motorcycle logs

Motorsports is me.

2009-01-11T14:45:00.000-08:00

A recent incident put the possibility of me quitting motorsports right in front of my face for the first time in my life. The incident itself is not important, what it probably implied is. Or at least was. For the first time, I thought about life without motorsports of the two wheeled kind. (Four wheels are for girls remember?;-)). And I realized a few things.
I realized what motorsports mean to me. Motorsports to me mean a lot of things that my self stands for. A lot of things that define me. The demand for MORE from life, the hurry to give more back in return, the calculated risk taking thats actually a notch above calculations, the desire to push my limits further, the need for speed and not just in the physical sense, the desire to do my thing whether its fashionable or not, in vogue or not, appreciated or not- or in short call it expression of freedom of my thought and converting it into action. Probably a lot of things more, which I do not have the ability to put in words.
In short, I realized in a very blatant manner that motorsports in not something that I just do, its actually an automatic manifestation of what I am, what I stand for. At the cost of sounding dramatic, I realized that in a way, I am motorsports. And that motorsports in fact is me. I wish I could have said it with less dramatic an effect, but no other words would be able to do justice to what I want to express.

P.S. No, I am not quitting motorsports if you are wondering Mr. Reader! But I cannot bow my head enough to Waheguru for letting me make that statement at the end of it. Thanks are also due to somebody else here but thats a secret that I intend to keep for a little while longer;-)

I am getting my mojo back

2008-10-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

Lost it sometime in the last two years, dont exactly know when. Could not try looking for it, given the circumstances (not that I really knew that I had lost it...). Found out a couple of weeks back it was missing from my bag of goodies. Seemed like it was gone for ever, but then I knew that that couldnt be.
And this weekend, I have started getting that itsy bitsy feeling, that flickering hope, that its not gone for ever. its just lurking in the corners (literally;-)) around. Because when I passed through some of those corners this weekend, I could just feel it being around, touching and going, wanting to come back...
Now the big thing is keeping up the search, going at those corners again, and again, and yet again, till I get it. Because I know its there somewhere...
(Hint for the uninitiated: I last raced two years back. Got back to the racetrack about a few weeks back. Mojo in question is....... enough hints;-))

I have faith in faith.

2008-10-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

Enough said.

And yes, its related to motorcycles;-)

the machines we ride

2008-08-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

a post on motohouston.com by me dated 7-23-2005, with the same title.
........
i hv had an R6 for a week now and I must say I m filled with both respect and fear. Respect for the machine, and fear of myself. I have had heard views, got advise for/against these super machines, but after having ridden it for a while, my initial impression, my first learning is that its not the power in the machine which is dangerous, its the sense of power that the rider believes he/she possesses which could be the nemesis.

Its the feeling of superiority, the feeling of others on the road being lesser mortals that just catches up one day, its not the machine.......
.........
putting here for coming back taking a look sometime.

On Any Sunday

2008-07-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

travel 350kms by bus so that u can ride ur motorcycle back, meet up a club of rider buddies at a restaurant by the beach, enjoy the "wtf u r doing here bugger" looks, get offered a ride by one of your buddies becuase your motorcycle is still in the factory, ride in a group of 30 motorcycles, in the distinguished company of a guy whose passion for 2 wheels and racing demands nothing but pure respect, and your in-lead vehicle being a 1971 Jaguar E type with a monstrous V 12 engine, on a road that hugs the coast and is one of the most beautiful in your part of the country, ride 2 hours, have yummy some breakfast, get stuck because the E Type actually locks up its steering wheel, have a buddy drop you back to city becuase you still have 350kms riding to do and its already noon, pick up your motorcycle from the carb factory where it was put on the dyno, and tuned up to deliver some solid punch, now moves like a tiger and roars like a lion(too much?;-)), get on the highway, eat skodas for breakfast, lancers for lunch and civics for dinner, have a 1000 people look at you whey they hear the music from a km, with riders turning back to look what really is coming on them, ride at an average speed of ~100kmph, eat up 300 kms to your home in 3hours flat, with your motorcycle still ready for some more.
This is what a biker loves doing, ON ANY SUNDAY.

(title lifted from Malcolm Smith/Stevie McQueen starrer 'On Any Sunday'. Big thanks and respect to Bose Sir for what he does for all us bikers/racers. He embodies the true racer spirit, something I find totally lacking in most of Indian racers)

MMSC Race Track Chennai

2008-03-31T02:59:00.000-07:00

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Back.

