903 kms in 15.5 hours, Lets Go !!!

hvkumar · 18th June 2007, 20:08

Techno,

I appreciate your meticulous analysis of each sector of the Bombay-Bangalore route, but all I have to say is the following:

1. You are free to see my log books and judge for yourself. Please give me your personal email id so that you can audit each sector yourself, since you seem to be under the impression that I am lying. I am just stating the facts, I am not here in some competition to stand up and be counted. I thought sharing my experience will be of some use to members in this forum. None of the log books are made up, I have no reason to do so. You will see detailed info on odometer readings and timings down to the minute.

2. I am still around after so many years - I am not yet dead nor is anyone else dead. I am a responsible driver, have a family, a son of 12 years old, and respect other lives. I drive safe, and not been accused of rash driving by innumerable people who have accompanied me on my drives, including my family members who are equally concerned about my safety and that of others.

3. I respect your assessment and your approach to driving, but I am talking of my own trip durations. I do the Bombay-Bangalore section several times a year and I have just mentioned this route by way of illustration, using my real-life examples.

And thank you for your advice. I earnestly drive safely and intend to continue doing so, for my own sake and those of others who also travel in the same road.

Kumar

Technocrat · 18th June 2007, 20:15

Hi hvkumar,

I think you are pointing this post to rks as he is the one who is analysing your post not me

To me your trip log sounds fine enough to belive :-)

rks · 18th June 2007, 20:32

@hvkumar, I never implied that you were lying. As for the detailed log, why don't you post it here for the benefit of all T-BHPians? I would certainly be interested. In particular, let me know how much time you took to cross the 93 km long Expressway and what was your top speed. I do that route every week. I also do the Pune bypass road every week. Even these timings will give me a good idea of your driving style and your vehicle's capabilities. And what was your top speed (precisely) say, from Katraj ghat bypass to Belgaum and also from Belgaum to Bangalore? And is my guess about the nature of the route correct (since I haven't done it personally), i.e., is there a lot of heavy vehicle traffic, are there many signals where you would have to stop and so on. These details are of interest to me certainly, since you apparently do the route routinely at very high speed.

esteem_lover · 18th June 2007, 20:42

hvkumar, whatever you say we believe & take your word for it. I think you are very different. If at all i have to travel 1500 km trips every week, my priority would be different as is yours, i respect you for that. i am sure you are a safe driver, butttt there are all sorts of people here & no one should mistake what you are trying to convey, least of all the fact that you have your breakfast at 120kmph. tread safe, convey the message safe & reach safe

akroy · 19th June 2007, 08:31

I suggest people to join indiahighways@yahoogroups.com, where everybody takes suggession from Kumar before doing the long drives (it is not mandatory but you badly require his advice when u plan for 1000-2000km drives)....You can also find the logs in the group files....

Abhi

Abhi

rks · 19th June 2007, 17:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by akroy

I suggest people to join indiahighways@yahoogroups.com, where everybody takes suggession from Kumar before doing the long drives (it is not mandatory but you badly require his advice when u plan for 1000-2000km drives)....You can also find the logs in the group files....

I have not seen the logs yet. I don't want to do Kumar an injustice. His given timings for the Mumbai-Bangalore route are very much possible. My only doubt is regarding his top speed. Let me set the ball rolling with my own data for the Mumbai-Pune route in my Santro (Sion Circle to Hadapsar via Eastern Express highway, Sion-Panel highway and Pune bypass road to Katraj).

***********************************************
Sion Circle to Expressway entrance:
32 kms, 30 mins, avg. speed: 64 kmph, top speed 110 kmph.

Expressway:
93 kms, 50 mins, avg. speed 112 kmph, top speed 155 kmph.

Pune bypass road from Exp'way exit to Katraj:
31.5 kms, 25 mins, avg. speed 76 kmph, top speed ~120 kmph.

