Lavasa, the virgin land

Lavasa, a 40 odd kilometers from the usual meeting point of RSA, the Chandni Chowk bridge boasts some of the best curves with a sticky tarmac layer as good as the icing on your favorite cake. And just like your fav cake, the ride is as sweet too. No traffic, no domectic / urban wildlife, no pedestrians, and no tourists either, though riding on these roads is no less than a first hand experience of a Tourist Trophy race (only if you know what I mean).

The USP of Lavasa is the fact that out of the 40 kms that u clock beginning from Chandni Chowk, you can afford to look at your trip meter for only 24 odd kilometers. After that the next 16 kms need your complete attention and concentration as the road throws at you, an array of curves, high speed curves. On any Indian premium class single, you can easily carry 80+ kmph through the curves, which can be amplified to 100+ if ridden with proper concentration and weight balance. The proof of this can be 'smelt' at the end of the ride, coming in the form of over worked clutch plates. The twisties commence with the Mutha Ghats which consist of wide downhill corners with a few blind spots in between. If luck favours you well you may find a completely clean section with no gravel on the edge of the corners. While one side of the road offers a bed of wild flowers the other side offers a run out space so less that you wont live to think or talk about it. The ghat passes through a few villages before coming to a bridge. A bride above a small rivulet having its source from the small leaks in the colossal walls of the Lavasa dam.

Lavasa leads to an almost-table land. Hence we climb up hill with a combination of some fast corners leading to even faster straights which most of the times end in scary and slow hairpins. They are particularly scary while on the way back, because again, the run out space is not much. Carrying a parachute bag-pack wont be a bad idea actually. After the climb is over you are welcomed by a not so friendly speed breaker couple who will make even the last bolt in your machine feel the 'break'. After you are done with them, the table land and the roads will try their best to give you an experience of race track with near flat curves, ample run out space in some section, a brilliant combination of left handers, right handers, slow corners, fast corners, a small straight at the end of a medium speed corner and the likes. A good place for riders to practice weight shifting and cornering.

The only thing that bothers me is however, how long can we enjoy this road ? Soon traffic will increase, nature wil take its toll on the tarmac, civilisation will flourishand the worst is, the road is a private entity. But till the time is road is closed for us, we'll continue to enjoy the beauty.

Here are a couple of videos from the rides we had at Lavasa :





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