[harishnayak]

Hi Friends,

Had never been a biker until the TBTS came home last year. Did extensive off roading , city biking , events and 2 long rides before deciding that i wanted to do something MORE which is when i thought of doing the saddle sore.

Read many stories on TBHP and XBHP regarding the experiences ( not completely though ) however am little unclear about the exact registration and the tracking process.

This ride is not only a test of man and machine but is also a challenging one in terms of recording the series of events and having the required proofs to prove your ride.

Here is what i have and planned -

• Bike - TBTS ' 11
• Tentative riding day - Last week of March / 1st week of april ( considering pleasant weather )
• Route - Delhi - Ahmedabad - Delhi

Few questions/Queries in mind

• How does one register for it ? Is this the only process or is there anything more to it ? -http://www.ironbutt.com/ridecerts/printArticle.cfm?DocID=1
• How many guys have successfully completed / attempted this ride on a RE..I came across only 1 and was not able to access his story
• Is it suggested to do this ride with a carrier ( i currently have one installed which i used for a trip to Dhanaulti - pic attached ) or without it considering ease in changing flat tyres / difficulty with it on.
• Whats the alternative to CC machine not working/non availability of such petrol pumps?
• Tips on taming your mind and your body to stay awake for 24 hours flat
• Was surprised to see charges for getting the certificate ( don't mind it though )
• Would Army combat boots ( see in the enclosed pic ) be helpful for this long a ride or are regular sneakers / sports shoes more comfortable - Not willing to spend on expensive riding boots

Anything else that i need to know or am missing on would be of great help.


Thanks in advance

[Thar4x4]

Originally Posted by harishnayak

Anything else that i need to know or am missing on would be of great help.


Thanks in advance

Hey Harish,

Good to see you are planning the Saddle Sore ride however I will suggest that rethink again, what you want from this ride?

My friend and I have attempted this ride on our RE STD 350 in Nov 2011 on occasion of 11/11/11. But the ride was just for 24 hrs travel joy and not more than that, we documented everything but didn't received any reply from IBA. I heard that there are enormous guys who attempted this ride but failed to receive reply from IBA and those who received the reply don't share email ids and details with others

So please find my opinion for your queries below:
[*]How does one register for it ? Is this the only process or is there anything more to it ? -
No registration needed for this right just start whenever you feel and document everything as per there rules.
[*]How many guys have successfully completed / attempted this ride on a RE..I came across only 1 and was not able to access his story
Might be you are searching for us and we think that we are second as there is one guy who have did this on RE Machismo you can access his information on RE site.

[*]Is it suggested to do this ride with a carrier ( i currently have one installed which i used for a trip to Dhanaulti - pic attached ) or without it considering ease in changing flat tyres / difficulty with it on.
Make your bike as light as possible because you have to maintain average speed of 80 Km/Hrs
[*]Whats the alternative to CC machine not working/non availability of such petrol pumps?
For this you have to get at least hand written receipt and need to find a eyewitness who can reply to there email or phone at that location. So instead of this choose the route which will have more petrol pump and ATMs.

[*]Tips on taming your mind and your body to stay awake for 24 hours flat
Have a good slip before the ride, I know this is not possible because of excitement but you should have atleast 3/4 hrs sleep, carry Red Bull it surely helps as Red Bulls saved our ride too.

[*]Was surprised to see charges for getting the certificate ( don't mind it though )
Charges are nominal around 2500 however they didnot reply on how to send document and processing fess for outside India people. So use this right just for enjoyment and not for certification.

[*]Would Army combat boots ( see in the enclosed pic ) be helpful for this long a ride or are regular sneakers / sports shoes more comfortable - Not willing to spend on expensive riding boots[/list]Don't spend lot on this think of body and mind stamina only, any shoes riding gear will work. You should wear a cotton pant (night pant will work) in your riding gear as you have to seat on bike for 24 hrs. Carry water with electrol/glucondi, carry energy bars as there is no time to have lunch/dinner/brekfast in hotel.


You can find more information about our ride on below link.


Important suggestion is This is not your last chance to make this ride so stop whenever you feel that you can't consantrate on road. Life is more important than anything else.


I thought about writing this information on TBHP but waited long for IBA reply so that everyone will be benefited from this but still there is no reply, we sent more than 20 mails to the ID specified at IBA site.

Let me know if you need more information. All the Best for your ride.

Thanks,
Vishal

[Thar4x4]

Some additional information I just found, I got it when I was already left for ride but it may help you. This is from a fellow BHPian and FB friend Kishor Chhabria Sir who did on his Yamah.