2008-03-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

On Jan 1,2008, I got back on the motorcycle. After 4.5 months of a forced off. Felt nice to have the wind beat in my face once again.Though I wish the full face helmet were flip face at least on open non city stretches (I lost my baby flip face when I crashed. One pretty helmet!:((((( )
And I talking of back, I am also back to racing. Did my first post crash race a few weeks back at Mysore in a hill climb event. Rode my stock (rather negatively modified) Ugly Centaur. Had a good fun time, though I should go in with preparation next time if I want to win it. Needless to say, I didnt win it this time.
Being back feels awesome. Starting from scratch again is..umm...funky. Not too bad though, but you need the patience. Glad I didnt start from scrtch AFA motorcycles go, patience is something I am not known for, at least when on a motorcycle.

The Bucephalus Chronology - II ( continued from Jan 31, 2007 post)

2007-12-16T10:52:00.000-08:00

And the Bucephalus II is here now. Or rather, has been here. For 6+ months now. But it hasnt had the most flying of starts. Pretty slow actually (long distance guys start slow huh?). Buce II has had just 1200kms on the odo in the 6 months, and has seen more garage and mechanic's garage then the roads and dirt. Its ironic, that the strongest of the Bucephalus clan has had the baddest (i know that aint a word) of starts, but then, what do I know! It was all set for the quest for some high goals, but suddenly life came pouring in. And boy, did it pour!lol.
But now, the wait for Buce II ,to go where it belongs, the roads, is finally drawing to an end. Insha Allah, it shall be out soon. Jan 1 2008 is not far, and that is the day, when its supposed to start its new life. Oh, and not just Buce II. Insha Allah again.

P.S. Bucephalus II is currently donning its temp avatar, that of Ugly Centaur. The "avatar" story is an interesting one, and will need some telling !at some point of time. But the world's gotta wait, as is with all good things...

Raid 2007 no more!

2007-09-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

Raid De Himalaya 2007 is no more for the Kalkat dude. Idiot crashed on the street and broke his arm. Though if you were an optimist, you had be glad he just broke an arm, considering the fact that bike did take SOME beating! and the thing you (or he) would NOT be glad about is that it was his roommate's bike. Few worse things when it comes to motorcycles than crashing somebody else's bike...
The next worst thing is crashing without a cause. A racetrack crash would probably be a war wound, another "offering to the God of Speed"(thanks Burt), but a street crash?whoa! That too, when you were probably not even trying to go fast (or were you?). Well, you would say its an amateurish and stereotypical way of looking at it, but true it is! It does feel stupid, when there is no "higher cause" and u have taken a nasty beating. kinda like... umm will write later, m not in my element. must be the anaesthesia dammittttttt.

THE KEEPER!

2007-06-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

So I am talking to a friend about the new motorcycle I am buying, and I am just amazed at the similarity between a motorcycle and your MI AMOR(S). I mean I am not one of those who represent motorcycles in term of their GFs, I see them as your steeds, your horses and the steed you ride does not have to be a female. A good motorcycle, like the good ol Bucephalus at least, is actually NEVER so. Sportbikes r a separate thing i know, but then, they r not REALLY motorcycles, r they?;-)
so the first NEW motorcyle that I am buying (A Royal Enfield Machismo 500) is the one that I actually never plan to sell. It is for keeps. I have owned multiple motorcyles till now, but none of them were bought new by me. And I own none of them now. Sold, stolen, lost, but none is with me!

And that makes me think, about the similarity between motorcycle relationships and amorous relationships. The non-new ones i bought were owned, used, ridden by somebody else, multiple ppl in some cases, and then i got those. Some lasted days with me, some months, some even years, but all of them parted ways at some point of time. Some were fast, some were flashy, some wayyy too old fashioned. Some I just got bored of, some just could not keep up with me, some were just too fast for me! Some even actually looked like a keeper, lasted years, but then, by twist of fate, or stupidity of being, i lost them too. And at the end of the day, I stood alone, nobody by my side. (why is Akon's Lonely coming to my mind! damn it!)
But then, one fine day, she comes along. THE KEEPER. You just lay your eyes on her, u know this is the one you want, and all you could think of is "hell, where has she been all these years!". And you, its first owner, go to her like a moth to the flame! She is delicate, fragile, a putty in your hands thats ready to be moulded into whatever shape you want, but then you know, that she has got the substance, to keep up with you. She is old fashioned, but still modern! Soft to see, but still stone hard inside! Somebody you could define, but probably somebody who would rather define you itself!!!
And that amigos, is when you should know, and would know, that what you have on your hands is THE KEEPER!;-)
(Note: this blog is here becuase I kinda like the ironical similarity between the two. I somehow dont feel right terming my motorcycles, my Bucephalus clan steeds as feminine. The only feminine Bucelphalus till now has been the 'Bucie baby'. But then as i said above, a sportbike is not really a motorcycle, is it?);-)

