I have tightened the chain and am praying with my hands folded that the sprocket keeps going. I leave Nagaur early to reach Jaipur early to get my work done early.
The terrain is strangely reminscent of Morey Plains in Ladakh. All one needs is some mountains as backdrop, some snow and putting the road in a deep freezer.
The really really hardworking and hardly appreciated women of Rajasthan.
About an hour later through village roads which alternate between bad and pathetic, I come across a white stretch of land. And when I say white, I really mean white. White as canvas. Small enquiry in the village ahead tells me this is salt bed. Sambhar Lake. Now this seems interesting.
One guy from the village offers to take me to the edge of the lake. And we are off. This guy is unbelievable. The first line he says to me is about his sorry life. I am thinking “No please God. Please don’t make this a sob session. I am not ready to babysit a complete stranger”. But God doesn’t hear much these days and our man goes on blabbering about his love life and what not.
The Sambhar Salt Lake is beautiful. Mostly muddy now, it has dried up due to the rampant salt making. Apparently, it will not survive the next 15 years. I am finding it difficult to get sufficient grip especially with two people riding. So I park and get some pics.
But then, as they say, fun in the mud comes at a cost. About an hour later when I stopped for a break, I realized that all the splattering that came on the bike in the marsh has now dried leaving behind the only thing it can. Salt.
I press on eager to reach Jaipur quickly. On my way, I call up the people and am very unceremounously informed that the parts which had been ordered from Chennai have not arrived yet. This was like a bolt from the sky. Now I did not know what to do. Still, I land up at the service station.
So I think and consult the mechs and decide on this. The rear sprocket which they have) gets changed right now. Chain may or may not be. Front sprocket in Delhi (where hopefully it will be available).
The old sprocket had worn out to dangerous levels.
While this is what the sprocket should look like.
Together.
Replacement done, little fracas over warranty sorted out (I got it), I parked myself into a hotel. Had the most royal and sumptuous meal at LMB in Johri Bajar. Man, I have never had so much food in one go. It was way way too much.
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