Welcome to the Road...


... with me, Praveen Rao / MeTaLd0g / MeTaL.



Havn't found time to pretty this up .. but some of the later Albums from 2007 - 2008 are Here at Picassa . Feel free to look them up/comment/flame, till I migrate them here. :)


60kph Anniversary Ride 2007 - Devban - Kanatal
Having carried out two recee' rides already, into the region , the big event of the year, finally saw a gathering of Bikes and Riders from all over India heading out into the Himalayas, camping in snow. 4-5 days and nights of enduring the harshest Indian Winters , in true 60kph style, the ride culminated with the Anniversary party at "The Terraces" , the perfect luxury resort in the Himalayas.

Route Taken :
Day 1 : Delhi - Karnal - Pipli - Ladwa - Yamuna Nagar - Poanta Sahib - Aasan Barrage - Dakpathar - Campsite on the Yamuna Bank
Day 2 : Campsite - Chakrata - Campsite at Devban
Day 3 : Devban - Tiger Falls - Chakrata
Day 4 : Chakrata - Mussorie - Dhanaulti - Kanatal
Day 5 : Kanatal - Chamba - Rishikesh - Haridwar - Roorkee - Delhi
Total Distance Covered : Approx. 800 kms




A very hectic bunch of weekends in a row, but very fruitful too :) Ranikhet, Chakrata-Mundali, Sultanpur and now Rafting to Shivpuri and a short ride ahead till Kaudiyala ! Life's good. As a last minute entry and the designated chauffeur to Pady's office gang's Rafting ride plans, I played along, since the idea of Rafting (already my 3rd this year) never fails to find favour with me.

A pretty funny video of an overloaded horse cart I witnessed - Horsing.3gp (479 kb) . I would be helmet wearing guy in brown jacket that comes into the frame towards the end of the clip :)

Riders : Ashish, Gulzar, Pady, Praveen, Sonics, Sonica, Angie

Route Taken : Delhi - Meerut - Muzaffarnagar - Haridwar - Rishikesh - Shivpuri - Kaudiyala - and Back via the same route


Total Distance Covered : Approx. 760 kms


It started out as a recce ride for 60kph's Anniv 2007. But soon turned into an out-of-body experience. The places and experiences I rode and went through were surreal enough for me to smash into the mountain wall every once in a while, more to convince myself as this being for real. From a non-descript NH 1 to the gorgeous Tiger Falls in a day, takes a lot of getting used to. And then onwards to an almost untouched Mundali, before heading back to Delhi, with a brief stopover at Devban. Avoiding the hotels and Dhabas for stay and food, this was marked as a ride to simulate the Anniv as close as possible. So tenting and cooking regardless of the conditions was it. And the verdict - definately do-able in October despite the biting cold in the night, which kept me awake for most part. However, the chill being as un-predictable as it is in the Himalayas, and the only guarantee being 3-8 feet of snow in the region in Winters, the settings for the Anniv ride in Jan '07 was just going to be P E R F E C T !

A short but heavy(Approx. 80 MB for less than 45 seconds)Video of Tiger Falls, for those willing.

Route Taken :
Day 1 : Delhi - Karnal - Pipli - Ladwa - Yamuna Nagar - Poanta Sahib - Aasan Barrage - Dakpathar - Chakrata - Tiger Falls
Day 2 : Tiger Falls - Chakrata - Mundali
Day 3 : Mundali - Devban - Delhi

Total Distance Covered : 868 kms


On a work-related visit to Romania, got some time off on a couple of weekends to move upto the Carpathians and into the heart of Transylvania too.





Total Distance Covered : N/A


Atlast, the 60kph Delhi gang was in action again! Sobby, Shekhar and Hirak took the lead in deciding the location.I merely tagged along :) The location was Mukteshwar, the accomodation was tenting in the jungles, with cooking thrown in for good measure. A drunken night later, we congragulated ourselves for having 'almost' stuck to the original plan in it's entirety, right down to eating spilled Noodles from the ground :) At approximately 8000 ft asl, a local leopard roaming around in the jungles and the distinct possibility of a heavy downpour - the chills of the night were a given! :)

Riders : Shekhar, Hirak, Sobby, Praveen

Route Taken : Route:Delhi - Moradabad - Haldwani - Bhimtal - Bhowali - Ramgarh - Mukteshwar and back via the same route


Total Distance Covered : 730 kms


Pics of Rides and Drives to the Taj, Sariska and Rafting in March and April to be added soon


With just a few days of cooling heels after the Kanyakumari Ride, the temptation to ride out caught up with me again. The vThe Rider's gang had already set the plan rolling by the time I got back from the previous ride. Took my tent along, coz sleeping on a bed, in a room still hadn't quite caught up with me yet :) Was blessed with the most magnificient sunrise from the tent for this effort.

