A foto shoot with flickr group photographers@pune, at Kavdi, a small bird sanctuary near Pune
2007/12/31
2007/12/25
2007/12/19
Coffee Mug
This Mug was presented to us Aug 2007, by BikeNomads members after our Leh Ladakh mobike ride.
Kashmir backdrop.
Kashmir backdrop.
2007/12/10
Street Fighter against backdrop of Wai Hills
Street Fighter against backdrop of Wai Hills
Originally uploaded by Captain Nandu Chitnis, BikeNomads
09 DECEMBER 2007
I was looking to sign off Year 2007 with a Bike Ride. The opportunity came when P@P (Photographers at Pune, a flickr group) worked out a foto shoot at Wai 09 December 2007.
Medini my wife was also out playing a Golf tournament at the Pune Golf Course.
Pooja, Meghana and their frens Devina and Rajlaxmi met us at Chandani Chowk morning at 06:45 hrs. Pooja had a nice Wagon R. I was surprised to see my BikeNomads friend Praveen Shirali (Sportor) join P@P for his first outing with us. 4 other P@P riders were waiting for us at a hotel.
I mounted the Street Fighter and we all headed off to the Katraj Tunnel. I was ripping the bike at some 115 kph at every opportunity. We caught up with the others at a hotel. A quick breakfast, headlights on we headed for Wai. Disciplined riding and driving we reached Wai in good time. Pooja was pushing her Wagon R with the Women Power at a cool speed of 110 kmph, easy.
WAI
Nice temple, quaint old town and a movie setting by the river made for Wai. Now I am no photographer, I am more of a Motographer. You have to wait for techies like Srijith, Born Wanderer, and Pooja n Meghana to uplink their pics.
RETURN
The group just split up on the return run to Pune. At a point I was cruising alone. That gave me an opportunity to reminiscence the year gone by. The solo Ladakh ride, July 2007 with wife Medini some 2500 kms, was no doubt the greatest of the year, followed by riding solo to Hampi in Feb 2007, 1450 kms. The BikeNomads meet at Hampi Nov 2007 was another highlight of the year. I was fortunate to get accepted by Technically Sharp people of P@P. I attended 4 meets with them; the best was no doubt the Indian Air Force Fighter Flying shoot in May 2007. Got the opportunity to uplink vids at You Tube.
I had plenty of opportunities to rip SF. She took the curves nicely at 89/90, got flats to open throttle to max speed of 116, but cross winds did not permit me to achieve max speeds.
All in all a good year rounded up nicely with the Wai P@P shoot.
As I write this, wife called to say she won a prestigious Golf Tournament at the Pune Golf Club.
2007/12/03
2007/11/30
2007/11/29
Bn Motographers: Fotoing the Bn bike line up.
Bn Motographers: Fotoing the Bn bike line up.
Originally uploaded by Captain Nandu Chitnis, BikeNomads
2007/11/27
Group Photograph : Bn Annual Meet, Hampi, 24 Nov 2007
Group Photograph : Bn Annual Meet, Hampi, 24 Nov 2007
Originally uploaded by Captain Nandu Chitnis, BikeNomads
2007/11/08
2007/11/07
2007/11/03
2007/10/31
Nandu Chitnis Pulsar 220 DTSFi clocked 115 kph
Nandu Chitnis Pulsar 220 DTSFi clocked 115 kph
Originally uploaded by Captain Nandu Chitnis, BikeNomads
2007/10/28
2007/10/23
2007/10/20
PULSAR 220: STREET FIGHTER: A REVIEW
The P-220 is old hat now. I got mine early August and have done some 2000 kms already. Some other friends like GR and Arpan have the same bike same color. Ours is steel grey color. Even Venkat has a new Red 220. He must have got it for free.
One thing about the Street Fighter: Once I get on the bike I don’t want to get off it. The ride pleasure is that good.
On my first ride out to the Mutha Ghats, I had a tough time finding the kick starter. Later Venkat told me no kicker on 220! No fuel cock also. There is some pump fitted to inject fuel.
