The Moving Wheels

Riding has always been a fascinating way of killing boredom to me. Whenever I feel depressed or even when I don't know what's causing me to feel unusual, riding on two wheels makes me feel different, and feel good. Be it riding for an hour or only for 5 minutes, the adrenaline released while I'm revving does its job pretty well.

And fortunately, this week I managed to treat my heart with two trips; one decently long and another short— roughly 60 km or so. It wasn't planned, so, obviously, it was quite exciting. To top it off, I had off-road experience on a well-planned highway. Yes, that's right. The highway was bumpy enough to give me a feeling of crushing through village roads. It's none but our neighbouring district Khulna.

The mission was to rescue the motorbike of one of my friends. He had to journey by train with his family to come to their home and he asked me to accompany him the next day to bring his bike from Khulna to Jashore. Although I wasn't much interested, the idea of exploring the town where I have gone more than a decade ago influenced me to embark on the journey. It's a shame I have extremely little knowledge about the town even though, geographically, it's important to us. So, why miss all the fun when you can do it for free!!

_{Photo by Damon Lam on Unsplash}

It all started earlier yesterday morning. We took a bus and reached there in two hours. The road seemed okay but that was for the bus as I thoroughly examined it on our way back home by bike. Horrible, it is.

But I did enjoy the ride and obviously, some specific places I have been fascinated all my life. Most remarkably, the house of Ershad Shikder, his ice factory, the notorious well where he used to drown his victims to feed the fish and a few other places. My friend insisted on visiting the Rupsha bridge but I disagreed. A bridge is just a way to cross the river, what's so special about it?

I felt the same for the Padma bridge as well when it was trending in our country and I will feel this way for every bridge out there unless it takes me to heaven or hell; at least metaphorically.

So, the journey continued. From the central town to the boat terminal, navy gate, and then straight to Jashore with a short break at a locally famous hotel for its meat items cooked with Chui Jhal (Piper Chaba or Piper Chilli). We ate voraciously. Those who know about my appetite can sense how it went, lol. And we had to empty our pockets to pay the bill, sadly. But it was a nice meal.

In the meantime, we had crossed ⅓ of the anticipated distance; meaning I experienced the bad condition of the road a bit and I must say, Khulna has the highest number of speed breakers I have seen so far. Almost one in every 2 km. Most are unmarked, so the danger is high for any unknown rider on this route.

As I didn't ride my friend's bike before, I struggled to handle it all the way, plus the road conditions. The journey wasn't pleasant at all. The average speed was 50 kmph, the gentleman's speed. After our meal break, my friend asked me to increase the speed but I wasn't convinced. There are frequent speed breakers and the bumpy surface is definitely a threat to the pillion. Once we crossed the Khulna road division, the speed breakers vanished, surprisingly. But the bumpy condition remained. Still, I decided to push the throttle more, gaining 94 kmph at most.

Right when I thought everything was under control, and I was chasing a speeding local bus famous for its reckless driving, a 10-wheeled cargo truck from the opposite lane took a sharp turn. Why on earth the driver thought he could do it on a busy road, I still don't have the answer but this is a common scenario in our country. I somehow managed to stop the bike within a short distance and prayed not to face such situations in my life.

Oh, interestingly, the rear brake of the bike doesn't work, and it was only His miracle I managed to reduce the speed timely. Otherwise, something terrible could happen.

Fortunately, the journey ended with no major incidents except for an extremely annoying headache. But a long rest remedied it and now that I am in my senses again, this time we are planning to go on a long tour. Although none of my friends are agreeing at this moment, nothing is certain. And if there is none to accompany me, I hope to go on a short ride with my wifu very soon.

Till next time, ride slow, ride safe.