Route Taken : Delhi - Karnal - Ambala - Kalka - Barog - Kalka - Ambala - Karnal - Delhi



Total Distance Covered : 610 kms


Phase 1 - Bombay - Yana - Karwar
Starting 2006 with a ride from the 2nd of Jan till the 24th,the ride initiated from Bombay. Immediate destination - the jungles and Monolith of Yana in remote Karnataka, the location decided for 60kph's Anniversary ride 2006.

Route Taken (Phase I) : Bombay - Dharwad - Aanshi - Yana - Karwar

Phase II saw me continue from Goa, where I bid goodbyes to my 60kph gang, and proceeded solo to Kanyakumari and then back to Delhi.

Route Taken (Phase II) : Palolem (Goa) - Bekal (Kerala) - Ernakulam (Kerala) - Puvar (Kerala) - Kanyakumari(Tamil Nadu) - Ernakulam - Mahe (Pondicherry) - Catigao (Goa) - Pune - Bombay - Baroda (Gujrat) - Delhi

Total Distance Covered (Entire Ride): 6000 kms


My Pics
Pics by Chandan 

Route Taken : Delhi - Mathura - Agra - Fatehpur Sikri - and back via the same route.
Distance Covered : 430 kms

Account by Tanya 
 


My Pics
Pics by Alex
Pics by Chandan
Pics by Vivek
Pics by Harish
Pics by Tanya

Route Taken : Delhi - Hindon - Meerut Bypass - Muzaffurnagar Bypass - Roorkee - Rishikesh - Shivpuri and back via the same route.

Distance Covered : 500 kms

 
There are days .. and then there are Days. There are thoughts .. and then there are Thoughts. Then there are these weird days when the thoughts just cease to be thoughts anymore.. more...

Route Taken : Delhi - Lucknow(UP) - Butwal (Nepal) - Pashupati Nagar (Nepal) - Darjeeling (West Bengal) - Siliguri (West Bengal) - Hashimara (West Bengal) - Phutsholing (Bhutan) - Thimpu (Bhutan) - Phuntsholing (Bhutan) - Hashimara (West Bengal)- Nagaon (West Bengal)- Guwahati (Assam) - Bhalukpong (Arunachal Pradesh) - Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) - Bhalukpong (Arunachal Pradesh) - Kaziranga (Assam) - Guwahati (Assam) - Shillong (Meghalaya) - Guwahati (Assam)

Distance Covered : 3200 kms Approx.



On v The Riders'  second ride, we headed out to the Lake Palace at Siliserh , about 20 kms from Alwar. 

Route Taken : Delhi - Gurgaon - Daruhera - Alwar - Siliserh and back the same route. 
Distance Covered : 390 kms

My Pics
Pics by Chandan
Pics by Vivek  


Having gotten tired of constantly been looked at as a freak whenever my rides were discussed, I decided to gather together a bunch of like-minded riders at workplace and headed out on an introduction ride. An introduction ride for those unfamiliar with Leisure Riding. Generous amount of help from Royal Enfield went a long way in helping the cause. The motley bunch of executives and senior Directors eventually shaped into what's now called v The Riders, vCustomer's  Riders club. 

Route Taken : Delhi - NH 8 till Neemrana and back.
Distance Covered : 250 kms.

My pics 
Pics by Chandan
Route Taken: Delhi - NH 8 - Jaipur - Delhi 

Distance Covered : 550 kms. 

more ...

 
Route Taken : Delhi -  Chandigarh - Kalka - Shimla -  Naldhera - Tattapaani - Naldhera - Shimla - Kalka - Chandigarh - Delhi

more .. 
Route Taken : Delhi - Hapur Bypass - Moradabad - Haldwani - Nainitial - Kilbury - Pangot - Binayak - Kunjakharak - Binayak - Pangot - Kilbury - Nainital - Kaladungi - Moradabad - Hapur Bypass - Delhi .

