[rahulmd]

We are planning a "Rally for Free Beer at Work & Worldpeace", hereafter referred to as Rally FB@WW (Rally EFFBAW), on the 19 & 20 of feb 2004.

The route will be either (in order)
1. Bangalore - Bandipur - Ooty - Wyanad – Bangalore
2. Bangalore - Hassan - Mangalore - Coorg – Bangalore
3. Others (Any other route with good road character. Suggestions are welcome)

There are only 2 conditions for the rally
1. The number of people who want to drive should be equal to the
number of cars, so that nobody's drive is threatened (like what
happened to poor Antonio Pizzonia first at Jaguar and then at
Williams)
2. NO spouses

In case you are interested, do get back to me at the earliest either
via mail (rahulmd@gmail.com) or phone (+91 98451 50792)

Below I have put together a set of FAQ and Terms & Conditions. In case you have any additional queries do let me know.

Regards,
for The Rally Organizers,
Rahul Cherian & Rahul Mohandas


FAQ
1. I dont have a car, but i want to participate. What do I do?
Remember, the rule says “number of people who want to drive should be equal to the number of cars”. So, If
· You dont have a car and you dont want to drive either. Tag along
with someone else.
· You dont have a car, but you want to drive. Rent/ Borrow/ Steal a
car from someone who is not participating

2. What is the minimum config requirement of the cars? (assuming a
maruti 800 will be left behind a Petra 1.6)
· No restriction on cars. Just to prove my point, There is a zen with a zen engine which did the Chennai Bangalore drive in 4 hours just 2 days back. I take 6 hours with my petra. (Of course there is a certain school of thought which says that, that particular zen is fitted with a time machine)
3. What is the penalty for late starters?
· No penalty for late starters. There will be target times specified
to reach the destination. You leave depending on your car configuration and your judgement of the time it takes to reach the
destination.
4. What about people who reach the destination after the target time?
· Since this rally is to promote distribution of free beer at work instead of coffee, latecomers can help further the cause. If one reaches late, he/ she has to buy one round of beer for the participants who are already there.
5. Are we racing all the way? Are we taking a lawyer with us (just in case)?
· The officials are not promoting any racing. One is to reach the
destination before the target time. Refer to the Disclaimer & Terms and Conditions. And yes, we have 2 lawyers from Chennai participating.
6. Is there a registration fee?
· As this is the first year Rally EFFBAW is being conducted, there is no registration fee
7. What about accommodation?
· Participants would have to arrange for their own accommodation and take care of their own sanitary requirements. Suggestion: since you have a car, push the seat back sleep right there and go to a restaurant in the morning to do the needful.


Disclaimer & Terms and Conditions

The drive-down is a sight seeing tour and should not in any manner be treated or construed as a race, rally or any other kind of event involving speed. Remember, speed thrills but kills!!!

We are in no way responsible to ensure that you have a good time or that we and the others you may meet on the way will be interesting company. (After all, how interesting can a bunch of car crazies be?) Please make your own arrangements for stay etc.
We will only provide you with possible routes and the company of a few petrol junkies. Everything else shall be your responsibility and headache (especially if you are allergic to petrol fumes).

And last but not least, we have absolute discretion to decide whether we should go with you or not. To help us decide please send us a couple of words about your car. (For example: “I drive a Zen. I love my car because it gets me from point A to point B via the longest possible route.”)

[haryan]

Hey .. in the FAQ the First Question Should be
Q: Hey.. Are you guys serious about this Rally EFFBAW ... ????

[rahulmd]

Q: Hey.. Are you guys serious about this Rally EFFBAW ... ????

ABSOLUTELY!!!! there are 4 of us who are confirmed. 2-3 are in the 'mostly on' category (which includes 2 Team BHP members) and another 2 are in the 'maybe' category.

If anybody else is interested, please mail/ call me

[zazuaza]

Hey Rahul,

Count Monish and myself in!!

- Zaz

[amitoj]

Awesome idea!!
Have any more details been confirmed? What route? what times?
Count me in in the "mostly on" category!

Cheers
Amitoj

[rahulmd]

Section Details of Rally FB@WW

Day 0: Friday 18 February
Section 0: Chennai - Bangalore (relevant only for the Chennai Team)
Kickoff meeting : Koshy's, St Marks Road - 8 PM

Day 1: Saturday 19 February
Section 1: Bangalore - Ooty
Target time at Ooty: 330PM
Optional Section 1:
Ooty - Kotagiri - Ooty (flag off 4PM and return by 630PM) (this is an awesome road section. Total distance of 90km from Ooty to Ooty)
Night Camp: TBD (mostly at Hotel Lake View @ Rs 1000 Per Cottage (approx.) with ample car parking space. Will confirm rates and availability and will do a bulk blocking if possible)

Day 2: Sunday 20 February
Optional Section 2: Ooty - Pykara Lake - Ooty (flag off 630am and return by 9am)
Section 2: Ooty - Gundalpet (flag off by 10am)
Section 3A: Gundalpet - Bangalore (flag off by 2pm (no target time) for folks who want to be back in bangalore by sunday night and work on monday morning)
Section 3B: Gundalpet - Kalpetta, Wyanad (for folks who are off on Monday)
Night Camp: TBD (mostly at Hotel Haritagiri at Kalpetta @ Rs 700 per room (approx.) )

Day 3: Monday 21 February (relevant only for folks who opted for Section 3B on Day 2)
Optional Section 3: TBD
Section 4A: Kalpetta Bangalore (target time at Bangalore of 8pm)
Section 4B: Kalpetta Calicut and other places in Kerala (for folks who are off for the rest of the week, i.e. ME :-) )

Day 4: Tuesday 22 February (relevant only for the Chennai Team)
Section 5: Bangalore Chennai (target time at Chennai 8pm)

Will send out more details on the exact routes available in a few days time.

