Age no bar for I-Day trip to Nandi Hills - Times of India

BANGALORE: He's 81 years old but that won't stop R Chakravarthy from hitting the road this Independence Day. Surrounded by young riders, the former design engineer at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will ride his Rajdoot Yamaha 350, popularly called RD-350, to Nandi Hills. The black-jacketed rider is quite the envy of younger persons in the group. For this bachelor who lives in Basavanagudi, the annual Independence Day ride is the most awaited road trip of the year. "If youngsters can ride to celebrate our freedom, I think I've a right to be part of it," he says with a smile. Biking was his only passion till he discovered flying. His fell in love with bikes at 14, a year before Independence. "My first bike was the Indian chief, an American bike" he says, adding. "During World War II, American pilots were stationed in Bangalore and they brought their bikes here. When they were called back home, they were told to destroy everything they had." Most goods they abandoned found their way to the flea market. One scrap merchant from the City Market area, Pataki Srinivas, sold Chakravarthy his first bike. Chakravarthy later joined HAL where he was part of the team which designed the Marut fighter aircraft. He began flying Tiger Moths as a hobby. He once crashed a Tiger Moth and was grounded in hospital for three months. His mother promptly sold off the bike without informing him. A dejected Chakravarthy didn't think of biking till 1986, when he met a panipuri vendor who rode an RD-350. "I asked him how he could afford it. He told me that was his only passion. The very next year, I bough t an RD-350 and 26 years later, it's still my best friend," he says. Chakravarthy says young Indians make him proud despite their lack of patience. "At least in biking, I see that our youth have greater endurance and skill. What hurts me is that they misuse their talent. I tell them often, 'If you're good at adventure biking, ride in a place designated for it but don't do stunts on roads'," he says. Chakravarthy believes India is a place of incomparable talent. "We are murky waters but it breeds the best flowers," he says. via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEfZmiFMqZQKvZigHHTHAiJcQdMmg&url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Age-no-bar-for-I-Day-trip-to-Nandi-Hills/articleshow/21836120.cms

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