A Breath - Taking Ride (Literally)
Every breath you Take......
Ive been meaning to write a log of my ride to Hyderabad on my RTR180 in January.
However the incidents on the return trip always had me wondering if it was appropriate to post it on a public forum. Ive now decided to go ahead with it, so here goes.
It all started with a phone call to my college friend who works in Hyderabad. As we were discussing the usual meeting up plans and general catching up, it suddenly occurred to me that I could ride to Hyderabad to meet him and get some miles on my bike which had been suffering since my experiments with modifications for more power.
The plan was finalized on the phone itself and started getting the bike up to mark.
My bike was not responding well to the bigger carb from Race concepts so that was scrapped and decided to go on with the stock one.
Got my jacket and other gear out and rode of at dawn with only a shoulder bag. Plan was to ride to Hyderabad in one day, spend another with my friend and ride back on the third morning to be back n Mumbai by night.
All was well till the Lonavla ghat but as soon as I started up the curves I saw a darkish coloured thick liquid covering the ghat surface. It took me awhile on the unlit hill road to recognize this as engine oil but rode on at very low speeds keeping the bike upright to prevent skidding.
However man proposes and god disposes, I had no sooner got to the last curve which has a sudden drop to the Mumbai Pune Expressway than I felt the bike slip away from under me. I was unhurt but seeing the bike skid down the slope a good 10 feet with the pegs sparking out due to friction was not a very happy sight.
I ran to the bike and was a bit relieved to note that there was no damage whatsoever.
But a crash at less than 200 kms from my starting point at the wee hours of the morning when I had approx 500 kms more to cover was not a very motivating thought.
Got on the bike with half a mind to turn back but then thought whos to say my next ride would be trouble free? I am here now on the road, so I better get on with what I started.
With these thought and a prayer on my lips, I started again towards Hyderabad.
Little did I know there would be more occasions demanding even more heartfelt prayers than what I just encountered
Roads were not much to talk about. It was typical shoddily covered up tarmac with a generous sprinkling of unabashed bad patches, laughing at you for thinking this was supposed to be a highway.
Took a few snaps while I stretched my legs.
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My RTR performed flawlessly despite what it had been put through as a result of my greed for more power. Never missing a beat, it coursed though bad patches, smooth patches, sudden braking or impulsive acceleration with nary a complaint or murmur of protest. Its a wonderful motorcycle; taking every punishment you can dish out, and still holds a special place in my heart despite having to trade it in after waiting for TVS to come up with something bigger.
Reached Hyderabad in about 16 hrs and had a great time catching up with my friend.
Washed my balaclava set it out to dry and checked my gear too for any damages.
Thankfully all was OK.
Had the next day entirely to myself so planned on visiting the Salarjung museum and trying the Paradise Biryani that everyone recommended.
Overslept the next day so museum was out but did go to try the biryani.
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Was feeling a little nauseated so rushed to my friends home and slept fitfully till dinner.
Woke up at around 5 am, geared up, said my goodbyes and left. Road was quite surprisingly not deserted and soon I found my self on the highway.
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At around 10 am, I felt heaviness in my chest along with coughing and attributed it to the cold Hyderabad weather compounded with the cold drinks I had there.
Stopped for breakfast at a Dhaba and had a glass of warm milk with turmeric to soothe my throat.
Met a wandering mendicant and instead of alms I bought him breakfast and was on my way.
As the day progressed I felt the heaviness in my chest increasing to the point where I had difficulty breathing. I stopped again at a Dhaba & slipped off the balaclava off my nose and tried to loosen the jacket near my neck. I was surprised to find that my neck had swollen to the point where I could not feel my clavicle bone. Add to that my breathing had become labored to the point that I had to suck in air forcefully to avoid suffocation.
I again had some milk with turmeric and debated with myself whether to continue this journey or turn in at some nearby town and see a doctor.
My pain immediately suggested calling for help and suspending the ride till I get better whereas my other half told me to ride on without wasting much time and reach home where expert medical help was assured as against riding into nearby town and seeking help from a local doctor who may not diagnose my problem correctly.
There was also the concern that informing my family at this juncture would be a cause for much anxiety (and also serve to increase their resistance to future rides!).
Thus once again, with the jacket half open and breathing laboriously like a marathon runner, I set off with just a goal to somehow make it home in one piece before nightfall. I was riding at a sedate 60-70 as the accompanying light-headedness left me unsure of high speed riding abilities. And the local Rossis attempting to entice me into a race too did not help matters.
