Relishing the Challenge- Braving the storm

During a recent movie meet with friends, we were talking about going on a road trip to Goa. Then came the discussion of when is a good time to hit Goa, post rains, before new years, etc etc. And before we knew it, each of us was sharing an interesting incident from our travels to various corners of the country. The most exciting was from Karan. An IT boy, he has been in Chennai for a while now and loves driving around on his bike, his pride & joy.  I share his experience here. 

I was in Kerala, at home for a few days. And true to Kerala, it kept drizzling constantly. It was Friday evening and I was bored of sitting at home.  I wanted to just up and go somewhere but none would come alone using the rains as an excuse. D'uh!! On saturday morning, I woke up, had chaiya [tea in malayalam], put on my jacket and just took off on my bike. As I hit the road, the drizzles began and pretty soon it was pouring cats and dogs. I had no clues where I was headed, but I dint want to stop, I dint want to come back to an empty house. There were quite a few mountains and green fields around, luckily I knew my way around this part of the country. I kept riding and the rains got heavier. 

Along with the downpour, mist started settling in to a near zero visibility. I paused for a moment, wondered if maybe I should not be so foolhardy and just return home. But then, some craziness kicked in and I just kept riding it out.  The 1st break I took was an hour later. I was drenched to the bone, but there was such a big grin on my face. Feeling the wind and rain on my face, I experience excitement like never before. I stopped at a road side tea shop for a cup of tea and something hot to eat. There were a couple of elderly men sitting there sipping chaiya, who looked at me like I had lost my mind. One man asked me if I was from out of town and another commented "youngsters these days, no care for life, look at him". I was tempted to ask them what was the most crazy thing they had ever done. But then decided against it. Paid for what I had and got back on the road, this time heading back home. The two hours was exhilarating, giving me a sense of "freedom". 

No sooner had I parked the bike, mom came scolding me for going out in the rain. My mind was already cooking up plans for a longer drive, maybe to Kochi or Nagercoil the next weekend. Talk about Relishing the Challenge and living life to the full....