Riding In The Rain

I feel immensely satisfied to resume blogging after a period of hibernation inflicted by important activities and events. I have been longing to resume it but, you know, you need a calm mind to write, don’t you?

All right , now coming to the subject of my post. Not many people know about my fetish of automobiles. I enjoy both driving & riding. Most people like to drive/ride fast but I like to cruise so that I am able to take in the views.

It was a pleasant Sunday evening yesterday and a good opportunity to hit the road. I have a 125cc bike which is nimble but not very quick and not a great cruiser either. Still you got to make do with whatever resources you have. So I set about my journey. I usually go along the new bypass which provides a fast and scenic ride. It was slightly overcast but didn’t seem it would rain, leave alone raining hard. So initially when I was on that strip of tarmac it was all going according to the script. Just after a few minutes and a few kilometres I saw a wet patch which was about 500 metres away, a clear indication that it had rained just then. Moving ahead I could see dark clouds in the distance with grey rays oblique to the ground which meant it was raining. I stopped. Within no time it started raining heavily and before I could find shelter I was drenched. I rode to the educational institution which was just a stone’s throw away and took shelter in the guard’s cabin.

After 10-15 minutes the downpour turned into drizzle and so I decided to return and no sooner did I start my return journey it again turned into a downpour. With no protective gear, not even something for the eyes, and the light fading it was getting extremely difficult to ride. If the falling rain was not enough there was thick spray of water emanating from trucks every now and then which made overtaking a tricky affair. Since it was getting dark I decided to take the old bypass as it is comparatively safer and slower. And just when I joined the old bypass the rain got heavier. By the time the thought of taking shelter again came there was no safe place to be found. With thunder and lightning just any roadside spot was not safe. So I kept on moving cagily. At some moments the rain eased off and at some it was heavy as before. At one point it was so heavy that virtually nothing was visible and I had to stop immediately and found a safe place which was a commercial complex. I realised I was shivering. The constant sound of thunder and lightning was frightening me a bit. The rain eased off again and I resumed riding. It was not long when I again had to find a safe place. It was still raining heavily when I decided to not think about the intensity of the rain and sprint back home. Luck was on my side as the heavy rain turned into a drizzle just after I set out.

And finally I reached home, got off the bike, had a look at it and smiled as if saying “Well done, sweetheart”. I felt a great sense of camaraderie. It was a stern test of my riding skills and temperament and I think I passed muster.