The first thing that struck me when I collected the bike from the Gurgaon showroom and was headed home was this:
Am I forgetting something?A few kilometers down the NH8 (service road if you please; they would not let me on the expressway!), I realised what it was.
It was that
I hadn't fastened my seatbelt...then it hit home...hell's bell's...what seatbelt?...this was a bike.
That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how far removed from the world of biking I had become.
Time to set things right.
Just done about 190kms since I collected the bike on 25 July.
Not much by any standard.
But this is what I have learnt.
Mobiles are a pain to attend to on a bike. - Check rear view.
- Pull over.
- Stand up.
- Dig out mobile from the trouser pocket.
- Take off specs.
- Take off helmet.
- Answer the call.
- Put on specs.
- By this time the caller would have hung up so call back since he/she would probably call again when I had just finished reversing the above process.
Wait till the wife has planted herself on the pillion - look back to confirm (don't assume she is seated) before marching off. Yes, it happened. Rain, dust and sweat are part of biking...the air conditioner is in the mind! It is a kind of a back to basics feeling. For a soldier like me who had trouble adjusting to air conditioners, the feeling is deja vu...I missed the rain, dust and sweat.
My respect for bikers has gone up by several notches. It can be quite a nerve racking experience especially in places like Karol Bagh. Tiny lanes. Crowded to the hilt. Shops selling what ever you could have asked for. Great place to explore. Even on the Ring Road it can be nervy what with lunatic auto walas crossing in front of you from the wrong side et al. Plan to do a 100km ride tomorrow. Lets see...
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Hey JD,
ReplyDeleteYour list of things to do to attend to a call is interesting. Just did not understand, why would you need to take your specs off?
love
ritu
Hi Ritu,
ReplyDeletesorry, i had'nt seen the comment.
why do i take off my specs? the helmet is a full face one and so you have to take off the specs and pull off the helmet else the chin/face guard will dislodge and mangle the specs into your face when you try to pull of the helmet without removing it!
likewise when wearing a full face helmet, as opposed to a full face but moveable chin/faceguard helmet, you need to remove specs, put on helmet and then wear the specs thru the gap above the chin/faceguard, the place where the visor fits in.
keep watching this space...