Day 5&6:
All thanks to the Veteran:
A family of five members living in Chandigarh , Dad a retired Airforce officer , Mom a House maker , two kids & their grandpa but today both their kids are out of station, Dad left as usual to cycle around Chandigarh who always returns home by night to make sure he is with Grandpa who is not doing well these days.
Now a young cyclist heading towards Chandigarh stopped at a place to have some juice while getting to know about the roads around from the vendor.
Now the Dad who was out to cycle finished his usual 100k and stopped after seeing young cyclist.
The retired air force officer got to know about this young cyclist and invited him to stay at his place for the night as its a risk cycling in a hilly region like Baddi an industrial town in Himachal Pradesh at this hour of the day.
The young cyclist is me and the Dad is the person I met on my way to Baddi, I believe whenever you have good intentions and strong will to achieve something things workout in such a way that everything around favors you , Nature has its own way of doing things.
Let’s say the veteran I met didn’t take this route , their kids dint go out of station and I have stopped at Kurukshetra, Haryana as I have pre planed before night , neither of this wouldn’t have happened.
The Sweet Shopkeeper? :
After Initial 50km stopped under tree shade next to a tea stall to make few calls . Never expected September of Haryana is this hot however after a little rest while sipping desi chai with local biscuits resumed the ride. About to leave the shopkeeper denied the money offered instead wanted to know my story and offered to have lunch , which is totally unexpected. Moments like this keeps me going irrespective of the hurdle’s.
The day just keeps getting hotter and hotter so I was forced to make another pitstop to have some fresh lime. This upright looking vendor immediately got up from his chair greeted me and requested me to the use the same chair to sit under the tree.
Deception!! :
Finishing the juice asked the amount to be paid instead he starts talking about his family issues and responsibilities he need to handle, by now I’ve understood his ulterior motive. He was expecting I donate some money for his cause , this was the first time I had to come across this kind of situation where I was incredibly uncomfortable .
I’m not convinced with his deceptive personality and was hurt so made payment for the overpriced lime juice(100rs) and left.
The Feat:
After cycling almost 70km reached Kurukshetra but there was this insatiable craving for more today , I knew my its my Uncles and Aunt’s marriage anniversary is today and they live just 40km away from Chandigarh , So decided to push a little more to surprise them with my presence. This add another century to my ride today.
Eventually I was able to cover 120 km , now I had to take a diversion from Highway of Chandigarh to ride another 30 km approx. and reach Baddi, Himachal Pradesh.
Road was getting steep and day light is getting low even before 5:00PM which means I’m close to the Mountains.
One basic thing before entering into the hilly region: Especially in winter’s Sun rises late , sets early and Vice Versa in summer , so when one plans to explore hills do plan accordingly and also remember most highways in hilly regions are isolated after evening.
Death of Adventurer:
After an exhausting 120km ride stopped to have Mosambi juice to regain my carbs & keep moving but just then I’ve met the Veteran which I have mentioned in the beginning.
After my host convinced me its not safe for me to ride through hilly area at this hour of the day cause recently another adventurer who was skateboarding across country lost his life in the exact same route.
Following my host through the busy highways of Chandigarh we met fellow travelers who did the entire circuit of Manali to Leh circuit on scooty , me few hundred KM away from the exact same destination was really excited to learn more about their experience.
Reached my hosts place , its an independent home located in decent locality. They let me use the bedroom belonging to their kids who are away for the night , after having the delicious meal served by the family went back to the room. Though it was just five days I was feeling it’s been really long time away from home.
Love for Chandigarh:
Next day morning woke up around 3:30 AM for a meetup with cycling group of Chandigarh called Dil se , had to cycle around 15km to reach the meeting point. My body is not habituated to usually ride at this hour of the day ,only then I understood the concept of body clock.
It was on of the great welcome so far , never did I get this kind of response even in my home state. Loved the team .their excitement and energy.
In the morning while packing everything stumbled upon on a small picture of god next to my things ,me not being so religious wondered from where did this pop up from , Nonetheless slipped it in one of my bag.
After a short ride with the team to a beautiful location called Siswan Dam clicked few few pictures and cycled to Sheesh Mahal Sahib Gurudwara nearby. Had their Langar : loved the roti , rajma & chaach .
Sweet Home:
Its time we part ways , so after telling our good byes my host offered to give company until my destination today. His name is Bali X Air Force Veteran and is on a mission to break a Guiness world record(600 continuous century rides not missing a single day ) , when I met him he was on his 300th Century ride(approx).
Nonetheless I was glad to have some company while entering my first hilly state. My destination Baddi, Himachal Pradesh is just 13km away from the Gurudwara, thought its a cake walk and was all set to meet my family in no time but just like always things never happen as expected.
I’ve never cycled nor seen such mighty hills ever , while I was laboriously putting in all my energy Pedaling & Pushing alternatively my 50kg heavy bike , my friend here whose around 40 years older was effortlessly sailing through hills.
And funny me pissing pants looking at the depths of the valley , wondering how much time it would take for someone to touch the foothill if they slip.
Reaching the T point 2km away from my relatives place we parted our ways after I was given few basic precautions to follow while on the road. Just about to leave he asked “did you keep that Hanuman Chalisa I left with your things” , I was left amazed wondering how someone could be so empathetic and affectionate to a complete stranger.