If people who are interested, can let me know which sections they are interested in, I would be able to block acco for them for the relevant nights.

[gkrishn]

Originally Posted by rahulmd

Ooty - Kotagiri - Ooty (flag off 4PM and return by 630PM) (this is an awesome road section. Total distance of 90km from Ooty to Ooty)

You guys have some nice ghat sections here. Just one slight modification I like to suggest... Ooty-kotagiri-connor-ooty. (100,110kms??). Planning to return back to ooty by 6:30? I guess 90 mins is bit tight.

My father was posted at kothagiri for 2 years. Its one of the best kept town in the Blue Mountains, mainly due to very less visit from those tourists. Only pollutant in that part of the mountain is those silly public transport buses. They have this very short wheel base ashok leyland buses there. Get a pic of them when you are there.

[rahulmd]

Hi Gkrishn,

We are planning to leave at 4 and return by 630 which gives about 150 Mins :-) which should be reasonable right? i dont think any of the sections are too tight in terms of time. the objective is not to set land speed records here ;-)

That road section is just mindblowing. I had done that section during my Nilgiris Road Trip in October. Lovely narrow winding roads with very little traffic and a drop on one side :-) I did that section between 9 and 11 in the morning and we were driving through fog. JUST AMAZING!!!!

The first 2 snaps at the link below are from the Ooty Kotagiri Road:
<http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rahulmd/album?.dir=7669&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http% 3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos>

Anyway, why dont you join us and renew memories? :-)

Regards,
Rahul

[gkrishn]

Originally Posted by rahulmd

We are planning to leave at 4 and return by 630 which gives about 150 Mins :-) which should be reasonable right?

Oops... sorry for that. Missed an hour!!!

Originally Posted by rahulmd

The first 2 snaps at the link below are from the Ooty Kotagiri Road:
<http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rahulmd/album?.dir=7669&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http% 3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos>

Anyway, why dont you join us and renew memories? :-)

Would like too... but i am not sure. You could add me to "probably on" category.

[rahulcherian]

Hi all,

i'm on, as planned. trying to get a few more cars from chennai. how many more have confirmed? how are the roads? should I stiffen my suspension a bit?

ciao

rc

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by rahulcherian

should I stiffen my suspension a bit?

How are you planning that? (assuming its a car - what car?)

Or was that just the sense of humour there?

Welcome aboard.
R

[rahulcherian]

I have konis on the car, an automatic zen with an esteem engine

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by rahulcherian

I have konis on the car

Woweee baby!! Please do put up a full review sometime!!! tell us how much of a difference it has made..? are these the regular or high performance? I guess this made more sense after plonking in a 1.3 engine as well!

Also, if i may ask, any particular reason its an automatic?
also tell us about your e-zen experience...what brake mods if any?

cya
R

[rahulmd]

Hey RCJ, Overall the roads are pretty good with a few bad sections here and there. Atleast that was the scene in October ;-) Very enjoyable...

Can you stiffen the suspension yourself or would Radha need to do it? If Radha is not required, we could do it as we go along depending on the roads, just figure out from Radha what are the tools required and which side is stiff and which side is soft ;-)

btw, whats the scene with Robbi? is he on? and what about the folks from Mumbai?

From Bangalore we have Me, Zaz, Monish, Sudhir confirmed. In the mostly on category we have BJ, MD, Amitoj (??). Let me see if i can pull in a couple of more guys ;-)

Regards,
RMD

[rahulcherian]

hey RMD,

robi should join us in ooty on Sunday morning and he should be there for the rest of the drive. the mumbai guys might either decide to bring their bullets or ride with me.

i have to take the car to radhas to stiffen the shocks....


hey rehaan,

the konis are really good. feel much safer doing the higher speeds (120-160). I borrowed the shocks from one of the esteems that race in the JK tyre series, so i guess its the high performance type.

it took a few iterations to figure out what suited my type of driving. now it is pretty ok at lower speeds but after 80 it is awesome. also, the car is very steady when braking from higher speeds and does not drift when overtaking trucks etc at higher speeds or due to gusts of breeze. turning is also easier.

upgraded my brakes to esteem brakes, bought tubeless michelin tyres. on the whole, its a good ride.

I drive a hand operated car (cant really use my legs due to long standing problem), hence the automatic.

had severe problems with the zen transmission after the esteem engine such as irregular gear changes, no kickdown etc. but I have an excellent mech (the legendary Radha Selvaraj, winner of several esteem championships) and it looks like we have finally sorted the problem out.

have some problem with my carb and am trying to sort it out now....parts are extremely difficult to get for the auto zen.....

on the whole its really good, great fun to drive etc. but you should try it only if you have infinite patience, an understanding wife, and an excellent mech!!!!

rcj