At this point the reason for this sudden ailment baffled me but I was in no mood to analyze and had much pressing issues at hand like reaching home safely.
I started talking to myself, to God, questioning the meaning of this and just started chanting whatever prayer I could muster from my weary tongue to help keep me focused and awake till the end. Ive never bee delirious but that I felt was quite close to it.
Once I saw the city limits I was heaved a (suffocated) sigh of relief and thanked Providence for getting me home safely.
Once home, told my mother that had a severe cough and needed a hot water bath. Once in the bath, I retraced everything I had done in t e past three days in an attempt to locate the cause of the problem.
I recollected that I had complained to my friend about the taste of the water at his house. My work with water purification technologies had indicated that there was excess of chlorine in the water but my friend said he didnt feel anything out of place and they have been using the water for quite some time.
But if I had been drinking chlorine laced water why was I showing symptoms of chlorine inhalation?
It was then I had a Eureka moment (though did not jump out of the bathroom naked!)
I recollected that upon reaching my friends home I had washed my balaclava and set it to dry indoors. I had been inhaling chlorine all throughout my ride through my balaclava.
This would have been less of an issue of I had dried it outdoors but indoors meant the chlorine didnt leave the fabric and thus caused me to inhale more with every deep breath I took to alleviate my breathing difficulty!
Once I had this sorted, rushed to the doctor and announced that I had chlorine poisoning through inhalation. The doctor too was quite interested in how I came about this diagnosis and once I had given him the explanation he couldnt get past the fact that why would someone ride to Hyderabad on a motorcycle in the first place!
With some medication I was Ok in a day. Searched the net and found that milk is actually recommended as a first aid for chlorine inhalation. Couldnt thank my stars enough that I had consumed milk twice in the ride failing which I shudder to think of what would have been the case.
Ever since that ride the lethal balaclava is yet to see the light of the day!
I hope this log does not serve to scare or intimidate as that would be defeating the purpose of me writing this. My only reason for putting this up here is to educate riders to take care of their diet and keep a lookout for not only the bikes health but also their own on rides.
Every breath you Take......
Ive been meaning to write a log of my ride to Hyderabad on my RTR180 in January.
However the incidents on the return trip always had me wondering if it was appropriate to post it on a public forum. Ive now decided to go ahead with it, so here goes.
It all started with a phone call to my college friend who works in Hyderabad. As we were discussing the usual meeting up plans and general catching up, it suddenly occurred to me that I could ride to Hyderabad to meet him and get some miles on my bike which had been suffering since my experiments with modifications for more power.
The plan was finalized on the phone itself and started getting the bike up to mark.
My bike was not responding well to the bigger carb from Race concepts so that was scrapped and decided to go on with the stock one.
Got my jacket and other gear out and rode of at dawn with only a shoulder bag. Plan was to ride to Hyderabad in one day, spend another with my friend and ride back on the third morning to be back n Mumbai by night.
All was well till the Lonavla ghat but as soon as I started up the curves I saw a darkish coloured thick liquid covering the ghat surface. It took me awhile on the unlit hill road to recognize this as engine oil but rode on at very low speeds keeping the bike upright to prevent skidding.
However man proposes and god disposes, I had no sooner got to the last curve which has a sudden drop to the Mumbai Pune Expressway than I felt the bike slip away from under me. I was unhurt but seeing the bike skid down the slope a good 10 feet with the pegs sparking out due to friction was not a very happy sight.
I ran to the bike and was a bit relieved to note that there was no damage whatsoever.
But a crash at less than 200 kms from my starting point at the wee hours of the morning when I had approx 500 kms more to cover was not a very motivating thought.
Got on the bike with half a mind to turn back but then thought whos to say my next ride would be trouble free? I am here now on the road, so I better get on with what I started.
With these thought and a prayer on my lips, I started again towards Hyderabad.
Little did I know there would be more occasions demanding even more heartfelt prayers than what I just encountered
Roads were not much to talk about. It was typical shoddily covered up tarmac with a generous sprinkling of unabashed bad patches, laughing at you for thinking this was supposed to be a highway.
Took a few snaps while I stretched my legs.
