1500 meters - 30 Lengths - 50 minutes

I love swimming and I am doing it from last 20 years. In every summer, me and my dad use to go Ambazari Lake for swimming. Swimming is considered as the best exercise and also it will keep you cool in Nagpury summer.

But from last 3-4 years, I preferred to swim in NIT swimming pool instead of Ambazari. Why swimming pool ? because in that I can dive, learn new strokes, swim and make new friends. These days I am making new students. :p

If you are achieving any extreme level in sports then it can be considered as adventure. Yes, for me it is an extreme swimming just like swimming in English Channel. :p On last weekend, I levelled with my previous record i.e. swimming continuously 30 lengths i.e. 30x50= 1500 meters in just 50 minutes. But this is not the limit; my aim is 50 Lengths in one shot. This season I will create history.

Let’s wait and Watch !! ;-)

One more long drive experience..

Now it’s being long time that I was looking for a chance for long drive. When my mom asked me that how we will be going to Latur for my cousin marriage, i quickly replied.. By CAR!! :-) It was again a tough job to convince mom for such drive. But finally she agreed and we started preparation for the same.

As usual approach, I gathered all information about the route. Google map always helps us. Yeah..it always tell us which will be the shortest route but it does not highlight quality of road :-( that need to be confirmed by one who already been there.

Anyways.. We started in morning about 7am. Advantage of driving in morning is that, weather is cool and less traffic. It is the most ideal time for driving. Very quickly, we reached to our first milestone i.e. Kalamb. It is in Yawatmal district and famous for very old and renowned Ganesh temple.

This temple, known as Shree Kshetra Kalamb of Lord Chintamani Ganesh, is one of the 21 Ganesh kshetras. A four headed Ganesh idol is located in the visible area of the temple. Four Ganesh idols have been carved in a single stone albeit on all the four sides. There is a square kund after descending the chairs. The main Chintamani idol is located in the sanctum. Two Shankar pindi are located on both sides of this temple.

Now we proceed towards our next destination i.e. Mahur. Mahur is famous for Lord Renuka devi. You can find some details about this place from following links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahur,_Maharashtra

http://www.renukadevimahur.com/

We had lunch in Mahur after the worship of Renuka devi. Vai Umerkhed we reached to Nanded. We had short break at relatives house located in heart of the city Nanded. Around 7pm, we reached to Latur, our destination. It took around 12 hrs to travel 525kms.

On the next day, after attending marriage, we proceed to Akola. But in between we visited 3 towns which were our planned milestones that were Ambejogai, Parali Vaijanath & Avanda Nagnath.Please find more details about these towns and specialities which are carried by them. Ambejogai has famous temple of Lord Yogeshwari devi.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambejogai

http://www.indianetzone.com/6/ambejogai.htm

~ "Dipmala" photo taken in Ambejogayi temple.

Parali Vaijanath & Avanda Nagnath are the famous Jotirlingas.

http://www.meriyatrra.com/travel-places/parali-vaijnath.html

http://www.shaivam.org/siddhanta/sp/spjyoti_nagesh.htm

http://www.horizontoursindia.com/pilgrimage/aundha-nagnath-jyotirlinga.html





~ Photos taken in Avanda Nagnath temple.

We reached to Akola city where we stay at my cousin’s house and then on the next day we proceed towards Nagpur via Murtijapur (My motherland).



~ Navigator of this journey.. My AAi :-)

It was again a good experience of Long drive. We travelled around 1200 kms. (In did a good LONG drive...) ;-)

I am missing Adventure :(

I was ready with the fact that I might not get time for any true adventure. No treks, biking, long drive on car. Life is so busy these days, the reason could be anything. I may blame to the atmosphere currently in Nagpur. It’s really HOT. So it is enough to kill your passion and enthu.

Anyways, let’s see how this heat keeps me away from my adventure.

Will come up some new adventure.. ;-)

Speed ...Does matter ?

Have you seen such board on roads ?? I didn’t get chance yet, did you ?

I am looking for a powerful beast which gives me full excitement of drive with full throttle. I don’t know when I will get that opportunity.

