[Rollin' Thunda]

A great story, well told! Blueband4u!

Mods, could we not have a section within "motorbikes" that encourages people to post their motorcycle adventures? Yes, I know that the "Travelogues" section can be used, but usually there are very few motorcycle journeys there; I am sure most bikers don't even look there, and miss classics like the recent journey of BitetheBullet to Leh.

Having a motorcyle journeys section within "motorbikes" would ensure that posts on interesting bike trips are read by all Team-BHP members interested in two-wheelers.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Rollin' Thunda

Mods, could we not have a section within "motorbikes" that encourages people to post their motorcycle adventures? Yes, I know that the "Travelogues" section can be used, but usually there are very few motorcycle journeys there;

Yap; that means, very less bikers & more car enthusiasts here

Originally Posted by Rollin' Thunda

I am sure most bikers don't even look there, and miss classics like the recent journey of BitetheBullet to Leh.

You read my mind; I read it for sometime, say about 2-3 pages, then I stopped following it. Again it also depends upon the thread owner. The travelogue should be crisp & fast not like the one directed by Ramanand Sagar.

Originally Posted by Rollin' Thunda

Having a motorcyle journeys section within "motorbikes" would ensure that posts on interesting bike trips are read by all Team-BHP members interested in two-wheelers.

This is your suggestion & we've a separate thread for it - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...m-bhpians.html

[nomadabhi]

Originally Posted by aargee

Yap; that means, very less bikers & more car enthusiasts here

Guys I do not think so that TBhp is biased to car Community. I know this by a personal experience wherein the recent trip to Kaas had 4 wheels from Jetta to Alto and a nice blue Shogun. Moreover, others expected me to be on my NOMAD (RD350).Yet there was no attitude and everyone seemed to enjoy the same ground of travelhood and TBhpianhood.
However, there are different sections not only for 2 wheelers but also there are sections within the 4 wheelers. So let us just enjoy the brotherhood of being TeamBHPian.

[blueband4u]

I do not intend to create a new Thread. So continuing my journey in this thread itself.
Here goes my latest adventure err.. endurance!

25th April 2011:

Shah: Senthil, I think u better start home...bike is giving a bit of trouble with fog lamps. Taking it back to electrician..
Senthil: Bro...please don't mind, something inside me tells that if at all there's gonna be something going to cause trouble in this record attempt, it's gonna be the fog lamp
Shah: Don't worry..I'll call you at 11PM

Gosh..back at the office with tonnes of work surrounding me and giving me very little breathing space, Shah's words were not at all fair. Feeling let down and lonely, walked back to my Fazer that was safely parked in my office . I was supposed to leave my bike back at the office and drop Shah at his home on the Karizma that he had brought to Pudupet(bikers central in chennai) that is very near to my office for installing Fog lamps and ride Karizma to my home for the first time.

When I was riding back home I was recollecting how things have changed so quickly in a matter of few months. I never thought I'll try a record attempt in any other bike other than my Fazer no matter how hard it is.

Sometime early March 2011:

Life was getting stuck with office work and my frustration on how I missed my Road Trips could only be posted as Facebook updates. I hardly found time to even visit our Yamaha Fazer community in orkut and also our RoadRockerz website. I seriously needed a break and just then Shah called me up one day, that call is the reason of what happened on April 30th to May 1st 2011.

Invitation to test the bikes:

I got connected with Dr. Shah who is a bike enthusiast after he came to know about my successful IBA Saddlesore 1600K attempt published on Motor Vikatan. We discussed a lot about bikes during November and somehow I lost contact with him later. On March 3rd 2011 he called me again and invited me to test ride a couple of his bikes that he had been Tuning. The bikes were FZ16 and Apache. Pearl alias Muthu from our RoadRockerz team accompanied me and we tested his bikes and were awestruck! The bikes were perfectly Tuned and I knew straight away that this guy had great passion towards motorbikes and is a perfect value addition to our RoadRockerz club.

Here comes the Karizma...

Post the testing of FZ and Apache, Shah mentioned about the Karizma that he bought as a second hand bike and how it symbolized bad luck. The First owner of the bike had screwed the bike hard enough and after a minor accident the bike came to the hands of Shah. He repaired the bike and just then some of his friends came to test ride the Karizma. While testing the bike one of his friend smashed the bike at the side of a car at a high speed, fell down and the bike hit a big stone-breaking the crank case...the engine exploded, Chassis broken completely and the bike was declared as a symbol of bad luck! Shah never tried to repair the bike again and was concentrating on other bikes.




