The twin sparks ignited, the cold engine initially was idling below 1200rpm. It reached 1200rpm, a little tweak in the idling switch and with the air filter rubber removed, the roar was audible enough to turn heads. The beast was ready for a ride. She was shiny and the midnight black shade was so attractive. It was ready for the first gear shift. As she revved to 4k rpm, the next gear shift came and this time she revved till 8k rpm, the third gear cruising speed was soon attained, it was already too fast for the narrow lanes. The fourth gear was great to feel the power of the beast. It felt like a long lost dream being lived upon again, a craving that had developed of late. The feel of the 220cc mill felt great, moving faster and faster flicking the throttle to its limits. It was Ayudha Puja at office. The phone kept ringing and messages kept flooding the inbox. As usual, the punctuality was forgotten for the sake of living the vroom of the fastest Indian. This time, the bike ride was so good, it felt that few more minutes wouldn't do any harm to the puja or the day's schedule. The throttle had so much to be revved still but the roads were way too narrow to push the ride to its limits. Dressed in formals, strange to notice the absence of a helmet, just the wind hitting the chest and the lungs suddenly gasping for breath, truly, motorsports is such a wonderful sport to live.
This was no motorsport event and neither was it the time to think about it. The crowd would've gathered by now and all the bikes and scooters would have been lined up and people waiting eagerly and also with growing impatience cursing the delay. Nothing seemed important now. It was the smooth gear shifts, awesome cornering, flat-out speeds, confident braking with the dual discs, feeling the vroom from the exhaust, loving the crowd puller attitude of the ride, the beastly performance of the 220cc mill and most of all, the thrill of riding the beast again!!!
A quick stop at uncle's place was due. As the ride hesistated to shift back to neutral due to the inclination of the ramp near the gate, uncle lends a toe to help it shift to neutral while the stand was about to be pulled out. Uncle says, "Ah! such a smooth shift. Good gearbox she's got. keep it up! well maintained." Few minutes later, suddenly sporting a helmet, the ride and the rider are game on the roads, this time to reach office. The beast always finds it hard to manoeuvre through the traffic. But, once getting a head-start at the signal, she's sure to lead the pack. The final corner and the gates were already thrown open and the 6 member gang was already waiting and their facial expressions showed it all. Even then, they all greeted the rider and the ride and once she was parked, the puja was carried out. After the puja, it was time to admire the ride. The black sheen, the semi-faired styling, projector lamps neatly stacked between the pilot lamps, the air intake, the oil cooler, the meaty exhaust, the split seats, the perfect Rear view mirriors, the clip-ons, the auto cancelling winkers, the twin-finger LED tail lamps, the high-raise tail, the brake pegs, the dual discs, the beast's hydraulic forks, the soft-compound tubeless tyres, the all black-styling, the unique '220 oil cooled' stickers on the fairing, the 'key' style console that resembles a cockpit of a fighter jet with its crimson backlight, the muscular fuel tank, the twin sparks,..........................................
And, i wake up to my mom asking me to see what my pet is upto in the terrace and there goes my dream in thin air. Yes, it was a dream early this morning. I had sold my bike couple of weeks ago and in this dream i got a chance to get back to those mad rides and the fun and the admiration for my bike. It was a great dream. I lived the same old experience of owning that amazing ride. As i woke up, i knew my bike was gone. I still don't know who those people were and the 'office' i was going. Even my 'uncle' was put up in a different place. All i remember is the ride, the admiration, the fun, the adrenalin rush, the madness and now i fall short of words to describe how much i miss it. Wherever she is, i know she will keep the rider safe and sane. Miss You baby!...
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