2wheels 2freedom

biking doesn't begin with a bike, it begins with the mind.

i can hear my friends smirking, saying bugger wasn't able to convince his parents for gokarna and now he's talking philosophy... mama talks all big big things but beep beep beep... sorry for that.

anyway, that is not at all the point. i read in the hindu today that harley davidson launched a showroom in bangalore and that got me thinking and get deeper into all this. so there began the thought train. a harley is clearly the mother of all bikes, every serious biker would definitely respect it if not like it. after all they are in a way the creators of bikes, arguably. they've been around from before the time that my grandpa was born!

their slogan is "live to ride, ride to live." imagine. riding for life. like riding is an occupation, paid one at that! a v-rod or a nightster, unlimited fuel, a HOG jacket and a bandanna, never ending roads, clear skies, the sound of a V-engine, eating those miles... now get back to reality. petrol price rising each Friday, your same old bike, pot-holed roads (dotted for extra pleasure!?!? :D ) sweaty weather, mean buses, menacing truckers, irritating autos... biking is almost a pain.

then there are these jerks who modify their bikes and make them sound like those poor bikes are suffering from sore throats. is it truly macho to ride fast? i agree that when i began i also felt a thrill to ride faster and faster, but with age there comes maturity; at least generally it does and now the aim is to enjoy driving my bike.

i love the cool breeze whistling in my ears, the horizon staying constant while the scenery becomes a slow blur; the low growl of the engine being a constant companion and humming your favorite song as you drive by without any heavy thoughts bugging you. it surely is an escape from the monotony of life. for anyone who happens to know both me and the story of "Into The Wild" there is a tiny possibility that you may notice that there is a small similarity. the wild... exciting... being out there all alone, no idea of the current location, no idea of the next... no idea of the availability of food nor of water... i've always been enticed by the idea of it. although i don't share the disorder of Alexander Supertramp i do share his curiosity. the question always nags:-what's out there? there maybe a few of you who would call me mad but being mad in this way is better than being childish and playfully mad, like skipping stones on the road and calling it as a lifestyle without caring for the world.

since a long time there has been the idea of a monstrous chopper, and a ride into the horizon, destination unknown. but the closest i have got to a big beast of a bike is a bullet 500, '80s made. then i have driven a thunder-bird 350 of late. yet, the hunger is insatiable. there has to be a devil waiting for me. my own machine, which is going to be a part of me, my bike of which i will be a part of.

i started off with harley and reached into my imaginatory world. :( sad. there was this statement about a harley. when you wanna impersonate thunder and rumbling, just start a HD engine. i heard it ages ago, in the year that Arnold did a stunt on a Fat Boy as Terminator2 and it has stuck since that time.

all the same, boys and girls, ladies and gents, i will go wandering off some day and that is a promise. for a biker, the journey never ends; only the routes change. destinations may vary but destinies won't. by the way try typing "biking" on your cell phone with the dictionary/prediction on and the words that come before "biking" appears are something that you get as free gifts if you're on a never-ending-tour. ;)

so start you're engines, (shift the gears! ashwath will help...) and ride away!!!