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-   -   From riding a Hero Honda CD100 to representing India at the 2024 BMW GS Trophy in Namibia (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/294395-riding-hero-honda-cd100-representing-india-2024-bmw-gs-trophy-namibia.html)

A bit of my motorcycling history
My name is Anand Dharesan and for me life has always revolved around motorcycles. During my early childhood, our family never had a car. My father used to have a Hero Honda CD 100 which was our primary mode of transportation. We used to travel everywhere together on that bike. Being the youngest in the family meant I used to get to sit on the fuel tank and enjoy the feeling of wind all over me. Probably those moments were what laid the foundation for the love for riding a motorcycle. That CD 100 was there in the family for almost two decades and I started to learn to ride on that very bike.

The Hero Honda CD100 that taught me that happiness is two wheels

Like how most items of the elder sibling gets inherited to the younger one, I got my brother’s Pulsar 200 when I was 19. I started realising that motorcycling gave me so much freedom and happiness.
Later on I moved to Bangalore for college. The best memory of my college life was the 40 odd kms bike ride from my home there to college.

Bunking class and going for rides around Bangalore was a usual thing.

It was during my second year in college KTM came to India and launched the Duke 200. I was madly in love with the Duke. Being a college student , my only option was to convince my parents to get me one and it turned to be really difficult since my parents were not too keen on my madness towards motorcycling. But I didnt give up and after a lot of effort, in 2012 I finally got the Duke. The real serious motorcycling in my life started after the Duke came.


Those good old days with the Duke

At that time I was part of the motorcycling group xBhp. There I met many people with the same passion and started going for rides with them. Later on few of us formed a smaller group. And we named our group ‘ADV Souls’. Little I knew these friends whom I met only for Sunday rides would become like my family. In 2013 when I got my first job, and my biggest motivation to work was to buy myself a bigger bike ! An inline 4 was my dream and around two years later I got myself a Kawasaki Z800.

The Kawasaki Z800, my first 'Big' bike

Around that point we were quite bored of the usual weekend rides and decided to try our hands on something new, Thats when we went to BigRock Dirtpark in Kolar to try off roading. And boy it was fun ! My first experience in the dirt was so good, that the off road bug bit me hard, like REAL hard.

From one of the off road session at Big Rock Dirtpark

2016 was a very important year in my life with 4 major events. I got married, left my corporate job, went for a K2K ride with my group and later started my entrepreneurial journey. A Kanyakumari to Kashmir ride had been our dream since long and finally we planned to do it in August 2016. Around June that year I applied for a 21 day leave but it was rejected eventhough I had sufficient leaves. The manager told me they need more career focussed people and expected me to focus on my work more. Two months later I packed my bags for the trip, after serving my notice period and saying goodbye to my corporate life. Probaby a very bold decision, but I gave more importance to my passion over anything else. The 23 day trip from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and back was full of so many great memories.

Next to Pangong Tso, this trip with our group ADV Souls is still one of the best rides we ever had.

Once the trip was over, with no job in hand I moved back to my hometown in Trivandrum. It was really difficult to face my parents and relatives back home, since all of them came to know that I left my job to go for a motorcycle ride. But between all this, my wife always supported me for following my passion. I really didnt want to get into the corporate life back and wasnt too keen on working under someone and I always wanted to start a firm of my own. So later that year, me and 2 friends started a firm in the field of lighting in Trivandrum.
During the K2K trip, I got to spend a lot of time with my friend’s Triumph Tiger 800 and I really loved the Tiger. I felt that the Tiger made so much sense for our roads and my kind of riding. So I decided that the next upgrade will definitely be a Tiger. During a weekend ride with the group, a friend told his plan to sell his bike and get a Tiger. I also got motivated by it and so did another friend. And eventually I sold my Z800, and on May 2017, 3 new Tigers rolled out together from Triumph Kochi showroom. Probably one of the most memorable days for our group. Even the better half was really happy since she could travel in comfort, which was a big problem in the Z800.

3 Tigers cubs joining the family

Later on our group did rides to the Northeast and Bhutan in the following years. Since most of us in the group owned Tigers and other adv bikes, we used to regularly attend off road/ adv riding classes. Mainly so that we could improve our skills on handling these big adventure bikes when the terrain gets tough. It was for one such event I met Dev Venkatesh who came as our trainer. Dev is a national level Rally champion and a very skilled rider. The sessions by Dev was a big learning for me. Initially I was really scared to take the big tiger on difficult terrains, but with Dev’s training I got to learn a lot and slowly got a hang of it. Fear started going away and I began enjoying taking the Tiger off road.
In the same year Triumph conducted a Tiger Trails in association with the School of Dirt at Vattavada where the training was done by Ouseph Chacko. All these sessions helped me a lot in developing the cofidence and skill to manage my Tiger off road. Slowly I started taking my Tiger to some serious off roading and that is when I found the limitations of my Tiger.

With Dev Venkatesh during one of his training sessions.


At Tiger Trails session by School of Dirt


Taking the Tiger to places where only 4 wheel jeeps could go


Riding up mountains and enjoying the view, cant get better than this

The Tiger 800 is a very top heavy motorcycle, also the version I had was the base XR which didnt have the long travel adjustable suspension, nor spoke wheels and also had a very low ground clearance. So the itch to find a better off road ADV bike began.