An experience with YAMAHA-R15

Wow.. Superb.. Fandu yaar.. What a bike..
These were my expressions when I was riding R15 of Yamaha. Simply the best !

The reaction was spontaneous. Yes, the experience of riding this bike was something different. A true sports bike. I have been biking from long time, riding bikes like Pulsur 200 or 220, Karisma, CBZ extreme; But this bike was something different than these bikes. When I was in most happening place in nagpur i.e. DP (Dharampeth) ;-) , I was enjoying ride with full attitude. Only focus on ride and nothing else. :p

Thanks to my friend "Harshu" for giving me oppertunity to ride this bike. I am sure you would also love to go for long drive on this bike.

Photo taken @ Zilpi lake, Hingna (25kms from Nagpur)

Fear Factor

I had clicked this following snap during my latest Jalna trip. My colleagues said that this could have been the last picture taken by me if anything had gone wrong or if something had come on the road while I was performing this amazing feat. ;-)



Don’t try this at home.. :)

Route: Road between Karanja(Lad) to Pulgaon
Car : Maruti Swift LXi
Top Speed: 135 Km/Hr

Warning: This stunt is performed by high skilled professional (i.e. ME :p). So DO NOT try this if you are beginner in car driving.

Have a safe drive !!

The Ultimate Biking Experience

I wonder when people plan tours on bike to Leh-Ladhak (peak of India). Riding a bike for thousands of kilometres is not a joke. Bohot waat lagti hai bhidu .. :p. But do you know I am also planning for the same kind of tour.

Travelling for thousands of kilometre without any practice may be more exhaustive. And that’s why I planned to start with a short journey on my bike which should at least cover 1000Km. So I chose “Jalna” .. My Sasural :) (Dist : Aurangabad) for long distance biking expedition.


It was difficult to convince mom as this was a bit crazy idea (dad is always in favour of such adventures :p).. Mom said.. 1000km on bike.. alone .. No way .. Sounds very dangerous.. But finally she agreed on one condition that I will drive slowly and steadily. [You can’t imagine but this tour was a big surprise to my wife :) ]

I planned many things before starting this tour like servicing of bike, collecting all important papers of bike. I collected all required items which I needed to carry for this tour.

Finally the day comes; I started my journey to Jalna at 6 AM sharp. Weather was cool as due to the monsoon season. Before starting the journey I set a few thumb rules which I followed until the end of the journey. Drive steadily and cautiously, no hurry, no risky overtakes, etc. I was enjoying the ride, nature, and weather, everything that came my way. It was more enjoyable when I seen few funny sign boards. ;)


I was aware about the conditions of the roads, so I was not much worried about that. Road was too good, specially bypass road. I enjoyed the thrill of fast driving (off course in full control ;-)) on these roads.

Breaks .. important activity in such ride.. some for myself and some for my bike.
River bridge, any good temple or Dhaba (roadside desi restaurants) , any place which looked good & safe was my break point. Stretching every part of the body made me relaxed and gave me energy till next milestone. Cup of tea made me refreshed at some points. Lunch at a road side dhaba was the most interesting part of the journey. I love spicy food; dal tadka, spicy mix vegetables and roti .. wow .. abhi bhi muh main pani aata hai .. :)

I came across few spots which were truly beautiful and photogenic. Off course, how can I miss camera in these kinds of rides. This is the only timepass I did in breaks :p

Wow .. This is nature .. real enjoyment.. :)

As predicted, my wife and her parents got shocked when they saw me on bike. After relaxing for a day, I returned through same way with the same enthusiasm. I almost covered 1000 km in this journey which was big achievement for me. I know these kinds of tours defiantly boost my enthu for highest peak journey. :)

Cheers !!

Some important tips to bikers who are inspired with this article:
1. Repair your bike properly before leaving for long journey.
2. Keep all important papers i.e. Insurance, PUC, Vehicle registration, etc (Police mama kabhi bhi pakad sakte.. :)
3. Don’t entertain people who ask for lift.. Not even to elders or kids.

4. Check the air pressure in tyres every 100kms. (It varies a lot).
5. Use helmet, hand gloves, etc.
6. Keep enough water and food with you.

Wish you safe and happy biking.. :)