[Off Roadie]

Here are the pics from my end, all photos clicked by Dad. Since Everyone has given a factual account of the events I though I'd ramble and spice things up a bit.

Two lovely ladies striking a pose


Rajmachi here we come.


Our In House journalist giving live updates


As we stumbled on a dry stream


We pondered how to fill it up with water


Unable to find a sloution we decided to move on



The lovely ladies decided to play dirty and called up the petroleum ministry asking them to hike up diesel prices pronto.


This called for an emergency BHP meet to counter the ladies stand.


Fuel issue sorted it was time for some real action and Dr. Kamat showed us all how it was done in Grand(e) style.


After having fun on the slopes it was time to start lining up for the photo shoot


Just to give a better perspective of the incline


Samara Striking a pose


Samara getting cozy with the Buffalo had Snow feeling all left out.


The unsung hero of the day, the VTEC guy, who led us all the way in the heat and still had a smile on his face.


A pic to sum it all up

[honeybee]

I had reached Lonavala on Saturday, checked into Surya Resort opposite a petrol pump, right onto the old highway. Went out, grabbed a quick lunch, back into the resort and dozed off till late evening.

By the time we woke up it was too late and too dark to do anything else, so the outing was planned for Sunday (which made it impossible for me to join the soft-roadies!) I was checking the thread on my mobile to keep myself updated, and that's where I got ThrottleKing's number and sent him a message.

Next day woke up early, got ready and headed to the RK with about fifteen minutes to spare till the meeting time. I called up ThrottleKing just before leaving the room and learnt they had reached Kamshet.

I was seated in the outside area and we ordered food and I started explaining to my wife how such meets go (you know, about introducing each other with their handles rather than the real names: it can be unnerving for the non-BHP folks!) She was so excited that every time a group walked in she used to ask me in a hushed voice, "Are these the ones?" And I had no clue if they were!

The Endeavour came and I could see the TBHP stickers on it and excitedly told my wife 'they' were there! I waited to expect a pat on my back and greetings from the members.

Suddenly my phone started ringing, and it was from ThrottleKing! I turned around, a smart grin on my face and saw a person on the table behind us working with his phone. I patted his colleague on his back and asked, "Are you guys from Team BHP?"I could hear him talking to his surprised teammates about some nut asking if they were from some BHP or something...

And then the phone rang again. This time instead of acting smart I answered the phone and found that the guys had walked into the inside dining area. I was sitting facing the entrance to the inside hall, and yet they had missed me and I had missed them. We had already finished breakfast and waiting for the tea, so thought we would finish it and then join the gang. But the gang thought otherwise. Soon after I saw a group of people emerge from the inside, crowd around the entrance and my phone rang again. As I pulled it out of the pocket I could see a couple of heads in the group watching over the crowds to see who would answer. Guys, I had told you what I was wearing!!

So finally we met, had a brief intro (as usual I didn't remember your names, and only IDs of about half of you all), and since they had yet to fill their tummies and we had filled ours, we settled the bill and waited in the parking lot. That's when I saw the Safari too.

The members then emerged, content so much so that some of them even had visible signs of the contentment (read: smoke). We then had a more detailed intro session where I found another member from Dombivli (He didn't post in the Dombivli meet, and we met at Lonavala!). They were disappointed (naturally) to hear we couldn't join them, but this was one occasion I couldn't change the plans. And I missed meeting Mr. Nandu Chitnis and his better half!

So off they all went to the soft-roading trip and we went back to the resort to pick up our car and continue on our sightseeing.

Here are some photos I managed in the parking lot of RK:

The Samara:



The Bull:




The members:











After watching the pics, do you think a 2WD vehicle, specially a sedan could have accompanied you? The terrain does not look a pure 4WD territory, but then again looks could be deceptive. Since the Sumo Grande could do it, could my Ikon have done it?

Or are we missing some real, hardcore offroading photos yet?

[Off Roadie]

A sedan with decent ground clearance should be able to make it to Rajmachi during the dry season with a little bit of tip toeing around. However the surrounding tracks are strictly SUV territory.

[sierrakamat]

i am sure since my'' sumo grande ''could do it your ikon would have done it better.
always feels good to be underestimated.

[sierrakamat]

a few pics from my side clicked by my friend harish kunte

[siddheshb]

Offroadie, lovely pics and commentary And no, Samara and Bull weren't getting cosy, they were just jealous of Snow and were sulking in the corner!