Katraj to Hadapsar (direct route)
15 kms, 15 mins, avg. speed 60 kmph, top speed 100 kmph.
***********************************************

This was about 18 months ago, when the roads were perfect and with minimal traffic (7:30 AM to 9:30 AM). Today these timings are very tough to achieve because of the substantial increase in traffic, longer queues at toll gates, and a few additional signals which have sprung up. Today 2 hrs. 15 mins is doable for this route on a good day with some luck.

Note that but for the Expressway, my avg. speed did not touch 80 kmph anywhere else. And I drove pretty aggressively, with a lot of lane-cutting at good speeds, and without any halts anywhere. If we take the Pune bypass road as typical of the entire route to Bangalore, I think 80 kmph avg. is doable with a fast, agile car, when there is relatively less traffic and with no halts (except at signals/toll gates, of course). With halts and more traffic, I feel that top speeds will have to increase above 120 kmph in order to maintain an average of 80+ kmph.

Surprise · 21st July 2007, 17:37

Nice one Techno.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Lost count of the number of 24-hour plus non-stop day/night trips that I have done (incidentally, I have log books of all my trips going back to 1986), and am very comfortable with non-stop and night driving. Do most of my trips that way. Highlights have been Bhutan-Bombay in 4 days and 3 nights (sleeping only 1 night), solo, on a AX100 TVS bike, or driving non-stop Bombay-Jalandhar (1,900 kms), Bombay-Trivandrum (several times, 1,750 kms), Bombay-Delhi (1,450 kms, 17 hours, several times), Sagar-Kanyakumari/Trivandrum (2,200 kms, 2 days, 2 nights non-stop), Bombay-Bangalore (1,050 kms, 12.5 hours, routinely, several times a year) - the list can go on.

having driven over 6,00,000 kms on Indian roads

Thus, I have done North East India (10,000 kms, 18 days), Kashmir2Kanyakumari (3,800 kms, 4 days), Coast2Cape2Coast (12,000 kms, 15 days) and so on.

As Abhi mentioned, your'e one of the "GURU's" (if at all someone is there) in the Indian Highways. Amazing to see the trips you have put. Really needs to have tons of PASSION to put everything behind (sleep/tiredness/food) for driving.

Hats off to your Mr.Kumar.

ps: Iam also amazed by the way you provide info's on current state of roads/shortest and best roads to take

spadival · 21st July 2007, 18:55

Great report..

OT: can the mods please break off the last few pages into a seperate thread.
Possibly from this point onwards -> http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...tml#post469367

Interesting discussion about driving styles and all.. but no reason to hijack this thread.

BlackPearl · 1st November 2007, 17:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by akroy

I suggest people to join indiahighways@yahoogroups.com, where everybody takes suggession from Kumar before doing the long drives (it is not mandatory but you badly require his advice when u plan for 1000-2000km drives)....You can also find the logs in the group files....

Abhi

Abhi

I am not a member of this group, but surely Kumar's and akroys tips during my hyderabad trip helped a lot. in fact a lot of people helped in planning the route though I dont remember the names right now. What I think is that there is no harm in taking advice from anybody. it may not suite one absolutely, so cut and trim according to ones driving. I have done numerous long distance trips and every time I learn new things. I used to drive non stop without taking breaks as it was my habit, but once while returning from Sikkim I travelled from Ravangla to Malda in 12 hours non stop i.e not a single break. This result was that my wife had a terrible back pain when she tried to come out from the car and the rest of the trip she had to lie down at the back seat of the car. that was an eye opener for me and since then I have started taking breaks more frequently. As others have said, it is not only about driving - one has to take care of the passengers too

.

Technocrat · 25th April 2008, 18:12

Ok I am driving down a gain on coming Sunday on the same route but only till Indore.

Pune-->Ahmednagar-->Aurangabad-->Jalgaon-->Bhusaval-->Burhanpur-->Khandwa-->Indore

I realized this last time that I dont need to go to Jalgaon & that there is a turn after Ajanta which goes directly to Bhusaval.

