Tamhini Ghat, Maharashtra
The tea stall below the pass at first light
Thirty-eight kilometres in the dark, then a steel tumbler of chai and a cooling engine.
The road so far
Every stop, newest first
Each letter is one stop on the route, in the order I reached it.
Malshej Ghat, Maharashtra · 10 min read
Eleven hairpins in the first dry week
After four months of rain, the road is clean, and I finally count the bends.
Mahad, Maharashtra · 6 min read
A night in a garage behind the petrol pump
The owner moved a scooter so my bike could stand, and I slept beside it.
Kundalika River, Maharashtra · 4 min read
The river bridge at the end of the monsoon
A stone bridge, brown water just below the arch, and an hour spent listening.
Varandha Ghat, Maharashtra · 8 min read
Oiling the chain on a wet shoulder of road
What I carry, how long it takes, and why I never skip it.
Pune, the desk · 5 min read
What goes in the journal at every stop
Three lines, one pressed leaf and the odometer reading, before I touch my phone.
Amba Ghat, Maharashtra · 15 min read
Fog on the pass, twelve kilometres at twenty
Visibility of one bike length and a truck horn somewhere above me.
Bhor, Maharashtra · 3 min read
The tea stall that opens at five
A woman, one stove and a wooden bench, and the best biscuit of my year.
Pune, the garage · 12 min read
A tool roll, a spare tube and the saddlebag in the rain
Everything in the left bag, and what stays dry only thanks to a carrier sack.
Koyna, Maharashtra · 9 min read
The stone bridge where I waited out a flood warning
Two hours of watching the river rise, and a decision to turn back.
Every other Saturday
Ghat Road
Get the next stop on my ride, from the road, the garage or the tea stall, every other Saturday.
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