Thought's, Opinions and Travel

I am a strong proponent of paying electronically, don’t quite know the reason to it but I enjoy the experience of be paying by cheque or cards, I have often walked away from a purchase if the merchant refused to accept card. Electronic payments have now become mainstream, so much so that, food contractors within large offices display Paytm QR codes as a mode of acceptance and people like me pay INR 10 for a coffee using Paytm. This week though I was faced with a peculiar situation, after the never ending East Coast ride my bike was due for service, having dropped it at an authorized RE service center earlier in the week, I was expecting a significant bill but was happy that effects of demonetization had resulted in acceptability of cards at the service center. So I get a call on Tuesday, saying the bike will be ready by evening and the rear caliber needs to be replaced hence the bill amount is approx. INR 8000, I was a little surprised at the amount but, having owned an RE ...

Having lived away from home for a year I missed some key events -  a close friend’s wedding, travel to Leh - Ladakh, Bulletiyappa, RE Rider Mania, and just the sheer joy of riding. Once my return date was confirmed I began planning a 10 day ride. Initially I had planned to explore the southern state of Kerala; it was around the same time a member of my riding group India Bull Riders posted a ride which was being planned on the East Coast of India. I signed-up for the ride, hoping I don’t get pulled into a new project. Final Ride map D -3 Three days before the ride, I fell sick, picked up a stomach infection, hurriedly rushed to my family doctor, explained to her what I was about to do, she thought I was crazy to be riding for so long, she gave me meds and asked me to take care. D -2 Meds began to work, stuck to a strict no spice diet and had begun to recover. My bike was also ready, after having spent the weekend with the mechanic as there was paint p...

It has been six months in Boston and after a harsh winter, it was time to explore neighboring towns and cities. Initially I was hesitant to travel around mainly because I was not sure if I will be able to drive on the right side of the road. But having been a side passenger for the past 6 months I observed my friends who were driving and for the first time rented a car in the US two weeks back, only to end up jumping from 14,000 feet. This weekend I rented a car from National, they have a user friendly app that offers features such as extend your rental, which is extremely useful as you need not call a customer representative and spend a few minutes navigating the IVR. What has disappointed me is that their cars do not come with a toll radio tag, which means one has to carry cash, and wait at toll booth. For rental cars I believe this must be a standard feature, considering they already have our credit card details toll fee can be charged at actual on return. That said I ...

One of my biggest fear riding a Royal Enfield is having a breakdown, luckily it has never happened so far and I wish it stays that way. I make sure I service the bike few days before the ride, to get comfortable with it and fix minor issues that prop up a day or two before the ride. Ride to Kambadahalli gave me a nervous moment, though I had dropped the bike on Wednesday, I got it back only on Friday evening 8 pm. If that wasn’t enough the horn wasn’t working and I was having some trouble with the LED as well. Having noticed the horn and LED issue, I went back to my mechanic and got the horn and LED fixed. On returning home began inspecting the bike further the LED’s were giving me trouble again, but I could ride without them. It need not be said that it is extremely difficult to sleep before a ride, I woke up at 4 am and was on the road at 5, the moment I hit the ORR I noticed the speedometer wasn’t working. Now I was a bit more nervous and thought to myself no LED...