The Bucephalus chronology

2007-01-31T23:55:00.000-08:00

This post will aim to list and detail the life and times of the gr8 Bucephalus clan that came to prominence in late 20th century in the rustic Punjabi hinterland. The clan went on to leave a mark not just in Punjab, but across most of India and then, in the wild American West. The clan has accomplished this much in just its infancy and it goes without saying that it wil leave gr8 imprints on the "tarmac" (and sometimes dirt) of time in the years that shall follow!

The chronology follows:

Bucephalus I
Oct 1997- March 2005
"It lived like a horse and went away one day when it knew its time was over"

The father of the clan. Strong, resilient, patient (as in, ususally in hospital). Could gallop and outdo the thoroughbred of horses, inspite of everything. Conqueror of Punjab plains, UP bushland , Bombay urban jungles, pristine Kerala and the stony Karnataka! Got blaze of all the glory and just disappeared into jungles one day. RIP ol' Buce, wherever you are!

Bucie Baby
July 2005-Nov 2006
Buce ( as he was fondly called by friends) however left behind a legacy ( a long story), hence leading to "Bucie Baby"'s birth. Bucephalus I was actually supposed to b followed by Bucelphalus II, but when the gr8 Alexander set his eyes on the baby, he was so captivated there was no other way out but to get her. "BB" ( as she was fondly called by friends) was too damn sleek, hawte, and chic to be christened a horse. She was thus christened a mare. A mare who, HOWEVER, could kick ANY horse's butt, and hardly ever took any prisoners! BB had to be let go because when the gr8 Alexander returned home after conquering wild American west, he found out that his country actually charged way too high taxes. Even he could not afford those and thus left sweet ol'd BB back in the west! RIP ol' BB, this country doesnt deserve you!:(

And currently , the world is eagerly awaiting the birth of the legendary, storybook strong "Bucephalus II".

To be continued...

SLOW=SHORT.FAST=LONG.

2006-11-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

Not too many people who live on this planet actually live. Most are just monoliths put out in a jungle by some funky divine power. Monoliths spend their "life" living the cycle that they think was put upon them them, scared to leave their spot lest they get themselves into a position that will disturb that cycle. Plus, thats not something that monoliths are expected to do, eight?

And because monoliths dont understand the concept of movement, I dont think they understand the concept of speed either. Or of going fast. Or faster. Or even more faster. Or as fast as it would ever go!

And thence they dont understand that life is not short, its actually just slow. So slow that it actually seems short. So short that they dont think its worth trying to move. But becuase they never try to move, their slowness equals infinity. And because shortness of life is directly proportional to slowness of life, their shortness of life is infinity too. And mathematically, if your shortness of life equals infinity, ur length of life equals zero. And hence its proven, my dear Watson, that most people never live.God bless the monoliths!

life means MORE.

2006-07-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

I remember the "life means MORE" slogan from an ad on tv in India for a company called HomeTrade. The company went under, but the slogan stuck in my mind. The spirit of this slogan has been captured pretty well in some other quotes too. Here are some that come to my mind:
"Die living"
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!"
"Never trade the thrills of living for the security of existence"
I was reading this book yesterday night about 'Raid Gauloises' (Eco-challenge race and the concept of adventure racing have emerged from the raid, in a way). Its just mesmerizing to see what a long way we humans have come. From a time when running a marathon was considered the ultimate test of human endurance, it has now kind of become a starting point. The raid, the eco challenge, the ironman triathlon, the bar is rising everyday. People have competed in sports as extreme as Deca-triathlon (38 km swimming, 1800 km bicycling, 420 km running). Actually its a woman named Astrid Benohr who holds the world record for deca-triathlon at about 187 hours, more than 5 hours less than a man! Can we even begin to imagine how amazing is that!! it makes Tour de france look like a child's play!
Reading about all this, and aout Lance Armstrong and many other things makes me wonder how some humans choose to push their limits, and the limits of mankind further. Some do it in ways which makes news (well, say landing on moon:-)) and some do it in a way which nobody hardly notices (this girl in my gym who works out regularly and has lost probably 20 pounds in the last few months).
And when I am at the race track, I realize that my fellow racers are doing the same. going faster and faster. pushing it further and further. taking it to the limit, and sometimes beyond. not being content with what what life has given them till now. Demanding more, and more from life. because thats exactly what life is all about.

crashing

2006-06-05T13:54:00.001-07:00

I land back in US on Sun. I havent been on track in almost 3 months, and well, u know, how it itches when you have had such a long break. So i took the bike to the track next day itself, as it was memorial day holiday. Was not in much mood to try new things, just wanted to get back into flow and to find some RPs, but well, when shit happens, it doesnt inform u first. It had been a good day, plan was only to ride the first half of the day , as jetlag was expected to catch up with me by afternoon. BUt in the last session before lunch, it caught up with me.