Somethings are meant to be
Since the Tiger had its limitations, I was on the lookout for another motorcycle that could replace it. The main requirement was spoke wheels, long travel suspension and something that can do triple digit speeds effortlessly on the highways. The 3 options I had shortliseted were the Tiger 800 XCx, Africa Twin and the Ducati Desert Sled. With a limited budget in hand, I was looking only for pre owned options. Tried the 800 XCx and it still felt really top heavy. The Africa Twin looked like a good option, but the DCT gearbox didnt impress me much also the asking price of the bikes I saw were too high. The Desert Sled looked the part and had the kit, but the lack of any wind protection meant that I could not use it on highways. Around the same time a friend of mine was interested to buy my Tiger and I sold my bike to him. The next few months were quite hard without a bike. I really couldnt find any other options. That is when my friend Karthik suggested me to consider the BMW 1200 GS. Few years back when BMW Kochi showroom started and the good folks brought a 1200 GS Rallye to Trivandum and gave it to me for a day. Boy I was impressed on how effortless the bike was to ride. The way it handled and how it masked the size and weight really impressed me. But the 24 lakhs on road price meant that it was almost doube the price of my Tiger and the GS remained a distant dream. So when Karthik told about the GS, I knew the GS was way above my budget, but he asked me to wait and see if I can do some workaround and stretch my budget a bit. The BMW GS is the dream bike of any adventure motorcylist, and eventually a preowned 1200 GS Rallye came into the shopping list. I asked a friend Tanuj who owns a 1250 GS to check among his circle if any pre owned 1200 GS comes up for sale. After a few days he got back saying there is a 1200 Rallye in Hyderabad showroom up for sale. Its a pre owned bike and the owner exchanged it at the showroom for a new 1250. The next day I called up Mr Sundar, who is the showroom manager at JSP Motorrad Hyderabad and he shared the details of the bike. The bike eventhough had few minor scratches and scuff marks here and there , had an asking price which was well within my budget. Mr Sundar was so helpful and shared me all details, photos and service history of the bike. I spoke with the owner and decided to fly to Hyderabad to check out the bike. Upon reaching Hyderabad I went to the showroom to check the bike, wasnt too happy with the physical condition of the bike. But I was thinking I am getting it for a good price and eventually I can clean it up, change the panels and make it look like new. Took a short test ride of the bike and everything felt ok. The owner came to showroom by then and I transferred the amount and got the transfer documents signed from him. The plan was to ride the bike to Trivandrum from Hyderabad the next day. That evening I decided to take the bike from the showroom after an oil change to my hotel. I started the bike and I heard a loud knocking sound from the engine, which didnt seem right. Upon hearing the sound, the service head Adnan came to the bike and said it didnt sound right and took the bike inside. He inspected the engine, and found out the firing was not proper. He checked everything , but still couldnt find the reason behind it. I was really tensed since I paid full amount for the bike and now its having some serious issue. After a few hours Adnan and Sundar came to me and told me that the bike is showing some issue and they would need a few days to fix the bike. I was shocked ! Hyderabad is a new place for me and here I am stuck, all alone, paid lots for money for a bike that doesnt run technically. I called up the owner explained the situation to him and he was really kind enough to understand the seriousness and he promised to retun the full amount if I am not satisfied with the bike. Really devastated with the turn of the events, I went back to the hotel room and booked a flight ticket back to Trivandrum for the next day. The same night Sundar calls me and tells me that, he knows another GS Rallye in Hyderabad. He said the owner of the bike apparantly visited the showroom few weeks back and saw the RNineT Scrambler and loved it and said one day he will sell his GS and get the RNineT. So Sundar called up him and he agreed to sell his bike. The next morning me, Sundar and Adnan went to the owners house to check out the new bike. When I asked the details of the bike , Sundar said he doesnt have much idea since the owner doesnt ride much and Sundar has seen the bike only a few times. And at the same time Adnan tells that this bike has done really less mileage but dont know the exact number. Anyways we reached there, went to the basement and there under a cover was the bike that was going to change my life. Pulled out the cover and my eyes started to glitter ! A MINT condition bike, as good as she rolled out of the showroom just yesterday . The owner’s son handed over the key to Adnan and he started the bike and I looked at the Odometer and it read “674 KMS” !. I crossed checked again and again if I missed a number and there was Adnan grinning and saying “I told you so”. I checked with him why its so less ridden and he said the owner doesnt get much time to take it for long rides, and only takes it for occassional Sunday morning coffee rides . And every year the Motorrad technician services it on time and parks it back in his apartment. At that very moment Sundar tells me “this is the cleanest GS Rallye you can find in the country today” and I couldnt disagree. I so badly wanted to get this bike but I was sure the asking price will be higher. And infact it came to almost 4 lakhs more than what I paid for the other bike. But after a few round of negotiations the owner reduced the price a bit and I agreed. I called up the bank , asked if they can readily disperse my pre approved personal loan , luckily for which they said yes. Also around the same time the owner of the first bike I purchased transfered back the amount. So everything looked like it was aligning back again. I went to the bank, instructed them to send the money to the owners account and came back and took delivery of the bike. I took the bike straight to the BMW service center to do a checkup and do a service before I ride it back home. On my ride to the service I couldnt stop admiring how smooth the bike felt compared to the other bike and all panels looked brand new, even the cover on the Navigator 5 screen was not removed.
Did an oil change of the bike and gave her a good wash and I just couldnt get my eyes off her. All the misery I went through in the last 24 hours just seemed to fade away and here I have my almost brand new R1200GS Rallye !


I just stood there and stared at her !

That evening I get a call from Air India saying my flight is leaving in 30 mins. I didnt bother to cancel the flight since I got a better Jet to travel back home. Went back to the hotel room and the next day I rode to Trivandrum. A Huge thanks to Sundar and Adnan for helping me in getting this gem. I used to think, there was no need for them to do all this for me, I was not even buying a new bike from their dealership still they helped me. Also they could have easily kept hush about the first bike’s issue and asked me to take it home, but still they made sure I dont feel cheated at the end of the day. And on 9th October 2021, me and my new 1200 GS Rallye had our first long 1500 km ride from Hyderabad to Trivandrum. That ride would have definitely got the Guiness recored for the longest time a man was grinning inside his helmet.

The first ride from Hyderabad to Trivandrum was just magical


Life after the GS came
The GS is the perfect bike I could dream of. The Boxer engine has tons of torque and it makes you giggle like a toddler every time you open the throttle. The telelever suspension upfront makes sure there is no nose dive under hard braking and the bike handles as good as a sportsbike. I took it to few off road trails after reaching home and found out the stock Michelin Anakee tyres were really bad off road and changed them to Metzeler Karoo 3s. The bike definitely looks intimidatinng at first but when you sit on it, everything shrinks down and the bike feels so light and effortless. I couldnt find a single flaw with the bike. I started taking the bike to some hard core trails. At that point all my rides were majorly off roading. On Sunday mornings few of us friends used to go to a school ground nearby and do some training sessions on slow speed balance, basic off roading techniques etc.

Never missed a chance to take the GS off road. The GS Experience event is one place where you can learn the basics of off roading from certified instructors

It was around that time that BMW announced the GS trophy selections for the year 2022 for Albania. The GS Trophy is an event conducted by BMW Motorrad , where GS owners, from each country need to compete in their national qualifiers, where riders are tested based on their skills and the top 3 will get to represent the country at the International GS Trophy event. And the event happens only once every 2 years. Being a part of the GS Trophy team is such a prestigious thing, and to compete with so many riders in the country and finishing top 3 and become Team India is definitely a dream for any adventure motorcyclist. I had been following the GS trophy event for a few years and always wanted to be a part of it, but I knew I had to train more and was not confident enough to take part in the 2022 qualifiers. So I thought probably next time I can give it a try and I closely followed the 2022 Trophy event from the selections to the main event. In. 2023, Dev Venkatesh messages me saying he purchased an 850 GS and said lets both try for GS trophy qualifiers for 2024. Since Dev was also there I was really looking forward to try for the trophy qualifiers this time.

Climbing the ladder one step at a time
The regional qualifiers for the GS Trophy 2024 team was announed on 1st October 2023 at Tribal Adventure Cafe, Bangalore. Dev is one of the trainers at Tribal Adventure Cafe, so I checked with him if I can come there and do some training for which he said “Come macha, Lets train together”. So I packed my bags and rode to Bangalore a week before the qualifiers. I remember for 4 days straight I reached Tribal early morning and practised with Dev till the evening. The course for the qualifiers will be set by the BMW Marshalls who are the off road Instructors for BMW Motorrad India. Every time few drills like figure of 8, the garage, walking with the bike, crossing logs, brake slide, elephant turn etc are usual for the selection process so me and Dev kept doing and doing it until we perfected it.


