19th July 2011, 18:45
| #31 |
| Newbie  Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Pune
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19th July 2011, 19:21
| #32 |
| BHPian  | |
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20th July 2011, 06:46
| #33 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 774
Thanked: 661 Times
| Re: The 2011 Alfa kilo Challenge Conquered! On the way to AKC I spotted something menacing in my rear view mirror...    Heard that he had a blast at the event... |
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20th July 2011, 11:08
| #34 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: pune
Posts: 49
Thanked: 8 Times
| Re: The 2011 Alfa kilo Challenge Conquered! AKC Posting the pictures, it was an event which will be in our mind for a long time. Hyderabad-- your machines were the best. You all came so well prepared for the event that we all need to learn from you guys. i am glad Kunal build my machine as a tank, there was no obstacle where she couldn't go thru. I thank the Kunal for the same. Huda you proved you the best instructor. Prasad I apologize again for the argument, Soumya you played your role very well. Imran saudagar- hats off to you, Nishant proved that a one litre engine running on GAS can perform like any big machine. James Kunal Imran your spotting is amazing. DOC Mohan- The ambulance was most welcome, though we didnt need them but you never know if there are any casualties at times. I just know one thing it is man and his machine- fear kills you, so just look at the obstacle and beyond and you can wade through any obstacle. Ajit and Vaidavi Singh I shall always stand by Kunal and Huda for every Alfa Kilo Challenge. Pune I am proud of you guys. you all performed well. Cheers to AKC  |
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20th July 2011, 11:19
| #35 |
| BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: pune
Posts: 49
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20th July 2011, 11:32
| #36 |
| BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: pune
Posts: 49
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20th July 2011, 12:40
| #37 | |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Germany
Posts: 2,855
Thanked: 1,545 Times
| Re: The 2011 Alfa kilo Challenge Conquered! Quote:
. Mean looking JONGA, good job Prasad!Could someone take us through narration with pics of the obstacles? 20 obstacles 1 day and 40+ vehicles all finished in time? That's one heck of a planning. I had witnessed AKC last year and had no doubts this years AKC would be even better. Great job Kunal and team  .Spike | |
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20th July 2011, 14:46
| #38 | ||||||
| BHPian  | Re: The 2011 Alfa kilo Challenge Conquered! Quote:
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Lets get back to AKC reviews!! I'd like to apologise to anyone who I might have accidently yelled at as I was sad that I had to walk or hitch a ride for 80% of AKC.. but it gave me an opportunity to interact with the participants more and act as a responsible marshal. Thank you for bearing with me throughout the event!! Prasad | ||||||
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21st July 2011, 11:47
| #39 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Bangalore/hyderabad
Posts: 386
Thanked: 354 Times
| Re: The 2011 Alfa kilo Challenge Conquered! Just got back yesterday evening to Hyderabad. What an awesome trail , tuff is not the word  . Very well organized and the food was fantastic . Thank you Huda and Kunal for your wonderful hospitality . Met some fantastic down to earth guys , Kishore bhai and the pune gang , you guys rock . One request , please make it a 3 day event for next year , we will be there. Pics of our group of 7 vehicles . |
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21st July 2011, 20:25
| #40 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Re: The 2011 Alfa kilo Challenge Conquered! Here comes my report, a bit late as i was wondering how and what to add in the already eloquent description of the wonderful trail and the execution of this whole event. Kunal, Huda and family, you have done AlfaKilo proud...more so than last year. I reached on the 15th morning and immediately attended the briefing. Clear, sharp and on the dot instructions. Then i requested Kishore to show me how to engage and disengage the 4X4 levers on the MM550, this being my test drive fro my newly prepared (well just basically and not fully) MM550. Also thanks to his mechanic who adjusted my clutch lever and also topped up my gearbox oil. It glugged one whole litre of oil, which was borrowed from Fazal Bhai. Thank God for the preparedness of the Hyderabadi nawabs. We have to learn a lot from them. Thanks Fazal Bhai for the gear oil. I awed at the AP jeeps and we then lined up for the obstacle one. I was in the last pack with Kishore as sweeper. The sheer beauty of the picture trail was the first highlight. After we had a whiff of pure Oxygen filled in our lungs we continued to a small decline as a initiation for the trail. This was loose, wet mud and no amount of crawling was possible here. 1st low was engaged but the Jeeps just slipped to the bottom, luckily it was not very long. My MM550 XDB  The line up   THE USUAL SUSPECTS The Brothers Soudagar- Faisal at the wheel and Imran with his infectious smile  Vicky and spouse in what i fondly call the "First Floor Gypsy"....Guys hows the weather up there?   Timmy bhai (Timbothy) and Jarvis seated at the rear.  Huda and Friend  Immy with Biggerfoot. Drives his Gypsy like an RC racer.  Obstacle 1  Reason for not being able to crawl- very wet grass and loose mud or maybe I braked.  I thought maybe i used the brakes but then no jeep could crawl. I really dont know. My first attempted obstacle (attempted crawl) video with the mm550 Two generations of Jeeps, each a formidable off roader.  ......More to come....... |
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21st July 2011, 21:45
| #41 |
| Senior - BHPian  | |