Distance Covered : 711 kms.

more ... 
Route Taken : Delhi - Hapur By-pass - Moradabad - Rampur - Haldwani - Kathgodam - Bhimtal - Naukuchiyatal .

Distance Covered : 660 kms

 
Route Taken : Delhi - Hindon - Meerut Bypass - Muzaffurnagar Bypass - Roorkee - Rishikesh - Shivpuri and back via the same route.

Total Distance Covered : 497 kms

 
Route Taken :- Delhi - Hapur By-pass - Gajraula - Moradabad - Ramnagar - Mohaan - Ramnagar - Kaladungi - Gajraula - Hapur - Delhi

Distance Covered : 610 kms.

more ... 
Route Taken : Delhi - Jaipur - Udaipur - Ahmedabad - Entered Little Runn from the south - Exited from the north - Gandhidham - Adeshwar - Palanpur - Abu Road - Sirohi - Pali - Biawar - Ajmer - Jaipur - Delhi.

Total distance covered - 2562 kms

 
When fellow rider's at 60kph, an All-India Motorcycle Travel Club(www.60kph.com), decided to break the lull, the next month, by announcing a ride to Renuka Lake in Himachal via Poanta Sahib - Me and Pady lunged at it ! Riding this time on Pady's Pulsar 180 with me pillion for most part :)

 

Riders : Pradeep, Manav, Anuraag, Shekhar, Saurabh, Pady and Praveen .
Just back from Ladakh less than a month ago, City life was troubling me to no end. Being caged in a cubicle after a ride of a lifetime ... such a waste of life! When I couldn't take it anymore, a ride was proposed. Me 'n Pady headed out to the hills beyond Mussorie on her Pulsar 180, for a weekend ride. More ...

Route taken : Delhi - Ghaziabad - Modinagar - Muzaffarnagar - Roorkee - Dehradun - Mussorie - Cloud's End.
In the September of ‘05, Me, Chacko Simon from Chennai, Shekhar from Delhi and Somesh from Maharastra headed out to Ladakh. A 500, 2 350’s and Shekhar’s Machismo ...
Others Narkanda - April - 2004 more ...

Kasauli/Barog - June 2004 more ...



So what's with the name MeTaLd0g ? Long story short .. MeTaLd0g (with alternate casing and the zero in place of O) is  probably the longest surviving nick, I have retained since the time of the 'oh-did-you-check-out-this-new-thing-called-hotmail?!!' :). I went around for a while with the moniker MeTaLg0d, but then, that sounded too pompous, so switched letters around to coincidentally associate with my other loves, my two Labrador Retrievers - Angel and Hotz (Black female and Golden male respectively)!Angel's no more, but Hotz ensures he retains the attention grabbing qualities of his mother  

Still other loves include everything Metal in music, Classic Rock, traveling, traveling long and traveling on my Motorcycle who I call (coincidentally enough) MeTaL ! It's a July 2004, Royal Enfield 500 CC Bullet. Most of my Rides have been on it, with  few on my other bikes - a Bajaj Pulsar 180CC and a Suzuki Shogun 110CC. The rides that I've been on have been a mix of group rides (60kph and v The Riders) and solos.

60kph, whose tagline (Romancing the Roads ...) I've shamelessly borrowed, is an All India Motorcycle Travel Club ,filled to the brim with some of the most hardcore Riders, I've had the pleasure of knowing ! 
v The Riders, is the club that I got like-minded people at my ex-workplace, to hook up and ride out on weekends. 

This page is about the rides I've been on, hence prone to updates. Keep coming back every month, to see what the cat(or d0g) just dragged in !  

Most of the photographs have been taken with my 2004, Canon S1 IS .. 
..an absolutely gorgeous piece of as... err... equipment! It was the best buy in it's class when I bought it. Ofcourse, now it's been replaced by the overtly efficient S5 IS. Would be worthwhile to mention, that I'm available for adoption to whoever sponsors me the EOS :)   

I may be reached at zeus_129 at yahoo dot com,for adoption, queries, corrections, and all abuses you may choose to hurl at me. :-)
Alternate Email - praveenrao at hotmail.com


It would please me if you were to NOT STEAL these images. You may link to these pages from your site for private, non-commercial purposes, provided you give due credit to the owner (that would be me, Praveen Rao, thanks :)). Drop me a mail and tell me about it, maybe I can help you with high resolution pics. I'm good like that :)

Ride On ... !