1. Apply a lot of NEVIA cream to your butt. Put on pure cotton leggings, then your jeans. No leathers.
2. Don't stop till you want to refuel. Have a chocolate and leave immediately and a Redbull if required.
3. Do a constant 90 to 100 kms hour average speed..
4. Carry 3 red bulls and a couple of chocolates with you.
5. Ride on new tires, carry spare can of inflators
6. Get your bike serviced 2 days prior and do about 50 kms riding after servicing to see if it is performing well. On the ride if your bike breaks down don’t panic give up the ride and ride again some other time.
7. Swipe your ATM card at the start of the ride. Keep swiping at every petrol pump.
8. Sleep well a day before starting your ride. If required take a RESTIL pill.
9. Start once your sleep is over, time of starting the ride not mandatory, start around 9am as you will be fresh and slept well the night before.
10. Dont eat anything on the ride besides chocolate.
11. You need a eyewitness at start and finish.
12. Keep your cell on silent mode, call only if required or when you refueling. While refueling get off the bike and stretch your self.
13. Starting point outside city limit. Don’t enter city if possible this will slow you down. Take a photo of the speedometer at the start and finish.
13. Regarding the directions call HVK.

[lazyrider]

My two cents about the Saddlesore, I feel attempting a saddlesore in our country is not advisable (trafiic sense). You may be an awesome rider, the roads may be great, but 1600 KM in 24 hours is no joke, anybody is bound to be tired doing such a ride, all it takes is one small lapse in concentration or one judgement error.
I recently lost a friend who had completed the SS1000 (1600 KM in 24 hours) and Bunburner(2500 KM in 36 hours) and was was attempting the Bunburner Gold (2400 KM in 24 hours).
I am not discouraging riders from attempting this, just my personal opinion.
Live to ride another day.

[pganapathy]

See response in Bold

Originally Posted by harishnayak

Hi Friends,

Is it suggested to do this ride with a carrier ( i currently have one installed which i used for a trip to Dhanaulti - pic attached ) or without it considering ease in changing flat tyres / difficulty with it on.

Do you really intend to carry a spare tyre. If not the odds are you will not have the opportunity to change a flat. Most recommended is put slime or some similar thing in your tyres. Carry a can or two of this and a foot pump. Therefore the carrier makes it more comfortable for you to ride as there is no bag and hence weight on your back.

• Tips on taming your mind and your body to stay awake for 24 hours flat

Get as much sleep as you can before your ride. Given that there is no fixed time required to start, just a 24 hour ride, make sure you are fully rested when you start. If you feel even a bit of tiredness or sleep, rest some more and leave only when you are fully fresh.

• Would Army combat boots ( see in the enclosed pic ) be helpful for this long a ride or are regular sneakers / sports shoes more comfortable - Not willing to spend on expensive riding boots

Definitely wear the boots. Ideally I would recommend full body gear but since you don't want to spend on riding boots, the army boots are safer than regular sneakers.

Like somebody's signature line on TBHP says "Sweat wipes off, Road rash doesn't - Wear full riding gear"

Anything else that i need to know or am missing on would be of great help.

Make sure you carry enough caffeinated energy drinks and chocolate bars as those give you the most short term energy boost. Ideally have a camel rehydration pack that you wear on your back. This definitely makes it easy to ride and drink. Unlike in a car where you can drink and drive, it is very dangerous in a bike as you risk falling. If you do not have one and do not want to invest in one, find a friend that has one and borrow it.

Also try as much as possible to ride at a steady speed. The more you accelerate, decelerate and accelerate, the more stress you put on your body and the more that tires you out.

Thanks in advance

Good luck for the ride and we look forward to hearing about it in April.

[kingofmyworld]

Originally Posted by harishnayak

Hi Friends...

...Thanks in advance

Glad to see another team-bhp'ian planning to do a saddle sore.

Saddle sore can be achieved safely even in india. It is true and I can stand on that. I've done it myself and my friend has done it even after his bike gave up half way due to radiator not functioning in his ninja.

I'll share some of my experiences and preparations so that you can plan yours accordingly.

1. Daily jog just top maintain my fitness levels.
2. Light food (mostly veg, fruits, juice etc) a week prior to the ride to have a clean stomach.
3. Bike serviced and clocked atleast 100kms of speed runs just to see if the bike shows any signs of troubles.
4. Familiarity of the route.
5. Time to spend at fuel stops.
6. When and where to have energy bars and red bulls and how much time to allocate for that.
Last but not the least,
7. Think positive.

