What Lavasa means

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What Lavasa means

Written by Prasad Bashte

Pune-based biker Prasad Bashte recently visited Lavasa, and here's his experience, in his own words.

"Lavasa? What has Lavasa got for bikers?"This was my first thought, when one of my colleagues suggested a bike ride to Lavasa.

Originally from Panvel and recently settled in Pune, I have heard of Lavasa, but as the first hill station of Independent India and that it's an expensive place where the rich come to relax.When my colleague saw the skepticism on my face, he just said, "I can't explain it, however, you have got to try it." So being an avid biker I said, "Let's go!!!

We gathered our biker friends and chalked out a plan. I could feel the start of the enthusiasm for a bike ride, pulsing within me. I looked at my "Lavasa" friend and asked him, "Are you sure about Lavasa?" He just nodded.

On the day of the ride, I was happy to see everyone on time and geared up. I could feel how excited everyone was, so without wasting anymore time, we all prayed, like we always do before a ride, to the Almighty to keep us and our steeds safe.

After a final round of checks, I switched on the engine, caressed the tank (my way of telling the bike, 'I love you') and off we went.

As always, it's a different feeling. The wind, the hum of the engine and the smooth road beckoned us riders, encouraging us to enjoy ourselves. After approximately an hour, as decided, we took a break at the dam. We just relaxed, soaking ourselves in the beauty of the scenery all around us. After shooting a few pictures, we were raring to go, off into the unknown.After some time, I realised why my "Lavasa" colleague had no words to describe it. The view, the roads and the bends only meant one thing.CORNERING.

You have to understand, we come from crowded cities and traffic jammed roads. Thus, uninterrupted cornering, where one can show-off the art of beautifully balancing speed and lean angle, for us, was pure bliss.After a round of cornering (and helping others with tips to perfect their cornering), I wanted more. The adrenalin kept coursing through my veins.

After clicking pictures and recording videos of awesome cornering, sanity prevailed, and we took a break. Towards the end of the break, it was decided that we would hit a few more bends and then head home back to Pune.Once back in Pune, we just couldn't stop talking about the experience. We literally had to drag ourselves away from the conversation and go home. As I parked my bike , I planted a goodnight kiss on the bike's headlight and turned to walk towards my elevator.

With a smile on my face, I thought, "Lavasa. I know what it means now"

Have an interesting biking tale like this one? Why not share it with us? And yes, always #RideAlongWithMRF.