The ‘Long’Cut trip

The Why

Apart from what I said in the poster, I had to move to Bangalore. And I didn’t want to parcel my bike. The last time I did that there was one big dent on the petrol tank.

Why LongCut

I had always wanted to go to Araku valley. From the time I had crossed Godavari in my childhood on a train, I had wanted to be there. Then I have a close friend in Machilipatnam who I have not been able to meet since more than 12 years.  He will be there for 10 more days and than fly back to Dubai where he works. And LongCut because I want to.

What’s the Agenda?

I am taking books with me which I shall distribute on my way to school libraries. But frankly I thought of this after I thought of the trip. So it is not an agenda. It is a bonus.

Also to stop wherever it fancies me. To bathe with village kids in village ponds. To drink teas in village corner tea shops, with old wise folks. To remind myself that my forefathers lived in such villages. That it is just providence that I am taking this trip instead of grazing buffaloes.

What am I taking with me

This list is not final and I will keep updating it.

• open face helmet
• two pairs of shades, Maui Jim, polarized (for night riding), Fasttrack (has better wind protection)
• 3 pairs of cloth changes & 2 jeans.
• A Gerber knife that I bought for my last trip to nepal. In the hope of getting stuck in a jungle and having to hunt a rabbit or something and then grilling it over a fire. Now that I have turned vegetarian, I would have to use it to peel apples. Or should I have them with the skin?
• Tools (I hope Murphy’s law doesn’t apply this time. I have always found that I don’t have exactly the one spanner I need while I have 5 other ones), other tools. Spare cables – 1one each, speedo, front brakes, and clutch.
• Books for distribution
• Am I missing something? I sure am.. please do comment. I shall keep updating, when I remember things which I missed.

Wish me luck :).

update (26th October 2010)

The trip was fun. The pics are here. And you could look at the live tweets here.

Update: Pratham Books has posted a trip blog post here.