Thread Starter
#31
So, you were in gwalior! I was thinking why you are not updating the thread 
Awaiting trip details. Will there be pics too?
Awaiting trip details. Will there be pics too?
Right, folks! The Gwalior trip!
Apologies
Only one pic, unfortunately, as of now! All pics were on my Android phone memory (and not the MicroSD, Alas!), which I managed to brick while doing some monkey business with a Custom Rom. Lets hope it revives soon!
Journey
Journey was 365km one way, taking me via Agra, Dholpur and Morena. Roads were four laned, divided (2+2) and fabulous all the way till Gwalior (including the roads that I traversed within Agra). The last 30 odd km (terminal phase of Gwalior, after crossing the Gwalior bypass junction) was, however, literally an off-roader! The place where I was to go was on the North eastern part of Gwalior, along the SH to Bhind. The road was under construction (ie expansion). As if the normal small-town-MP traffic chaos was not enough, the loose gravel and extreme dust added to the woes. The Gwalior bypass seemed ready but I could not take it as it was temporarily barricaded the day I reached there. Total time taken to cover this distance of 365km was 5 hours, which gives an average speed of 73 km/h, which is pretty satisfying!! (Of course, this was non-stop except for one bio break taken on the Yamuna eway amounting to about one minute!! No breakfast, chai etc..) Had the bypass been open, I could have shaved off another 30 minutes off this! Managed to take this on the way back and it is beautiful and virtually deserted. The traffic is also not too much on the Agra Gwalior NH.
Car Performance
Stupendous, as expected. No hiccups whatsoever! Overall mileage (including the horrendous last-mile) was about 16.9 km/l on MID, done without AC (This took a dip from 17.9, recorded prior to entering Gwalior!). Ride was smooth on decent roads but the tyre noise was quite obtrusive. Added to this was that I forgot to plug in my pen drive full of songs (Had removed it a day prior when giving the car for first service). So, it was FM to the rescue - but FM coverage was good. First, Delhi, then Mathura, then Agra and then, Gwalior FM! So, all through, something was playing to muffle the tyre noise!
The ride over rough roads was OK. Didn't bottom out as I had expected I would...but then it was because I was the sole occupant of the car with a suitcase in the boot!
Whitelight comes of age
Why, you may ask?
Because two things happened.
1. Got my first scratch (Ugh!!) But, seeing the traffic madness in Gwalior, I think I got away virtually scotfree! Anyway, I am a relieved man now!! I have no idea when it happened. So, I guess it must have happened when the car was parked. There is no scratching of the paint. However, there is a depression of the metal sheet along with a light fold. Still can't figure out what caused it!
2. Scraped the bottom for the first time!
There are only two kinds of Honda City drivers - those who have scraped the bottom and those who are about to!!!
What happened was that on the way back, 30km short of Agra, NH was barricaded by the police and they redirected the traffic through a small non-descript road going to Shamshabad and Fatehabad. My GPS swung into action and calculated an alternate route, which was to take me through the country roads of UP, hobnobbing with farmers on tractors and "Doodhwalas" (Milkmen) on mobikes! Good, simple folks but very poor and narrow roads. Since the traffic coming from Agra was also being diverted the same way, I had to cross many trucks. Truckers are very wary of getting their wheels off road due to the fear of getting stuck and it certainly is a nightmare if a truck gets stuck. So, respecting that, my left wheels were perpetually off the road. And same was the case with right wheels whenever a small slot emerged to overtake a tractor. So, it was pretty rash drive over rough mud tracks. And in all this, when there was no speed to talk off, emerged Mt Speed Breaker!! And there you have it. I was "Bangalored" for the first time, if I may creatively use the term for something other than outsourcing! I am not sure what part of the car touched but I certainly know which part of me was wounded!! However, at the end of it, she emerged quite fine and I am quite reassured that I can do more of such carefree handling with her the next time round!!
Recovery
Got back to Delhi on Friday and now was the time for pampering her. I bought "Armour All" car shampoo and used it for the first time. It did a pretty decent job. First was a plain water wash with a bucket. This was followed by shampooing with the second bucket. The final rinsing was with the third bucket. Drying wipe was with a Micro Fibre cloth. Overall, I think the shampoo worked well to remove loads of dust that was caking the car and the tar marks. But, thanks to the white colour, she wasn't looking shabby at all in the first place!
Problems
I felt mild vibrations on the steering crossing 100kn/h, which reduce beyond 115km/h. Perhaps, I need to get my tyres balanced more accurately.
And finally, the discovery of the ride
I downloaded a software called DailyRoads Voyager, which transforms your android phone into a dash cam. Overlays speed and GPS Lat/Long on the video/ Photos! Very customisable. I have updated the thread on dash cams with the details! Here's the link http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ashboard-camera-where-delhi-2.html#post230273
Cheers!
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