Women and children, NOT first
- 28th of August
- New Delhi - Karnal - Ambala - Ludhiana - Jalandhar - Pathankot - Madhopur
- 470km
We started early in the morning… we were on the road at 5AM. We had long straight 6-lane highways throughout, it was a very boring ride. This was NH-1, the Grand Trunk road which, quite possibly, is the oldest highway in India.
Rides and riders on the over-bridge at Ambala. Yes, in case, you were wondering, I was severely hung over - Courtesy Prashi
Lunch at Ludhiana, after which we had some severe strong winds and threat of rains, but it passed. We kept riding past Jalandhar, and after a while we saw a very interesting sign post, which said "Wagah Border - 37km". Pretty cool, we thought. Might be worth taking a diversion to see the Paki boys close the gate in the evening. Except that… we were totally off route!
From Jalandhar, we should have got onto NH-1A towards Pathankot, but had stayed on NH-1, which goes to Lahore. Now, it was either retrace 50+ km back to Jalandhar, or take an interior road to Pathankot. We chose the latter. The great thing about Punjab is, even the narrow interior roads are awesome blasting roads, better than an NH in Karnataka. We maintained our speeds on these roads too… well… at least until "she" arrived.
She came in quietly, without much fanfare, from a side road, when I was tailing the three bullets. The green Palio slowly shrank in my rear view mirror, as we maintained our 85kmph. Lazy afternoon sun, full stomach and my brain switched off for a while. Next thing I know, my rear view is full of the Palio. No wait, cars aren’t supposed to go so fast on roads like these.
Two things went through mind -
- Blast!
- Not too fast, make it last
The latter won out, and I let the Palio pass. I watched as the Palio slowly pulled away… but wait, something was wrong with the picture. No sign of the boys. Fully chavi’ed, the boys are pulling 110+ kmph, with Prashi in the lead. With one loud "Me toooo!!!!", I drop a gear and blast past the Palio.
So now four bikes are burning up the road, with the Palio in hot pursuit. We keep it up for a while, until "Mr. Mad Bull" Ranga sees a cow cross the road, and drops his bike. While we are helping him up, the Palio pulls over and waits for us to start belting again. Full time Chavi. We start moving again, and give no quarter this time.
Well-weathered leather,
Hot metal and oil,
The scented country air.
Sunlight on chrome,
The blur of the landscape,
Every nerve aware.
We left the Palio way behind, and stop for a chai at the next crossroad. A short while later, the Palio pulls up, and the driver’s window rolls down. At the wheel is a spectacular looking Punjabi babe, all curves and ringlets. Our jaws drop. Riding shotgun is an auntie, and two kids, including an infant, are in the back seat. She flashes a million dollar smile. Our jaws drop. "Aap loag JK jaa rahe hain" ? Did I mention our jaws had dropped ?
What a babe… what a babe! Whattababe!!! We spent some time fraternising with her and the kid. I didn’t get her number, and though the boys claim that they didn’t either, I have my doubts. Prashi, you lousy rogue, cough it up.
Anyway, the rest of the day was uneventful. We reached Pathankot, it was still early, so we pushed on to a place called Madhopur, which is about 15km beyond Pathankot. Stayed at some PTDC cottage on the riverside. Had nice dreams that night about the time that women and children let the men go first.