Carry as many energy bars as you can. Also carry red bulls to keep you awake. If you are comfortable riding in the night, Start at around 7PM. That would be better as you cant fall asleep just after you wokeup right? Else, You might tend to sleep half way as you'll be tired riding non stop.

We started our ride at 7PM and it wasn't a big deal to do the SS. We were awake fully through out the night and we finished SS by a little after afternoon.

the rest has been answered in bold above.

@lazy ride : Vinu was the reason we did a saddle sore and bun burner. I got immense knowledge about ss and bb from vinu. may his soul R.I.P.

SS and BB are do-able in india but BB gold isnt. He gave it a shot but.. :(

Note From Team-BHP Support Team: Avoid quoting entire posts as it may inconvenience small-screen/mobile users. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.

[harishnayak]

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

Hey Harish,

Good to see you are planning the Saddle Sore ride however I will suggest that rethink again, what you want from this ride?

Very good and important point brought up by you at the start of your post. I'm doing this ride just for the love of my Machine and the thought of challenging my mind and body and also to satiate my adrenaline rush.

At no point in time would i compromise life or my machine to finish this ride and also i'm not too worried about the certification. I'll definetely try and complete the ride and would apply accordingly with least expectation of getting a response.

I also managed to google and see the guys who've done it on RE after i wrote this post yesterday and stumbled upon 1 guy who did it in his RE.

Very shocking to see that there was only 1 response from google too and maybe the other ones are you guys

Royal Enfield | Enthusiast Rider from Bangalore Attempts 1600 Km Saddle Sore on his Royal Enfield

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

Some additional information I just found, I got it when I was already left for ride but it may help you. This is from a fellow BHPian and FB friend Kishor Chhabria Sir who did on his Yamaha.

Some Excellent tips there , I've removed the ones that i kind of knew to make the post shorter for easy readability by the mobile users.

I think applying Nivea was a very humorous as well as the most important one because i had couple of boils when i did a solo from Delhi - jaipur - Pushkar - Delhi and i know the feeling was not too good.

Note from Support - Please avoid quoting an entire large post as it inconveniences our small screen/mobile users.

[phamilyman]

arre hold on, i can advise on butt issues. as a cyclist, we swear by Rashfree. Its used to prevent nappy rash in infants, but works just as well for adults.

Tried & tested

PS: If you had boils in just the pushkar ride (which had breaks) then maybe change seat or don't do this ride.

[harishnayak]

Originally Posted by lazyrider

I am not discouraging riders from attempting this, just my personal opinion.
Live to ride another day.

This entire concept makes it more exciting due to the challenges involved and i'm defintely a person who would like to push myself to the max to achieve a feat however i know where to draw the line because i surely want to live another day to see life and do thing. Thanks for cautioning me though .

Originally Posted by pganapathy

See response in Bold


Good luck for the ride and we look forward to hearing about it in April.

Excellent tips. Would definetely keep in mind and act accordingly

Originally Posted by kingofmyworld

Glad to see another team-bhp'ian planning to do a saddle sore...

...SS and BB are do-able in india but BB gold isnt. He gave it a shot but.. :(

maybe a bad example but people keep smoking even after knowing the fact that it's slowly killing them inside , I'm kind of going to attempt the same knowing the risks involved in it.

Daily walk/Jog is something which i've already started.

I've already driven twice to Goa and once to Pune on my car so the route i've chosen is pretty much a beaten path as far as i am concerned.

Have already planned a long ride to Bikaner in Mid-March (mostly on 17th & 18th .. Sat 450 kms to Bikaner and sun 450 kms back to Delhi with a group of about 15 bullets ) and would get my Bullet serviced after this so that it's ready for the ride

Originally Posted by phamilyman

arre hold on, i can advise on butt issues. as a cyclist, we swear by Rashfree. Its used to prevent nappy rash in infants, but works just as well for adults.

Tried & tested

PS: If you had boils in just the pushkar ride (which had breaks) then maybe change seat or don't do this ride.

Now that's a good suggestion to use rashfree , I'm sure i'm going to need it. I'll do the ride regardless of the challenges and that's exactly the reason why i've opened this thread so that i can get into the nitigrities of this ride and don't leave any stone unturned or get prone to some unforeseen challenges.

I've already come across about 6-7 points which came nowhere close to my mind when i started planning this ride. I'm sure i'll come across more as time progresses.

Note From Team-BHP Support Team: Avoid quoting entire posts as it may inconvenience small-screen/mobile users. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.

