Sunday, April 19, 2009

Day 41 - April 18 - Damchara To Aizawl

April18 at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

Woke up with a real big dilemma as to whether to take the risky muddy foresty route or the boring horrid highway route. All kindsa discouraging news like the jeeps getting stuck and JCB's with chains on the tires pulling them out. Like mug filling up the front mudguard. Like jeep slipping sideways on curves etc. All this for just 15 Kms. There seemed to be some difference of opinion as in the Tripura Bengalis were totally against it and backed with latest info, where as the Mizos said it can be done on the bike no issues. But they said with gut feeling rather than latest info. But then i had a bald rear tire. Wasted like one hour just contemplating. Really wanted to take the interior route but when it comes to manhandling the bike, just too much for me. Thought would try some distance and entered the slush and just with 10 feet in, i chickened out and turned around. sure i have climbed Kodachadri in rains, but then the bike's but was not butt heavy and the tires where new and i was fresh with energy.

It was really sinking feeling giving up the route going through the interior villages and forest. Plain bad luck that it rained just a day or two earlier, else i could have made it. Unhappily i rode away to the main road feeling like a... give up'er. After the nice forest ride till the highway it was the straight roads silky roads till a lil before Bhadarpur. Had heavy breakfast in between. Should hog when u get the chance around here. Go towards silchar and roads go pathetic. Offroad is ok as the road will be soft but bad roads are really pain bouncing on the bike. Enter the city of Silchar with a jam and it was a agonizing 40 min stop and go traffic ride past the city. Cursed myself for not listening to the Mizo people in the Mizo land. Was much bettor fighting with the mud in the forest rather that this chaos. And roads out of silchar were all under construction. Also noticed the rear tire is going bald much quicker than my anticipation. I can see threads now! Damn! New tire is arriving at Guwahati and have to put a new tire for just another 1000 km ride. pretty frustrating. Very unrelenting bad roads all the way till the mountains. Mountains as in Mizoram. Welcomed with smooth roads and twisties. Something to smile about. Happy actually. Still to get over the feeling of missing out the interior route. It looked like a miniature mountain range around. As in the size of the individual ridges and hillocks were much smaller in the scale of things compared to what i have see else where. Much much smaller infact. Also i see many many ZMA's around!! And it seemed like only a lil village. Thought mizoram is pretty developed. But things wont last.

The road was new and the old part to follow. Next 50-60 kms were pathetic potholed roads. Kinda felt trapped. Miss out the good shorter route and working hard on this bad longer route. Some 50 kms to Aizawl its turn on of awesome shoe scraping twisties and smooth roads. Some respite. Even saw the road coming from Mamit, which joined the good road! Would have saved me all the horrid roads. But then 10-15 feet of impassable path at the shorter route would have made a mess any way. Ride the twisties and near Aizawl and see more and more ZMA's, p220s and FZ 16s. But ZMA's and CBZ classics out numbered all other bikes. Looked like land of ZMA! The placement of the city was very surprising. All the buildings and houses perched on the side of steep mountain walls. very steep. The houses that look level with the road is actually supported by 30-40 foot concrete stilts on the other side! Most of the houses are like this. Some looked like huts but had ZMAs and Cars parked in front of them! With all the wondering i started loosing traction at the rear. Now lot or thread visibil from the rear tire. Damn just hoped that i should be able to reach the tourist lodge but then it happened. The puncture had to happen with the tube almost touching the road. It was horrible moments thinking what to do with the heavily loaded bike am not even able to put it on side stand let alone center stand. Request the nearby truck puncture shop for help. He was too busy it seems. Again request telling about my predicament. He went down a bit to look for guy how makes puncture for bikes and luckily there was one 100 mtrs from there. But getting the bike that distance was a royal pain. The flat tire was literally folding in on itself. With great effort two people helped put the bike on center stand thanks to the incline of the road. And the wheel was out. The tire is completely gone and could be folded in the center! Now here every thing closes in a jiffy by 6-7 PM.

Contacted Mitch's friend Rock at Aizawl, unfortunately who was pretty away from town. But did suggest me where to find the tire. Which was nearby. Now can really go and get the tire myself leaving all the things and bike there. So requested the puncture repair guy to go and get the tire while i waited there. Which he agreed. If things are not bad, the fone network in Aizawl sux to the core. But the tire will cost me now as i am not there to negotiate the price but had no choice. After half an hour the guy arrives with Dunlop geocruiser and its 1500 bux!! its 900 bux in bangalore! This is really loss of money. But had no choice. Had the tire come for another 1000 kms could have put the new m45 at Guwahati. But now will have to discard this new tire at Guwahati. On the bright side if this had happened anywhere else i would have been in shit loads of trouble to find the new tire. Any way the new tire is fixed by 8 pm just in time. Cos the next day is sunday and everything is literally closed.

As ever the comfortable room of reasonable priced hotel is booked and i dont get one, and have to settle to a very uncomfy room for the same price. With all the events i was not in best of the moods and kinda sunken feeling and also lot of questions about tomms route. Had thought of going to champai and get inside Burma to visit a lake. Which is allowed actually. But for the small international ride it would take 3 days with very bad roads. So gave up on it. Dinner not so good just slept for the day.


View from the tourist lodge. It was amazing stay there. Even in the morning when i took this photograph it was all forest sounds as in of insects, birds and at night i herd the strangest of bird sounds something like TTU'KKUoooo TTU'KKUoooo




Itwas only supposed to get worse than this!! But never know...




Pretty rurals in the Khanmun village...


Pic taken from Mizoram, its Tripura on the other side..


Retracking ride back to Tripura highway...


Some nice roads in Tripura Planes...


Road construction on Silchar Aizawl road...


Approaching Mizoram in the mountains...


Yieks!! I can even see the treads of the tire now!!!


In Mizoram...


The Mizo mountain range...


Small villages enroute...


Horrid roads here tooo....


More than made up for it with silky smooth twisties...


More and more thread out!!


One of the steepest or THE steepest city of the world!!!




It had to happen.. The tube can really survive touching the road...

3 comments:

Arun said...

900rs tyre you bought if for 1500 and gonna resale it for 200rs with the net loss of 1300?? :D You should have thought things before sitting on the bike for the day as most puncture shops have used tyres which could have been a nice option for 1000 kms. Now, why dont u courier back the M45 from Gauhati to Blr and carryon with dunlop bcz u anywys need a new tyre end of this trip..!! :D :D
Hard tyres good for bad roads man..and lesser punctures!

Praveen said...

Hehe well its quite different around here. That was my idea too. But when the puncture happened lucily i was near a puncture shop and he did not have an old tire and said could not get one. It was getting dark and everything at Mizoram shuts down by 7. The next day was a sunday and everything literally closes for the day. with the heavy luggage i had no choice but to get a new tire.

Tluanga said...

Interesting blog... am from Mizoram, found your narration interesting.