ROAAARRRR of the TWELVE

Now what do you think that might be….12 Bikes lined up at Shri Krishna Inn, on the way to Yelagiri and that’s how it sounded. ROAAARRRR...FULL ON with ThROTLS team

ROOAAARRR- thats 10 of them- 2 gone refuelling

Expectation:: Good road, Greenery, Tenting, Relaxing, Weekend break

Result:: Good road, Greenery, Tenting, Weekend break, Monkeying, New friends. 12 Bikes including a Bikerni Bangalore member, 13 People, me on pillion with V…super fun!

Now this what happened. On a Saturday morning all of us met up at Shri Krishna Inn Krishnagiri (Next to McDonald) at about 9-9.30am. Idly vada, Khara bhaat, Coffee for Breakfast. Yummy hot crispy vada, so most of us went in for second round of vada. Tummy fueling done :-D. Some of us fueled up the bikes too.

Destination: Indus School of Leadership,Yelagiri

Next 160kms offered us wonderful roads & greenery through the ghat section. The last time I had been to Yelagiri was almost 8yrs ago and even then the roads were good. For those who love to ride, I think Hosur to Yelagiri is the best stretch. 

Mr. E led the way to Indus School of Leadership at Yelagiri. We were welcomed with a refreshing large glass of Lemon juice and then followed by a buffet lunch. Reminded me of home…some phulkas, sabji, dal, salad, biryani, kheer. Simplicity of the menu was the best part of food I guess. All of us had our fill and rested talking for about 1.5hrs. And then Mr. E announced that we head towards Discovery Course. This would have been the first of its kind for me. Never challenged myself with heights. Few treks that I have been to, have always been safe ones, never allowing me to explore if I had a fear of heights. But this one, by the looks of it looked challenging and it was too!!

Discovery Course

Three levels of difficulty and at the completion of 3^rd level we would be at a height of 50ft. Trainer Mr.Dangi briefed us on the security measures to be taken. 

Briefing session

Mr. E turned out to be part of the Facilitator team :-D and helped us with Do’s n Don’ts. First level of difficulty was more about getting accustomed to rules, ropes and getting comfortable with height. Second level was a challenge. Height & level of difficulty turned out to be much higher. One or two walked back down and decided they would be at their best behind the lens. 

@50ft making it look so easy

Must open this pic n zoom in to see

Now came the 3^rd level. G was the first one to complete the most difficult task on level 3 and zoom down on Zipline. He made it look too easy. I chose the path which looked easier and yet, got stuck half way since I couldn’t build up the courage to trust my hands to take my body weight…swing in the air and take a jump onto a shaky plank at 50ft high. After what I think was 15 mins of tension building, I decided, instead of jumping, I will walk the rope and complete my level 3. By hook or crook, all of us who had taken up level 3 reached the zipline :-D. Now that was real fun! I had my eyes closed for a second when I jumped from that height…but then next I found myself enjoying every bit of it…wanted the zipline to be longer :-D. 

Ziplining

A 2hr exercise made us realize how much strength each of us needs, to pull our body along, at those heights. I was glad to find out that fear of heights which my mum and all my aunts always talk about had not been passed onto me. Through the Discovery Course, discovered myself :-)

The Discovery Course is an experience in itself :-) Macho maano wont work :-P Have the guts, got the tactics, you will sail through. This place has been kept rustic, yet safe with good reliable staff. 

Upon coming down we were served hot Tea/ Coffee along with Aloo Bonda. Yummy again. Everyone literally hogged on it. 

After the break all of us moved to the tents. I chose to give company to R, since she was alone. Had a good time knowing more about her Bikerni team & her rides. I will get there someday I thought :-P

After freshening up, all of us met up at the bonfire. Some snacks & good music to go along with it followed by dinner and some singing. 

 

Next morning although all of us thought we wouldn’t be able to get up early, some of us were awake by 6.00am and enjoying the nature…searching for a pair of peacocks which was spotted, a large owl, lots of birds and a little Dog doing its duty of guarding the place. 7.00am tea n biscuits were served near the tents. Breakfast at 9.00am and saddle bags were loaded back on the bikes for the return. ROOOOAAARRR again :-). 

Ready to ride back

 

Breakfast Ride:: Asian Highway 43

Excited again to ride with ThROTLS team...on a breakfast ride.

