24/7. That was what we decided to call our second Ride & Meet. Why? Because riding is what GEARheads think about pretty much round-the-clock and quite simply because it was the event date!
Our destination this time was Netravali, famous for its Wildlife Sanctuary and excellent, curved roads that are a biker’s dream. We started off with a group of around 10 riders who met near the KTC Bus Terminus in Panjim.
Riding south, we added one GEARhead from Vasco to our group at the Cortalim Circle.
Moving on, we had one more stop at Leonora’s in Verna, where we met with about 10 more GEARheads from Ponda and Margao.
Our group consisted of a variety of bikes including a Kawasaki Ninja 250R, a Honda CBR 250R, a bunch of Yamaha YZF-R15’s, a small army of different Bajaj Pulsars, a TVS Apache, Hero Honda Karizmas, one ZMR and a CBZ Extreme.
It was here that we also got the first glimpse of our group t-shirts. Some members even went ahead and purchased theT-shirts on the spot and wore them immediately!
From here, we proceeded onward to Canacona, en route to Netravali. Our group split up into 2 sub-groups, with a few faster riders riding ahead of the bigger group that followed.
The roads we encountered were fantastic and most of us had a great time leaning our bikes into the corners. The superb and uncharacteristic dry weather added to our confidence in the turns.
Upon reaching Canacona, it was lunch-time so we regrouped and made a pit stop just before heading into Netravali and filled up on some Omelette and Bhaji with bread. Not a very grand meal but we had to make do with what was available and it was still good nonetheless!
After our lunch stop, we set out for Netravali. It must be mentioned that the weather was perfect up until this point. Here, we faced a short spell of rain which died down quickly. The roads now being wet meant we had to exercise caution and go easy on the corner-carving.
We stopped at a bridge, where we lined up our machines for some group shots. Moving on, we made a stop at the Gopinath Temple to check out the famous ‘Budbudyanchi Tali’ (Bubble Lake/Pond) where one can see continuous bubbles rising up to the surface at different spots which strangely increase in intensity if the viewer claps loudly. And boy did we clap like little children! After taking a group picture entrance of the temple, we decided to ride back to Margao via a different route.
Unfortunately, just after exiting Netravali, one of our riders had a fall that could be attributed to rider error and thankfully no other person or vehicle was involved.
While a majority of the riders continued onward to Margao, about five members stayed back with our downed comrade to make sure he was okay and that he did not need any immediate medical attention. We also checked his bike to make sure it was safe to ride to the service center for repairs.
Once we were convinced all was fine to move on, we met up with the other riders in Margao and decided to stop at Kavana to take a breather and get a bite to eat, which turned out to be a treat from one of our group administrators, Gauresh Halarnekar, who celebrated his Birthday just a few days earlier!
Wrapping up on this positive note, we split up and rode home after a wonderful day of riding and camaraderie. In case you are wondering about the fate of our member who had that unfortunate mishap, I am happy to report that a check-up at his doctor revealed that there was no serious damage done and he is all set for our next ride!
Speaking of the next ride, we have scheduled a special event dubbed ‘GEARS Freedom Ride 2011’ on August 15. We would be happy to have you ride along with us!
You can find out more about this event here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133569380068482
Please RSVP on the event page or request to join our group on Facebook here:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/gearsgoa
Our Facebook Page can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/GEARS.Goa
Until next time, Ride Safe!
– by Aaron Cardozo
