I am not completely pleased with all this road development that’s been happening. It’s adding to such monotony. Imagine, negotiating never-ending stretches of arrow straight roads, with just the road markings and the odd stray dog to keep him company. It’s scary, I know!
Cause riding, as the adage goes, is about the journey and not the destination. The journey therefore, needs to have a potent mix of flat-out straight stretches to open up the bike’s lungs and of course, winding roads, with the latter dominating the mix.
Bikers need roads with corners. Roads where we can put our bikes down scraping footpegs, and even the odd knee. Roads that need us to continuously work the bike’s handlebar to make the bends successfully, one after the other, in quick succession. Roads, where there is a hint of danger lurking behind every cliff, crest or trough; the danger of going into oncoming traffic or going off the edge if we were to overdo it. Roads, which are involving but more importantly, intoxicating.
Sadly, such roads are fast disappearing as the development authorities go about their road widening work with vigour; changing great, enthralling roads into safe and comfortable but equally boring means of commute.
Was riding in Maharastra the other day, a road I have ridden on for years. And when you spend a lot of time on the same stretch of road, no matter the distance, you tend to have your favourite sections. I had mine too. But to my horror, the road widening work had taken away my much-loved corners, blasted them into tedious straights!
This isn’t just a one off instance. I am sure the Golden Quadrilateral has taken a few great riding roads away, and so have the North-South and East-West corridors.
This fascination with road expansion, reminds me of the cartoon movie Cars, wherein part of the old Route 66 leading to the sleepy town of Radiator Springs which promised excitement and charm in the way it wrapped itself around the hills, is left abandoned in favour of an eight-laned motorway. But as it happens in all good family movies, the road is back in action thanks to one Mr Lightening McQueen.
However, in the real world, our great biking roads are going away forever. Bikers now need to travel further each year to enjoy riding. There are a handful of good sections around Delhi I am told, the road to Simla is one, then there’s one leading up to Shivpuri and beyond. But these are a long way off, and a long way off through painfully boring roads.
I do have a humble request: please somebody help me out with some good riding roads in this part of the world – in and around Delhi!!!
Cause riding, as the adage goes, is about the journey and not the destination. The journey therefore, needs to have a potent mix of flat-out straight stretches to open up the bike’s lungs and of course, winding roads, with the latter dominating the mix.
Bikers need roads with corners. Roads where we can put our bikes down scraping footpegs, and even the odd knee. Roads that need us to continuously work the bike’s handlebar to make the bends successfully, one after the other, in quick succession. Roads, where there is a hint of danger lurking behind every cliff, crest or trough; the danger of going into oncoming traffic or going off the edge if we were to overdo it. Roads, which are involving but more importantly, intoxicating.
Sadly, such roads are fast disappearing as the development authorities go about their road widening work with vigour; changing great, enthralling roads into safe and comfortable but equally boring means of commute.
Was riding in Maharastra the other day, a road I have ridden on for years. And when you spend a lot of time on the same stretch of road, no matter the distance, you tend to have your favourite sections. I had mine too. But to my horror, the road widening work had taken away my much-loved corners, blasted them into tedious straights!
This isn’t just a one off instance. I am sure the Golden Quadrilateral has taken a few great riding roads away, and so have the North-South and East-West corridors.
This fascination with road expansion, reminds me of the cartoon movie Cars, wherein part of the old Route 66 leading to the sleepy town of Radiator Springs which promised excitement and charm in the way it wrapped itself around the hills, is left abandoned in favour of an eight-laned motorway. But as it happens in all good family movies, the road is back in action thanks to one Mr Lightening McQueen.
However, in the real world, our great biking roads are going away forever. Bikers now need to travel further each year to enjoy riding. There are a handful of good sections around Delhi I am told, the road to Simla is one, then there’s one leading up to Shivpuri and beyond. But these are a long way off, and a long way off through painfully boring roads.
I do have a humble request: please somebody help me out with some good riding roads in this part of the world – in and around Delhi!!!
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