Aniruddha Raste's blogs

  The perception of long ride varies greatly among motorcycle riders. Especially new ones (does not mean young ones). Some call 400km ride a long ride, some call 1000km ride a medium one. Not that I am an expert on motorcycle riding, but I thought of putting the method to this madness. I jotted down my thoughts about classification of rides. I thought of 3 key parameters viz. Distance traveled, Time taken, and Effort put. Based on these I came up with following categories By Distance: 1. 400-1000 km. A ride should at least be 400km to think of it as a long ride. 2. > 1000 km. These rides really require a lot of preparation, stamina and experience. By time: 1. 2-3 days: Have more than one day, and you can reach longer distances which is essential for long ride. Exceptions exist, but yeah. they are exceptions. 2. week-long: Week long ride requires good planning, carrying of enough luggage and  tough mind. It should not just be a rote ride. Some sight-seeing, adventure, experi...

 A long ride on a Motorcycle is a thing filled with thrill and excitement. How much long is 'long'? Should it be defined by distance, time taken, number of breaks or the difficulty level? I think its a combination of all. Depends on how much time you spend and how much stress you are subjected to. None-the-less, here are some tips I scribbled. Before the ride: Research the route. thoroughly. For road conditions, stops, fuel bunks, service and emergency support etc. Estimate timings. Plan the short stops and overnight stay if need be. Book in advance. Research the weather. and prepare for it. Prepare the travel kit. Plan on type of luggage. Plan the weight distribution. Make sure it will be well balanced when on bike. Plan the luggage according to Cabin/check-in concept. Practice some maintenace if you can. e.g. Chain cleaning and lube, puncture removal, minor adjustments and settings. etc. Go for multiple short rides to get used to your bike. You must get used to extended sitt...

This time it was a combined Trek and Ride experience. Motorcycle ride for 3 hrs. from Pune to Kondane caves base, Mini-trek of 45 min. to Kondane caves and ride back home.  My younger son Chinmay was my partner. He likes to ride with me once in a while, and definitely likes to trek :-) Started at 6:45 AM from Pune towards Karjat. As usual, riding thru old Pune Mumbai highway, took a tiny break after Khandala to view Nagphani (a.k.a. Duke's nose) protruding through cloud blanket. This view is no doubt a refresher! It definitely starts the day on fresh note. Reached Khopoli, only to find that 'Ramakant' was not opened yet :-(.  Missed vadapav and rode towards Karjat. Had a breakfast and went towards Kondana caves.  The caves are nicely hidden in the forestation.- a truly quiet place for meditation. Not much rush. very beautiful, serene and secluded. (It felt very safe even if secluded. Caves by themselves are a topic for another write-up! This is rather small cave complex, ...