Dodgy Drive

“Hello, mom?”

“Yeah, it’s me. How are you? Where are you? What’s up?”

“I’m getting ready…about to leave for the bus station”

“What’s the departure time?”

“Around 9 PM, not sure, I’ve to check the ticket.”

“Have a safe journey”

“Mom, what’s your say on climbing Mt. Everest? What do you think of swimming English Channel?”

“Well, if you want to do something that incredible, my best wishes are always with you”

“Thanks mom!”

Yes, I was planning to do something incredible at the least. I was about to endure fourteen hours of road trip in tough driving conditions on a borrowed bike.

I was living with my cousin in Hyderabad, India. We were literally inseparable. We went to the same college and had the same majors. We used to study, drive around the city, dine at restaurants and watch movies together. Our adventures were nothing short of the adventures of Huckleberry and Tom Sawyer. We even crashed a wedding, but never engaged in any life threatening ventures.

It was the end of final exams and we were planning to visit our grandparents in Gudem, 400 kms away, for the summer. If we board a bus or a train to our native place, it would take us there in close to nine hours. The route was via Vijayawada and only one road connects Hyderabad and Vijayawada. The road has only two lanes, one for up and the other for down traffic, with no divider in between. It’s a heavy truck traffic road and is notorious for accidents that can cause death on the spot. Only a few daredevils could ever think of travelling that distance on a bike, let alone on a borrowed bike, in one night.

I was in charge of my brother-in-law’s bike while he was on a three year trip to the US. As its caretaker, I was only allowed to drive it for about 20 kms a day and at a top speed of 40 kmph to keep the engine up and running. It would be a crime to even think of using it for our escapade.

We did all the packing, had supper by 8:15 PM and started our journey by 8:40 PM. Other than us two, except for my friend Swati (in Hyderabad) and Krishna (in Vijayawada) no one else knew about our plan. Krishna knew many cops in Vijayawada and he could come in handy in an emergency. Since it could be a life ending trip, I thought of texting Swati on our updates. I was hoping that the texts could help if anything had gone wrong. She replied for a few of my texts and always hoped for the best.

@ 8:40 PM: “Got started, feeling a bit tired, slept for only 2 hrs last night.”

Reply: “GOOD LUCK”

We were prepared for a chilly summer night but never had an idea of what we were going to face. I was an experienced driver having driven over 60,000 kms in the city, but had little experience outside it. The first thing we faced was an onslaught of moths the moment we crossed the outskirts of the city. My helmet screen could hold them off, but things got tougher with no street lights and eventually the four-lane city road transformed into a two-lane highway.

By 10:15 PM, we had travelled about 50 kms and the going got really tough. I remember seeing a truck passing another truck perilously close to us. I reacted late, had to get off the edge and traveled a few yards off it. The moment I tried to get back on the road, with very low visibility, I tipped over and in an instant felt my helmet touching the ground, my cousin’s head hitting me hard on the back of my helmet.

I got on my feet immediately and helped him to get on his. Thanks to our gear, we were not seriously injured. My helmet screen got broken and apart for minor scratches to our jerkins, we were left unscarred.

“Shall we turn back?” I asked.

“No, after travelling this far!” he answered.

We inspected our bike. Since we hadn’t hit anything, the bike was OK and we resumed our trip. This time, I was extra careful. It was my idea to do the trip and my cousin’s life was in jeopardy.

By 11:30 PM, we had travelled about 82 kms and the skies opened up. It started as a slight drizzle but soon turned into a heavy downpour. Since I had lost my helmet screen, the rain appeared to be raining directly into my eyes.

“If you want to live, PULL OVER.”, said a little voice in my head.

We were on a highway, and even if we had pulled over, there was no shelter to protect us from the heavy rain. I kept on driving and within minutes we were completely soaked. By 12 AM, we reached a small town and got under some kind of a roof to protect us from the heavy shower.

@ 12:05 AM I texted: “Stopped at someplace 90 kms from Hyd. It’s raining like anything.”

There was a power outage in that small town, and we stayed there for an hour. We tried to relax a bit by lying down on something dry, only to find cement dust all over it. We realized that it was the entrance to a cement store. I had never imagined that one day I would be lying down in a dusty place as a refugee. As we waited, we saw all the traffic from the city pass us and the road became practically empty.

By 1 AM, we could see some clearer skies and resumed our travel. By 2:30 AM, we stopped at Café Coffee Day in Surya Pet, half way to Vijayawada.

@ 2:40 AM I texted “Stopped at CCD in Surya Pet.”

The server in the café was astonished to see two people walking in at that time of the night with wet and soiled clothes. When he came back to reality and learned about our travel plan, he said, “How on earth did you get this idea? You don’t know what you’re playing with. This evening I saw a truck hit a biker in front of this café. I saw his head split into two in front of my eyes. Everything happened in an instant. Good luck with your journey, and if you survive this night, never try it again.”

@ 3 AM, I texted: “Had hot coffee, got refreshed, resuming travel.”

@ 4: 15 AM: “Stopped at the 135 ft statue of Panchamukha Anjaneyaswami.”

Reply: “I woke up at ur msg sound.”

Me: “Sorry to wake u up. Go back to sleep.”

Reply: “No problem, stay safe, good luck”

It was dawning by 5 AM, and we didn’t stop anywhere till we reached Vijayawada, even though it was drizzling all the time.

@ 6 AM: “Reached relatives’ place in Vijayawada, safe and sound.”

Reply: “Thank God. I guess this will be ur last update.”

Me: “Yeah well, thanks for staying with me.”

Reply: “Anytime… :-)”

Our relatives were even more surprised than the server at the café to see us that early in the morning out of nowhere. We had a light breakfast at their place and resumed our travel by 7:45AM.

The distance from Vijayawada to Gudem is about 120 kms and since it was after sunrise and with no rain, we had to deal only with our aching bodies. By 11 AM, we reached the outskirts of Gudem. We took a country road shortcut to avoid a two km roundabout in the town. Since it had rained heavily the previous night, the road was extremely dirty, and we had to drive with extra effort to avoid falling off the bike. The last mile appeared to be the toughest even after we had endured tougher driving conditions. It appeared as if we had prepared for the best and faced the worst. All was well that ended well, but a journey like that was not worth the risk.

It was a fun and memorable experience throughout to be honest, but at no point it was enjoyable. There was a constant fear that drove me all the way. My conscience kept on questioning, “What if I fall asleep? What are my parents going to say when they learn about this? How does my brother-in-law react?” Had anything gone wrong, this lifetime wouldn’t have been sufficient to recover.

My grandparents were happy and relieved to see us alive. They didn’t scold us scornfully, but advised us to take wiser decisions. “We may face adversities and have to bear consequences on any day, but isn’t it wise not to go looking for one?” said my Grandma. They never allowed us to ride the bike back to the city. We spent 250 bucks for fuel one way and had to spend 1200 bucks to bring the bike back to the city using public transport.