SierraKamat, loved your post! It was fun meeting you and your gang, made us feel very protected

Originally Posted by honeybee

After watching the pics, do you think a 2WD vehicle, specially a sedan could have accompanied you? The terrain does not look a pure 4WD territory, but then again looks could be deceptive. Since the Sumo Grande could do it, could my Ikon have done it?
Or are we missing some real, hardcore offroading photos yet?

The trail itself can be easily done by the Ikon (in the summer, of course)... it's only rough gravel and bilowing dust. In fact, we did meet some brave hatchbacks (although it is not known if they made it back!). However, as Offroadie mentioned in his post, the little masti we did off the trail was not something I would put my Ikon through, because of the largish boulders hidden in the thick dry grass.

And no, we really didnt do any serious offroading... just some initial exploration in prep for the monsoons!

[F150]

Fantastic pictures. You guys had a great time.
I couldn't attend due to too many unfinished tasks in my personal sphere.
Sorry siddeshb, I should have informed you ahead of time

[nanduchitnis]

Saturated pic of Siddesh's Samara

[Racer_X]

Some Pics from my humble HTC..

[the VTEC guy]

Originally Posted by honeybee

..
Next day woke up early, got ready and headed to the RK with about fifteen minutes to spare till the meeting time. I called up ThrottleKing just before leaving the room and learnt they had reached Kamshet.

I was seated in the outside area and we ordered food and I started explaining to my wife how such meets go (you know, about introducing each other with their handles rather than the real names: it can be unnerving for the non-BHP folks!) She was so excited that every time a group walked in she used to ask me in a hushed voice, "Are these the ones?" And I had no clue if they were!
..

Originally Posted by honeybee

Me too at RK and waiting for others. I am in blue jeans and a green jacket

Was trying to locate you based the description provided. Obviously the blue jeans were hidden below the table and a color match search for green jacket gave a "no results found"

[ajnagpur]

some more pics from my side.



Flying Grande


Black Panther Hiding


Safari - The Crusher


Charging


SiddheshB

[throttleking]

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

And after the day spent in TK's Truck, my respect has grown immensely for the Safari!

Monaro, you made my day!!! glad you liked it.

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

T
Dusty Footboard: TK's Ride
Attachment 901212

Trust me, i was deliberately not stepping onto them, liked it that way

Originally Posted by sierrakamat

Throttleking ..driving stye was like a machine gun staccatto burst of power as and when needed with his 2wd safari.

Ha ha ha ha, doc really liked the way you have described us. and yeah you were like Agni 6 – (long range fast ballistic missile researched n developed at Dombiwali?). All you needed was the coordinates, and the target uphill was destroyed in seconds lol

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

There is another route that goes to the Bori bungalow. Seems you guys missed that stretch.

nope not really, we were drooling over the other uphill stretch and hence decided not to go to Bori Bungalow, a place where we bikers halt at night lol.

Originally Posted by ajnagpur

Here are some of the pics from my lens. will add more in some time.

Originally Posted by ajnagpur

some more pics from my side.

aj you are stealing the show, keep it coming, awesome photography!!! BTW pic titled charging, is superb...

[Racer_X]

Some Videos..

Throttle King's buffalo's first valiant attempt. - YouTube

Siddesh Bhai's Samarar - 4x4 automatic beast. - YouTube

Offrodie's Snow - YouTube

[siddheshb]

Originally Posted by nanduchitnis

Saturated pic of Siddesh's Samara

Thank you, Nandu. I fell in love with her all over again!

[V-16]

Nice videos and pics guys. Im thrilled there are so many of you attracted to this sport. That means more guys on the next OTR trip.
Hurrah!!

Honeybee, nice writeup about the introductions for the first time. It happes to all of us at the first meet. I remember meeting all these wonderful guys from the forum (a lot of them are my real close buddies now) back in 2005 when i attended my first meet, not having met even a single person, face to face. 15 minutes into the meet and we were backslapping and laughing together. That is the power of internet and the force of Team-bhp. Basically bringing people from different backgrounds together, binding them together with a unified interest, their passion in vehicles.

Did anyone of you actually try going on the rocky trail (a dried stream) whose pics i can see? that would have required 4x4. Actually how many of the vehicles that participated were actually 4X4. Because one must not get very bold with a 2x4 vehicle. understand the limits of a 4x2 and you would do well.

Im glad you guys are now friends. Would have loved to be there but just could not. Next time you guys go, let me know, id love to tag along with my CJ or MM550, depending on the terrain.