Get Set Wet – the Monsoon Ride Posted on June 11, 2013 by Ajith Varma Get Set Wet – CBC Monsoon Ride to N. Paravoor 9th June, 2013 Event organiser: Cochin Bikers Club Event creator: Shagzil Khan Event reporter: Ajith Varma I woke up in the wee hours of Sunday to a bolt of lightning and thunder accompanied by a heavy downpour and high-velocity winds which sent a chill through my spine. It was close to 4am, I sat upright in the bed wondering what would be the fate of our ride. I could hardly sleep further. With such thoughts hovering my head I once again slipped into sleep, only to wake up soon. When the event was conceived only a couple of days before it was to take place, I wondered how many of the invitees would participate on such a short notice. I was a doubtful starter self due to a hamstring pull on my left thigh. But it was heartening to note that a dozen of the CBC riders finally turned up thus making the ride a colourful, fun-filled, action-packed event. I rushed through my rituals and was ready at 5.50am. Two new young riders, Indrajit and Dipu Ajay, students of Bhavan’s Vidyamandir Elamakkara, whom I managed to rope in for the ride joined me at Kaloor Stadium, and so did Samor K. Joseph, who rode down from Kadavanthra. We joined Shagzil Khan and others waiting at the Appollo Junction, Kalamassery and flagged off our ride at about 6.45am. It was a pleasant morning with overcast sky and chill in the air. Congrats Shagzil Khan for selecting this great route, i.e., from Pathalm till Aluva-Paravur Road, which took us through small towns like Edayar, Panayikulam, Chiryam and Kangarpilli. With small exceptions we found the route excellent and properly marked. Roads were strewn with debris and dead leaves left by the thunderstorm the night before. Uprooted trees and banana plants were aplenty along the road. We thoroughly enjoyed the turns in varied angles, but missed dearly the elevations. There were a few stretches where we felt we were off-roading. It was also a great feeling to be on a make-shift bridge with our bikes lined up for a photo-shoot by our ace lensman-cum-rider, Krishna Kumar (Krish, KK). It looked like rain gods worked overtime the night before to dispense its stock of rains. And our ride, christened the Get Set Wet – Monsoon Ride would be remembered for the absence of rains we longed for, craved for! Despite the Met forecast for thunderstorms, our prayers for a rainy day were unheard by merciless raingods this time. Vinhad Aziz, who literally went down on his knees and prayed for the rain that never showed up. Soon after we hit the Aluva-Paravoor higway at Manakkapadi, Samor and I were riding in the front thinking that the others are following. Around this time another CBC rider, Rejin Painuthura, who was on a hot chase after he missed us at the starting point had a solo ride to Paravur. Having not seen or met any of us, also any of the Team Cycle members, he had embarked on his return ride. It was then he bumped into us on Aluva-Paravoor highway. He was so happy to see all of us and merrily joined us once again. Shagzil got a call on his mobile and during the process of attending it, the device slipped out of his hand and fell into a pool of water. All of us dismounted and huddled around Shagzil. Like a Kingfisher catching the fish, in a flash Shagzil’s hand dived into the pool and scooped up the mobile. He finally sighed in relief when found the device undamaged. Soon came an SOS from one of the riders approaching! Someone has got a flat tyre. Shagzil called up and found out that it was Clancy’s Hopetown stationary with its front wheel flat! Shagzil and Samor rode back to the scene also asked the new riders Indrajit and Deepu Ajay to accompany him to understand how a flat tyre is fixed, since every rider should be familiar to render such first-aids to the bike. In the meanwhile, Vinshad, who was longing to ride my GT for sometime, mounted on it and went on a test ride. Later we both also headed towards the scene where Hopetown was being attended to. The new riders and even others like me looked at the way Shagzil and Clancy, veteran CBC riders, conducted the operation on Hopetown. A bucket and water was borrowed from the neighbourhood. A forty minutes break saw the Hopetown ready to be mounted again. Two more riders, one of whom Santhosh Thayil, who missed us out at Apollo Jn joined us there, and we continue riding to Paravur town. We herded our bikes into a well known Shopping Centre, and headed to a Veg. Restaurant, where we treated ourselves to a sumptuous breakfast of Poori Masalas, Ghee Roasts, Idlis and Vadas. Great breakfast, after a long ride!!! As we came out of the restaurant, we saw the Team Cycle members arriving one by one. A small pickup full of saplings, intended to be planted on our way to Kadamakkudi, was also parked. We had a photo session in front of the Galaxy Cycles, a prominent bike store in Paravoor which sells and service high-end pro bikes. The ceremony, which was originally scheduled for 9am but Team Cycle was late and as a consequence our itinerary was derailed. We were forced to abandon the tour of Muziris heritage sites as planned. However, the events that followed, the inter-mingling of CBC and Team Cycle members, the joint ride, and the planting of saplings at designated sites was really inspiring, interesting and thought provoking. It was great meeting Adesh Chandran, Jobi Varghese, Shyam and others. Many of the CBC members were also honoured having given opportunities to plant the saplings. Good endeavour, Team Cycle, keep it up!!!! Congrats to all Team Cycle members. An unexpected encounter with Sanjay Asher took place as we were pedalling the breadth of the island of Kadamakkudi. He was there to attend a marriage function, left his car, swapped the position for a bike, and rode till the junction that leads to Pezhala and Varapuzha. Good to see you Sanjay. It was sort of a last lap of a race after the first session of planting till we reached Chathanad—fast and furious! We were ferried to Kadamakkudi, where a few saplings were planted as well. A few of us found the Kadamakkudy-Pezhala-Moolampally-Chittoor with its breathtaking scenery a more fascinating proposal to reach home. So Vinshad, Indra Samor and Dipu and I opted for this route and were not disappointed. We were ferried at four places before we reached home at around 12.30am. Shagzil Khan, KK and Clancy went to Varapuzha and on to their respective homes. We were a bit disappointed not being able to see the places we wanted to at Paravoor, Chendamangalam and Kodungallur. However nothing lost !!!. Shagzil Khan will soon be coming out with an event sometime during the first week of July. The monsoon also will be intensifying by then. We indeed missed the company of Pradeep Kumar Menon, a native of Chendamangalam, Paravur, who not only would have enjoyed our company, but also have helpful in taking us to the places of interest in the near vicinity, unknown to us. Hope he would be able to make it when we embark on to visit the Muziris Heritage sites again. Many splendid pics have already been posted in our site by KK. Samor had been of great help, handling adroitly handling my Videocam even while speeding down on the roads and negotiating the bends. Thanks Samor. I cannot recall a single dull moment during the entire ride. Right from the time we stopped to ask directions to where we parted at the island of Kadamakkudi, the entire team showed no signs of fatigue and maintained pace. Splendid planning!!! Great ride!!! Enthusiastic riders!!! Intoxicating weather!!!. Thank you all for joining the Get Set Wet-Monsoon ride.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 03:02:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015