RoadRockerz Meeting:

Karizma struck a chord in my heart and I felt really sorry for such a wonderful machine to meet such an horrible end to its life. After the first meeting with Shah there were frequent interactions with him about the various performance mods on motorbikes and just then our guys from RoadRockerz decided to step out of the sick life and wanted to plan a Road Trip. We got new members Pradeep and Vivek in our gang and they were passionate to go for long rides and we also invited Shah for the meeting so that other guys from our gang could test his bike as well. Vivek was keen to Drag his Karizma ZMR with Shah's Apache. We all went for it but sadly Apache was not ready enough to match the fiery ZMR. Vivek was such a good dragger that none of us were able to beat him. After returning home Shah called me up and felt really bad on what happened. Apache was running at just 60% fuel supply to the engine and a poor carb was the culprit! Just to lift his spirits I asked him about his Karizma and bang came the reply "Senthil...Would you be able to do something phenomenal on Karizma if I completely ready it for you?"

Heart vs Mind:

My Mind was pretty clear if at all I need to do a record attempt it should be on my Fazer. My Heart was fully on the Karizma coz I felt really really bad for her and wanted to do something special. Fazer is my Love and always will be. Fazer is healthy. Fazer is gorgeous. She is more than a machine for me. But look at Karizma...She's nearly dead. After spending some time with my Fazer I somehow managed to compromise my mind that I'll try to resurrect the soul of Karizma. Called up Shah and he started his work on the bike right away. We targeted to do 2000km in 24 hours and planned to do the ride some time at the end of April.

Chasing the Bad Luck:

"Senthil...I searched everywhere but couldn't get the gear box anywhere. Even the company showrooms are not selling these parts over the shelf. So Let's make a new gear box ourselves"

"Senthil...I couldn't get the crank case of Karizma.. I've managed to get a CBZ's crank case. It needs a little bit modification in it's design to fit Karizma's Engine head"

One fine day Shah invited me to test the Karizma and I took Vivek, Pradeep and Pearl with me for the test ride. I was so excited to see the bike and after testing, I was happy to see 140kmph on the speedo. Everybody tested the bike and felt happy. Just then Vivek took the bike and didn't return for a while. Waiting for nearly 15 minutes he came back...not before skidding on a curve filled with sand and damaging the fairing, bent the Clutch lever and gear shift. After we left home Shah called me back and was little bit let down on the recent mishap.

"Senthil... Karizma's fairing not available anywhere! we need to adjust with the existing one if we have to really do the ride before April end. Else I could try and find a fairing but there's no guarantee that we could find one." "Ok man. I'll adjust the vibrations. I'm gonna do this at any cost and even if bad luck is gonna chase us till the end,I'm not gonna give up with my record attempt"

During my previous Saddlesore 1600K attempt on my Fazer I was forced to ride on heavy rain, the bike's headlight was not powerful enough then. I shared the concern with Shah and we both decided to either fit HID or Fog lamps on Karizma for safe night riding. I also changed my Helmet's visor to a "Clear" one instead of Tinted one coz It's hard to see through it during night riding. We fixed April 30th as the day for my ride.

25th April 2011:

With just 4 days to go, it was time for Shah to deliver the bike to me so that I can take it to office daily and get used to the riding position. He was supposed to give the bike on 25th April. I was waiting in my office for Shah and just then got a call from him.

Shah: Senthil, I think u better start home...bike is giving a bit of trouble with fog lamps. Taking it back to electrician..
Senthil: Bro...please don't mind, something inside me tells that if at all there's gonna be something going to cause trouble in this record attempt, it's gonna be the fog lamp
Shah: Don't worry..I'll call you at 11PM

Gosh..back at the office with tonnes of work surrounding me giving me very little breathing space, Shah's words was not at all fair. Feeling let down and lonely, I walked back to my Fazer that was safely parked in my office. I was supposed to leave my bike back at the office and drop Shah at his home on the Karizma that he had brought to Pudupet(bikers central in chennai) that is very near to my office for installing Fog lamps and ride Karizma to my home for the first time. All in vain...Bad Luck!

The next day the bike was ready and after my office hours went to Shah's house to pick the bike. The bike was fully loaded with shining Fog Lamps! Ride back home was not so comfortable as expected because the Fog Lamps mounted on the mirror was such a pain to ride the bike in city traffic. Everybody stared at me as though I'm a new born puppy! I knew the reason. Fog Lamps killed the look of my dear Karizma but we are not gonna use the bike for Fashion show...It's an endurance ride and utility is what we need the most than looks!

After getting used to the bike, two days prior to the ride, gave the bike back to shah for final check up. He cleaned the carb, changed the Engine oil to valvoline, did a neat water wash and bingo the bike got it's life back and was ready to ride the "Real ride" of it's life.