I joined a ship 10 Aug, which was not sailing and took the brand new bike to Mumbai.
For running in the bike, every Sunday, I used the Palm Beach road at Nerul, near Vashi, New Bombay. Here I met many cyclist clubs, racing cycles. I met one cycle man dressed like Armstrong. He told me his cycle cost him some Rs. 1.25 Lacs!!
The bike rides beautifully tween 4000-6000 rpm. Occasionally I ripped to 90 kmph. No sweat.
I did a lot of city biking on the Marine Drive, Malabar Hill and Colaba area. I was amazed to see so many people stop by and ask about the bike. In a city like Mumbai, where people spit on Mercedes, it was nice to be asked questions about the P 220. Surprisingly, I did not see another P-220 on the South Mumbai roads. No wonder 220 has a status here. Plenty of ZMA’s here but they look dated. ZMA’s are noiseless. 220 has a bad throat like noise.
At the United Services Club, where I entertained many bikers, the 220 drew curious on lookers. Even Anil Ambani stopped by to say hello to Street Fighter. An Orkut friend loved riding as pillion. She was ecstatic. Something like the AXE effect.
HANDLING
Compared to the Avenger, I found it so nice to handle the 220. Taking corners is easy at any speed. The road grip is solid. You can trust this bike at high speeds.
The gear shift is much smoother. No false neutrals. The LED panel, indicator lights, LCD displays, direct fuel injection all are wonder innovations.
The rear disk break is fantastic. Awesome by any standards!
Regretfully, I don’t have full riding gear to race with the Rubber Smoking Angels. Else the Mutha Ghat at Pune is the place to ride the Street Fighter.
TOURING
I think this bike can be used for touring without causing any back aches. The seating position is a bit aggressive, but fine. Is there enough repair support available at places like Leh to ride this bike?
Mumbai Pune Ride
17th Oct, I signed off and rode the 220 to Pune, with my wife in a Santro carrying all my luggage. After Panvel, I slowly started to take the bike to the limits. 80-90-99 was easy. On the S bends I could take her to 75. The bike grips the road well. Avenger would have thrown me off.
I figured I could go faster. “!!! Ride the bike as if you stole it !!!”, said a 220 rider. Slowly I took her to 95-100-105-110. The feel was like driving a Ferrari at a fraction of the cost of the car. There was juice left in the engine to go higher. But I did not want to risk the engine, coz I have done almost 2300 kms and due for servicing. I have no idea how much oil is left in the sump. The last oil change was at 500 kms.
The Khandala ghats were fun too.
I am lucky that we have Mr. Pendharkar in Pune to take care of our high tech bikes. Guys in Mumbai n Hyd are crying for support.
Ride On…….
Captain Nandu Chitnis
2007/08/03
2007/08/02
2007/08/01
THE “ANIKA” LEH LADAKH RIDE
We became grand parents to Anika, on 11 June 2007.
We became grand parents to Anika, on 11 June 2007.
We started our journey by Jhelum Express from Pune station to Jammu on the evening of 27th June. Arrived Jammu afternoon of 29th June, picked up the bike from GATI go down. They had neatly damaged the Speedo and both RVM.
Gave the bike a nice wash and we were ready to load the 30th morning. Loading was tedious, with two extra bags mounted on the specially fitted carrier designed by Mr. Pendharkar of Bajaj Auto Services at his garage to mount Medini’s luggage.
Gave the bike a nice wash and we were ready to load the 30th morning. Loading was tedious, with two extra bags mounted on the specially fitted carrier designed by Mr. Pendharkar of Bajaj Auto Services at his garage to mount Medini’s luggage.
We started for Patni Top (distance 114 kms) through beautiful twisties. It was obvious the bike was groaning under overloaded conditions. Medini carried enough luggages both by volume and weight to load a Santro!! I protested about this to Ashwani Khanna, but he refused to empathize with me.
Arrived Patni Top in good time to take a tour of the wonderful place. Rode a 1 hp horse for 12 kms out there. Stayed the night at JKDTC cottage (Rs 800/-) . Patni Top is a magical place.
