On a long trip after more than a year. This time to San Diego for the alumni conference of IISc where Priti is volunteering. An easy thousand miler and a welcome break from the crazy hectic life we are in now.
The wing got equipped with new front tire and front brake pads yesterday. Working on it in the garage was a bliss. So also loading it up today just before the start of the trip. I was badly stuck with some office work so packed up my work laptop as well, hoping to get some coding done during the trip.
We hit the road at 5pm. Destination Goleta, CA. GPS showed ETA 10:05pm. From all my previous experiences, that meant midnight. No question about it.
It was a blissful, “zoned in” ride. Except for the temperature games of California. 75F to 60F in no time. A jacket liner break at 60 miles, then a quick restroom break and one last stop for refuel at San Miguel around 160 miles. Then a non-stop 140 mile sprint to Goleta. Went through dense fog and then enjoyed a long stretch oceanside road with dark starry skies and three ships lit up like christmas trees. Had to stop for a minute and turn off the lights just to take in the view.
Reached Goleta at exactly 10:05pm. Now this is a first. A personal record of nailing the GPS ETA doing 300 miles in 5 hours flat. Feels just great. To top it off, our hosts (Priti’s junior) fed us wonderful home cooked Indian food. I stopped short of food coma so I could start this blog entry and try to get some work done.
More tomorrow.
Updates:
Fri, 13th August: Busy day, met up with a friend before showing up for the conference mixer/gathering. After that, we went to see my buddy Venkatesh, whose 11 month old daughter just learned to walk on her own that very day. We then shacked up at my college batchmate’s nice house for the night.
Sat, 14th August: Very long day of conference from 7:30am to 10:30pm, but the food was great. I managed to get some office work done while covering the entire conference in between. Stayed with Ligeo and Divya after the conference.
Sun, 15th August: Long day of riding back home. Met up with roomie at Irvine where he came to meet his cousin. We had a mind blowing lunch at Chakra Indian cuisine restaurant inside the UC Irvine campus. After that Priti wanted to meet her junior so we stopped at Pasadena, also to avoid some nasty traffic. I am lucky I got to do a power nap which helped tremendously. I did a personal record in my riding that evening. From Gorman to Santa Nella, I rode non stop 212 miles on a full tank of gas, in 2 hr 50 minutes. It is a significant achievement considering the mental stamina it takes to sit for nearly 3 hours belting at 70mph or more. Back home at 11:30pm.
Summary: Roundtrip 1100 miles in 3 days, new personal record of 212 miles non stop in 2 hr 50 minutes.
#1 by John on August 15, 2010 - 8:10 pm
If you’re making trips in the time the GPS suggests, you need a “proper” motorcycle so that you can either arrive an hour early (zipping along on adrenaline) or an hour late (enjoying the ride.) That car you’re riding makes you arrive like you’re driving a car.
#2 by Ayash daa on September 2, 2010 - 8:56 pm
Dear Joy, I am very overjoyed to hear your new record. It is very good to learn that you are enjoying your life and I pray to God that you keep on enjoying it forever. I have completed 45,000 km on my “bull” which is nothing in front of your “wing” yet I feel there is some conscience in it (bull). As far as my record, 435 km in one day with Shrabani. Have a great weekend. Take care. Best wishes to Preeti.
#3 by Flossie Jaffe on October 23, 2010 - 2:20 am
Long time reader / 1st time poster. Really enjoying reading the blog, keep up the excellent work. Will definitely start posting more in the future.