April 29th 2011:

After getting the Karizma back, I went on to shop the necessary stuff for the ride. 2 Litres of Minute Maid Pulpy Orange, Black chocolates, Juicy Fruit Chewing gum, 2 litre+1 litre water bottle and Snickers. Packed up everything and was ready to go. Tried very hard to get some sleep but somehow was awake until 2 AM! Reason is...I have "Chased the clouds" "Chased the mountains" "Chased the Volvos" "Chased the trucks" but never in my life I have "Chased the Bad Luck"

The D-Day-April 30th 2011:

Got up at 4.30 A.M, Shah has already started from his home to the Start point- The same Ambattur Estate Bharat Petroleum bunk. After having Dosa and fully geared up, I picked up the bike keys, packed the backpack onto the bike and just when trying to remove the side lock I realized I've brought my Fazer keys! I'm not ashamed to tell this...I just started crying at that very instant.. went out to the garage where my Fazer was parked, hugged my Fazer and rested my head on my Fazer's tank until I got a call from Shah that he reached the starting point. I felt the voice of my Fazer instructing me as usual to take care of myself on the road and do the attempt successfully...if not the 2000 at least break the 1814 km Limca record. With full confidence, came back and got the Karizma's keys and reached the Starting point where Pearl and Shah were waiting for me.


Shah doing final check up and myself looking on!

[blueband4u]

Vizag or Kanyakumari?

Couple of weeks before the ride, Murali from our Roadrockerz gang advised me to take the awesome route that unfolded between the Chennai-Kolkatta stretch. He has been through that stretch pretty recently and he mentioned about slight disturbing roads for about 100km. On the day before the ride I took the Karizma for Scouting till Ponneri to find out possible petrol bunks where I can end the ride in case I take the Vizag stretch. But it was disappointing to see heavy lorry traffic in that section and got thoroughly confused whether to opt for Vizag route or stick with Kanyakumari route. However I wanted the starting point to be the Ambattur Estate Bharat Petroleum bunk coz I'm used to fill up petrol for any Road Trips in that bunk only. Even when all my friends assembled at the starting point, there was a big debate going on between my Brain and Heart whether to opt for Vizag or Kanyakumari. My Brain was stubborn on Vizag route but my heart was firm on the kanyakumari route because if at all I do something for Record purpose it's gotta be in Tamil Nadu's soil. As always the heart won!


Small yet significant:

My best friends from HCL- Deepan, Thiruma, Jayaraj, Suresh, Prabhakar and Parthiban reached the start point to flag off yet another 24 hour ride. The whole RoadRockerz gang from chennai were present (Except:Kundhan) Pearl, Shaggy, Murali, Vivek, Pradeep(a little bit late though)

Just when everything seemed to be ready I forgot to take one important thing...MONEY from ATM! Pearl offered me to take to a nearby ATM and just when I climbed on to his Fazer as pillion I felt a shocking Sprain at my back bone. Making sure not to let out any sign of pain I was silently seated and Pearl was giving me his last minute tips to boost my morale. We both knew it's not gonna be as easy as it looks likes on a map..." Hah...I'm just gonna ride from Chennai to Kanyakumari and back to chennai and continue to salem and back to starting point covering over 2000km in 24 hours" quite easy isn't it?!! Just easily slips out of the tongue..but on the road...Bah!

After collecting cash from ATM and riding back to starting point, one thing is what I targeted- a good start for the ride by covering 300km in first 3 hours. At 6.30 I was scheduled to leave but somehow my unexpected back sprain gave me a slight warning to delay the start. Finally, around 6.45AM I was feeling better and within no time got ready to leave. Filled up the tank and waited for the computerized bill-6.47 AM is what it showed and that's my official starting time.
Petrol: Rs. 700 (Already the tank was half-full)
Time: 6.47 AM
Tripmeter: 0 Km
Odometer: 20117 Km



Innova- A guardian Angel?

As always I zoom passed the Maduravoyil bye-pass and Tambaram could only witness the roar of a bike that's all set to prove a point. Slowed down due to traffic around Vandalur and it continued up to Maraimalai Nagar. Beyond that the traffic eased out a bit and the Speedo needle began to climb up gradually. Before the ride I've agreed with Shah that I'll be maintaining 7500 RPM and the speed would be around 110 kmph. It was a smooth ride and near chengelpet I saw an Innova chasing me down, I signaled him to pass but he continued to follow me for a while and just then I realized something is wrong as he started using Dipper. After stopping the bike found that the Bungee chord has got cut (This is really strange as I've used it for all my trips and it was of a very good quality) I knew straight away that the Bungee Net alone won't be able to support my backpack and due to this unfortunate situation I was forced to carry the backpack...that contained 2litre+1 litre water bottle, 2 litres of Orange juice, tools etc. Having lost 5 minutes I was back on the road again. I couldn't believe that the trip was happening in real and also the bad start that gulped 5 valuable minutes.

