Of life, bike rides, and how to slow down

I finally made up my mind to make the move to Goa about three months ago. And since I didn’t want to cart down my beloved bike by train, (that’s blasphemy, bikes are meant to be ridden), I settled on the next best thing, riding down from Mumbai. Now I’d never ridden more than 100 kilometres before, and that too not at a stretch. So what was a guy like me, with a four-month-old Royal Enfield Bullet, doing on the highway to Goa? Living the good life!

I had company up to Chiplun, the halfway point. Zuri and me left at six in the morning, and began my first actual ride. There’s nothing like the wind in your face (I wore a helmet, but it was windy all the same) and a 350 cc, 18 bhp engine between your legs. We didn’t ride rashly, kept the needle at 80 (though there was a time when I tested her out and took her up to 110). I reached my little home on the hill, where my parents stay, the next day (we’d stopped for the night at Chiplun and went in opposite directions next morning). I was tired, dirty, and smelt of fuel. But, man, that was some ride! I was in Goa, (well, nearly there)… Why Goa, you ask? Well, it’s a difficult answer. But I guess I got tired of the rat race and wanted to actually live my life the right way, have some time to write, read, sip beer on the beach, or just see more than just two trees every 500 metres.

When I joined GT, IFFI was on a roll and the first week at work was a mad rush. The people were great, but it took time getting used to a whole lot of things and as usual, I did it the way I usually do things – nice and slow. (The nice and slow part is me, all me).

But, here’s something I didn’t really understand and I’m still trying to figure out - how can people, most of whom love to enjoy an afternoon siesta, take things easy and in their own time, jump into a car or onto a bike and zip through the roads at breakneck speeds? It looks like every second vehicle on the road is trying to break the sound barrier. Unfortunately, the only ‘boom’ anyone is ever going to hear, is of two vehicles ramming into one another.

Last Friday, I had an article on accidents published. I’d looked into the ‘where and how’, spoken to a few people including members of the police. I realised (also because I travel from Mapusa to Panjim every day) that something needs to be done about the way people drive here in Goa. I left work all excited and ready to head to Candolim where a friend had just opened up a new restaurant. And as I came down from the slope past the Porvorim tisk, I saw what turned out to be a pretty bad accident. The first thing that came to mind was, “Don’t these people ever read the papers?” I stopped, tried to see if someone needed any help, but there were already too many people shouting and gesturing, so I got back on my bike and proceeded home. But I guess some people never learn, no matter how many articles are printed, how many people die or get badly injured, there are always going to be speed demons out there who try to defy gravity and speed records. Sadly, however, the people they injure are sometimes bystanders and innocent, safe riders…
So, if you want to make a difference, and stop this needless drive to prove who is the king of the road, start with yourself (and a few neighbours if you can manage it) and ease off that gas pedal. It might just save a life and that life could just be your own. I thought of a way to start and this editorial was it.

Dec 21 - Gomantak Times, Goa