Arrived Patni Top in good time to take a tour of the wonderful place. Rode a 1 hp horse for 12 kms out there. Stayed the night at JKDTC cottage (Rs 800/-) . Patni Top is a magical place.
01 July, started for Srinagar (198 kms). Again great ride through the Kashmir Mountains. Jawahar tunnel was a scare though Banihal pass was very very charming. Arrived in good time in the valley. We had Army booking in the BB Camp, a high walled high security area. I had to clear my luggage through a sniffer dog bomb disposal squad. He sniffed around my Cramsters and neatly peed on my rear wheel.
The Army Transit Camp mess was simply magnificent. We had time to do a quick tour of the city. Picked up a few maps. Had dinner, drinks and slept through the night all for a princely sum of Rs 114/-.
The Army Transit Camp mess was simply magnificent. We had time to do a quick tour of the city. Picked up a few maps. Had dinner, drinks and slept through the night all for a princely sum of Rs 114/-.
02 July: Set off for Sonamurg, on a route skirting the awesome Dal Lake. The road was a beauty, with green hills on both sides and a lovely river bisecting the hills through the middle. Arrived Sonamarg around 2:30 pm at the Jammu n Kashmir Rifles TA Bn Camp. All the officers, including Col Pathania, the Commanding Officer, were waiting to receive us. The weather was wonderfully cool. A few Brandies followed by a sumptuous lunch. Afternoon siestas for an hour and off we were to the beautiful meadows of Sonamurg for a photo shoot. We off roaded to the hills on a beautifully green carpeted terrain. The scenery was beautiful. I got a glimpse of a Para glider, but missed the shot.
Sonamurg is like Paradise on earth. Even the militants love Sonamurg. Who wants to do Switzerland? Not me!
That night, Medini became unwell. An Army medic attended to her, we decided to spend an extra night here. Medini spent the better part of the day in bed and was not allowed to ride the Zojilla pass on the bike.
Early morning 4 AM, I rode off some 30 kms for photo pics. An extra day at Sonamurg was most welcome. I got some magnificient pics of the sunrise here, the dark blue clouds.
Free Docs, free medicines for Medini. Bill for 2 nights Rs 264/- incl Brandy and food and Acco and langar kaa khana. I was stupified and asked the Mess Havaldaar to recheck the bill figures. He said “Bill theek hai Saab. Memsaab Medini kaa khayaal rakhna. Memsaab bahut Bahadur hai. Aap ke saath motorcycle pe ghoomna katarnaak hai!”
A good Samaritan, Brig Anand, Retd, ex-Armoured Corps arrived that evening with his family. Over drinks and dinner, he offered to take Medini to Drass the next morning in their hired Mahindra Scorpio, which was good for me.
Zojilla: Treachery, thy name is ZOJILLA. Some 24 kms long but dangerously slippery narrow and bad roads. I met another Bn member, Mitra from Banglore, mid way on the Zojilla. I told him Zojilla is a crazy mad mad place. He assured me Zojilla was nothing compared to what lies ahead for us. That scared me stiff.
A good Samaritan, Brig Anand, Retd, ex-Armoured Corps arrived that evening with his family. Over drinks and dinner, he offered to take Medini to Drass the next morning in their hired Mahindra Scorpio, which was good for me.
Zojilla: Treachery, thy name is ZOJILLA. Some 24 kms long but dangerously slippery narrow and bad roads. I met another Bn member, Mitra from Banglore, mid way on the Zojilla. I told him Zojilla is a crazy mad mad place. He assured me Zojilla was nothing compared to what lies ahead for us. That scared me stiff.
He had a terrific modded Pulsar 150. We took a few pics and he gave me some riding tips for the roads ahead, specially the Kargil-Leh and Leh-Manali leg. I wish he accompanied me but he moved towards Srinagar. Zojilla done, had beautiful roads skirting along the river right upto Drass.