Falling and picking up the bike started becoming a usual thing during these trainings

And finally the day for the regional qualifers came, during the regional qualifiers I met Shahaan, eventhough the guy was huge, he was just 21 years old and he even finished 4th in the 2022 qualifiers. Shahaan also used to train with Dev at Tribal and has been riding and rallying on his GS for few years. Once the Bangalore qualifiers was over, we waited for the Mumbai and Delhi qualifiers to get over after which they will announce the top 20 who will be selected for the main National qualifiers. I kept my fingers crossed and so badly wanted to be a part of the top 20. On November 9th after a tiring day at work , I came home and went to bed early. At around 10:30 pm I started getting so many message notifications. I woke up looked at my phone and see that so many people had sent me Congragulations. I suddenly opened BMW Motorrad India page and I saw my name in the Top 20 selected for the national qualifiers.

The top 20 riders who qualified

I was so happy that my eyes started filling with tears. I found that Dev and Shahaan were also in the list. I called up Dev and he says “Man, now its time for the real training”. The dates for the national Qualifier also was announed and it was supposed to happen on 25th November at Gurgaon. So for the next round of training, I rode to Bangalore to train with Dev. This time it was a more serious training and we trained till our fingers could no more hold the clutch. I remember my bike used to fall many times and I ended up picking up the bike atleast 30 times a day, which had taken a toll over my back and I was in deep pain. The next morning I literally was unable to get up from the bed due to back pain, but I took pain killers and rode to Tribal so that I didnt miss the training. Around 5 people who got selected for the nationals were from Bangalore so all 5 of us used to train together at Tribal under Dev. We trained for almost 5 days straight. And I still remember, on those 5 days it was mostly me, Dev and Shahan who used to train till night, and we used to dream of 3 of us making it to the top 3 together and becoming team India.

Never can miss a chance to have fun with the bike when Dev is around


Me, Dev and Shahaan during our training for the national qualifiers

Finally the day came for the national qualifiers and we flew to Delhi. For the national qualifiers unlike in the regional qualifiers where we had to use our bikes, 1250 GS was provided by BMW India for competitors for the event. The event was so well organised that it made us feel like celebrities. Upon reaching the airport there was a designated driver on a BMW iX waiting for me, who took me straight to the hotel.

Welcoming us for the national qualifiers


Goodies waiting for us in our rooms

That evening all 20 of us who qualified, people from BMW Motorrad India, the 3 instructors all got together for an introduction session and dinner. During that there was a team building exercise where we were asked to make teams of 2, and one person will be blind folded and needs to remove the rear wheel on a 1250 GS, take the wheel and walk around the bike and fit it back on the bike. The unblinded team mate can only help by standing 5 feet way and give instructions on what to do. It was a lovely evening where the history of GS trophy was told, also the stories from previous GS trophies were shared. The next day we reached the venue and it was only then we came to know about the track and the exercises planned for us. The course was divided to two sections. One section mimicced a trail ride where we had to ride through gravel, push the bike, ride up an incline, walk with the bike , ride through a slush pit, then drop the bike on both sides and pick it up, ride through rocks and take a small jump. The main motto of this was to test our endurance and make us tired. After this section starts the real test. We had to remove our helmet and gloves and keep in the bike. Once the timer starts we had to run to the bike, wear the hemlet and gloves, start the bike and ride straight to the garage. After the garage there was riding through a narrow log, then an elephant turn, followed by brake slide and hit the cone, then a brake -slide -powerslide section, a figure of 8 , a tight full lock circle in a box, then stop the bike and stand on a cone and finally stop at the finish and raise both the hands and thats when the timer stops. For all exercises except the elephant turn we were not supposed to put our foot down, also we are not supposed to cross the line or drop the bike if so we will loose points. I had a pretty decent run with zero dabs, no line crossing or bike falls. After this section was over, we all were taken for a small trail ride around the venue, the terrain was mostly sandy. Just to mimic the terrain in Namibia and the Marshalls evaluated us on how well we managed on that terrain.
Once this was over we returned back to the venue for the results. The air was filled with tension and excitement to know who are the top 3 who get to represent team India. The stage was set, the trophies were revealed. It was time to announce the results. I remember Mr Abhinandan from BMW Motorrad India coming on the stage to announce the winners and saying “so ladies and gentlemen the First place Qualifier is….. “Anand Dharesan” The world around me froze, tears filled my eyes, and my body was full numb. I couldnt believe if it was a dream or not, the only thing I could see was people around me hugging me and patting my back as I walked towards the stage. All the hardwork and trainings, the urge to follow my passion, the sarcasm I faced from people who said motorcycling will never take me anywhere, everything just flashed in front of me and here I am standing with the 1st place qualifier trophy in my hand.

The best moment of my life !

While I was still getting back to reality, they announced the second place qualifier “Dev Venkatesh” , I was super happy to see Dev join me, we planned this together and here he comes as my team mate, the third place qualifier was “Shahaan Khan” and boy dreams do come true. We three couldnt ask for more, we dreamt together to be a team and here we are, Team India for the 2024 GS Trophy, Namibia !


We trained together, dreamt together and won together.


The top 20 riders who cleared for the national qualifiers


Preparing for the GS Trophy
Getting selected for the trophy was one of the biggest surprises of my life. And after reaching back home, my friends and family threw a surprise party for me. It was so good to see my parents who once were not too supportive for my passion to motorcycling, now saying they are so proud of me and are really happy that I am going places due to my passion. With around 10 months to the main GS trophy event at Namibia, I decided we had to work on our riding skills and physical fitness. For physicial fitness, my friend Joseph, who owns Zero Performance fitness studio in Trivandrum, decided to do personal training for me and the goal was to focus on endurance and core strengthening. For motorcycle trainings the 3 of us used to meet at Tribal and train occasionally focussing more on enduro riding and fast trail rides. Endurance is something we had to work on because the main event at Namibia will have 6 days of continous riding. Chowde Gowda who was a part of the 2022 Trophy team joined us at Tribal and we trained hard.


Training sessions at Tribal

Since most part of Namibia is desert and the three of us had no major experience is riding in the desert, BMW Motorrad India organised a training session for us at the dunes of Jaisalmer. In February 2024 the training was planned and we took our bikes and went to Rajasthan. The training was conducted by Mr Vijay Parmar and his team. Adib Javanmardi who was part of the 2022 Trophy Team and also a BMW Instructor joined us as well. Normally for all GS Trophies, apart from the 3 competitiors from each country, one person also will join the team as a Media representative. The media representative can ride with the team but doesnt have to do the competition stages there. And this time with us, Rishaad Mody from Autocar India was joining. For the Jaisalmer training Rishaad also joined. The training was there for 4 days. I had my first experience on sand on Day 1 and at the first try I got stuck royally and figured out that sand riding needs a whole new level of skill and technique. The next day slowly we got a hang of it and sand riding started to become fun. The training was a test of skill and endurance. We even camped in the desert so that we could get used to setting up tents and sleeping in them since for the Trophy everyday we need to pitch our tents and stay in that.


Rishaad,Dev, Shahaan, myself and Adib









Once the Jaisalmer training was over, later on June the 3 of us went to Kabini, Karnataka and did a 4 day trainig there. Here we were focusing more on rocky terrains and deep slush. The main goal for all these trainings was to push our limits and also work together as a team and bond together. Since the GS trophy is a team event, having a good bonding within the team was of utmost importance.