Went a lil wide into turn 13 at TWS, not really hot, totally in control, and tried to get the bike back into line. At my level of speeds, I am dangerously close to pushing the limit on street tires, and that day, I guess I just crossed that line. The rear lost traction and gave out on me. It was prety funny actually, becuase for a sec i just felt i was just turning a lil sharp, it was that smooth. but then, it had already crashed...and boom! i went sliding on my butt into grass, and the bike did the same. I took a lil tumble towarda the end, but was feeling pretty ok getting up and walking towards the bike. Cornerworker shared the same thoughts and did not consider my crash worthy of a red flag. GOOD! after all lowsides r low key affairs and usually dont do much damage to either bike or rider.

But alas, it was onlny half true that day, Rider came out ok, but not the ride. bike probably took a tumble, flipping over at least once and it messed the front side up pretty good, making it more or less unridable. its a pretty fcked up feeling, to have crashed, esp when u start thinking it implies u r not a good rider, but then, as every racer already knows, it is the reality. everybody crashes! thee is no running away from it. I m usually very punishing on myself, I dont like making mistakes, but at least on this front, i wasnt feeling too bad, becuase I hadnt really made a mistake. Responsibility, still, was mine, and I accept it fully. Bucie baby sits in garage right now, and I am asselmbling all needed parts..lets see when I get back out there again. Hopyfully, it wont take too long and it will be this month itself. But there would be one change this time out, most probably... I would be on race tires!

Here r a coupla snaps before the crash... not the best position, but ok for somebody who wasnt really pushing it!
http://www.sportbikelife.com/gallery/Levels-1-2-TWS-May-29th-2006/IMG_5683

http://www.sportbikelife.com/gallery/Levels-1-2-TWS-May-29th-2006/IMG_5478

Slow is ugly.

2006-04-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

So the last weekend, I was cornerworking at the CMRA race at TWS, College Station, Tx, US:-)
(Cornerworking is the concept of having a person in each corner during a road race who coordinates with the control center to ensure a smooth conduct of the race by showing appropriate flags, informing control center in case of a crash in that corner, helping the crashed rider etc). I was in Turn 1, which is no.1 in notoriety for the speed at which a racer enters that corner (~170mph=~270kmph) and no.2 in notoriety for spectacular (and sometimes ugly)crashes( no.1 at TWS is certainly 'the wall' in turn 8a).

SO the day starts, minis (small bikes with small engines) are in for practice. I am sitting there, twitching and restless. I attribute my twitching to my general lack of patience and to my general tendency to rather do stuff rather than just sit and watch it. It has happened to me before, while watching tv, while going to a movie, while sitting with people talking junk.....

But this one time, I notice something amiss, something different. I am not twitchy in my usual way. I was not just hating sitting there having to watch races instead of racing. I realized I was actually hating racing itself in a way. I was hating it when those minis were coming off the Nascar oval into the turn. I was hating it when they were turning into the corner. I was hating it when they were going by me. And this, to me, was as scary a thought as it could be. I could not believe that I was actually hating racing. And that at that moment, all I wanted to was get lost from there. I was hating the sound those bikes were making, I was hating the bikes, the riders, everything about them. I stood there, walkie-talkie in one hand, yellow flag in another, puzzled and unable to understand what was going on. After all, it could not be possible that I was hating racing. It just could not be possible!

But then slowly, minis practice ends, and its time for big bike practice. Novices ( Riders who are relatively new, and hence usually slower) come out, they pass by. I felt that I felt a bit better. They pass by second time, third time, fourth time and I m feeling a lil bit better with every time. I attributed my earlier twitching to the usual impatience and thought that I was now feeling better becuase I was settling down for the day. I felt better, and relieved.

And then, its time for experts practice. They come out. Pass by me once, and then again, and again. I am now feeling much better. Actually I am almost begining to fell elated. And joyful. Howard, Myers, Spradling they all pass by and I am realizing something different. I am realizing that instead of hating, I am loving it when they are coming off the banking. That I am loving the sound that the bikes are making now. That the riders, and their bikes, are looking beautiful now.