[phamilyman]

My suggestion would be to speak to guys who've done it on humble bikes (no the ninja does not qualify). I can connect you with doc arn (who was the 1st one to do it 8 years back) and Nav (whose attempted it a couple of times and has come quite close so can give you the other perspective as well). let me know if u're interested

[kingofmyworld]

I forgot to add this point in my earlier post,

1. IBA guys are pretty serious about the proofs we send them. They need only unedited, photographs and scanned copies of pics. Do not even adjust the brightness and contrast of the pictures you click. Send them the raw pics alone. There have been cases where they rejected an application as the pics have been edited and all the person did was increased the brightness.

2. At every stop, obtain a fuel bill and place it right beside your odo reading and click a picture. A time stamp will add some weight to your proofs.

3. Any stop greater than 15 minutes have to be documented in the log. They calculate your bike's average mileage and distance between each stops and number of liters of petrol used between each fuel stop.

4. Always do 50Kms more than the required. You never know what mapping program they might use and how much it might differ from your mapping program. Don't go by your odo. They will calculate odo error.

PM me if you need any more info.

[Thar4x4]

Originally Posted by kingofmyworld

I forgot to add this point in my earlier post,

1. IBA guys are pretty serious about the proofs we send them. They need only unedited, photographs and scanned copies of pics. Do not even adjust the brightness and contrast of the pictures you click. Send them the raw pics alone. There have been cases where they rejected an application as the pics have been edited and all the person did was increased the brightness.

2. At every stop, obtain a fuel bill and place it right beside your odo reading and click a picture. A time stamp will add some weight to your proofs.

3. Any stop greater than 15 minutes have to be documented in the log. They calculate your bike's average mileage and distance between each stops and number of liters of petrol used between each fuel stop.

4. Always do 50Kms more than the required. You never know what mapping program they might use and how much it might differ from your mapping program. Don't go by your odo. They will calculate odo error.

PM me if you need any more info.

Seems like you have good information there, can you let us know the email to send the documents or photos for approval or for any other information. I tried all the email ids specified on site but no reply.

Thanks,
Vishal

[pulsurge]

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

Seems like you have good information there, can you let us know the email to send the documents or photos for approval or for any other information. I tried all the email ids specified on site but no reply.

Thanks,
Vishal

Try these:

Michael Kneebone
mkneebone@gmail.com; mkneebone@earthlink.net

Donna Fousek (very late in replying- god knows why, but still)
ibadonna@gmail.com

Ira Agins
iagins@yahoo.com (This guy is super prompt in replying- though he doesn't do the certification stuff, but just keep a cc to him, or else you can put him a mail requesting him to ask Michael to check on the status)

[kingofmyworld]

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

Seems like you have good information there, can you let us know the email to send the documents or photos for approval or for any other information. I tried all the email ids specified on site but no reply.

Thanks,
Vishal

Pulsurge has listed down all the email ids I've been in touch with. They usually take ages to reply because they do the certification and query responses as for passion and not as a daily job. All these individuals associated with IBA are professionals working at different organisations and are volunteers at IBA. mike is the guy who started IBA if I'm not wrong. (The IBA certificate is signed by mike in person. so assuming he is THE guy.)

NOTE : The submission of proofs and documentation has to be done in a PDF format. You can also send the docs as hard copy via courier but that is a long process. And Never send them originals. That was the first point they told me when I questioned them about submission of proofs.

Originally Posted by pulsurge

Try these:

Michael Kneebone
mkneebone@gmail.com; mkneebone@earthlink.net

Donna Fousek (very late in replying- god knows why, but still)
ibadonna@gmail.com

Ira Agins
iagins@yahoo.com (This guy is super prompt in replying- though he doesn't do the certification stuff, but just keep a cc to him, or else you can put him a mail requesting him to ask Michael to check on the status)

Thank you puls. Best way to contact is through the query form in IBA is what I feel. Every time I send a query there, I got a reply for Ira in a day or two, so that should work too.

[Sheel]

Have you ridden an endurance ride before? Something in the region of 1000kms in a day or throughout night?

And forum member pulsurge started a thread at some other forum, am pasting a link for introspection. Riding challenges fine....but paying with your life :'(


And doing 1000kms in the comforts of a Car is a cake-walk, but doing even 400-500 kms (if you aren't riding often & long) would be aiding you to discover new muscles in your body.

Am not trying to demoralize you, but give it a thought & start with practice, be sure, be confident & then attempt. All the best