From the Deserts of Rajasthan, to the banks of Kabini we were trying our best to be comfortable at any kind of terrain.
By the end of June , we got a mail which had our flight tickets and Visa and also it told that our GS Trophy gears were on the way from Munich. Getting the super special GS Trophy gears is one of the best part of the GS Trophy. The Trophy gear includes items that are exclusive to the GS Trophy competitors.
The kit has the following items
1. The GS Trophy gear bag - We can take only this gear bag to the trophy and all participants should fit all their stuff for the 6 days in this gear bag.
2. BMW Motorrad GS Trophy Jacket
3. BMW Motorrad GS Trophy Pants
4. GS Trophy Backpack
5. GS Trophy Hoodie
6. GS Trophy Rain Jacket
7. 2 X GS Trophy T shits
8. GS Trophy Backpack
9. GS Trophy Bottle
10. BMW Motorrad Gloves
11. GS Trophy Safari Hat
12. BMW Motorrad Hydration kit
13. A Tent- in which we were supposed to use while camping at night
14. A sleeping bag
15. Inflatable matress
16. Leatt Neck Brace
17. Sena Comminicator
18. Head Torch
The only that is missing from the kit is the Helmet and Boots which we need to take ours.
Receiving the Package with Trophy kit was one of the most exciting moments of the whole GS Trophy experience. I still remember getting the call from the DHL office that my package will be delivered in sometime and I took the day off from work, went to the DHL office and collected the box and took it home to unbox it.

Collecting one of the most exciting parcels ever !


All the items that came in the kit

The third and final training for us was planned by Chowde Gowda at Spiti and for this training we decided to wear our Trophy gear so that we could get used to it. The Spiti Training happened on August 2024 and we flew to Chandigarh and thanks to Yashashwi from BMW Motorrad India, she arranged me a 1300 GS for the training so that we got used to the 1300 since the bike we will be riding in Namibia will be the newly launched 1300 GS. The Spiti Training was also organised by Mr Vijay Parmar and his Xplorearth team and the training was for 5 days. This time we focussed more on Gravel roads and some fast off road riding. But to our bad luck Dev got a really bad fever on day 1 of the training and he had to fly back home. So it was just me and Shahaan at Spiti. We had taken the tents we received in the Trophy kit and 2 nights we set up the tent there. Adib was very specific with the fact that we get used to setting up the tent after a long day of riding and this would give us a good practise on setting the tent fast. The trainings at Jaisalmer and Kabini felt kind of safe, because even if we fell , it was mostly sand in Jaisalmer and Slush in Kabini. But in some parts during the Spiti training, especially the road to Kaza, the terrain was very unpredictable with loose rocks on most of the route and even rocks sticking out of the road, and we were doing some crazy speeds on most of the stretches. Gave us a taste of how these professional rally riders ride and the way our mind and body needs to in full steam else we will be flying away from the edge of the cliff. Most of the trainings were held around Kaza and Pang. We really did miss Dev during this training, atleast it was for a training he couldnt make it, and we just prayed that all 3 of us are in good form and free of any such health situations just before the trophy.






With just one month to the Trophy, we all were super excited and looking forward to the journey of our lives. But to my bad luck, just a week before the trophy I got down with a very bad viral fever. It was really bad I literally couldnt get up from the bed for few days and after all these trainings and dreaming, I really couldnt miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. While the doctor recommended a week’s bedrest and lots of medication, I really count agree to that, since after 3 days I had to travel to Namibia. Physically I was in a very bad condition, lost around 5 kilos and walking for a few minutes itself made me really tired. But I decided whatever happens I will go to Namibia. And with a slight reflief from the fever, on 12 September we started our journey. The entire travel was taken care by BMW Motorrad, including our flight to Namibia, Visa etc. My flight was from Trivandrum-Mumbai- Addis Ababda- Windoek (Namibia). Dev and Shahaan flew from Bangalore. And we all met together at Bombay airport.

All set to fly to Namibia !

Finally the days we were waiting for almost a year has come. Upon reaching Addis Ababa, we saw few others with the GS Trophy hoodies and bags who were competitors from other countries and we all got together and had a great time.

With the other teams we met at Addis Ababa airport

Our flight landed at Windhoek around late noon. And we had shuttle service from the airport to the camp. There were 5 other teams also with us in that shuttle. During the 2 hour drive from the airport to the camp, most of the route were gravel roads. Namibia is a very dry country with very less greenary . On the way we found few Giraffes, Oryxs and Baboons roaming on those roads.

The terrain towards the camp

We reached the camp at Midgard and there were many people waiting to welcome us holding different country flags. We saw Rishaad and Shahnawaz (who is from India and a marshall for the GS Trophy) waving the Indian flag welcoming us. Rishaad and all the other media representatives had arrived a couple of days earlier since they had their media breifings planned. Shahnawaz helped with the documentation work , and we got our Namibian SIM cards, and a fully charged power bank (this powerbank after use we can return and we will get a fully charged one to charge our phone and sena) we headed to the camp location to pitch our tents. The dinner at the trophy has a great sense of occassion, with some mindblowing varities of food, beer and lots of fantastic people , all great riders from different parts of the world.

Day 0
This is our first day at the trophy and is called Day 0 because there in no riding on this day. The main agenda for the day is the inaugration of the event, find our bikes, do a team introduction, followed by some photo shoots. After breakfast we all gathered up near at the main area where all the bikes were parked and Mr Markus Flasch who is the CEO for BMW Motorrad cut the ropes and announced the event open. We all ran to find our bikes and between a sea of brand new 1300 GS we found the 3 team India bikes. Each bike with our name and country flags stickered on it. Seeing my name on the bike was one of the proudest moments of my life. We started our bikes for the first time and they all had barely done less than 10 kilometers. For every GS Trophy, brand new bikes for every competitor and Marshall are shipped from Germany. This time the competitiors rode the 1300GS while the marshals rode the F900GS. The Trophy bike is kitted specifically for the event with a special GS Trophy livery and some beefed up protection. After lunch we all got together for a group photo session. . We had made a custom GS Trophy Team India bandana and took it to Namibia and gifted it to all the competitors, organisers and marshalls during this time. This was a great way for us to bond with others there and turned out to be a good gesture from our end. Around evening all teams had to do a team introduction. For the 2024 GS Trophy there were at total of 22 teams. And each team had to do their team introduction, We had taken 3 dhotis with us and we entered the stage wearing it, with Lungi Dance song in the background. Desi Style ! That night after dinner we returned back to our tents excited about the next day and the adventures that are waiting for us. Also every night during dinner, the plan for next day is shown with the starting order and also the list of marshals that accompanies each team.


The 120 odd bikes waiting for us.


The CEO of BMW Motorrad opening the event officially


It was such a proud feeling to see my name on the GS Trophy bike


Team India !


All the competitors at the 2024 International GS Trophy


Shahaan distributing the Team India Bandana


Doing our team introduction



Day 1
Midgard to Ai Aiba- 270 kms
We had got strict instructions from the previous Team India to make sure every morning we wake up before everyone since there are only limited number of toilets and around 100 people. So the more early you get up, the more cleaner toilet you will get. So me and Dev got up around 4 am, put our head torches, got ready and geared up, woke our boy Shahaan, like how the parents wake up their kids for school everyday, packed our tents and stuff in the bag and loaded it on the luggage truck. The luggage truck goes directly to the respective campsite everyday. We then went to have breakfast and after that we met our Marshall for Day 1 who was Shahnawaz Kareem.


