The ride towards Bareilly started at 11 am. I admit I was very nervous about the ride. I was riding through some of the places which frequently finds a mention in the crime files. Riding solo was discomforting for the first time. It was not a very happy start to the ride.
My riding strategy was to ride non-stop till I reach my destination.
I used my GPS to guide me through the route and it took me through some of the remote places which made me even more nervous. Once I crossed Greater Noida, I decided not to follow the GPS and stick to the highway where I could see some travellers. The deeper I went into the Uttar Pradesh (UP) heartland, the surrounding sights made me more nervous. One thing was clear - It would be a tough challenge to find a safe place to stay if I fail to reach Bareilly by sunset. The way people stared at me changed drastically when I entered UP. It was no longer a curious friendly stare that I had grown used to, but it was a stare that makes one feel uncomfortable. Once I had to stop at one railway crossing. I was tired so was not giving much attention to the surroundings. When I gathered my senses, I saw that all the people at the junction were staring at me. A group of three people had surrounded my bike and was checking Chitti (that's what Linda calls my Royal Enfield .Inspired from the movie of one of our favourite actors - RAJNIKANT !!! )
and my luggage. Now, I am not saying that all those who were staring at me had an evil intention and the ones who had surrounded me were trying to mug me, but all these made me really nervous and stimulated my defensive instinct. Not everything about UP was scary. I also came across some people who were very helpful with the directions. One elderly man also called me ‘beta’. It's just that friendly smiles were very difficult to spot in UP.
It was soon evident that riding this stretch of land after sunset would invite trouble. Just to avoid unnecessary attention I ensured that my camera doesn't see the light of the UP days.
To my luck, Chitti was running out of gas. Petrol stations are very hard to come by in UP. I finally found one shady petrol station just when my reserve petrol was about to run out. It was in the middle of nowhere and it was almost 3 pm. I topped up Chitti and took some extra fuel in the jerrican. Meanwhile, one SUV queued behind Chitti. I noticed that the SUV had a lawyer sticker in the windshield and the man driving was in a black attire suggesting that he was a lawyer. This man was constantly staring at me for some time. Finally, he asked, “Aap kaha jaa rahay ho?” (Where are you going?)
I said, “Bareilly”
“Aakelay?” (Alone?)
“Haan ji” (Yes)
He then made a strange facial expression. It was not an expression of appreciation but doubt.
“Kyu?”, I asked (Why?)
He told me that the road ahead led to a very notorious village. What he told me next turned me cold.
“Aap jaisay he nadhi kay uus par ho jawogay, aap samjho aap ka bullet gaya. Koi na koi aapka gaari aapse churalega” ( As soon as you cross the river, consider your bike stolen)
I so wished to go back to Delhi when I heard that.
He suggested me an alternate route to avoid that village but the route was too complicated for me to comprehend. I decided to continue riding without stopping for anything.
The next few hours called for hardcore riding. The rough single-lane highway prohibited me from speeding in an attempt to reach my destination early. After the sunset, the roads became even more scarier. On most stretches, I was the only soul on the road. In between, I had this crazy thought of riding into the nearest police station to spend my night as I thought that would be the safest place.
I reached Badaun at around 8 pm. Bareilly was another 50 kms away but I didn't want to take chance of riding on the highway alone. I looked for a decent hotel to stay and the only decent hotel that I saw was hotel Rajmahal. The sight of the security guard with a gun spoke volumes about the place. It was an expensive hotel for my budget, but it was the safest place in the area. The hotel, however, didn't have any online presence. To add another layer of safety, I told the manager that I was from the army. My get-up supported my claim.
Called Linda immediately after I checked in. She was in a panicked state and had called me about 50 times. She heaved a big sigh of relief when she heard my voice. She screamed at me for not answering the call. I could understand her stress, I was guilty as charged. I promised her that I would frequently update her from my next ride.
Sometimes later, Sujata, my ex-boss also called me as she had some job opportunities for me in Bangalore. As she was familiar with the UP terrain, she also advised me to take caution while riding.
It was a very stressful day. Mentally stressful if not psychically. And if I had a chance to redo this ride, I would opt out of riding through UP for sure.
At the end of the 29th day, I had travelled a distance of 268 Kms.
(Do read the other days chronicle listed on the same page)
#Royalenfield #trip #leh #bikeride #adventure #ladakh #travel
Badaun....OMG. These places have garnered quite a reputation for themselves. Glad you safely went through it :)
ReplyDeleteSo am I :)
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