" Royal Enfield One Ride Festival 2021 " :- Sunday(26/9/2021) Mumbai >< Lonavala.

 

A "ROYAL ENFIELD ONE RIDE" for the memory bank. In Life we retire from various professions and hobbies as we age and a day will come when i would no more be able to ride a motorcycle. It's then that photograph's revive nostalgia. Outside the "First Store Worli" Royal Enfield showroom before the start of the "One Ride". Here is a brief documentation of the "RE ONE RIDE" that began from "First Store Worli" as  seen through my viewpoint and interactions with other rider's which could serve as a memory bank in the future.. Similarly ,other rider's would have their own viewpoints. Ahoy ! Let the "Royal Enfield One Ride " begin.

The "ROYAL ENFIELD ONE RIDE" has been a annual feature since 2011  and the 10th edition of  "ROYAL ENFIELD ONE RIDE -2021" was to be celebrated by "Royal Enfield Owners" across 35 Country's  and 400 city's in  India. "Royal Enfield One Ride" was definitely  one of the largest single day rides by a iconic  motorcycle brand whose "BULLET" model motorcycle is the World's  only  motorcycle in continuous production for the longest  time since first rolling out from the factory  assembly line.. Ahoy ! In Mumbai itself  various rides were conducted from various locations in the city  to the final meeting point  Lonavala. BETTER LATE THAN TOO LATE IN LIFE AND LIFESTYLE" ! After 4 almost fatal motorcycle accidents and two 2000 Kms solo rides under my belt having at the age of 60 +  ridden 720 Kms solo in a single day decided to purchase protective elbow and shin guards for the " ROYAL ENFIELD ONE RIDE " to Lonavala and back to Mumbai .Purchased my " SCOYCO RIDING GEAR"   from " RS 46 Bikers " situated at Lower Parel having got directions to this shop from Mr Sunil.Pawar.

NOTE:- ALL AMATEUR  MOTORCYCLISTS PLEASE WEAR FULL RIDING GEAR IF A HOBBYIST CRUISER OF LONG DISTANCE RIDES .                  On  Sunday(26/9/2021)  joined the group riding from "First Mumbai Store Royal Enfield Worli Showroom" to Tiger Hill in Lonavala. The focus of this year's "ONE RIDE" was "Responsible Travel" to leave every place better than when you arrived.

" RE ONE RIDE" Worli First Mumbai Store  group leader Mr Sunil.Pawar( Face mask) explaining the route with his assistant RE motorcycle technician Mr Ravi.Masahhra next to him

Riders assembled outside " Royal Enfield Worli Showroom" in Mumbai for start of the " RE ONE RIDE" at 0745 hrs.

"ROYAL ENFIELD FIRST STORE WORLI" rider's at Panvel for a breakfast stop-over. I am not in the photo as i had lost myself from the group while negotiating a change of roads approaching Chembur.

Our group leader was Royal Enfield Employee Mr Sunil Pawar accompanied by RE mechanic Mr Ravi.Masahhra and this year the theme was " Green Ride" with the motto of keeping our environment clean and hence we all rider's were given green arm bands..

Riding " Solo" after getting lost  from my group at approximately 0930 hrs  met the " RE One Ride" group from Ulhasnagar near Khopoli .This route was familiar to me having done a few rides before where the roads were like moon crater's, a rider's nightmare. Thankfully this time the roads were in good condition with just a few odd potholes.

It was a pleasant morning and a excellent ride although on my way through a flyover missed the group and had to make it a solo ride to "Tiger Point".

After getting lost from the group finally at 1030 hrs  arrived at " Tiger Point" in Lonavala. Weather was excellent, bright sky with no overcast clouds. Managed to park my bike next to the entrance gate. At  " Tiger Point" met two rider's of our group  with one riding pillion and akin to me they had also ridden "Solo"  away from the group as the main rider had to collect his pillion riding friend from distant Thane  which is slightly off-route from the main Mumbai-Lonavala highway route. In September 2019 when i had ridden "Solo" to "Tiger Point" this entire hill was invisible due to thick fog .

The Bold monkeys living life on the edge of " Tiger Point". Notice the scenic view of the hills and plains below "Tiger Point".The last time i rode to "Tiger Point" this view was invisible due to thick fog .

It was a clear morning sky with a beautiful view of the lush hillside and the plains below from " Tiger Point". Unbelievable that "Concrete Jungle Mumbai" is just a  3 hrs leisurely drive  from Lonavala .Lonavala is one of the best locales in the World let alone India during the monsoon season. 

The scenic view from " Tiger Point".It later became a bit cloudy and the weather was extraordinarily cool but not cold.

Snack of " Cheese Pakoda/Tea" at Tiger Point.

A huge unbelievable traffic jam on a holiday Sunday on the road to " Tiger Point". Absolutely no parking space for motorcycles let alone car's. At 1135 hrs the weather was pleasant with light sunshine.

Finally met the entire group thanks to a phone connect with Mr Avinash Sawant with whom i had ridden  to Shivneri Fort in  Junnar in February 2020 on my  first group ride that is documented in the previous travelogue. In fact Mr Sameer.Nilatkar and Mr Abdul.Aziz two of the group member's of the unforgettable "Junnar Ride" are   now  regular "Facebook"  friend's and Mr Sameer.Nilatkar  phoned me that he wouldn't be able to make it for the "One Ride". Hence  finally joined the large group of rider's in a large open meadow in  close proximity to "Tiger Point" .

Finally met our " RE One Ride" Worli  group at a meadow in close proximity to " Tiger Point". Group member's introducing each other as well as their motorcycling mileage and experiences on the bike and cruising.Was surprised to know that Mr Avinash.Sawant has more than 3 lakh motorcycling mileage under his belt , the most experienced amongst us rider's.