And then I started laughing. I laughed when I realized that I now realized what was happening. My twitching, my hating, my loving, they were all making sense. I was not hating those minis, or those riders, or those bikes, I was just hating THE SLOW. I was hating them because I was hating them being slow. They looked ugly not becuase they were, but because they were slow. It is slow that is ugly! and it is fast that is beautiful!!

(Although this post is kinda dramatic, its mostly that way becuase the whole thing was REALLY dramatic for me. However, a litttttle of the drama could be just me trying to make it all sound juicy, and entertaining:-))

crazy!!!!

2006-04-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

so on March 20, I completed one year of my stay in USA.. first time ever in another country. Needless to say, its been one hell of an year. I have done tons and tons of stuff that I always wanted to. Met some amazing people, went to some even amazing places, did some even more amazing stuff. I love this place.. more than anything else, I love the people over here. Not going into the "WHY" right now, thats alltogether a different topic. Also, it will be a different topic why I always suprised people when I said " Not really" to the "Do u find US different from India" question. Yes, there are FEW things which are VERY different, but humans are humans, everything else is so much the same! Anyway, another topic for another blog again:-) So lets take stock of stuff I did in this one year, which at least I appreciate myself for (yups, that does imply that I dont care for what others think). I travelled to some of the most gorgeous places in US, if not on planet Earth.. the Yosemite National Park, the Grand Canyon National Park and the Big Bend National Park. Yes, you have to see them to believe them! I got to see some of the most amazing cities out there... New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Houston. Yes, moving around in downtown in these cities is almost achieving urbane nirvana! I did the longest single day bike ride, doing 1116km in 16 hours, dressed in one-pience leathers, on a bike as 'comfy' as R6. I did the longest road trip of my life.. 6000km in 6 days. 4 wheels sounded like fun for the first time. I ran the longest race of my life....the Houston half marathon (21km) on Jan 15, 2006 in 1:54:46, after 1 month of training. Yes, the sub-2 hours time was self-pleasing! I trekked to the highest peak ever I have in my life.. Emory peak @7835feet in Big Bend national park. Yes, 2/4 people did chicken out for the last 50 feet of rock climbing! I went sky diving for the first time in my life... jumping from a plane at 14,000feet above sea level. Yes, racing motorcycles is MUCH MUCH more fun than sky diving...hahaha!!! I went skiing for the first time in my life... I never thought something like skiing was gonna be fun. But then, I didnt also realize that you could go FAST when skiing. and yes, any thing where you can go fast is fun, any time of day!!! and finally, I got a chance to do something that I actually live my life for. TO BE FAST... and faster...and fastest!!!!! Yes, I started riding a superbike, and I started racing. And YESSSSS, there is NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING in at least THIS world which even comes close to going almost 300 km per hour! No, not even *** :-))))))))))))))))))))) (This post was just a very objective summary of the stuff I ended up doing over the last one year. Nothing more, nothing less)

Apologies....

2006-03-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

.. to those few people who stopped by here to leave comments but I read only after more than a month. Thanks Navjot, Jon, Aman for the words.
Had i known somebody does check goodolbuce page, I would have logged on more often here:-)lol. But I keep my head buried in so many things, and I have such low levels of patience, that I never really get on here and write about stuff. I would rather get out and do some more stuff than sit here and write about what I already did.

And Navjot, trust me, if I have not been here, its only because that time was being spent somewhere else, maybe not on bikes, but productively I promise;-) and yes, I think I have been spending less time with and on and about the bike these days...gotta do better.
Secondly, I am a lil retarted technically, and just cant get myself to do blogs and stuff. Shhh.. dont remind me that I am a computer science engineer!
Aman, thanks for those words. I just write whatever comes to mind. So if I write good, does it mean good things come to my mind;-)haha!

and Jon, I guess that message was old, before the first Katy race. but thanks nevertheless. i can never thank you and Kevin enough for getting me out to Katy and offering me your bikes to race. You rock bro!

my first race

2006-03-30T14:04:00.000-08:00

http://www.tmgps.8k.com/finish.htm

http://www.cmraracing.com/Results/2006/Event2/me/2_4.xml

searching with my last name 'Kalkat' will take you to the result of my races. First link takes you to my first ever race(a sprint), although it is on a mini, but it is a race nonetheless. And although I only had to beat 2 people to do it, I did manage to get a podium finish and win a trophy in my second race ever!

