The Roadshakers Independence Day Ride : 2007

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Independence Day ride, I had always heard, was a big ride for the Roadshakers. Having been occupied with a lot of things in the past 2 months, I had missed meets and rides but I always had the IDay ride in my mind. So when the day dawned, 15/08/2007 for the historically challenged, it rained like it always rains in the free India! I was already out on the streets and obviously wet. So was Naveen who passed me by wearing Black Shades and no helmet! I was clearly betting my money on not many turning up for the ride and my hopes of actually seeing a big count of bikes taking a beating. Sigh...
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2pm at Pashan in front of BU Bhandari -- 5 bikes! But by the time I had figured out where to get batteries for my #%#%#$ camera (it still didn't work by the way!), the count had steadily risen to 15. By the time, pin-the-flag-on-my-chest game was over, courtesy Naveen who got the flags and pins, Ram & Vikram who were busy pinning, there were around 30bikes. That was promising but still 6 below the largest count I had seen on my very first meeting.
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At around 3pm (2pm RST), by the time the flags were affixed on Baljit's bike, National Anthem sung and the bikes started falling into 2 lines, the count had swelled to 50!!! Now thats what will grab eyeballs. And of course pierce a few ear drums. So the route :
BU Bhandari, Pashan -- University Circle -- FC Road -- JM Road -- Sancheti Circle -- RTO Bridge (1st STOP) -- RTO/Le Meridian Road -- Jehangir Hospital -- Mangaldas Road -- Koregaon North Main Road -- Kalyani Nagar Bridge -- Adlabs -- Kalyani Nagar Bridge (2nd STOP) -- KP South Main Road -- Blue Nile -- Magnum Mall/Westside -- MG Road -- Bishops School
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I know Roadshakers enjoyed every bit of it cause I had a bunch of new comers riding in front. Their camera's never stopped rolling! What is always a sight to behold is people stopping in their tracks to watch the convoy of 50 bullets, the very first one waving 3 tricolor's! I unfortunately do not have any pictures of these expressions from aam-junta, waving, smiling, saluting, shouting. I don't know if we Roadshakers managed to spread any worthwhile message, but we sure did make people stop and notice the tricolor. I myself had never experienced such excitement before (though most of my time went in ensuring i didn't bump into the rider in front!). I hope we do something for a worthwhile cause next year on I Day cause Roadshakers sure can grab eyeballs. A lot of them! And holding banners with traffic safety tips is a nice thought, but we surely can get people to notice more!