 Photo Below  L-R  :-  Veteran motorcyclist Mr Avinash.Sawant with Mr Sunil.Pawar.Was surprised to know that Mr Avinash.Sawant has more than 3 lakh motorcycling mileage under his belt , the most experienced amongst us rider's.

Beautiful bright afternoon and group members introducing themselves. There was only one lady rider Ms Sunanda  among us group of men and the first time i rode in a group having a lady rider. A few other ladies were riding pinion with their male friends. 

At 61 years of age I was the oldest rider in the group. A passion for horses as a punter and now mechanical horse's(Motorcycle's). The next oldest rider was Mr Vivek.Kumar in his early 40's who had recently retired from the Indian Navy. Also should say i hold a unique dubious distinction as a hobbyist motorcyclist having survived 4 motorcycle hospitalization's, the first two being with my "Bajaj Wind -125 cc(2004-2019)" and believe it or not the next two with this cruiser purchased in 2019 .A cat would be embarrassed for its 9 lives. In fact i had decided to quit long distance cruising after my fourth accident  but a bizarre ceiling plaster collapse incident in the bedroom of my house made me change my plans as i realized life  at times could  be unsafe in places which i considered most safe and hence decided to continue my passion of "Motorcycle Cruising". Ahoy !


 Photo Below  R-L  :-  Mr Sunil.Pawar, Mr Rudolph.Furtado(Self), Veteran Ex Naval officer Mr Vivek.Kumar  and   Two motorcycle couple rider's  with their  lady companion's riding pillion. 

" RE ONE RIDE" First Mumbai store  mascot motorcycle with the flag's. The one and only lady motorcyclist  rider Ms Sunanda introducing herself to the group of rider's.

RE motorcycle technician Mr Ravi.Masahhra was riding the " RE One Ride " First Store Worli mascot motorcycle.


Photo Below :- MODEL OF THE 21st CENTURY ROYAL ENFIELD RIDER .Co Rider Mr Prasad.Doiphode on his recently purchased " Royal Enfield Himalayan" model bike.

It was a excellent afternoon of introduction and exchanging personal experiences of motorcycle riding.Met Mr Utsav.A Waqts and his companion Ms Manvi.Chandra who were professional photographers in the studio business with Manvi riding pillion on their bike.Observed that they were less enthusiastic with the camera than most of us ,definitely on a riding holiday from the glamour world of photography.Motorcycle riding is excellent therapy for relaxation,from hectic city lifestyle and professional workload , especially riding to a hill station like Lonavala.

From a clear morning the weather changed abruptly after 1300 hrs with a thick layer of fog enveloping the entire hill.Car's can be seen maneuvering their way through the fog which reduced visibility to a few meters. Dangerous for driving.

The weather changed abruptly in the afternoon and at approx 1300 hrs from a bright day our entire  "Tiger Hill" vicinity was engulfed in fog with visibility reduced to a few metres, the beauty and mystique of Lonavala during the Monsoon season.

Thick Smog at 1315 hrs reducing visibility to a few meters. Abrupt change of weather within a few hours. At this moment the view from "Tiger Hill" would just be a layer of cloud engulfing the entire hill top. Lonavala during Monsoon season is one of the best locales on Planet Earth with abrupt changes in weather within a few hours .

It then started drizzling and we made our way to Lonavala town for lunch. Finally lunch was at a classic Kholapuri style Maharashtrian hotel named " Saat Bara(7/12)" designed in the style of a country farm with a section having fresh cattle cowdung with tiled roof thatched dining halls packed to capacity.

Classic " Saat Barah(7/12)" hotel serving authentic Kolhapuri Maharashtrian veg and non veg meals. Situated on the Lonavala- Pune highway. Thanks to group leader Mr Sunil.Pawar for introducing us riders to this hotel. Travel educates !

Interior view of rustic " Saat Barah(7/12)" hotel. Packed to capacity with a waiting period of half an hour for lunch
Space for parking motorcycles inside the hotel ground. A must visit hotel if travelling on the Mumbai-Pune old NH4 highway. This hotel is just after Lonavala town on the highway to Pune.

A late lunch at 1500 hrs after a waiting period of half an hour ! A few of us group riders at different locales in the large dining hall  including the lady pinion rider's in the photo. Notice a few diner's sitting on the floor and eating food, typical rustic village  style. A ride and a lunch to remember for posterity as are all long distance bike rides.

After waiting for approximately half an hour enjoyed my  "Black Mutton Thali", definitely something different from the normal ordinary mutton recipe.

" Black Mutton" served with dry chappati's(Sukkha Chappati).It's cal
led " Black mutton" because the masala is black. They serve a similar dish in chicken

Thankfully it started raining heavily while we enjoyed our lunch in this crowded hotel. Finally at approximately 1630 hrs after stoppage of the pouring rain we made our way out of the restaurant and rode back to Mumbai.

Finally at approximately 1615 hrs after a sumptuous lunch  a few of us rider's modeled for a group  photo on the hotel's lawn before the long "RE ONE RIDE" back to home in Mumbai.To our good fortune the heavy rainfall had stopped and it was a pleasant ride on a cloudy Sunday evening.

Reached home at  approximately 1945 hrs with wonderful memories of meeting new riding acquaintances as well a sharpening  my long distance my riding .

Lonavala is famous for it's "LONAVALA CHIKKI" and no tourist or traveller leaves this hill station without purchasing the famous chikki packet's. This shop is situated next to "Saat Barah(7/120)" hotel and the chikki  purchased was excellent and fresh as advertised on the shop's bill board.

As for me having now done 2 group ride's realized its "SOLO" riding that suits me for various reason's akin to my solo travel's, especially at my young age . Call me a "LONE WOLF" ! What me worry ?