The second link takes you to my first endurance race. It was with CMRA. Again, it was on a mini but at least the track was big this time:-) No trophies this time, but we did have a creditable finish, finishing 6th out of 11 teams in our class. We were easily 5th had I not crashed on the second last lap. O well, part of game!

Sometimes, I wonder , why I do all this crazy stuff. I could live a normal life, like normal people do. What makes me go out and put my life in danger. I dont have the best of answers to these questions, but yes, I do have a fair idea. As my teammate Kevin said, racing is not just racing, its much more than that. Its actually your whole outlook towards life, your philosophy of life. And for me, from what I can think of, my philosophy goes back a lot to what is MY "anchor" in life, as Dr.Unni would term it. There is no doubt that life is an absolutely different story in the before anchor and after anchor phases. But whenever I think about it, all I manage to do is get confused. Did it really change my life. Or would it have changed anyway. I know for sure that it did change it in some regards, but for others, I am just confused. Maybe I am just trying to fit myself into the theory, trying to get that 'meta' satisfaction which it brings along. But maybe, I am really being honest with myself...... Well, whatever it is, one thing is sure that I am into the blabbering mode here. and I need to stop writing this instant.Right now!!!:-)

ZEN.. and the art of motorcycle racing

2006-02-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

Damn, I wish I had the words to describe how i m feeling right now... just back from my first track day of this season...and wowwwwwwwwwwww... WAT A FEEELING!!!! Hemingway was right.... rest all r just merely games....they will NEVER be sports!

Wat can match the thrill of diving 200+kmph into a turn... one knee touching the ground, eyes fixed 100 feet away at the corner exit... passing a slow moving sucker because he is doing only 190kmph.
Wat can match the thrill of going 250kmph on the straight...and then braking like there is no tomorrow.. grabbing 3 downshifts.. while blipping the throttle, to match RPMs...and simultaneously braking...while actually bending over to almost have your elbow touch the road!!!!!!!!
Wat can match the joy of loosing virginity...the TRACK VIRGINITY....the first magical touch when your knee finally touches the ground.. when your shoe rubs the road..the lil spark that flies...that tingle that goes down the spine..that pang of lightening that runs across the body:-)

Damn it man, this is life at its beautiful best, this is orgasm at its peak,this is zen baby, this is nirvana!!!!!!!!!! Buddha would not have had to waste all these years sitting under a tree.. just get up at 4.30 in the morning, put on your leathers, grab your helmet, head to the track and WHAM....NIRVANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He was born at the wrong time...they just dint have fast enough motorcycles then!
(lest anybody takes offence, I have as much respect for Buddha as anybody. I have just used a metaphor here)
........................................................................................................
ok, bcos some ppl said so, I am adding some background to this post above. Still, dont bother too much to make sense, u ll probably enjoy it if u enjoy racing.. cos its just one of the ramblings. actually, i just write motorcycle stuff on my blog once in a while ..whenever i m feeling like.. its usually philosophical, meta-physical kinds. and yeah, i reserve the right to not make sense in my blog :-) j/k!!

so yeah, a lil recap. like some of u kow, i m in Houston, ride an R6, do track days currently and m looking at club racing this year. i did my first track day of this season, and my CMRA license school (cmraracing.com) on feb at TWS (http://texasworldspeedway.com/) . an org called LSTD (http://www.lstd.com/) had organized it. that was what i wrote in my blog after i came back the title 'ZEN.. and the art of motorcycle racing ' was just a take on the book ' zen and the art of m/c maintenance' as in this post, i was trying to associate m/c racing with zen, not just m/c riding. hope that clears some confusion.

so a lil non philosophical details. it was my third track day ever. first 2 were in sept when i had the bike only for 3000km. learnt a lot of lessons then. practised out those things on the street ( lest u understand that i was trying wheelies, stoppies etc, let me clarify. i was practising the basic road-racing things. cornering, body positionning, braking, trailbraking, blipping throttle, simultaneous braking- blipping- downshifting etc etc.). so now that i have done 15000km in 6 months, i went out and tried out all that stuff on the track..and it came out pretty decent.

so here s the story of the day. i wake up at 4.30, put on my leathers, grab the helmet, and ride to the track 100km away (still dont hv a bike trailer). start at 5.15, takes me one hour, and i m in the pits at 6.30. get the bike ready for inspecting, sign up waiver and forms etc. hang around with some guyz i hv come to know. 8.30, A group (racers group) is out on track. BAD weather, cold track and tires, strong winds. couple of guyz crash, none bad. C group ( novice group) goes out, they go slow, no crashes, come out ok. B group (intermediate group) goes out, i m in there, bam.. 1 red flag (crashes when bike is not ridable any more), couple of yellow flags(crashes, off track trips where ppl r still good to ride). I do ok.