Drass: On arrival Drass, the Army Liaison Officer took us straight to the famous War Memorial. I linked up with Medini and Brig Anand out there. The War briefing was a stunner, as we could see all the hill features where the famous Battles took place. Tiger Hill, Toololong, Point 5430…. Captain Batra, PVC, and Captain Vinod Pande, PVC were the outstanding heroes of the War. Next we visited the shrine where the pictorial War Memorial was located. This was the most emotionally supercharged experience of the War in Kargil for me. So many got martyred…. more casualties suffered here by the Indian Army than the 1971 war. So many heroes. The first Grenadiers to launch a counter attack on Tiger Hill were slaughtered, cut to pieces and lost half their men. The graphic war pictures were hard to take for both of us.
This War Memorial is open to the general public.
Kargil: Next morning the 60 odd kms ride to Kargil along the river Indus was a breeze. Medini was back in action with me. Beautiful roads, nice spots to take pics. We were received liked kings at the Brigade Headquarters. An entire luxury cottage was booked for us by the Corps HQ from Srinagar!! Medini crashed out and purred like a cat in the luxurious villa.
Kargil-Lomayuru: This road or no road was where the Ladakh fun really started. Upto now, life was a breeze, a perfect vacation setting.
We gained height rapidly on the mountain pass. Suddenly, the terrain changed dramatically from green to desolation. Hard rocky stupendous mountain terrain, little oxygen, scary drop offs, fish tailing bike. I put up a brave front, Medini started to get scared with every twist and turn. Biking here was no more than 20/30 kmph first and second gear. I thought the engine will cease and the clutch would burn. Nothing of the sort happened. Exhausted, we stopped to take pics at many places in the Kharakorrum ranges of Ladakh. For a 1000 square miles around us, treacherous barren mountain country, no humans in sight, no vehicles, no water, dried out rivers deep down the gorge. No shrubs, trees or a blade of grass. Nothing but desolation. This was WILD WILD LADAKH at it’s best. We were out there in splendid isolation. Suddenly, chilly crosswinds hit us. We were frozen stiff. However, the pics came out great!!
After a million hours on the saddle, got the first glimpse of Lomayuru! Heavens be blessed! Civilisation at last! Plenty of greenery, plenty of oxygen!
We passed through Lomayuru and halted for the night at Kolatse. The Lomayuru- Kolatse-Leh road is beautifully designed along the river Indus. Perfect vacation road.
Kolatse-Leh: Some 60 kms off, and we got the first glimpse of Leh………wow!!!! We had ARRIVED LEH!!!
07-09 July: We had originally planned to arrive Leh 09 July. Instead, coz we gave Srinagar a short shrift, we arrived 07 July. We stayed at the magnificent Corps HQ Army Transit Camp. Met many young Army Officers in the Mess who had returned to Leh after a tour of duty at Siachin. Heard trilling stories of their adventures at the Siachin glacier. They were stunned that Medini and I had biked to Leh from Jammu. The brotherhood of Arms!!!! Wow…
That night HAMS (High Altitude Mountain Sickness) hit Medini. Heavy breathing, fatigue, and much more. An Army Field Ambulance Unit got her on emergency medication. Next morning she was better. Resting the day, I loafed around Leh. That evening she started to suffer again. This time the Field Ambulance Unit visited her every 3 hours. Next 3 days she continued to fluctuate, from a feeling of well being to utter despondency. Docs said she can’t ride no more. She has serious condition of AMS. Fly her out of Leh else we admit her to Army Hospital. She hung out there in Leh……hoping to get well. I took her for some short rides to make her feel good.
I managed to do Khardungla, 50 kms from Leh, 18,500 feet. Awesome place, met awesome folks out there. Plenty of new Bullet 500 avl’s. Magnificient steeds.
Had to miss out Nubra Valley and Pongong Lake coz both were overnight trips and Medini was a cause of concern. Finally, 12th July, evening, she almost died in my arms. I dreamed of building a mini Taj Mahal for her. Nothing happened. Next morning she was out on a flight to Delhi. She wanted to do Leh Manali badly. She cried at the airport. I told her “Baby, you were marvelous. You did 800 kms on the saddle…. which is great….” … but I was happy to see her go to safe altitudes. Besides, my bike would be fine without the extra baggage.