All set for the big event !

Everyday day each marshal will lead two teams and on day 1, it was us and team Benelux who were riding together. Each marshall pairs their Sena intercom with both the teams riding with them, so that we could communicate with each other while riding. Each marshall and their accompanying team leaves at a 15 min intervals and we left at 8:15 am. After around an hour of riding through gravel filled terrains we reached our first special stage called The Namibia Welcome Trail. It was a closed mine, and we had to ride through a trail within the mine without crossing the borders, dabbing our feet or dropping the bike, and finally reaching the finish point each rider had to ring a bell that was hung at a height. Time starts when the first rider goes, and time stops when the last rider finishes the trail and rings the bill. The trail looked simple, but the key was not to get overexcited and do any mess up. We talked among ourselves and decided that I will go first. A clean run without any dabs or falls is whats needed here, a penalty here will cost us a lot. So as we wished for, everything went well here and finished the exercise without any dabs or mess ups.




After this we headed out and on the route there was a really steep incline which was filled with loose gravel and rocks. Many people struggled here mostly the media riders, but our MRP (Media RePresentative) Rishaad just flew like it was a piece of cake for him.

Rishaad just flying up the incline.

At around noon we passed the town of Omaruru and we all stopped there for lunch. While having lunch Rishaad reminded us that, the previous day during breifing it was told that we had to take some creative photo of the team and submit it for a photo challege and there will be points for that as well. So after lunch en route we saw a straight gravel patch and it looked like the right spot and we quickly did some planning and Rishaad took the photo of the 3 of us.





The photo that we took for the photo challenge

After that we reached the second special stage for the day. It was a dry river bed with deep sand and silt. This special stage was called the Akrapovic challenge. (Many of the stages are named after the sponsors of the event, hence you will find challenges like akrapovic, metzeler, leatt etc). Here we had to follow a course and we would be penalised if we crossed the borders or we did not finish the course in 4 minutes time. Dabbing the feet was allowed and even team mates could come and help by pushing their other team mates. We saw few other teams going ahead of us and some of them seemed to struggle pretty badly. Getting stuck in the sand is the worst thing to happen. Once you are stuck then getting out of it is really difficult. So as usual we talked and decided this time Dev will go first , I will go second and Shahaan will go third. We got a good start , and was going in a good pace, but in my first turn my front washed out and the bike got stuck. The problem with sand is if you get stuck and try to throttle out hard, you will just end up digging the rear tyre and sink more. Somehow I tried to paddle with my feet and got some momentum and managed to go. I saw Dev just flew like a bee and finished the entire course in less than a minute, Shahaan was behind him and also managed to finish the course. Both of them finished and was waiting for me to reach the finish point. Around the last turn, I again got stuck and by that time I got really exhausted, the first time I got stuck, it took all my energy to get out of it. And it was peak noon and hot ! Usually my endurance levels are pretty good but then I realised I was still in the recovery phase from that bad fever I had and I was getting tired way faster than I usually get. I was in reserve energy and really didnt know if I could finish it, but then I see in a cloud of dust, both my boys Shahaan and Dev running towards me, and they both gave me a strong push and I finished the entire stage in around 3 minutes. This was the best show of team spirit, Both Dev and Shahaan didnt wait there at the finish point waiting for me, but they came back running to make sure they got my back. After I crossed the finish point I was exhausted to the core. I barely could talk, and was trying so hard to catch a breath. Luckily we got around 2 mins break after that and I came back to senses and we continued the ride.




Getting stuck was never part of the plan ! But team work makes dreams work.


By evening after riding around 270 kms we reached our camp in Aiaiba. Went straight to the drinks counter, god a chilled glass of Rock Shandy and then went to the truck and got our bags and pitched our tents. They had portable showers at camp, went and got a shower and after a tiring day 1, we went for dinner. During dinner the point score for the day was announced and we were overall 11th in the leaderboard. Not a great beginning but we knew we had to catch up in the coming days.


The place where we camped on Day 1.


The evenings were so beautiful !

Day 2
Ai Aiba to Spitzkoppe - 184 kms
Like yesterday we got up early, packed our stuff, loaded in the truck, woke up Shahaan, had our breakfast and geared up for day 2. Today our marshall was Miles Davis from Australia.

Sand Sand and Sand everywhere

After a short ride from camp, we reached our first special stage for the day. It was an exercise called the flying boxer. Where a bike is hung on a cable from 2 SUVs with a Ravine in between. We need to pull the bike from one point to another and the team who does that in the least time gets maximum points. We decided that Me and Shahaan would do the pulling and Dev will push the bike from the start line for us. When the timer starts, all 3 of us had to run up an incline, get the tow ropes from a box next to the SUV uphill, come down and latch it on the bike. Me and Dev did the latching and Shahaan was on the other end of the cliff. We threw the other end of the ropes to Shahaan and I ran to him. Dev went and pulled the clutch and pushed the bike from the end of the cliff, meanwhile both me and Shahaan pulled the bike to the finish line. It was a very clean run and Shahaan with all that muscle finally got a chance to show his strength.





After this special stage it was a long ride through some breathtaking rocky mountains. We were crossing a national park after that and on the way there was a mother and baby giraffe who accompanied us for a short distance.



At late noon we came back to the camp for lunch and continued the ride. After a few kilometers we reached at the second special stage. It was called the Sena rock challenge, here we had to do a course between some huge boulders. The first rider needs to complete the course and once he is finished, the second rider goes for his run and once thats over the third rider goes. Here its not about all of them doing it in the shortest time, but the challenge is the second and third rider needs to match the exact time the first rider took to complete the course. All this without using any timing equipment. That means if rider 1 took 2 minutes to complete the course, rider 2 and 3 need to take exactly 2 mins. But without a timer or stop watch how can you measure time. So we planned that rider 1 will keep counting each second when he is riding and through the Sena, the other 2 riders will listen to that count and try to finish in the same time. So we decided that I would go first, and I kept counting each second while I was riding. Once I crossed the finish line, I took around 136 seconds to complete it, and Dev went for his run, and I stood at the finish line counting in my helmet so that Dev could hear it through his Sena, so at 136 seconds Dev also planned and crossed the finish , same was done with Shahaan as well. We decided that only one person did the counting since each person has got their own pace of counting and its better we stick to one person for the counting. Im sure it wont be as precise as a stopwatch but somewhow we managed to finish it in same time. Different teams took different strategies, we even head some teams singing their national anthems so that each rider knows at which part of the song to cross the finish line.





You might be now thinking where Rishaad is in all this, poor guy always has to stand away from us while we plan as he is not supposed to be a part of the planning. But he could record and take photos when we are doing each competition stage. Once the exercise was over we headed to our camp in Spitzkoppe. On the way Rishaad had a bad fall and injured his ribs. But he managed to ride upto the camp with us. The camp at Spitzkoppe was a beautiful location nested between some huge granite peaks. Here they had arranged a temporary fuel filling station where we all fuelled our bikes upon arrival.





Pitched our tents and got a shower and went for dinner. At the end of day 2 when the points were announced we were still in 11th position. Since we had a good day, we expected to have climbed up the positions, but sadly the points were not enough.