The day goes BAD! 8-10 red flags, 15-20 yellows, 2 BADDDDD accidents where riders were taken to hospital and admitted actually. however, for those that dint crash, it was not that bad. for me , it turned out to be awesome!! i kept enough margin, bcos i dont hv race tires or even tire warmers, but still managed decent pace to move to A group after lunch. Got my knee down for the first time. feels like loosing virginity as i said lol!i did go off track once, but just kept the pressure on front forks, did not touch brakes and managed to stop safely after gng arnd 100mtr into dirt.ended the day on a cautious note, as it was getting cold again and ppl were begining to crash again. came back home, and wrote that note u guyz just read above!( holy sh*t, typing is tough).

longest trip so far

2005-11-29T08:27:00.000-08:00

O well, nothing big, nothing philosophical about this one. I just did a bike trip....actually my first long trip on the R6..and all I remember is that it used to be the butt that would hurt on the bullet.. its inner thighs on the R6 baby. nevertheless, its all SO worth it, I would do it again anyday.
So to cut the long story short.. I manage to wake up real early... yeahh.. I did... left home at 6.05am..rode thru mist..with visor up.... lost way a coupla times( I still think Google has the map wrong at that one particular junction:-)). Rode thru plains... into rolling hills..into steep hills..back to rolling hills..and back to plains. Covered a distance of 716 miles (1146Kms!!) in 16 hours of khalis riding, with breaks only for filling my tummy or bike's. My longest trip so far... kinda decent enough distance for me to call myself a biker now I guess..lol.
Had a little fun... when I "accidentally" (read stupidly) overtook a cop(!).. and got my first ticket. O well, as they say..u pay to play the game.. it was my turn to contribute to Caldwell county's treasury that day..so no sweat!

Had only one "oh shittt" moment....when the road suddenly curved like J Lo's u know wat.. but managed to keep the bike on road...then landed into a Gora's ranch back in the woods.. expected a shotgun toting Texan redneck to come out shouting "whatcha need boy" but actually talked to a pretty gentlemanly rancher..(uh, maybe they dont act redneck with bikers:-)). Told him I was trying to find a road which google claimed to exist..but which he then told was just a dirt track thru woods suitable only for 4WDs!

It was uneventful from there on... and just rode straight into my parking lot...thank bike and thank god!

The trip route:
529 to Belville from 290
Left on 36
Right on 2429
Right on 949
Right on 1094
Left on 109 @ New Ulm
109 straight thru to 1291
1291 to 159 left @ Fayettville
Left on 955Right on 71
230 exit @Smithville
Left on 95
Right on 535 @ Smithville
Left on 20 near Red Rock
Right on 812 @ Red Rock
Left on 672
Left on 183 @ Lockhart
Right on 142
Right on 80 to San Marcos
Straight thru to 12
12 to 32 right/west
32 to 3424 left/south
3424 to 306 right/west
Right on 2673
Right on 3159
Right on 46 west to Boerne
46 to 87/46 left south @ Boerne
87/46 south to 46 right/west in Boerne
46 to 16 right/west
16 west to Bandera
Right on main St (689)
Continue on 16
Left on 337 @ medina
Right on 187
Left on 337 again
Right on 83
Right on 39
Continue straight on 27 after Ingram
Left on 16 at Kerrville to Fredericksburg
Straight on 16 to Llano
Right on 1323
Left on Willow City loop
Right on 16 to Llano
Left on 29 in Llano
Left on 1431Left on 183 @Cedar park
Right on 290 to Houston

I ended up doing 8 of the 10 best roads in Texas on this trip(acc to Ride Texas magazine, March2005 issue).

and I started blogging

2005-11-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

This was my first post..on the other blog, the password to which I forgot:-))(yeah, thats me).It was posted on July 26, 2005.
.........................................................................
...and yeah, finally I am blogging. I thought it was only for the yuppie kids, those who carried cell phones back at the school when we oldies had never had had them though we had been through jobs! After all, the only guy from my class whom I knew blogged was Sid the kid, and he too carried a cellphone!!Anyway..so I bought my second motorcycle..('bucie baby'...my plan of calling it Bucephalus II fell through as this one s just too sleek, and sexy to have a macho name) a few days back and sudenly life is changed.

