BHPian 7000plusrpm recently shared this with other enthusiasts: The past couple of months at the office were nothing short of chaotic. Add to that the constant, depressing rain this year, and you can imagine, I barely had a moment to breathe, even on weekends. So when I suddenly lost access to the cloud platform I’d been working on, I let out an audible sigh of relief. No more work for the weekend! Without wasting a second, I shot a message to my riding buddies. A weekend ride was happening, and the plan was simple: somewhere out of Kolkata. Within a day, planning, bookings, everything was set. The plan? Start early in the morning, leave Kolkata before the city even wakes up, grab breakfast in Medinipur where another rider would join us, then cruise down to Mukutmonipur by lunchtime. After that, it was all about chilling at the dam. Saturday morning, four of us gathered at the tea stall near Dhulagarh toll plaza around 5:15 AM. In our group, we had two Triumph 400X, one CB350, and my trusty NX500. We spotted a massive group of riders, members of the Riders Community of Bengal on Facebook. We let them take the lead, figuring it was better not to get stuck in a sea of bikes. Meanwhile, we connected our intercoms and had a hot cup of coffee to kick things off. By 6:00 AM, we were on the road to Medinipur. The ride was smooth, and we pulled into SalPiyal Restaurant for a breakfast stop by 7:30. Another rider joined us here, also on an NX500, and we were ready to fuel up for the next leg of the journey. After filling our stomachs and the bikes, we hit the road by 8:30. Our first official stop? Bardi Pahar Eco Resort in Bankura. A quick dip in the river behind the resort, a few laughs, and we were back on the road toward Mukutmonipur. By 1:30 PM, we rolled into the Peerless Resort, our stop for the night. After checking in, and freshening up, we headed straight for the dam. Fun fact: Mukutmonipur boasts one of the largest earthen dams in India. We had a 30 minute boating session on the water, followed by a ride across the dam itself. Naturally, we paused for a mobile photography session By 8:30 PM, we were back at the resort, swapping stories and enjoying some good ‘adda’. The night ended with a well-earned rest, and we were out by 11:00 PM. Sunday morning, we checked out by 10:00 AM, ready for the return leg. First stop: Sutan Forest. After that, we looped back through Belpahari and Gidhni, avoiding the traffic chaos of Jhargram city by taking the Chichra route to the NH-49. The last 20 km before the highway was an absolute disaster, bumpy and nearly non-existent, but once we hit the NH, it was smooth sailing We cruised from Chichra at 2:45 PM, and by 4:45 PM, we were breezing through Kolaghat. After a longish tea break, we finally reached home by 7:30 PM. Avishek, the photographer and the owner of the red NX500 is missing in this picture Mission accomplished. The weekend ride turned out to be the perfect escape. Oh, and I had a chance to test out some new gear on this trip. I recently bought the RS Taichi Drymaster Kompass jacket and pants, and this was my first ride in them. The gear is super light, but by design, it lets in very little air. While I enjoyed the rain this time, I was sweating buckets the entire way, definitely something to get used to. As for the motorcycle, no big complaints. Total distance covered was around 600km and mileage on the console was about 31kpl. Also I did complete 8,500 km during this ride, so it’s been a solid journey overall. Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
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A 600 km weekend ride with my Honda NX500 & friends: A welcome break