Day 3
Spitzkoppe - Omararu River bed- Spitzkoppe - 158 kms
This was the best day of the GS Trophy. Firstly on Day 3 we didnt need to wake up early and pack our tents because we would come back to the same place in the evening to camp. So we took it easy.


Rishaad was still in pain from the fall and decided not to ride that day. If the media person doesnt want to ride, they will be taken in a Hilux through the same route as the competitors so that they could take videos or photos of the special stages. After breakfast the first special stage was set near the camp itself. It was called the Insta 360 challenge, here there was no riding involved and we were given a compass and directions with distance written on a piece of paper. Something like Pont 1 is 40 feet and 20 degrees, then point 2 will be 300 degrees and 18 feet , like that there were some 10 points. So if you mess up one point , then you will not reach the last point and will just go around in loops. When the timer starts we had to walk to each point and take a photo in the insta 360 and finally at the last point find a Wood plank with GS Trophy Engraved on it that was hidden on a tree, take a selfie with that and run back to the starting point and the timer stops. Luckily Dev with his rallying experience was good with compass and directions. So he took the lead and we followed him. It all went with superb precision. And at some points we even had to climb steep rocks to reach the specific point. And finally we managed to reach the last point correctly and I found the hidden GS Tropy plank and we all took a selfie and ran back fast. But while running back, Shahaan had a fall and landed straight on his hands and he bruised both his palms. But he got up and ran and we finished it in a very short time. Shahaan later had to get to the first aid tent and get his injury dressed up.





This is how badly Shahaan injured his hand after the fall.

After which we geared up and started the ride. Jose Pinto from Guatemala was our Marshall for today. After a short ride, we had reached the second special stage. It was called the camel thorn tree challenge. Here there was bike with a punctured rear tyre. Two of the team members need to run to the bike from the start line, one of them need to pick the tool kit kept at one end of route and run to the bike, while the third member had to ride his bike through a deep sand pit and reach the punctured bike. While all 3 of the members reach the bike, we had to take the tools and fix the puncture and the team which does it in the shortest time gets the maximum points. So me and Dev decided to run, Shahaan would ride his bike and come. The timer started and both me and Dev ran towards the bike, I went and took the tool kit and was aiming to reach the punctured bike, I looked back and I see Shahaan had a flying start but his front washed out while he entered the sand pit and had a fall. With those hands wrapped in bandage and riding gloves over it, he was already in pain. With all his strength he picked up the bike and rode out of the sand and reached the punctured bike. By the time Shahaan reached, me and Dev already started our work, pulled out the nail from the tyre, took the puncture repair kit from the tool kit and started plugging the tyre. Plugging a flat, off road tyre turned out to be not very easy , and I remember while I plugged in the rubber the plastic handle of the tool itself broke, then I somehow used my palm and pushed the tool in. Good I was wearing my riding gloves that time.




After this we rode through to the most memorable part of the whole trophy. The Omaruru river bed. This is a 45 km ride through a dry river bed filled with deep sand. It was really wide and that 45 km ride was just epic and we were doing triple digit speeds on that route most of the time, it felt like we were literally surfing over the sand.




The ride through the Omararu river bed was definitely the most fun stretch we had during the trophy.

After sometime we stopped at a place on the river bed where they had set up a lunch stop, and while we were there we saw the medico team flying past us on the chopper. And our marshall said he just received a message on his radio phone that one person from the Benelux team had a crash and broke his collar bone and the chopper just airlifted him to the nearest hospital. All this in no time, thats how well organised the whole event is. There are multiple Hiluxes with the medical team, and also mechanics incase of any issue help is always just a few minutes away. From there we rode to our third special stage which was the Metzeler challenge. We had to go through a course which was mostly deep sand and a rocky hill and finish the course without any falls or dabs. One rider starts and only after he finishes the course and high fives the second rider, he can start. Time starts when the first rider starts and time stops when the third rider crosses finish line. This time we decided Dev will go first and as he went he kept talking on the Sena on what the track is like. After Dev, Shahaan went and after him I went. We completed this stage well with no bike falls but with a few dabs since at some points the sand was really deep. We were told there is another photo challenge and had to take another photo of us for that. So on the way back to camp, we stopped near the Spitzkoppe mountains and clicked a photo.



The photo we took for the second photo challenge.

After this we went back to the camp and reached around sunset. Like I said in the beginning Day 3 was the best day for us, so was the results for us. Remember the photo challenge photo we took on Day 1, the result for that was announced on Day 3, and luckily we were in the first position in that challenge, our photo was selected as the best out of all teams by the BMW Jury team. Also for the Insta 360 challenge we finished second overall. Due to these two we went up to 5th position overall in the leaderboard. We all were really happy to see such a great result finally !


It was such a happy moment to see India on top atleast for one of the special stages.

Day 4
Spitzkoppe to Swakopmund- 224 kms
Back to waking up early, and packing our tent and bags, we loaded our stuff on the truck and went for breakfast. After that we met Robert our Marshall for the day. Set up our Sena to his channel and started the ride. Today we were riding from the desert to the coast. But to reach there there were 2 special stages and a long river bed. Our first special stage was the Advantec Pull challenge, it was a towing exercise. One team member had to tow the other team member whose engine is switched off and reach the finish line without falling. While the two riders are doing that, the third rider had to ride to the finish line and get off from the bike, run and get a jerry can kept at a distance and bring it to the finish line and keep on the ground after the finish line. It was a hypothetical fueling exercise where one rider with no fuel is towed to the fuel point. Time starts when the first rider crossed the start line and time ends when all the 3 riders and the jerry can reaches the finish point. I decided to ride to the finish point and get the jerry can, while Dev decided to tow Shahaan and his bike. When time started Dev had to take the towing rope from a box kept on the floor, strap onto his bike and Shahaan’s bike and ride towards the finish line. Meanwhile I reached the finish line, ran and got the jerry can and reached the finish line, Dev had pulled Shahaan and reached the finish line.




After this special stage, we had a very long and tiring ride. Probably the most physically tiring ride of the entire trophy. It was mostly through the dry river bed of Khan river and at some points the track was very narrow between canyons and rocks. It was very scenic and the river bed was not as smooth and flowing like the previous day. It was soft at some points, hard at some and with some deep washouts at some places. It was really physically demanding. I was always trying to ride through the hardest ground so that I put less effort and could save my energy. Because I somehow had to survice 3 more days. At one point Shahaan had a big fall where his front washed out and he went flying from the bike. He was way ahead of us and we could hear him saying he had a crash through the Sena and while reaching there he had an injured elbow. Already he was in pain with the bruises on his palm from the previous day and now after the crash he was in a really bad stage. At one point we thought he might give up riding, but he made sure he didnt fall back, and got up and decided to ride. That is the the real beauty of the GS trophy, the team spirit and to forget all your pains and make sure you finish those 6 days for you and for your team no matter what.


