The first real solo

The plan

It had been almost a month of me riding and I had completed ~ 610km on the odometer. The first service was still 390km away and I wanted to get it done this weekend. Having heard from a colleague that the bike’s RPM is unlocked after the first service, I thought let's just this over with.

Initially the plan was to ride to BR hills and back (total 320km round trip) and take a short ride of 50 odd km to reach that 1000km mark. What ended happening was I went around the hill and completed the 1000 mark in this ride itself.

The ride

Having planned to leave at 0600 hours, I woke up a bit late and eventually started late (0615 hours). The day was beautiful. Early sun on your face, cool breeze and empty roads. This being a solo ride after a long time (literally the second solo ride ever), I had a lighter setup. This meant, I was pulling hard on the highways, easily cruising between 80 to 100 kmph.

The scenes before the BR Tiger Reserve were so beautiful that I had to setup my GoPro. At the place of my stopping, I found a cute little doggy. Seeing a human face in a long long stretch, she came to me wagging her happy tail. I had some biscuits to spare and shared with her.

Next stop, BR Tiger Reserve.

Unfortunately, being a national park, no cameras were allowed inside. No stopping either, because there's risk of animals attacking you. There were sign boards on frequent intervals on the road to remind that it is prohibited and violation would attract a fine of ₹1000.

I decided on not being a nuisance and respect the rules in place.

The twist

My mistake was putting the wrong location on the Google maps. Instead of selecting the BR temple viewpoint, I had selected just “BR hills”. Somehow Google thought I wanted to visit a resort by the same name. The map took me off the main road and a rock filled path. Assuming it is way to the temple, I gladly obliged and went on ahead. After around 300 metres, I saw a sign of parking, confirming my assumption that I'm on the right path.

Since the part was just rocks, I took a left turn (towards the parking), lost traction. As I was not more than 5 kmph, I thought I can stop the fall. But guess what, the party was just rocks; meaning I was standing on rocks as well. I felt myself losing the footing and in that some second, I came to the realisation that I can not stop Daisy from falling. The best course of action seemed to let her down as slowly as I could and then jump away.

This plan worked. I was without a scratch: wish I could say the same for Daisy though.