First sighting of Kanyakumari:

After a non stop ride and spoiling the party of few i10s/Altos crossed Villupuram and somewhere near Ulundurpettai thought of giving the bike a small break. Just then this road sign appeared and immediately stopped the bike. Kanyakumari-509 Km!

Time: 8.49 A.M
Trip: 171 Km

The idea of small Targets:

This break was not at all required but I just stopped the bike for taking a pic of the signboard reading Kanyakumari as 509 Km. I was having a couple of chocolates and just then the distance started to look gigantic. My mind recollected how people reacted when I said 200okm in 24 hours and just then I understood that this won't look easy. I was also doing some non-sense calculations like last time we did 1665km on Fazer and now we need to do extra 335km beyond that in the same time. I don't know why I lost my confidence at this point and started moving a bit slowly-not before looking at the signboard once again-Gosh...still 509 Km to Kanyakumari! Now the trip meter is just 171 km and still we have 1800+km on hand. With all these stupid thoughts ruining my confidence level I needed "Words of wisdom" and it came at the right time.
"Ok...Kanyakumari may be 509 km but did u look at the bottom of the board that said Madurai is just 275 Km?" A spark struck my mind and I knew this is one of the best tip for anyone attempting this ride again- Set yourself small targets rather than looking at the overall goal.

First Petrol Stop:

With fully pumped up energy I knew the machine too needed a bit of encouragement. Stopping by a Indian Oil Petrol bunk to Re-Fuel I got a chance to gulp the Minute maid!

Petrol: 9.69 Litre- Rs. 600
Time: 10.08 AM
Trip: 275 Km


Stop for Rest...Really?

Trichy...ok it's gone now! Next is What? Madurai...a 120 km Paradise Road stretch invited me. My thoughts immediately shifted back to my previous endurance ride. In this same route I was fighting rains that went hardcore especially when the Volvo bus that I followed till Trichy took off in the same route like a rocket and I was left with a poor Headlight of my dear Fazer then! But now things are different...Look what we've got here..A super smooth highway...bright day light...very less traffic! Felt so lucky for every single second I spent in that route and no wonder, I was able to attain my best performance in the trip-118km in just 1 hour! When I read the signboard telling Madurai-12 Km I just laughed out loud- A Sweet revenge at last for my previous pain in this route! I knew if I do well for the next 2 hours I'd be rest assured the ride would be completed on time. I was also confident on the route as Arul-my guru has mentioned that it's a perfect highway up to NagerCoil! Just then came a sign that read Kanyakumari-go straight but look what we've got here now...a single road with pathetic traffic! Every single km felt like a big shame..My mind started hurting my heart that I could have very well taken the Vizag route instead of this mad road. Stopping by a small Toll booth and my heart thumping loudly like a Thunderbird I approached the old man and asked him if I was on the right road or not. The old man's answer destroyed my heart. "Thambi...another 15 Km..you'll reach the highway to Kanyakumari"
When you are reading this blog you might think "Ah...just 15 km" but it is this 15 km stretch that smashed my 2000km dream and brought it down to 1950km. The road witnessed heavy traffic and it took me 50 Minutes to get out of it! With frustration going beyond my control I took a most unwelcome break just to cool my head after 45 km past Madurai. I just kicked the ground hardly to let off some steam out of my head. Just then I realized I need to Re-Fuel as I always wanted to maintain above half tank of fuel

Time: 12.34 PM
Trip: 473 Km

Second Petrol stop:

I regained my cool head and started smashing the miles. It was time for Re-fuel and I was silently waiting at the 4th spot in the queue. The villagers were looking at me as though I'm the World's most Intelligent guy to wear a Jerkin (They thought my riding jacket as winter Jerkin!) One fellow even joked at me asking don't you feel the heat! With frustration kindling my senses I just laughed outside as though that guy has said the World's best joke. To add fuel to the fire the 3 bikers before me were filling petrol for 30 rupees/40 rupees etc and a TVS XL before me wanted oil separately and was arguing that he got 2 rupee less petrol. I finally broke my silence and shouted that I'm urgently going to Kanyakumari. Everybody in that bunk were stunned at the sudden outburst and the attended filled petrol immediately. Getting the bill I just zoomed out of the petrol bunk with tremendous frustration and complaining to God why I've been tested like this.

Time: 1.13 PM
Trip: 518 Km


Trinelveli Welcomes You!