Riding through some breathtaking canyons in between the Khan river



After a long and tiring ride where we had multiple falls and low energy levels, around late noon we reached our second special stage, The Roy Taflle trail. It was a very tight technical trail in a canyon. Each rider had to complete the trail and they would loose points for each dab or fall. It was very technical with some turns really tight sharp turns and narrow passages. Time starts when the first rider starts and once he finishes the trail, the next rider goes and time stops when the third rider crosses the finish line, and you get penalty point for dabs, bike drop or crossing the marked lines. Dev decided to go first and completed the trail, and I went after him and Shahaan went after me. Shahaan was having a good run but at one point after a sharp turn there was a big rock that we had to ride through and Shahaan stopped right before climbing that. He put his feet down and we didnt know how he would cross it now. Only if you come with momentum you can climb up. If you stop there, no way the front tyre would climb up that tall rock, But Shahaan had other plans, the next moment we see Shahaan popping a wheelie from stand still and jumping onto that rock and riding away. A great presence of mind and that photo of him climbing up with one wheel up in the air is worth a million bucks.



Shahaan realising that popping wheelies to cross boulders gives more joy than putting reels in Instagram :coldsweat


Slow and steady and making sure not to dab the feet in tight turns

After this special stage and riding through some really dry hot terrain we started to see civilisation and slowly the temperatures dropped, terrain changed from dry rocky canyons to sand dunes. We finally entered a proper stretch of tarmac and at one point we could see the ocean on the horizon. It started getting really cold and after a quick fuel stop at the coastal town of Swakopmund , we reached our camp site, just beside the sea. And it was cold, like really cold. After all these hot days in the desert, now we are at a place where we were wearing around 4 layers of clothing and pitched our tents on that windy beach.


Rishaad and Dev going back to fit in more layers of clothing to get rid of the cold.

Friendships made at the trophy do last for a lifetime. With Chris, Nico and Jan from team Germany.

The beautiful sunset at Swakopmund.

During dinner the results for the day was announced and we got pushed down to 10th position overall. Turned out not to be a great day for us.

Day 5
Swakopmund to Midgard - 430 kms
We woke up to a very cold morning, packed our tents and began the ride. Our marshall for the day was Aloisio Frazao from Brazil. Today Rishaad decided to ride with us, eventhough he was not fully recovered from the bruised rib, he didnt want to miss all the fun sitting in a car.



While we started, the outside temperature was around 10 degrees.
Today the plan is to ride back to our first campsite at Midgard. But to reach there we had to cover almost 430 kms. The first two hours of the ride was really difficult since it was really cold and the route was very foggy with very low visibility. At one point the external temperature indicator on the bike was showing 6 degrees. Definitely not what we were expecting in Namibia ! Just after few hours the terrain started to change and the temperature started to rise.

Single digit temperature readings is definitely not what you expect on a desert !

Around an hour of riding through these super foggy conditions with really low visibility. Probably the only time I regretted wearing the tinted visor on my helmet.

After around 2 hours of riding the temperature rose to 30 degress. We all stopped on the way for fuel at a temporary fueling station.


Filling fuel on the route from these make-shift fuel dispensing units.

A little shade is always something you look for while stopping. Rishaad perfectly camouflaged between the rocks looking to stay away from the harsh sun.


After sometime we reached our first special stage for the day, the Leatt Push start challenge. Its a timed event where one rider needs to sit on the bike with engine off and the other two team members need to push start the bike. The team that does it in least time get maximum points. Eventhough it sounds easy the entire exercise was planned in a very loose gravel patch and to get grip on the rear tyre was not that easy. Also once the time starts the bike had to be pushed between two cones and these 2 cones where kept on sharp left turn. So we had to push the bike, turn the bike left between those cones and once we cross those cones then we pop in into gear, leave the clutch and start the engine. Like I said getting grip on the rear wheel was the biggest point here. Dev decided to sit on the bike and me and Shahaan decided to push the bike. We did fairly good here and we started the bike in a very short distance.

The Leatt push challenge was done on this mountain with loose gravel.

Right after starting from the flags we had to turn a sharp left through those 2 cones.

After this, we resumed the ride and stopped at a camp at noon for lunch. Here we were given a sheet with a set of 20 questions, more like a surprise test. Each question had multiple answers and we had to tick the right answer. The questions were mostly regarding history of Namibia, BMW motorrad and technical details of the 1300 GS , 900 GS etc. The team that gets the most right answers get maximum points and it will be added to the overall point score. After lunch, it was a long ride , mostly through tarmac and we tried our best not to sleep off since the route was really boring and we were really tired on top of that. By early evening we crossed the town of Windhoek and reached Midgard. Just before reaching the camp, we had our second special stage. It was the The Midgard slow trail, unlike all other stages where the fastest team got maximum points, here the key was to ride slow without dabbing or stopping the bike through a very technical course. It was a test of slow speed balance. Each rider had to finish the course individually and the total time of the three riders were taken and the team with the longest time got maximum points. If one rider dabs or stops his bike or falls, his time will end there. Also special instruction was given that the bike should always be moving and no enduro style stops or balancing and keeping the bike idle to gain time is not not allowed. It was the test of ultimate slow speed balance. Dev went first and had a clean run and after him Shahaan went and after which I went and successfully managed to complete the course without any error.



There were some really huge rocks between these dry grass and was very difficult to see, balance was the ultimate key here

After this we rode to our first camp at Midgard and set up our tents for one last time. At this point we all were so tired after 5 days of continous riding. The results for the day was announced and we were in overall 8th position.

After a wonderful day of riding we and team Japan thanking our Marshall Aloisio for bringing us safe till camp.

Brand new Metzeler Karoo 4 tyres that were stored at camp for the bikes. God I wished I could take few of them home lol:

Day 6
The final day of the GS Trophy. The pains and aches all over the body were starting to become more prominent. The plan for the day was announced and today there would be just one special stage. And it was double points for that special stage. Our marshall for the day was Faizal Sukee from Malaysia. The day started with a trail ride around the Midgard camp. This was a 50 km loop which included some very steep rocky declines, sand washes, loose rocks and the goal was to make us tired and test our endurance before we go to the final special stage.





Once this was over we were taken to the special stage location. It was a trail with a mix of terrains and obstables. The three riders had three different routes. All the bikes were parked at the starting point and the riders had to run to the bikes, more like a Le Mans start and each competitor had to decide who takes which route. And each rider had to finish their course and reach the finish line. And the team that finishes the course without any mistakes like dabbing, or crossing the line in the least time will get maximum points. There were some very steep sandy inlines and side inclines and a quick turnaround after reaching that incline. The female teams had a shorter course planned and they went first. After that the the male teams started. We could see few teams were having a real tough time on the sandy incline. Our main focus was to stay calm and finish this somehow and reach the finish line. We had a very good start, Dev went with a good pace, he was ahead , I was behind him, and the moment I started climbing the sandy incline, I saw a big ditch right in front of me that was made by one of the stuck bikes from the previous team. The next thing I remember is my rear wheel got in that ditch and I got badly stuck. I tried throttling out but the more I tried it just made a bigger ditch. I tried to pull back the bike, but the bike display was showing “Hill Hold Active” and it applied brake and I could not move the bike back. My head was fuming that time, right now when I think I feel I should have switched off the bike, so that the electronic brake gets disengaged and did something and got out of it. But that time my head was blank, Shahaan was coming right behind me and since I was stuck he too had to stop. By that time Dev came and tried to pull my bike out of the ditch. We got really exhausted and somehow we pulled out the bike and rode out. During the trophy things never go as planned, and sometimes luck doesnt play in your favour as well.

