The 100cc Hero

"The bike is making a clicking sound whenever I try to turn on the ignition and accelerate."

That's my roommate, and though I just mouth "Awww....... Everything will be alright.", I could sense a tone of melancholy in his voice. He hates it when something happens to his sweetheart. The bike may be about ten years old, but he treats it like it's new, everyday. That kind of dedication and maintenance deserves a lot more applause than it usually gets. I just hope his girlfriend, or later on, his wife, is a bike-lover, as it would be getting a lot more attention than her.

The bike's a 100cc Hero Splendor, and 'she' really is high-maintenance; but that doesn't stop him from being proud of it. He says, "For the times we've had (referring to the bike, of course!), I'm willing to get it repaired every week." His parents had got him this bike for travel, and he soon discovered another world. A world with open roads, sun and rain, and the most important entity, his bike. A dimension where he could forget his sorrows, a dimension where he could be at peace, a dimension where our hero could be free. We live in Chennai, and this region is known for some amazing strips of tarmac. Among them, the best include the East Coast Road, that connects Chennai to Pondicherry via Mahabalipuram, and the Chennai bypass.

This reminds me of a status update on facebook about a year ago, when he was stuck in Chennai and everyone else were at their parents'. It read "Smell of the rain, full tank of gas, just serviced bike...........Providence or what?" The open road in front of him must have induced a lot of excitement in him, and he wasn't going to let it go. He rode until his excitement began to wane a little. And then he rode some more!

His idea of a day well spent would be a bike trip to Mahabalipuram (which is about sixty kilometers away). He would say Pondicherry, (which is about one hundred and seventy kilometers away) only if he was allowed to!

Knowing this crazy guy, I have come to realize that, for bikers, at that specific moment, the road is there for a reason, THEY are there for a reason. The roar of the engine is in sync with the unleashing of freedom, and the heady rhythm of the bike is in sync with the lively rhythm of the pulse. A biker is defined by his spirit, and not by his bike. This is the Biker's Code.

An interesting link for all you bikers out there: www.facebook.com/CastrolBiking