After a smooth ride for a while I was back to my original form maintaining a cool head. I promised myself not to lose my temper again after all it's just an endurance ride and I just have to do what I really wanted to do right from my childhood...That's to keep on riding a bike. Getting some decent miles covered I came to a halt where the roads got diverted Trinelveli town as the Bye-Pass remained closed for maintenance work. With single road once again I stopped by a Truck driver and asked if there's any way out to reach the highway. Once again a superb reply came back...10 km down the road you'll find the National Highway reaching to Kanyakumari. Narrow roads spoiling the party again! After a slow ride yet again reached the Highway.

Kanyakumari at last!

I just expected bad roads once again but luckily the roads were similar to Trichy-Madurai stretch and this time I've made up my mind to maintain at 120 Kays instead of 110 as promised to Shah as I've lost enough time. With Kanyakumari about 60 km away I was welcomed by hundreds of Wind Turbines working seamlessly due to heavy winds. Karizma really has a beautifully crafted fairing that works well to divert head winds but the actual issue I faced was the side winds. The winds were so powerful that I was pushed off my seat more than Thrice but still i just glued on to the accelerator with the engine crying hard as the heavy winds were adding extra load. Once the wind turbines disappeared peace settled in and I finally reached the point were I need to take "Left" to Kanyakumari. From there it was narrow road yet again but I didn't lose my patience this time as it read Kanyakumari as just 8 km! Found an Indian Oil petrol bunk and registered my completion of first Lap!



Time: 3.13 PM
Trip: 689.9 Km (Average distance covered: 81.81 Km/hr)
Time Remaining: 15 Hours 24 Minutes

[blueband4u]

Are you crazy?

After getting the proof from Kanyakumari I took a short break in the Petrol bunk and did some basic stretching exercise just to cool my joints. The Petrol bunk assistant was an old man and looking at me he asked if I'm coming from a long distance.
Old Man: "Sir...by looking at you I think u r travelling a long distance. Where r u coming from?"
Sen: Chennai
Old Man: "From chennai you are coming on a bike?!!!! Are you gonna stay in Kanyakumari? I can arrange a room for you"
Sen: No Thanks sir. I have to leave now.
Old Man: Where are u planning to go?
Sen: Back to Chennai!

The old man gave me a look that I'll never forget. I don't want to dishonor myself by typing here what that look meant!

Mongoose SCALED!

When I got ready to leave the old man shook my hand and wished me a safe journey not before warning me that I'll be reaching Chennai by morning 7 or 8 and I need to carefully ride my bike at night as the Truck drivers don't care a damn about bikers! Considering the old man's advice as words from God I started off cautiously on the 8km single road stretch. After reaching the highway, the real Man vs Road; Machine vs Time PartII started. With nearly 9 hrs over I just had 15 hours on hand. Slowly allowing the bike to break free and firing down the calm unadulterated highway, I was covering distance with a good pace. Just then I was singing to myself the Theme song of RoadRockerz- The Cave by Mumford and Sons
Quickly realizing I was singing the song aloud and enjoying the highway breeze, suddenly a Mongoose came running trying to cross the highway...within an instant I know something really bad is gonna happen if I do something stupid..I just carried on by tightly holding the handle bar and BANG!!!! The Mongoose missed my front wheel and got Punctured by the rear wheel. Just a fraction of second. It all happened within a fraction of second and I stopped the bike immediately on the sides of the highway hoping to help the mongoose in case if it's not dead(I may sound like a fool here). But the mongoose was nowhere to be seen! Feeling sorry for the mongoose, was back on the road again. Loads of thoughts flowed to my mind..Would the mongoose living in Kanyakumari would had ever thought, today when it woke up, that it would get under the rear wheel of a Karizma that is coming all the way from chennai? I remembered the "Squeak" sound it made while getting scaled by the rear tyre but still it managed to run away. My confidence level went low and it took me over 30 minutes to recover from the Mongoose incident. Even now I couldn't recollect what speed I went or what vehicles passed by. All that I thought was about the poor mongoose

Rain-You can't escape:

With Madurai about 180 km away, the hot highway ride turned cooler and the sky became dark along with lightning. At that point of time I was helpless, I didn't know how to to react to this cruel act by nature. Last time when I did the Saddlesore 1600K attempt on my Fazer, I was covering distance with a much better pace and I could have done 1850 km easily at that time. But it was blown away by heavy downpours that resulted in nearly 12 hours of ride on the rain at night. Even now we are in the same situation. We have the 2000km range well within our reach but look what we have here. A super smooth highway with very less traffic and nothing trying to stop me...bang comes the nature into play. When the first rain drop touched me I was watching the skies like a kid watching a doctor uncovering the Injection cover- Why me? I was shouting to myself why the hell it rains in NH 46 whenever I chose to do an important ride here. Last time it was acceptable as it was october and was monsoon season but this time it was supposed to be hot climate and that's what I wanted. With heavy downpours I started reducing the speed. It was so heavy that the bike started aquaplaning now and then due to the half feet water staying on the fast lane of the highway. Being forced to reduce the speed I was maintaining 70 kmph which is the most terrible thing to do on an endurance ride and with over 1250km on hand to be covered yet. My fingers started paining as the rain drops were so sharp and I was feeling bad for not getting a good pair of gloves. I always wanted to buy a best pair of gloves instead of cheap ones that's available in the market but couldn't afford one as yet. With rain not showing any sign of stoppping at least for the next 1 hour I stopped for a quick break to have some orange juice and Snickers. It is such an uncomfortable task to do in the middle of rain but I felt so hungry then!

