Behrampore-Bhuvaneshwar

Thursday, November 10
Yesterday was a rough day for Dinesh. He had a bout of food poisoning in the morning and was throwing up all day. So he got through the ride yesterday as soon as he could and was wiped out by the time we reached the hotel. We decided that Navroze and I would start off early with one of the jeeps and Dinesh would catch up to us when he felt more rested.
Woke up to Naveen’s alarm at 4:45 am and got ready by 5:30. As always, Navroze and I finally rolled another half hour later. The roads were empty and it was a little chilly. Road out of town was as bad as the road in to town. Uneven and broken up in many places. The first 50 km or so was like that and then it got a little better. After that we stopped off for a chai and some breakfast in a small town called Krishnanagar (see photo). The chai is dispensed from the machine and is served in a disposable clay cup. Weird mix!
By around noon we reached the suburbs of Calcutta. Passed over the hoogli river and the national highway 60 came up. what a relief! Fantastic 2 lane each way highway wih a divided in between and light traffic. We got open up the throttle for a while until we broke for lunch. Also we were back in area where we could get good yogurt and that meant i could indulge in Lassi, my favorite drink here.
We had no idea how many more kms exactly to Bhuvaneshwar, but as long as the road was like a runway, we were flying with big grins. after almost 400 kms we saw signs saying we had another 300 or so more to our destination. The light was slowly dimming and Dinesh opted to carry on as fast (and safe) as he could to Bhuvaneshwar and we would meet up there.
Meanwhile Navroze and I had already been on the road for about 12 hours and we stopped for a chai, then for a tire inspection for the backup jeep, then petrol and finally dinner break. by then it was around 9pm and it was colder than i had expected. we put on our rain gear just to keep the wind out and got back on the bikes to finish the last 180 km or so left. I felt awfully tired after dinner and was having a very difficult time focusing on the traffic ahead. The thoughts were racing through my mind to stop and take a quick shut eye or let Joe ride for awhile, because i knew i couldn’t go on like that. Perhaps if the remaining distance was very short, but we had a long ways to go and i was also thinking that it would slow down Navroze, if I were to stop so soon. As i was thinking these, i must have taken a wink too long and i crashed in to the central divider to my left and was thrown off the bike at about 50 kmph. I was flung on to the dirt median and rolled over a few times and miraculously escaped without a scratch. The bike skidded along the its side and crashed to a halt. I was shaken and was feeling idiotic for not going with my instinct right away. Very stupid of me! Joe and Rakesh were in the jeep right behind and they helped get the bike back up and it was working fine, except for the horn which was muffled. There were a couple of big scrapes on the bike’s side but it was working fine.
I noticed that the rain pants i had on over my jeans were damaged at the my left shin area quite bad and also on my right hip. I must have fallen on my hip, as i could already feel a little soreness.
I was awake now! With the intention that i would stop at any moment if i felt sleepy, I got back on the bike and carried on to finish the remaining 160 kms.
We stopped briefly a couple of times for chai and to wash face and by 1:30 am we reached Bhuvaneshwar in Orissa state. What a ride. Over 19 hours and 675 kms was very taxing. I was very thankful for the incredible luck i had and was ready to say enough for the day.
Took a hot shower at the hotel Bhuvaneshwar and hit the bed. Tomorrow we were heading to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state, my home state.

Technorati Tags: India Bike Trip, Joe’s photos