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21st July 2011, 21:48
| #42 |
| Team-BHP Support   Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 20,370
Thanked: 17,303 Times
| Re: The 2011 Alfa kilo Challenge Conquered! Kicking myself again and again, again and again  Weather awesome, more awesome the gang and the vehicles! Really missed it this time. Keep updating the report and pictures guys! |
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22nd July 2011, 17:02
| #43 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Re: The 2011 Alfa kilo Challenge Conquered! Mind blowing pics, jeeps and trails! V-16, your 550 looks superb. Loved the alloys, the 1st on a jeep seen by me. Great outcome overall |
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22nd July 2011, 18:00
| #44 |
| Senior - BHPian | Re: The 2011 Alfa kilo Challenge Conquered! ........Taking from where i left. A series of ups and downs, all exciting and keeping one wondering what the next obstacle would be.     On to a notorious incline. Curvaceous, inviting and slush ridden with huge boulders and trees on both sides. If one wanted to avoid the trees, which one had to by all means, we're environmentalists in our own little way, then that meant taking the boulders head on. The climb was short but very steep and with each vehicle passing by, it became slushier and sloppier. Someone tried the extreme left approach only to discover a huge ditch. Once in, the vehicle had to be pulled out, no other way. Something tells me, Kunal and team had expected this and that explains their grins. The recovery vehicles were in place ready with their winches. Of course there was a chicken route to this, but who wants to be called chicken? The Gorkhas couldnt make it. I guess the body to weight ratio has a lot to do with this. Gypsys had a tough time and so did some of the MMs. Many were stuck and eventually pulled out and then when it was decided as undoable officially, the chicken route made sense to get to the next exciting obstacle. Notorious climb after a deadly decline. One had to be very artful here else......... this would be the result.... Love Timmy bhai's spirit and enthusiasm though!!   the result could be..... winching out............  My Attempt In between, some of us decided to partake this natures bounty, available free and plentiful  The next obstacle was a long rut. Coming down to the rut was another decline which had a boulder sticking right in the middle of the path. This path would test all driving and spotting skills as avoiding the boulder meant turning the vehicle which in these slippery conditions meant a tentative roll. Also, any kind of braking here would mean slipping to the level ground and the speed at which this could happen would be disastrous. The steep approach decline to the rut, an obstacle in itself. Heres my attempt After this one had to follow the rut with a small stream running through it on a curve over boulders and an almost 90 degree left turn to a climb again turning menacingly left. At no point from start to finish, this obstacle was easy. I was reminded of last year's Exxam obstacle no.1, though that one was a bit steeper and shorter. Many a Gypsy found this obstacle tough but they all cleared this with sheer determination and driving and spotting skill.   David in action   Andy and Malti     Gypsy on steroids    .....more to come..... |
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22nd July 2011, 18:33
| #45 |
| Senior - BHPian | Re: The 2011 Alfa kilo Challenge Conquered! ......Conclusion........ The Nawabial Lynx    Yours truly         Video of Attempt Then onto the next obstacle, "The Jeep Breaker". A steep decline turning into a sharp curve. One had to make sure that one did not oversteer for fear of toppling. Then almost immediately a steep rocky descent. The approach to this descent was through a sharp right and to clear the descent one had to turn a sharp left. Words dont do justice, look for yourself. Soumya, the Punju Bong!! He seems more Punjabi than Bengali to me, each time i meet him. He goes in with his SWB CJ3B with the trusty Hurricane engine. The NDMS performed amazingly with a little drop in the air pressures.     My Attempt at "The Jeep Breaker" Prasad was my spotter here. Must mention here that he has over the years, developed immaculate spotting skills. His humour needs to be tweaked though He also spotted for me on another rut very early in the challenge, very successfully. Take a bow Prasad. The lunch table!! A marvelous setting.   After a quick lunch break, we drove on through a series of inclines and declines each having its own set of difficulty and skill levels. Until we came to a place a small decline and a steep incline which a few vehicles going through had completely gutted. We had to take a an alternative route to reach the infamous "Gogi Point". No im not being pompous, its the same place where i got stuck in flash floods. This time on we were doing it in reverse. It had not been raining the whole time we were offroading and as many people joked, it started to pour as soon as we reached the infamous point. Jokes apart but the river was now a tame stream and hardly looked like its furious self as last year. We crossed the river, still deep in certain points and climbed up to where from we had descended and started the obstacle last year. Climb up from the river bed After the climb up we headed back to Dada's Grill, where we were supposed to stay overnight for dinner and Bonfire. The Bonfire i thought would not have been possible as the rains were now coming down strongly. We headed back, had a hot meal. Participation certificates and a lovely memento was handed over to us, those who were leaving for the preparation of the EXAMM to be held in Lonavala for the next few days. We thanked the organizers, said a small prayer and drove off into the night, with a smile on our lips and a will to be back the following year. Thank you Kunal, Huda and team. Bravo for a job well done. I look forward to being there next year. |
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