[rakesh_r]

Helmets OFF to you sir.
Glad to note all went well. The TB sure is a very good highway cruiser. Would really appreciate if you could pen down your experience,route taken etc.

[jacs]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Mission accomplished!

Blue Bird brought me Chennai Royapettah home safely and comfortably.

120 hours of riding 6,353 km through TN>AP>OD>WB>JH>BR>UP>DL>HR>RJ>GJ>MH>KA in 12 days.

Congratulations sir. Its certainly a mission accomplished. That is roughly 10 hours ride per day

Glad to know TB500 served you well during the trip and never let you down.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Mission accomplished!

Ride details will follow in due course.

That is an average of 500 kms plus daily and that needs some endurance levels on the bike and the riders part.

This is a feather in your cap which means a lot.

Congratulations and Respect!

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Mission accomplished!

Blue Bird brought me Chennai Royapettah home safely and comfortably.

Hey Cap'n congratulations to you and your Bluebird for completing this epic journey safely and comfortably. I admire your passion and enthusiasm for riding. Way to go.

No puncture. No breakdown. No accident. No falling down. No problem.

I am thankful to my Thunderbird 500, which has once again proved it is trust-worthy and dependable, when it comes to highway-cruising.

Cap'n that is really amazing, you make us Tbird500 owners and enthusiasts proud as we grin with pride and humbleness. Long Live the Tbird500. A Salute to your riding spirit as well as your Bluebird.

Awaiting detailed ride report.

[The Great]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Mission accomplished!

Kolkata - Delhi was the longest and toughest; Bangalore - Chennai was the shortest and sweetest

Congratulations sir !!

This has got to be one of the most greatest biking tour for an Indian enthusiast which defies all the barriers of Age and choice of bikes.

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

I am thankful to my Thunderbird 500, which has once again proved it is trust-worthy and dependable, when it comes to highway-cruising

This is a testament to Royal Enfield and will shut all the critics and bad mouths about the ability of the legendary Enfield.

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Ride details will follow in due course

Eagerly awaiting the pictures and travelogue sir.

Royal Salute to the Royal Rider and Royal Enfield, Cheers !!.

[arulpeem]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Mission accomplished!

Blue Bird brought me Chennai Royapettah home safely and comfortably.

Congratulations Mr Ravi. Your rides definitely are inspirational. The way you plan and execute your trips are really a class apart.

[psurelia]

Kudos to you and your passion, Ravi sir!

[rustynails]

Congratulations Ravi sir! Inspirational ride!!

[Vasuki]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Mission accomplished!

Blue Bird brought me Chennai Royapettah home safely and comfortably.

Congratulations. Best of Luck for the next endeavour

[neelemail]

I was casually viewing the thread, never knowing that an epic ride is being carried out by a gentleman. Need to find a better word than 'Respect" to describe my feeling now.

I always feel proud to own a TB350. Now I feel prouder that one of the family members have achieved a great feet. Like someone mentioned earlier, I like the way you have planned the trip to be a sheer riding trip and no distractions.

Note to mods: I think this is an epic journey and it deserves to be on the homepage.

My Thunderbird 500 has recorded an excellent fuel efficiency of 31.36 kmpl during the GQ ride. While Firozabad, UP bagged the dubious distinction of the costliest petrol, TN Chennai's petrol price was the lowest. I started liking the Reliance Petro outlets. They have clean toilets apart from accepting credit/debit cards. The owner of Reliance Petro pump at Sahera, GJ SH 5 took my feed-back on the facilities available there.


______________________________________

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Helmets OFF to you

Thanks for the compliments and appreciation, rakesh_r

Originally Posted by jacs

Congratulations sir.

Thanks for the wishes, jacs.

Originally Posted by tharian

That is an average of 500 kms plus daily and that needs some endurance levels on the bike and the riders part.

My Thunderbird 500 never asked for rest. It could have pulled on and on. It's only me, who required rest at the end of the ride!

Originally Posted by navin_v8

A Salute to your riding spirit as well as your Bluebird.