V asked me yesterday if I wanted to join the ride..I was glad he asked, coz I wanted to experience and also know what they really did during these breakfast rides :-P.

Since there was another ride on saturday, it was only 3 from ThROTLS who went for this ride. So it was decided that we meet up near Hebbal flyover and then move together. Surprisingly at 6.00AM Bangalore was not that cold, I managed with a balaclava, helmet (pillion helmet rule being followed), Warm jacket, woolen gloves. Until Hebbal we had empty Bangalore roads and then is when I realized how many people are crazy about biking in the outskirts of Bangalore.

Got to see some IDIOTS who think biking means speeding (some without helmets too). But our team as usual..steady & safe drivers, enjoying the ride without speeding. I like it :)

Weather after Hebbal flyover was cold...cold enough to have my hands shivering and not allowing me to have my coffee & breakfast. The boys were well covered in their leather jackets and gloves and I guess after so many rides that they have been to...coldest being Leh-Ladakh, this cold would mean nothing to them. 

The choice for breakfast was between IPC (Paranthas) or Idly Vada..chose Idly over Paranthas this time and the ride was longer. 

On our way to the joint, got to see the Hot air balloon in air at Jakkur. Beautiful colors of the sun during Sunrise. If only I had my camera...

The Stop for breakfast was at Kamath which is on AH43, just before Chikkabellapura along with a large HP Petrol bunk.

So what did I learn?? Got to know that the boys make use of these breakfast rides to catch up with each other...which usually is difficult on a working day in Bangalore, considering the work timing, distance & the TRAFFIC.

With the riders

Ride for Relief with ThROTLS team

Gone on lots of long journeys, but this one’s always going to remain special. 

Purpose:: Started with talks on helping Chennai, post floods. And what started as a discussion turned out to be a mission that got accomplished with lots of smiling faces.

Destination:: Hope Foundation Matriculation School, Kannagi Nagar, Thuraipakkam, Chennai

Mode of transport:: 1 Force One & 4 Bikes

This was a maiden journey for ThROTLS team on some social work and so was it for me…something that I have been wanting to do for a long time. Coming out with an idea was quick, but to make it happen took about 10 days. Once the plan was put in place, there was no looking back. The ThROTLS team put in their best efforts to collect all the material from every corner of Bangalore city, amidst their busy office schedule and not to forget Bangalore traffic.

What we collected:: Hats off to the team who managed to collect about 80k and one the most active members Reena who single handedly managed all the purchases- Approximately 250 bags along with school kits for about 100 bags which included a pouch, pencils, erasers, crayons, sharpener, Lifebuoy soap, notebooks & a towel. Basically making it look like a goody kit for the young kids of Hope foundation school. She also thoughtfully picked up a box full of Pencils, scales, chalks, markers etc for the teachers of the school. Looking at the way our ForceOne got filled we wondered, how she managed to do all this all by herself.

Apart from the cash collected, we also received huge lots of clothes for all ages, Sarees, Lungis and bedsheets which we decided to donate to another organization.

We also picked up 100 bedsheets which will be donated to an NGO supporting flood relief victims.

Goody kit getting ready; Little Samhita helping with packaging; Bags ready to be boxed; Packages ready to be taken

My experience:: I was already excited about being involved in such a noble cause. Husband only asked if I would be interested in being a part of it and I jumped at the opportunity. We got the handle bar ribbons ready with ‘Ride to Relief’ written on it. Also made 2 ThROTLS flags for the bikes.

Morning of 19^th, 4.30am alarm rang and I was up n ready by 5.15am and husband by 5.30am. The plan was to leave by 6.00am take 2 other biking friends along in the car and meet the 2 more bikers on the way. But once we started unloading all the stuff from the car & started loading the boxes on top of the car and plastic bags into the car, we realized we would be delayed. By the time we started it was 7.45am!! Delay of more than 1.5hrs. Good breakfast & coffee at Shri Krishna Inn, Krishnagiri. While the bikers were able to move fast on good roads to Chennai, we kept getting stuck at all the toll gates. We took 2-3 short stops to give the bikers a break from their ride. We were supposed to reach the school by 2.00pm, but by 1.00pm we realized we were running late. So without stopping for any lunch break, we continued to drive on…while nearing Chennai we realized that the roads were getting worse. With bad stretch of road and a fully packed car, we ended up slowing down further. Disappointingly delayed by another hour.