As Pom-Pom used to say, you could tell the status of my bike by seeing my mood (and vice-versa) and hell, i have hardly ben in better moods than the one I usually have these days.The motorcycle is also the reason I am here today blogging. No, I dont want to advertise my motorcycle, its just that so many things have been happening, and so many things have leading to so so many thoughts, and the so so many thoughts would otherwise need so so so much memory that I would forget them unless I put them down somewhere. Plus, I know my friends are bored of listening to the story-teller tell his weird stories from a far-off land;-)Cmmon Sid, be a sport, just a lil more haha!

So, I have been wondering these days how some things just transcend boundaries. Motorcycles for example. I have had the pretty baby R6 for a lil more than a week and it seems i already have tons of Texan friends, at least out on the road. From the cute lil white gurrl waving at me to the 5-7 mexicans in the truck who asked me to 'lift it up' inspite of just having almost run me over, to the pretty white gurllz looking sideays until they could no more and to the truck guy asking me to pop a wheelie and then telling somebody over his phone that he had a 'Ducati or something guy' standing next to him at the signal, it just goes on.

I am just awed by the metamorphosis. Suddenly, people dont seem to care nothing about race, or being stranger or anything. suddenly, you are not a brown guy, or a white guy, or a black or hispanic guy, now I am just a motorcycle guy, and they know for sure that motorcycle guys are zestful guys. So that feeling of comfort steps in, comfort of being around a guy who has zest for life, also a lil awe of somebody who 'seemingly' risks, but lives his life, and well, maybe even that pang deep down somewhere, which tells you that you never gonna be like this.. never gonna be that free, stupid bird, never aint gonna be Jonathan Livingston Seagull!!!!!

my lil story

2005-11-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

Like every other Punjabi munda, I fell in love with a Bullet in 11th std I think. Started pestering my parents for buying me one when I got into engg college. Succeeded in second year! So bought a 1994 bullet sometime in Oct 1997.

Was just the usual poser, with only a few real 'rides', but some where down the line, started doing more and more riding, esp during my 2 year stay in Kerala from 02-04. Also, somewhere, sometime, the need for speed,which had been there always though, grew from a craving to a monsterous hunger . Rode crazy over half of Bangalore. Hosur road was my playground. I would ride to electronics city and hear people saying they come in Bus because u cant get past 40 on hosur road. I would say yeah (while laughing inside probably) because I used to run out of throttle on around 2-3 stretches! Well, if u r from bangalore and have seen a machismo running stupid on hosur road with "SLOW SUCKS" written at the back of rider's helmet, then you now know who it was.(oops, I confessed!).

ok getting back to the point, I knew all I needed was a SBK. but how the f*** do I afford it . Except for getting jealous whenever I saw a SBK once in a while and trying to race them on the bullet..ha..yeah.. I tried (one RD guy had SO beaten me once..lol), I couldnt do much else.

I was almost on the verge of buying a RD(something s better than nothing u c), and behold, I m posted off to US on a long term assignment(hopefully it will last). Foremost thing that I was sure of, was that I knew I was gonna quench the thirst. Toyed with the idea of a cruiser, even a sport tourer because I wanted to travel, but finally brought a crotchrocket.. a yami R6, as nothign less than a pure crotchrocket could gimme the elixir that I needed to drink. Now, 4 months, 8500kms, two track days, 260kmph later, I wake up and thank God everyday, for giving heaven to a sinner!

But let me add this in the end.. for all those like me who will read this, who want and WILL buy their SBKs one day(yeahhh, keep the spirit up!!), the thin line separating life from death on a SBK(or any powerful thing for that matter), is RESPECT!

Respect your source of power, your machine, wonder about it, feel overwhelmed by it, never compete with it, because the day you start thinking you have mastered everything about it, that is the day your countDOWN starts!
Yes, dont become the machine's slave, become its master, but NEVER EVER allow ur mind to think you have mastered it ALL! Because most probably, you, or me, not even Rossi, ever will!

the sport

2005-10-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

yeah, i am doing it finally.. playing the sport I most love. I have just started out at it, and I know that there is a long way to go. But then, I had to start somewhere, and this looks like not too bad a starting. Actually, it never is, no starting is ever bad..
People say its too risky a sport, almost stupidly so, but they probably havent tried life yet! What is more risky than life once you get out of you cucoon. What would be more stupid than a sport where you loose your life when you loose. and loose one day you will... Does that mean you would stop living for the fear of loosing it one day. NO, YOU WONT. So why should I stop racing motorcycles.NO, I WONT.
Anyway, I will give you your due. You gotta live life your way, I gotta live it mine. Just please dont be like "Damn man, I should have..." when we meet up there(wherever) one day;-)