Make no mistakes. Medini was the hero of the Leh ride. She did well.
I had plenty of time to do Nubra and Pongong on my own. But when my riding partner left, a part of me died and with that I was in no mood to do Nubra-Pongong alone.
The Leh Manali ride The Tough One: The same day she departed, I left Leh for Manali, with night halts at Pang and Sarchu. Gradually, I got to terms of riding alone. The countryside overwhelmed me…I was soloing…happy. The road to Tangalanga La was sooooooooper. The second highest mountain pass in the world. Met with Banglore Bulleteers out there, some 6 riders, fully loaded. Reached Pang through beautiful mountain passes. Amazing territory, quite different from the Ladakh ranges. Glaciers were touchable. Raging rivers, though roads were dry.
Night halt at Pang, shared a tent with Canadian college students. Good fun. Next morning started for Sarchu.
To Sarchu: Magnificient GATA loops, then the horror of river crossing. For some strange reasons, a raging river simply crossed over the road! 4 feet deep, 10 feet wide. I had no clue how to cross this water body. I waited for trucks to cross over, studied the ground below. I was tempted to load my bike on an Army truck, but decided to give this river a shot. Managed to cross with full throttle and both feet soaked in chilly waters. How many more of these? God I should have sacrificed the bike in the Ladakh Ranges….this was crazy…..I was cold and damp. Removed my shoes, feet and toes black no sensation. Used the engine exhaust to dry out the shoes and the engine to warm my feet. I burnt the skin of my feet, yet no sensation. This was the pits.
An hour later I was just about okay to ride again. Moari plains was a breeze, another mountain pass, and I was in for a stunner. Never in my life have I seen such magnificence as that of the Sarchu valley. This place was simply amazing!!
Stopped at one place only for pics. I was exhausted beyond my known body limits. Decided that next morning after resting at Sarchu, will ride back 20 kms for pics. No deal. I was hit very hard by HAMS (High Alt Mountain Sickness) at around 1830 hrs in the Tutsi Tent Camp. The Camp owner, Mr. Geltysen, took care of my luggage. All I could eat was some soup………Then I realised that Sarchu was at a higher altitude than Leh!. Some 13,000 odd feet!! Through the night, I could rest on a chair, breathing heavily. Diamox helped for 3 hrs. I had to get out of Sarchu next morning. Else, death. Mr Geltysen offered that he had to go to Manali for stocking up supplies in his Sumo. He offered me a ride on his jeep and and to ride my bike to Manali. I accepted He had a terrific Ladakhi driver, who drove the Sumo like a man on fire.
This was a God sent offer. Between the two of us we alternately rode the bike. Rohtang top was a shame. Tourists, dirty horses, dhabas, garbage….all ruined. Arrived Manali evening. Plenty of oxygen here, a fresh water bath after 3 days, I had recovered quick.
Manali-Simla-Dagshai-Delhi: Fantastic vacation roads, like Lavasa. I had learned enough to take twisties at 70 kph on the Mutha Ghat roads near Pune. I was happy to leave the treachery of the Rohtang Pass behind me. The Manali Darshan road was like home.
That night at the First Third Gurkha Officers Mess at Dagshai, I had time to look back and dream the Ladakh ride, all we had gone through the last 3 weeks, the 3 greatest weeks of our married life ………….and the thought that came to me……
“When our memories outweigh our dreams, we have grown old.”
A rider of 60 kph.
Yes, I have aged and grown old. And therefore I now ride a brand new Silver “Street Fighter”, the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTSf1
Captain Nandu and Medini Chitnis
BikeNomads
Selected pics “The best of Ladakh…” are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/httpwwwmouthshutcomusermariner2html/sets/72157601066696652/
The rest of the pics, with many repeats are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nanduchitnis/NANDUMEDINILADAKHRIDE
2007/06/21
2007/06/20
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