[supremeBaleno]

Nice write-up, condor. Glad to know that the meet was not just booze and food, but also some action. Off-roading on the hills 1.5km above sea level, now that is something.

I don't know if any of you tried one of the roads that starts from the lake, from near the Tasmac booze shop, and goes towards some temple (Servarayan or something) - that would have been fun in a Gypsy or Scorpio.

I really missed the meet. Ofcourse I had to tone down my disappointment to avoid making wifey go wild. Sample this conversation at home during the meet weekend.

Fri 10-Oct evening :
Me : The guys from Hyderabad must be in the train to Bangy now to join the meet.
Wife : You mean, there are some guys crazy enough to catch a train to bangy and then drive down to Yercaud for a meet.

Me : Well, it is too far to drive down and there are only 2 of them. BTW, they are not crazy, but env-friendly.
Wife : Big deal. All this to get together and talk cars. Wait, all this to get together and do binge boozing.
Me : !!!!

Sat 11-Oct morning :
My idea of waking up late is cut short by my son, who is up as usual at 5:30AM and sitting on the bed grinning at me.

Me : nitrous, bottle and the gang must be at the meeting point, ready to drive down to yercaud for the meet.
Wife : Is this what you wake up thinking first thing in the morning ? How about planning where we are going and what we would be doing today ?

Me : Hey, just happened to see the clock and it struck me that they would be leaving for the meet.
Wife : Really ? Then why are you still here? Why don't you get ready and go for the meet if you miss it so much ? I am sure nitrous would not mind waiting some more time for you to join.

Me : No dear. Who in his right mind would miss a meeting of drunk petrol heads? Not me. Here let me help you plan the marathon shopping expedition you have in mind for the weekend. Sigh...

[condor]

supremeBaleno : Me : No dear. Who in his right mind would miss a meeting of drunk petrol heads? Not me.

@SB, Exactly the point ! Anybody who's mind's right would have made it to the meet !

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by condor

...@HappyWheels, been a while since we met I guess. You, Inder, BomBatt must make it to the meets.

It's been ages!

As SupremeBaleno's script reads, I am trying to find a fine line excuse! But, usually, my little girl always wins!

I think its time I get her addicted to motor vehicles!

[VJ_MAVRICK]

Nice Pics and writeup there Condor and damn I missed , anyways there is always another time.

[khan_sultan]

Here are my 2 cents:

- Just brilliant. me & wifey enjoyed every moment of being with friends and meeting/making new friends. Loved the drive, soft 4x4 trails, drinks, bonfire and getting stuck.

@Mansidea: Your scorpio looks great man. The michelin A/T tyres are great. the only thing missing is a 4x4in it.

Originally Posted by condor

...We had planned to head out at dawn to catch the Bison again. I was waiting from about 5 am for someone to call me. A lot revolved around Khan Sultan & the Gypsy.

It would have been pure bliss if we had woken up at dawn and taken the trail. Too bad our alarm man (mansidea) woke up so late after all that RC.

Anyway, we compensated that by getting stuck :-)

Time for a final go .. we were getting ideas too. Can we get a tractor in there ? One sec- can we even find a tractor for that ? Nothing else could traverse those tracks. ...

Yeah, you are right condor. At one stage it was looking like a hopeless situation. The thing keeping me sane was that fact, that worst come to worst, brute force would work in the end -- keeping in mind that Gypsy is a relatively 'light' vehicle.

Looking back now, it was a not so nice situation -- with no recovery equipment and stuck alone with habitation some kms far away.

Originally Posted by BomBatt

... Khan bhai, you never miss even 1/2 chance of off-roading, to you man.

Yes sir. Why miss a chance. Am off this Sunday again :-)

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

...Felt almost like almost the same situation when we had to rock out KittiGadu's beast out of some slush.

No Suresh. That was really easy stuff. This one after some time had become really scary. Nothing that we did was making a difference till the end.

[inder_s1]

Originally Posted by condor

Thanks, guys.
@MansIdea - it's a SE (K810i). Nokia's dont even come close to the utility of the k810i's camera.

@HappyWheels, been a while since we met I guess. You, Inder, BomBatt must make it to the meets.

Condor,

Def dude, Me & Wify have got addicted to OTR's and meets. Now have to make sure we be there at every meet or at least have 99.9999% attendance for meets

[hrag]

Great report condor!

Hey, nobody is talking about the ATV ride by the experienced person?
What about the competition to Carburettor Cauvery? Fuel Injection ....?

[condor]

khan_sultan : At one stage it was looking like a hopeless situation. ... - with no recovery equipment

A shovel is a must-have equipment for us, to be kept in the trucks at all times. I am fresh out of another sticky situation from last week, when the Sumo was stuck in soft mud. Finally when it came out, it was obvious that the tyre had displaced all the loose soil before it got some traction. If we had had a shovel with us this time, it would have been much faster.

[shekaran]

Folks,
just one simple sentence - comment from me, on missing this meet.
"i am greatly envious on all of you, who attended the meet"
have a nice day, bye.

[quicksilver]

After reading through the preparations and the final experiences, I have just managed to bring myself up to posting on this thread again. I was unfortunately grounded due to some compelling reasons and could not make it to the meet as planned.

I see I have missed quiet something. My only consolation is that there is always a next time.

Originally Posted by condor

A shovel is a must-have equipment for us, to be kept in the trucks at all times.

Parvath, surely, you are not talking about that leather covered, brass coated thing that has never been anywhere other than the vehicle's side, safe in it's protective clams... right?

Have seen too many jeeps out here that sport a shovel and even an axe, which are hardly used. Nice to see someone who is putting stuff to proper use. Way to go amigos.

[condor]

quicksilver : I see I have missed quiet something. My only consolation is that there is always a next time.

@QS, we missed you too. Let's get together again soon.

quicksilver : .. surely, you are not talking about that leather covered, brass coated thing that has never been anywhere other than the vehicle's side, safe in it's protective clams... right?

Prefer Sleepers any day. Nothing should be apparant from outside, but always be equipped & ready. What's well used, shows too .. !

[Mission_Safari]

This is all i have got. Unfortunately my camera settings were screwed up and didn't manage to get good pictures after this lot.

The scene before we tested the ATVs . It might look simple from the pic but it's not all that easy to drive them. Even people with proper 'gear's couldn't control it


While everyone decided to eat from their plates. Mjothi wanted to try it differently


krrrkrr2k2 enjoying the drink and the music


Nikhil putting his daughter to sleep and sleeping in the process


The drool machine


Raj and Vince

[kkr2k2]

At last some pics from my side:

As most of you are aware that two of us (kkr2k2 and RAVIKUMAR) has attended this meet are from hyderabad, we had travelled to Bangalore by train and from there to Yercaud we came along condor(parwath)

SET 1

banglore to salem:







at A2B for breakfast:







on the way going straight along the curves:

























At last we arrive at Salem:



PS: more pics to be followed in the coming sets.

[bottle]

^really nice pics

[mansidea]

Nice Pics.

You took all these days to post the pics?