Ride through the twisty
Every living soul holds a unique set of desire and a formula for a buoyant life is to feed this hunger. Abandoning yourself from the daily set of routine and doing what you actually want even though sporadically, keeps your inner flame burning, trust me, life all of a sudden turns beautiful. The blog is therefore aimed to encourage each and every one to get indulged in the activity you truly desire, narrating my solo mountain biking trip through the winding woods.
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| towards Rungdung Bridge |
Since many days I felt a desire to own a MTB, this very desire propelled me towards the decision of renting a bike for a trip, which would consist of a route I had not travelled in order to test myself whether the desire for the bike was real or just a random one that stays for a short span of time before it fades away. Saturday 17th August 2019, I visited ‘Rad Adventures’, a bike rental to book a bike for the following day, the route awaiting on the 18th was, home -(7Km)→ Lebong -(8 Km)→Rungdung-(14 km)→ 3rd mile-(5 Km)→ Jorebonglow –(1.5 Km)→ Ghoom –(9 Km)→Darjeeling, a big circle back home. making it a total of 44.5 kilometres
It was not early, at around 9:30 am descend towards Lebong started. Though a rainy morning my determination stood impermeable, those who ride can relate to it, the tyre hurl the water from the wet road upwards hitting your face throughout, if you are the one with spectacles make sure to get a wiper fixed. Till lebong the route is smooth, the ‘enduro’ mode starts henceforth, pull of gravity turned stronger making me rely mostly on the brakes that were hydraulic, unlike ordinary cycles. Standing up and going through a bad patch had a true off road feeling. Being bit of an adrenaline junkie I drifted the rear tyre through most of the sharp turns, leaving some rubber on the road. Cool breeze hitting my face, knuckles too cutting through the air, woods on both sides, I was simply flying only the frequent sharp turns kept me from closing my eyes. With occasional stops for photos, I kept on gliding through.
Soon I reached Rungdung the presence of which was marked by a bridge, few houses and a stream. The locals enlightened me regarding the further route that had to be conquored, it was uphill with no tarmac to ride on. Have you ever been in a scenario where your feeling just changes in a blink of an eye? Well for me it was the moment, a few minutes ago I was flying with no effort at all and now I was throwing in all I had in order to peddle my way through, never had I loved and cursed gravity in such a short duration in my 23 years of existence. Do you think I will be wrong if I say this particular framework perfectly fits our life? Sometimes life is just so easy going and other times everything just feels messed up, but as said ‘the show must go on’. Wet rocky road and rubber do not complement each other, this was very much evident as my rear tyre kept on skidding, few places I was involved in the daunting task of pushing the bike uphill. Couple of times the bike also came up as a burden, which made me think it would have been much easier if I had no bike to push and all I had to do was trek, but I kept on. Life when easy keeps you engaged in the process, but the times it turns difficult it makes you tough, it is during this time you should keep in mind the feeling of conquering something, the feeling of achievement stands at the end, no matter how small or big it is the feeling you have is incomparable, very often this sense of achievement turns into a drug compelling people to reach new heights.
I decided for a snack break, some fresh fruits amidst the woods after which the climb resumed. Biking downhill made me enjoy the moment making me aware of the scene, but now peddling uphill even though the scene stayed the same, all I had in mind was to conquer the road in front of me. I even came across areas where the bike had to be carried. Any person seen, I enquired about the distance to 3rd mile as the route after that was much better, but the reply stayed the same, I had a lot to cover. It was exhausting yet oddly satisfying, it was a drug and I was enjoying the trip to every bit. I kept on moving and finally the steepness began to subside, peddling was gradually turning effortless the bike demanded a drop in the gear, this scene now turned into another important lesson for life which is no matter how bad the moment turns, time itself is the best healer everything will change all one needs is patience and an attitude to move on. Finally the rubber kissed the proper road entering 3rd mile, no other living soul there knew of my achievement, for them I was just a random person riding a bike on a rainy Sunday, but the feeling sits within me, there was no fancy celebration neither any medal awarded, but I had conquered the moment, I was a winner.
From 3rd mile, the route joins the main Sikkim-Darjeeling road, peddling my way at ease, and waving back to the kids on the vehicle overtaking me I made my way through. The day gave me wet shoes, shivering pair of legs, a numb butt and a new achievement making life worth living. I did not stop, from Ghoom again the road is slightly downward slopping till the town giving me the luxury to overtake a few cars. The bike stopped at ‘Rad adventures’ to be handed back. No matter what point of view others may possess of my day, for me, it will always be a special one. As said earlier everyone has a unique set of desire and it is essential to fuel your soul similar to the food you eat to fuel your body. The day dedicated to this blog will bring a sense of achievement only if even a single person reacting to it decides to go for what the person actually wants.
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