All teams parked before the final special stage.


Had a very difficult time to get the bike out from this.

The incline was very steep and dusty here. Shahaan using all his strength to cross that trying his best to cross the flag.

Dev giving me the final push to get out of that ditch.

Once the other teams also finished their runs, we headed back to the camp. On the way we had to fuel up the bikes in the camp, and park our bikes at a designated area and it was time to say bye bye to our bikes. It was a very emotional moment for me, I always have a personal connect with all my vehicles. Eventhough I spent just 6 days with the bike, the amount of tourture the bike took and not even once it showed any hiccup. Finally after a final look at the bike, we walked back to our tents.

The last look at the bike before leaving to the camp.

After a lazy and tired evening, the stage was set for the final result announcement. I was sure that we did not do well on the last special stage, but our only wish was to finish in top 10. Infact never have an Indian team come in the top 10 at the GS Trophy and even when we qualified for the trophy our dream was to finish in Top 10. And finally when they announed the results , team India was in the 10th position. I am sure we could have done much better, but we still gave our best, stood together as a team until the end. And got the best result till date by an Indian team. The winners of the 2024 GS Trophy was Team Germany, followed by South Africa and Brazil. Each teams were called up the stage and we were given the windshield of our respective bikes as a token of remembrance.

Happy and tired faces ! :coldsweat

And afterwards there was the afterparty and we all danced and had fun until the last ounce of energy left our body. What a wonderful feeling it was, eventhough all of us were competitors,we all got together and had the time of our lives as one single family. All of us with one single love, the love for riding. The sad part of the GS Trophy is that each participant can take part in a Trophy just once. Once you take part in a GS Trophy, thats it, you cannot take part in future GS Trophy events. Eventhough this is to promote newer people to be part of the Trophy team, everyone gets just one chance, one chance that etches a lifelong memory for them.

Day 7
The saddest day, the day where it was time to pack our stuff for one last time and say goodbye to all those wonderful people at the trophy and the wonderful week we had. The pickup bus arrived at the camp in the morning and we all left to the airport. Most of us were silent in the bus, mainly because everyone was dead tired, and sad that it was time to say goodbye. After a very dramatic journey we reached the airport superlate, but luckily since there were many of us, the airport staff let us board the flight. After reaching Trivandrum airport, I see my family and friends holding large banners and waiting for me outside. To see my parents standing there proud, holding those banners between my friends was one of the most happiest moments of my entire life.

The welcoming committee :)

How the GS Trophy changed my life
One thing I am sure of is, I could never ask for better teammates other than Dev and Shahaan. We did share a special bond that still exists between us even after the trophy. Also I remember Adib telling me many times before going to Namibia that “the GS Trophy is going to change your life”. And boy he was true, I was starting to go through a phase of my life where my work started getting really hectic that the time I used to spend riding started reducing drastically. But once the whole training, preparations for the GS Trophy started I started feeling of having some real purpose in life and that in turn increased my overall motivation. I have seen many of my motorcyclist friends after a point, they get sucked into work and family. Most of them end up selling their bikes and end up being 9 to 5 work horses. I am really happy that I did not turn out to be someone who “used to ride motorcycles” but got a chance to follow my passion and achieved one of my biggest dream. A big thanks to that definitely goes to my wife who never said ‘no’ to any of my madness. She knew that riding made me happy and she supported it fully. Yes the trophy has now changed my life in different ways, but the best thing the trophy that did to me is now my parents and relatives are really proud of my passion towards motorcycling because that very motorcycling has made their son represent the country on an international stage. Right now I have decided to start doing something related to motorcycling onto my routine. Probably start some training sessions for riders who find it difficult to manage thier big ADV bikes off road. Because I really have travelled their path a few years ago. Another goal is to share my knowledge and the experience to other GS owners, so that they can qualify for the GS Trophy next time and probably tell them that “the GS Trophy will change your life” ! Who knows if luck favours me, I might be able to be part of the GS Trophy again, probably not a competitor but as a Marshall someday. And to reach there, there are another set of challenges. But yes whats the point of life without challenges !

How to take part in GS Trophy?
Firstly you need to have a BMW GS Bike registered in your name. It can be any of the GS from 310 to the 1300. Secondly you need to have lots of practice on slow speed technical riding and things like brake slides, power slides, riding your bike through different type of terrains. The day you come out of your fear that ‘what if I fall doing this, my bike will get damaged’ , that day you will see your skills getting pushed to a whole new level. Because if you have such a fear in mind, then each obstacle will be more difficult to conquer mentally. Get trained under experienced riders and if things go well, you will be able to wear that suit, with the Indian flag and your name on it.


Note: I understand that this has turned out to be a really long article. Since the GS trophy was such an important event in my life, It took me almost 6 months to complete this, adding information whenever I got time and tried my best to make sure all the details and emotions were captured in this article.

Wow! Cannot thank you enough for such a lovely inspiring writeup and rare visuals.

It was like watching a movie of your journey, passion and adventures. (Yet to finish the last two posts, but couldn't resist letting the thought out :) )

Hopefully will get to meet you around in one of the Tvm chapters.

Wow!

You had me hooked from the start. I started reading when you had posted the Day 2 post and I kept refreshing waiting for the page to update and boy, it was so fun to read this!

Amazingly written, you followed your passion whereas most people stick to 9-5s.

I would love to meet you if you're in BLR sometime around.

Cheers bro!

What a beautiful write up and such a beautiful journey, couldn't help but a couple of tears rolled out by the end of it. Kudos to all three of you to be able to achieve this and live a dream!! You did yourself and country proud.

Kudos to BMW as well to invest in this tournament and making it a life long memory for all those who make it.

Thanks a lot :) Sure lets catch up sometime soon here in tvm !

Thanks a lot brother. Yes we should definitely meet next time I'm in Bangalore.

Thanks a lot, So its not just me who gets teary while reading this article :coldsweat . Oh yes, Hats off to BMW Motorrad and Motorrad India in conducting and supporting such events. It definitely helps in keeping the passion high and proves that its not just about selling bikes, but also keeping the motorcycling culture alive among the owners.

Wow!! What an experience and thrill.
I read the entire journey in 2 stages as I had to take a break in between but I was very anxious to finish reading about your experience.
Great write up and thank you for sharing.

Nothing much to say other than so proud of you my bwoy!! May this be just a start for the bigger stuffs.

What a fantastic write up buddy. I’ve had the pleasure of training and riding with Mr. Parmar as well as Adib on multiple occasions and both of them are the nicest gents you can find and of course extraordinarily good to train under. I think the training with Mr. Parmar had kick started the year before yours, the year Adib and crew had gone.

Thank you for penning this wonderful journal. I still haven’t read it end to end since I’m traveling but loved the first couple of posts. Can’t wait to complete the whole read.

What an adventure! Your passion and persistence is truly inspiring. Kudos to your wife for being so supportive.

What a beautiful and engaging writeup! You can be really proud of your result.

I love it when manufacturers organise such events. The best way to market your product is to let people try it out and understand what it is really capable of. My wish to own a BMW GS 1300 just went up tenfold after reading your piece. Thank you!