Splendour or Karizma?

The rain stopped after an hour's ride and to save lost time started increasing the average speed. Again the Traffic filled single road near madurai rode me mad and after reaching the outskirts of Madurai came to a halt in the Bharath Petroleum bunk that is one of the finest places to rest for travellers going through Madurai. While refuelling the bike for about 800 Rupees, a guy waiting to fill petrol on his Splendour was enquiring about the bike like how fast it can go, what's the mileage (Who in India won't ask this question?) and what's the tank capacity. When I said it gives mileage around 35 that guy smiled loudly and said "Then it's fine for u to put petrol for 800 Rupees for a bike, my bike would go to chennai and come back for the same amount of money" and just then told him that I am going to chennai only- I shoudn't have told him this as he got interested and started sharing his story that once he did a round trip to Trichy from Madurai and his back pained for over a week. With absolutely zero interest to even react to that I just told him I'm going on an emergency and have to leave.
Time: 6.27 PM
Trip: 944.3 Km
Time Remaining: 12 hrs and 20 Mins

Why did I do this?

After leaving the petrol bunk I stopped immediately to empty my bladder. After all it gives the real Nature feeling to do this on a silent highway side! I didn't realize that I kept the helmet mistakenly on the bike seat instead on the mirrors and just when I was about the finish my business a loud sound came-The helmet was blown down by the winds blasted by the lorries! With darkness setting in I took the helmet with fear and was disappointed to see the broken visor. I broke away the remaining half of the visor as it wasn't good for anything and I just sat on the side of the bike with my hands on the head. I was so very disappointed as the night ride without a visor is very very difficult as the insects will hit our eyes now and then without warning. All i could repeatedly ask was "Why did I do this? why didn't I put the helmet on the mirror instead of putting it on the seat? f****"

Save Time-Don't Rest:

Having no time to keep on worrying about what happened I just started thinking "What next?" I had about 12 hours and I need to be back in chennai as quickly as possible and then go to salem and then come back to chennai to finish the 2000km attempt. I still need to do 1056 km in 12 hours. It was possible but given the unforeseen circumstances I just thought of doing a non-stop ride to Ulundurpet near villupuram and then set the final target. With insects trying to hit my eyes I was well prepared to shut my eyes whenever the insects hit me and I started covering distance quite easily-it was Madurai-Trichy road...the same section where I covered 118km in just 1 hour the same day. With perfect sync with the bike I was covering the distance at ease and Trichy went past me in a giffy. Having no mood to stop anywhere whatsoever I was enjoying the ride. Thanking mother nature for not showing any unwanted signs I was a bit relieved. The NH started getting crowded on the opposite lane and I was happy that I'm on my way back to chennai. The bike was showing no signs of unhappiness and was just getting better and better and better for every km- Shah has done a fantastic job by transforming this bike. Ulundurpet came by and it was time to get the proof and Re-Fuel.




Time: 9.23 PM
Trip: 1195 Km
Remaining Time: 9hrs and 34 Minutes

Freeway to Chennai:

With nothing left on my brain to think about anything rather than reaching Chennai as quickly possible I had a quick bite on the Snickers and emptied the first Orange juice bottle. It signaled more than half of my trip is over. After messaging friends about my location started rolling the bike again. After coming out of the petrol bunk I somehow started feeling the headlight brightness is too low and Phew...the Sun was switched On at 9.30 PM in Ulundurpet! The reason is the Fog Lamps of my bike...so bright the highway was and I was literally thanking Shah for installing it on the bike. I was able to cover distance just like I did during the day time and quite safely too. I just remembered the sms I sent to shah couple of days before the ride
"Bro...please don't mind, something inside me tells that if at all there's gonna be something going to cause trouble in this record attempt, it's gonna be the fog lamp"- I was wrong. The fog lamps proved their worth. It was a wonderful ride back to chennai and the moment I came to the Bharat Petroleum bunk in Vandalur my thoughts once again went back to my previous endurance ride wherein my friends were waiting on the same petrol bunk to receive me after successfully completing the Saddlesore 1600K. But now no one was here and I have just completed the second lap of my ride with 2 laps to go!