My RTR performed flawlessly despite what it had been put through as a result of my greed for more power. Never missing a beat, it coursed though bad patches, smooth patches, sudden braking or impulsive acceleration with nary a complaint or murmur of protest. Its a wonderful motorcycle; taking every punishment you can dish out, and still holds a special place in my heart despite having to trade it in after waiting for TVS to come up with something bigger.
Reached Hyderabad in about 16 hrs and had a great time catching up with my friend.
Washed my balaclava set it out to dry and checked my gear too for any damages.
Thankfully all was OK.
Had the next day entirely to myself so planned on visiting the Salarjung museum and trying the Paradise Biryani that everyone recommended.
Overslept the next day so museum was out but did go to try the biryani.
Was feeling a little nauseated so rushed to my friends home and slept fitfully till dinner.
Woke up at around 5 am, geared up, said my goodbyes and left. Road was quite surprisingly not deserted and soon I found my self on the highway.
At around 10 am, I felt heaviness in my chest along with coughing and attributed it to the cold Hyderabad weather compounded with the cold drinks I had there.
Stopped for breakfast at a Dhaba and had a glass of warm milk with turmeric to soothe my throat.
Met a wandering mendicant and instead of alms I bought him breakfast and was on my way.
As the day progressed I felt the heaviness in my chest increasing to the point where I had difficulty breathing. I stopped again at a Dhaba & slipped off the balaclava off my nose and tried to loosen the jacket near my neck. I was surprised to find that my neck had swollen to the point where I could not feel my clavicle bone. Add to that my breathing had become labored to the point that I had to suck in air forcefully to avoid suffocation.
I again had some milk with turmeric and debated with myself whether to continue this journey or turn in at some nearby town and see a doctor.
My pain immediately suggested calling for help and suspending the ride till I get better whereas my other half told me to ride on without wasting much time and reach home where expert medical help was assured as against riding into nearby town and seeking help from a local doctor who may not diagnose my problem correctly.
There was also the concern that informing my family at this juncture would be a cause for much anxiety (and also serve to increase their resistance to future rides!).
Thus once again, with the jacket half open and breathing laboriously like a marathon runner, I set off with just a goal to somehow make it home in one piece before nightfall. I was riding at a sedate 60-70 as the accompanying light-headedness left me unsure of high speed riding abilities. And the local Rossis attempting to entice me into a race too did not help matters.
At this point the reason for this sudden ailment baffled me but I was in no mood to analyze and had much pressing issues at hand like reaching home safely.
I started talking to myself, to God, questioning the meaning of this and just started chanting whatever prayer I could muster from my weary tongue to help keep me focused and awake till the end. Ive never bee delirious but that I felt was quite close to it.
Once I saw the city limits I was heaved a (suffocated) sigh of relief and thanked Providence for getting me home safely.
Once home, told my mother that had a severe cough and needed a hot water bath. Once in the bath, I retraced everything I had done in t e past three days in an attempt to locate the cause of the problem.
I recollected that I had complained to my friend about the taste of the water at his house. My work with water purification technologies had indicated that there was excess of chlorine in the water but my friend said he didnt feel anything out of place and they have been using the water for quite some time.
But if I had been drinking chlorine laced water why was I showing symptoms of chlorine inhalation?
It was then I had a Eureka moment (though did not jump out of the bathroom naked!)
I recollected that upon reaching my friends home I had washed my balaclava and set it to dry indoors. I had been inhaling chlorine all throughout my ride through my balaclava.
This would have been less of an issue of I had dried it outdoors but indoors meant the chlorine didnt leave the fabric and thus caused me to inhale more with every deep breath I took to alleviate my breathing difficulty!
Once I had this sorted, rushed to the doctor and announced that I had chlorine poisoning through inhalation. The doctor too was quite interested in how I came about this diagnosis and once I had given him the explanation he couldnt get past the fact that why would someone ride to Hyderabad on a motorcycle in the first place!
With some medication I was Ok in a day. Searched the net and found that milk is actually recommended as a first aid for chlorine inhalation. Couldnt thank my stars enough that I had consumed milk twice in the ride failing which I shudder to think of what would have been the case.
Ever since that ride the lethal balaclava is yet to see the light of the day!
I hope this log does not serve to scare or intimidate as that would be defeating the purpose of me writing this. My only reason for putting this up here is to educate riders to take care of their diet and keep a lookout for not only the bikes health but also their own on rides.