Thanks for the superlative appreciation and wishes, navin_v8.

Originally Posted by The Great

Royal Salute to the Royal Rider and Royal Enfield

Thank you so much for the nice words, The Great.

Originally Posted by arulpeem

Congratulations Mr Ravi.

Thank you, arulpeem, for the kind wishes.

Originally Posted by psurelia

Kudos to you and your passion, Ravi sir!

Thanks, psurelia, for the appreciation.

Originally Posted by rustynails

Congratulations Ravi sir!

Thanks for the wishes, rustynails.

Originally Posted by Vasuki

Congratulations.

Thanks for the wishes, Ajay.

Originally Posted by neelemail

I like the way you have planned the trip to be a sheer riding trip and no distractions.

Thanks, neelemail. The R&D for this ride started a few months back. Destinations were carefully selected based on my average speed achieved during my earlier one-day rides. Hotels were selected based on the user reviews in tripadvisor.in and booked one month in advance.

[adrian]

Congratulations Ravi Sir. Respect

Your Bluebird has answered the Bullet-bashers through action.

Although my Thunderbird 500 had free passage through the toll plazas of NHAI, I paid toll at Vidyasagar Setu, Kolkata [2 x ₹ 5], Yamuna Expressway [₹ 175] and DND Flyway, Delhi [₹ 12]. I also paid toll dearly by getting my exposed wrists sunburnt while riding through AP and OD.


____________________________________________

Originally Posted by adrian

Congratulations Ravi Sir.

Thanks a lot for the wishes, adrian.

Consumption of good food is a must for sustaining this mega ride. I used to have my breakfast at my hotel before starting the ride. But, I enjoyed eating my lunch and dinner on the highway. Here are some of the top picks of the places, where I enjoyed good food during my GQ ride.



I had two glasses of sugarcane juice, costing ₹ 10 each from Rajesh Kumar. He evinced keen interest on the headlight of my Thunderbird 500 and wanted to know how much it cost, so that he could buy one for his jugaad sugarcane-crusher-cum-3-wheeler. I pleaded ignorance and directed him to contact the nearby Royal Enfield dealer. His battery + diesel engine-powered mobile sugarcane-crusher has all the gadgets and equipments like headlights, horn, etc. Rajesh Kumar proudly stated that he bought that from Kolkata and drove from there to his village near Barhi, JH! When he came to know that I was riding from Chennai, he was taken aback! When I found that that vehicle did not have registration number plates and asked him about that, he replied, 'zaroorat nahin, saab' [not necessary, sir]!



Here, I had the rare opportunity of eating by sitting next to my Thunderbird 500!



In Delhi, I wanted to have my dinner at Chandni Chowk only by riding through bazaars, lanes and bylanes in the evening peak hour, perfectly guided by Navi Maps app in my smartphone! I enjoyed chole bhature and sweet lassi in kulhad [earthen pot] at Ram Bhoj, Chandni Chowk.











I visited Hotel New Jaipur, near Kishangarh, RJ on NH 8. When I mentioned the owner that it was my third visit, he was very pleased. These pure vegetarian eateries are run by muslims hailing from Palanpur, GJ, just like many Udupi hotels, dotting India and abroad.



Here is the photo clicked during my first visit to the same hotel in 2010:



http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post2179156

In Udaipur, while returning to the hotel after servicing my Thunderbird 500, I noticed this bhojanalay. I just enquired with a localite about the quality of the food served there, who gave a clean chit.







The owner of Reliance Petro pump on GJ SH 5, where my Thunderbird 500 had petrol, guided me to this wonderful hotel.



Apart from these, I tasted mouth-watering rasmalais and sweet lassi at Haldiram's at Rewari, HR, but I didn't click any pics due to agitations rocking the HR-RJ border. I enjoyed nice dinner at the famous Sai Food Court, near Kolhapur, MH.

[emperorofindia]

Respect Ravi Sir. Your grit and determination and passion towards traveling / riding your steed is indeed commendable. Wishing you many more such rides in the future.

Thunderbird 500 : Built like a bullet, rides like a bird.