Time: 11.31 PM
Trip: 1357 Km
Time Remaining: 7 hrs and 16 minutes ( Average distance covered so far:81.1 km/hr)

Traffic...Traffic and more Traffic:

With just a little over 7 hours remaining and considering my tired Wrists I knew 2000km is far to be accomplished. But still not giving up the hopes I zoom passed Tambaram and entered chennai Bye-Pass. Maduravoyil came by and I was getting ready to put my best in the route that I have gone since my childhood...NH 4! Though the modern 4 lane highway just came a few years back I have been in love with this route as everytime I go on this route to my native place it will be a holiday season and I'd spend lot of time with my Relatives-Nataraj anna, Ravi anna, Karthik, Ashwin, Murali and my brother Siva! Recollecting those memories I entered the NH4 but was shocked to see heavy traffic piling up. Finding only a few space to sneak my bike it took me 1 hour to reach Sriperumbudur Toll Gate that is hardly 30-35 km away. With loads of disappointment I made up my mind to rest for a while before starting the route to salem. Salem? hmm...over 100 km to be covered every hour! Managed to find a small cement bridge and rested my back on the floor looking at the stars. Tears started to flow from my eyes as I know 2000 km is impossible now and my 17 hour ride inspite of all the odds was blown away by the stupid traffic from Maduravoyil to Sriperumbudur. How cruel this endurance ride is...even a bad one hour ride could spoil the whole average! After all that's an endurance ride! With the famous question that my heart had asked my mind all my life.. "What next?" "Well..Saddlesore 2000K might have just slipped but no Indian has ever crossed 1814km in under 24 hours on a motorbike as per Limca book of Records..Now that's achievable pretty easily!" My eyes were sore now due to the ride without a Visor and my recent tears. Washed my face and relocated my target towards Krishnagiri and head back to the starting point.

Trip: 1387km
Time: 12.35 PM
Time Remaining: 6hrs and 16 Minutes

Non Stop yet again:

I knew my next 3 hours would decide the success of the trip and having said that I got my body ready to withstand a non stop ride to Krishnagiri from Sriperumbudur. Kms were rolling and the bike was feeling fresh...so am I. I was fulled beefed up as the target was now reduced due to Duckworth/Lewis Method!!!! Within an hour I passed Ranipet, Vellore followed and then it was time for our dear Krishnagiri.

The Accident:

With Krishnagiri about 20 km I thought of Refuelling in the coming petrol bunk hoping that I'll get a bill having the location as Krishnagiri. Then came a small Bharat Petroleum bunk. I spent about 5 minutes to search for the Petrol bunk assistant and that guy was fast asleep! with half slept tone he replied back "No Petrol..only Diesel" With disappointment I slowly started rolling my bike out. As a safety measure like we always do while entering the highway from Petrol bunk I looked on the right side and when I was about to enter the tarmac...a bullock cart was coming towards me silently-they were illegally transporting sand at night time! With just the first gear engaged and the rolling stones covered road out of the petrol bunk, I knew applying the brake would not mean any justice and I'll surely hit the bullock cart. I just jumped off the bike and the bike smashed on the bull and stopped. It was a soft impact though as I was just at 5 to 10kmph speed. However the handle bar had bent and the right side mirror was broken. There were about 5 bullock carts tailing each other and the people riding those carts rushed to me for help and were relieved to find I had absolutely nothing to worry about. At that point of time I called up Shah and informed him about the incident and told him I'll call back after checking the bike if it's okay to continue the ride.

Road Never Ends:

Having very little time on hand I just sat for a while and drank some water looking at the bike. The bike's lights were still On but the thing I was worried is the Speedometer and cable- If it had got jammed or repaired then that would have been the end of the trip. With all these thoughts running in my mind I just walked away from the bike to cool my nerves. After spending a quiet 5 minutes and refreshing myself went back to the bike and did a thorough check up. Brakes, headlights, indicators (The rear left indicator was broken but still it was working), almost everything is perfect except the handle bar. With all my strength, worked on the handle bar to get it back to a comfortable position and after doing that, did a test run inside the petrol bunk and the speedometer was working and the bike was handling good too. Inspecting the crank case for any oil leaks I was happy that the bike stood strong. The Man and the Machine were completely ready now. We were back on the road... Road never ends..so is the spirit of motorbiking!

Third Lap completed against all odds:

Reached Krishnagiri and found an Indian Oil Petrol bunk. Time was 3.30 AM and after the Re-Fuel I got the proof of my 3rd Lap completion. I estimated the target could be easily achieved now and with nobody around me I started the celebration in the petrol bunk by emptying the orange juice in a gulp! Followed by a Dairy Milk chocolate-at 3.33 AM!




