Hope Floats,
Like leaves in the river of time.
Hope is what we live for.
Hoping for a better future than the one behind.
With lesser Regrets hopefully.
The Ironies of life.
That is HOPE.

Enroute to Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of India, where the Arabian Sea meets the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal
My typical day with Hope usually starts at Dawn, just when the rising sun begins to illuminate the distant eastern horizons.
1. Brush your teeth,
2. Put on your gear
3. Head to the parking lot with my bare essentials divided in two small bags, and a heavier third one consisting of ‘new replaceable’s’ for the old single to keep her chugging along. Sometimes I end up camping, so the packing of the tents and sleeping bag gets a little long and tedious.
1. Check the engine oil and top it up, using an old empty cigarette pack lying around the ground somewhere as a funnel.
2. Check the tyres.
3. Load the luggage.
Finally, its time to wake up my Darlin ‘Hope’, from her slumbers. She is Proud, Loyal, Immaculately Gorgeous. An absolute charmer. My pretty ‘Darlin of Steel’.
The chassis is burdened by an ancient yet beautifully crafted 500 cc, 4 stroke AVL single cylinder engine which is sufficient in the long journeys, and equally capable in the day-to-day commute as well. Being a proper British, she genetically inherits the famous “Stiff upper lip” when it comes to starting the engine. Doesn’t matter if it’s the first start of the day, or you’re in the middle of the traffic.

somewhere in Gujarat.
sometimes is better to bow down to mother nature and appreciate her many avatars
The Daily steps…
1.Pull the choke nestled behind the carburetor from the left side beneath the tank,
2. Twist open the Petrol tap.
3. Press the De-Compress and kick the starter lever a couple of times to cork the engine. Once the engine corks ( you know it by experience.) Breathe in a lung full of air and give it a good kick.
Usually, she starts within a couple of tries. During particular days, when the angle of the moon and the sun is in some god-forsaken alignment, Hope tires the shit out of me with an occasional sore right calf, as she stubbornly refuses to fire. Finally having her share of fun, she suddenly decides to start coyly, AAh! women I tell you. But by this time I’m only too tired, and make a mental note to discuss this issue with her later in the day.
Once she settles into a heartwarming rhythm of thumps, I finally take ‘er off the center stand, swing my legs over, stomp in the first gear and start another brilliant brand new day that lies ahead of me.

en route to Kashmir from Leh…
The single cylinder takes her time getting a little warmed up but once she is good to go we usually settle at a decent 70kms, chugging away with great enthusiasm
Once I settle into my mojo, the beautiful AVL engine now in her elements entices me to push a little more and we gracefully touch the 100 km mark, without breaking a sweat. There isn’t much to do then, really! All you’ve really gotta remember is to always ride in a rhythm if you’re touring on a British Single. They are like horses and need to be ridden like one.
After a good hour and a half ride later, I start troubling myself with mental calculations on the weather and the number of kilometers left before I need to fill’er up. But above all the biggest concern is where do we get good breakfast.

Breakfast at German Bakery, Pune.
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