Delhi Avengers

For the first 8 months of getting my bike, I'd used her only for the regular city commute, from home to office and back and other daily routine stuff. Till now I never realised that I was a part of a much bigger community, and I was missing out on most of the other uses of 2 wheels.
It happened in October 2006, when after months of interaction, people from the Delhi Avenger community on Orkut decided to meet up. The meet saw 7 guys turning up, all on the same machine, the Bajaj Avenger. After the initial introductions and a nice breakfast (aloo poori) at the Nathu's Sweet Shop in Bengali Market, we decided to head out on the road.
After much speculation and apprehensions, we finally hit NH8 and started towards Jaipur, heading out of Delhi. Most of the guys were excited for being a part of the group and were stunting and riding at higher than required speeds. I guess the adrenaline rush was too much, or just the sheer excitement of being a part of a BIKER GROUP. Something I could notice in most of the people was they had no clue about the bike they were riding, the specifications and details, could not ride in a straight way, wouldn't care about the safety of self or others on the road, but would try to perfom stunts and ride fast. When it finally came down to riding a little further, most of them chickened out. All this was much to my disappointment.
My riding style (the way I see it) is that of a responsible rider, someone who respects the road, respects the rights of everyone else on the road, and more often that not follows all traffic rules (at least in the city). I try my best to stay calm on the road, not let anyone intimidate me in to doing something stupid, be with myself and enjoy my ride.
Somehow, I knew that these fellows are not the kind of bikers I would be comfortable riding with. I needed a group of responsible and safe riders, which I could be a part of. I knew itsie bitsie things about my bike and how to take care of her, but I needed more knowledge and more insights into how much I could do with her.
One good thing that Riding with the Delhi Avengers did to me was, I developed a crush for the empty highways. I on a personal note was extremely happy with my achievement. 140 odd kms for the day and a run on one of the better straight line highways around.