Trip: 1615.5 Km (Saddlesore 1600K completed)
Time: 3.33 AM
Time Remaining: 3hrs 14 Minutes

The Final Destination:

With all sort of unexpected events happening around I began my last leg of the journey. I had somewhere around 230 or odd km on hand and over 3 hours on hand. Passing by Vaniyambadi the weather was so cold and my fingers became numb and the shivering teeth. The sound of the bike was the only enjoyable thing now and with victory in sight me and MY dear Karizma were marching the home stretch...Distance to chennai kept on going low- It has given up all its efforts to stop us now! Vellore...where r u?...ok where am I now...kancheepuram! Messaged Pearl about my location and called up Deepan and informed him about the final point of my trip-the same point were I began my trip.. The bike was feeling a little bit tired so is the rider! With 45 minutes on hand Sriperumbudur came by but no traffic this time. Stopped my bike after crossing the toll gate...yes it's time for the RoadRockerz special hug for the bike! I felt the pain that the bike had endured during this powerful ride...nobody would have ever thought this bike would live again! My tired fingers got energised and was thanking the bike with all my love for bringing me safely back to chennai-still we have 30 km but guess what...We have now broken the Limca book of Records!!!! 1820 km read the Tripmeter...we have still got 35 minutes!

We made it:

Speeding towards the starting point my mind started recollecting how this trip happened and though saddlesore 2000K was not achieved still we've broken the National record! That too on a resurrected bike! I coudln't forget the countless calls made to Shah while the bike was getting ready...The trip to Shah's place every weekend to check the progress of the bike, The start of the trip when all my friends were present..the failure of the bungee chord that forced me to carry the bag on my back throughout this trip...the Mongoose..the rain..the helmet visor getting broke...the traffic at Maduravoyil...the accident...and now...WE ARE BACK at the starting point...My friends were present to welcome me and before we could celebrate we got the computerized receipt and it read 6:35 and the Tripmeter read 1851 Km..Now that's the longest distance travelled on a motorbike in under 24 hours on a motorbike in India as on May 1st 2011!



An emotional tear after the success!





My dad knew what I was doing!

Riding back home felt really great...the bike sounded just the same like it did the day before..Deepan and Thiruma Sir were driving besides me and when we entered home my dad and mom were waiting!
Dad:"So where did u guys go for the tour?"
Deepan: "Appa...senthil just did something that that we are proud of..he broke a national record!"
Dad: I know he's gone for an endurance ride! The day he brought the Karizma home with Fog Lights, I know this guy is on to something.... Did the 30 Rupee "Road never Ends- www.roadrockerz.com" sticker on the silencer hold up through out the ride?!!!!!!!!!






It did dad... so am I.. Against all odds...A ride dedicated for all passionate bikers!

[blueband4u]

Almost there...




Online version: The Hindu : FEATURES / METRO PLUS : He soldiered on. Almost

[anekho]

Fantastic write up and Congratulations!!!! Even though you didn't cross your initial target of 2000, you've broken the record! Awesome stuff, man!

I'm sure you'll nail 2000 next time! I bet your Fazer feeling really jealous right now

[EssYouWe]

Man! You are crazy!

Congratulations on pulling this off. How do you manage drowsiness? 24 hours is a lot of riding without rest!

[blueband4u]

Originally Posted by EssYouWe

Man! You are crazy!

Congratulations on pulling this off. How do you manage drowsiness? 24 hours is a lot of riding without rest!

It's just a matter of 5 hours on that particular day...I took full rest the next day and my bio clock was back on track. After all that's what an endurance ride is all about.. The actual ride starts from 18th hour when you actually have to maintain the average mileage+the pressure to not waste the past 17 hour riding effort would actually make the situation worse and we've got to fight that out. So hardly we could get time to think about sleep.

[CliffHanger]

This is unbelieavable stuff! You are a super human, I think your genes need to be researched.

[blueband4u]

I'm not superhuman... My grandpa was in the Army and he was well renowned in the Military circle during the Vietnam war where he had run over 200 km alone to bring back a secret message to the base camp! Probably I have inherited something from him!

[Fordmanchau]

Hey Senthil,
This was pretty enthralling to read through. Had to read it at one go, just couldn't resist the excitment in your log.
Wonderful journey. And I see that you have even bettered the time you took in the 1665km saddlesore. That's fantabulous
Hats off to you for just attempting it.
Hope you do the 2k Kms soon.

[Sheel]

Congratulations!

I believe you would be better off by putting your helmet on the ground and not at the seat, nor at the RVMs (RVms are dirty & will spoil your helmet)

Difference between bike behavior (FZ & 'zma)

You are one crazy guy, continue with the same zest