Tuesday 31 December 2013

8 hours, 90 kms.


Like a promised season's sale, I have yet another post for new year's eve.
But instead of describing my non-existent crazy party plans for tonight, I have a little story to recount.
A little something on how I started 2013.

Very simply put, I cycled my way into 2013, which lead to an amazing night, an interesting year and an incredibly tiring 1st January.
The idea of cycling when the clock strikes 12 came to us(read two of my jobless friends and me), in the week that led up to 31st Dec'12. Because we had to be different in how we welcomed 2013 and more so because we were too broke to really do anything else, we decided that we would cycle away. Destination, Khadakwasla dam which is 25kms from Pune.

We started bang at midnight and by 3 A.M we were 20 kms down. But like every entertaining story there was a twist in ours as well.
Cops. Two of them and really angry one's.
They were barking mad at us, wondering how we thought of this as a safe idea.
What was more, they sent us packing and all our plans went kaput.

But the night was still young and we hadn't had our fill. A change of destination, from a scenic dam to widespread fields in the village of Manjari.
Peddling away in the dead of the night, halting at Pizza Hut and way too many sidewalks for us to keep track off, we trudged along.
For the final climax, we lost our way, courtesy the ever helpful GPS system.

In spite of all that we made it, to a long stretch of tar road, with tall green grass fields on either sides, the sun of 2013 rising above us and the cool breeze refreshing our spent faces.
Sitting in some unknown farmer's field, eating our way through chocolates and cakes and feeling the mellow heat of the January sun on our backs was a different celebration altogether.
The journey back may have been excruciatingly tiring, we may have lost all feeling in our legs and the thought of touching a cycle again for month might have been revolting but the
fact that it was worth it is undisputed.

We may shudder now at the thought of cycling again for 8 hours and 90 kms but this little excursion left us with one very happy memory, a bunch of anecdotes and a playful smile for when someone mentions Manjari.

To the yellow streetlights, to the lonely streets of Pune, to a queer celebration, to the company of friends, to adding a tale to the "craziest things I've done in my life" list and to a memorable new year's eve.

Lets hope tonight has a new story in the making for me and for the two friends whose company I yearn for and are miles away. More importantly lets hope I don't take another year to recount a new year story!

To the last of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, cheers!