Next was to find our way to school at Thuraipakkam. Google maps managed guide us to take the shortest route, but that ended up being a busy road and a bad road. We gave some hope to the hope foundation team that we would reach in another 30-40 mins…but ended up reaching only by 4.45pm…delay of close to 3hrs. Upon arrival, I jumped out of the car, and moved in to see what’s in store for us…and what I saw & experienced was just too overwhelming.

A WELCOME placard held by 1^st standard kids..and nicely shouting out, welcoming us to their school. Even after a 3hr wait, the little ones had managed to keep their energies high. I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down…why did I get emotional?? Am not too sure, but I think the thought of making the little ones wait for so long after a day long outing they had had, made me feel bad! The parents of the lil ones sat waiting outside under the shade of trees in the hot afternoon sun.

The boys started unloading the material, while I took the chance to take some pictures of those happy lil faces and interact with the teachers. First ones in line waiting for their goody bag were the LKGs & UKGs, then came the older kids. Each one quietly following the queue…no pushing..no pulling. Each one’s face lit up the moment a bag was handed over.

Priceless expression accompanied with a thank you Sir or thank you miss. Each one of the 8 of us took turns to give away 100+ bags and I think all of us enjoyed watching the smiling faces of the kids. Once the school kids were done, we had 15 other under privileged children who had come to the school to for free computer education at the Computer Lab, which is sponsored by Dell. We were told that there were 100 children who would come through the week to learn computers for free at the lab. The 15 kids we handed the bags to looked like the 14-15yr olds…or may be older. We also left another 25 small sized bags for the nursery kids who were not in school on Saturday and another 60 bags for some more children.

I also proudly handed over a bag with 2 board games and a packet with about 3 dozen pencils…a contribution from my kids to the school. Once we were done with distribution, we sat with Mr.Santosh who along with his wife runs the school. Mr. Santosh spent a few minutes explaining to us about the work that is done in school and on the contributions they make to the society. The children who come to the school are apparently are the kids of the slum dwellers and Hope foundation is giving them an opportunity for education. Kannagi nagar is like a slum rehabilitation center. Hope school is an English medium school and I was happy to hear good English from the teacher who spoke with me. Currently the school has been given the permission to run till the 8^th standard and Mr. Santosh announced that good amount of relief material actually comes from Bangalore too. It was good to know that the school was spared from floods and was used as a shelter for children in and around thuraipakkam for 2-3 days. We were served some hot tea at the school before we started back for the service apartment that was booked for us at OYO, No.21,Vasudeva Nagar extension, Thiruvanmaiyur. Neatly maintained double bedrooms. They charged us Rs.1800/- per room with complimentary breakfast. Dinner was at Keys restaurant which was at a walkable distance. We got back to the room by 12.45am or so and headed straight to bed. The boys had a good time singing staying up late.

Next morning I was woken up by a call from my daughter giving me all her updates. Post the call, I realized how hungry we were. Finished up with bath & packing up bags and headed for some light breakfast- at 12pm :-P . The boys were still struggling to get out of bed. By 2.00PM we checked out and Madhura our only local guide & member at Chennai took us to Thalappakatti for lunch. We were lucky to get some tasty vegetarian food for ourselves after a long wait. Once we were done with lunch and seeing off Madhura we started back home to Bangalore…a long journey back again with few short stops and one long break at Ambur for leather goods shopping. Post late & heavy lunch none of us were in a mood to eat heavy…finished up with light dinner & kulfi.

The hugs, handshakes & the tata-babyes happened at Silkboard.

Enjoyed every bit…the work that we did, the team, the talks, the drive.
Missed this earlier....special mention:: Thanks to everyone who contributed time, material & money to make this relief work a success :) 

Update:: A must see...our journey & work dedicated to those who helped us achieve our 1st mission..on YouTube>>https://youtu.be/XYo60-DgL-o

The wait for lil ones

Team @ Chennai

Curious eyes waiting to see what's in the bag

Couldn't have missed the smiles

Car loading in progress

Distribution of bags in progress

Take a break

Ready for Ride