.

It seemed I was riding in roads of Ladakh. As i got higher the view got better..


Finally some patches of snow started showing up.. I got excited..

After an hour and 10kms of offroading fun, I finally hit gold..


The road was iced out.. Here i got down and played around in the snow. This was the first time when I felt lonely. What fun would it have been if I had had my friends with me. Some more posing..


Then after a long walk in the snow, I started on my way back. Some more pics on the way back..


Next on the list was Tiger Falls. The fall's claim to fame is that they were the second highest falls in India. I had read that they were 5kms from Chakrata. Well now lets get the facts clear: Firstly Tiger Fall is at a distance of 17kms from Chakrata by road. The distance of 5kms is only for trekkers. These 17kms include some more offroading..

Secondly after this 17kms bumpy ride, there is a treacherous 3km walk downhill (which gets even more torturous when you are coming uphill!!!).

After this you reach the mighty Tiger Falls and see..

That water you see falling behind the bushes.. thats the fall.. Just as a consolation i clicked this. Its some small stream of the main fall..

Believe me at this moment of time the true meaning of "KLPD" dawns on you.. So much toil just to see a bloody tiny stream of water. Don't believe me. You still wanna see it. Well come to my house on a rainy day. I'll show you more water than this falling off my roof. After this the return journey seemed even more impossible. After a leg breaking journey I returned to my bike..

and this is how i felt like...

At 2.30pm I started from Chakrata. I decided to take the route Chakrata-Kalsi-Saharanpur-Delhi. Again a bumpy ride through the hills and I reached Kalsi. After that the plains began. I had been told that the road was good. But what I got was more than expected. A smooth straight road greeted me. A tarmac so even that even my tired bike was giving an average speed of 65km/h. Then the road snaked into the forests and then came such lovely twisties.. Ahh..

Broad ironed out tarmac curving through the forests. This was the best road I have driven on. The sexy road continued after a bad patch in Saharanpur. One problem though. No one had told the locals that the highways are ment for motor-vehicles. So you have people strolling on the road, drying grass on it So presenting the most used mode of transport on the perfect highway..

Oh they had motor-vehicles also. We call them tempos/auto-rikshaws and tractors. Bloody speed nuts they are, i must say!! Soon it got dark ..


Some monkeying around..

And now driving became painful with head lights from the other side blinding me. People never fail to strengthen my belief that Indians don't know that there is a low beam in their headlamps. As i got closer to Delhi, the road started reminding me again and again then I was in UP. Soon the things got real bad. Pot-holes became bigger than the roads and a thick layer of dust covered me. Then I saw a sign saying "Delhi 25". I was wondering whether it was an information that Delhi was 25kms away, or a challenge that if you have the guts try reaching the speed of 25. These last few kms were painfully slow (and I mean literally). Finally I reached saddi Delhi and my tired posterior got some much needed rest...

Distance Done: 720kms
Time Taken: 2 days