Anybody knows where to take this turn?

18th June 2007, 20:08	#61
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	Techno, I appreciate your meticulous analysis of each sector of the Bombay-Bangalore route, but all I have to say is the following: 1. You are free to see my log books and judge for yourself. Please give me your personal email id so that you can audit each sector yourself, since you seem to be under the impression that I am lying. I am just stating the facts, I am not here in some competition to stand up and be counted. I thought sharing my experience will be of some use to members in this forum. None of the log books are made up, I have no reason to do so. You will see detailed info on odometer readings and timings down to the minute. 2. I am still around after so many years - I am not yet dead nor is anyone else dead. I am a responsible driver, have a family, a son of 12 years old, and respect other lives. I drive safe, and not been accused of rash driving by innumerable people who have accompanied me on my drives, including my family members who are equally concerned about my safety and that of others. 3. I respect your assessment and your approach to driving, but I am talking of my own trip durations. I do the Bombay-Bangalore section several times a year and I have just mentioned this route by way of illustration, using my real-life examples. And thank you for your advice. I earnestly drive safely and intend to continue doing so, for my own sake and those of others who also travel in the same road. Kumar
	() Thanks

18th June 2007, 20:15	#62
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,813 Thanked: 2,700 Times	Hi hvkumar, I think you are pointing this post to rks as he is the one who is analysing your post not me To me your trip log sounds fine enough to belive :-)
	() Thanks

18th June 2007, 20:32	#63
rks BANNED Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: ?? Posts: 1,238 Thanked: 17 Times	@hvkumar, I never implied that you were lying. As for the detailed log, why don't you post it here for the benefit of all T-BHPians? I would certainly be interested. In particular, let me know how much time you took to cross the 93 km long Expressway and what was your top speed. I do that route every week. I also do the Pune bypass road every week. Even these timings will give me a good idea of your driving style and your vehicle's capabilities. And what was your top speed (precisely) say, from Katraj ghat bypass to Belgaum and also from Belgaum to Bangalore? And is my guess about the nature of the route correct (since I haven't done it personally), i.e., is there a lot of heavy vehicle traffic, are there many signals where you would have to stop and so on. These details are of interest to me certainly, since you apparently do the route routinely at very high speed. Last edited by rks : 18th June 2007 at 20:35.
	() Thanks

18th June 2007, 20:42	#64
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	hvkumar, whatever you say we believe & take your word for it. I think you are very different. If at all i have to travel 1500 km trips every week, my priority would be different as is yours, i respect you for that. i am sure you are a safe driver, butttt there are all sorts of people here & no one should mistake what you are trying to convey, least of all the fact that you have your breakfast at 120kmph. tread safe, convey the message safe & reach safe
	() Thanks

19th June 2007, 08:31	#65
akroy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Posts: 2,423 Thanked: 85 Times View My Garage	I suggest people to join indiahighways@yahoogroups.com, where everybody takes suggession from Kumar before doing the long drives (it is not mandatory but you badly require his advice when u plan for 1000-2000km drives)....You can also find the logs in the group files.... Abhi Abhi
	() Thanks

21st July 2007, 18:55	#68
spadival Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Melbourne, AU Posts: 1,773 Thanked: 26 Times View My Garage	Great report.. OT: can the mods please break off the last few pages into a seperate thread. Possibly from this point onwards -> http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...tml#post469367 Interesting discussion about driving styles and all.. but no reason to hijack this thread.
	() Thanks

25th April 2008, 18:12	#70
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,813 Thanked: 2,700 Times	Ok I am driving down a gain on coming Sunday on the same route but only till Indore. Pune-->Ahmednagar-->Aurangabad-->Jalgaon-->Bhusaval-->Burhanpur-->Khandwa-->Indore I realized this last time that I dont need to go to Jalgaon & that there is a turn after Ajanta which goes directly to Bhusaval. Anybody knows where to take this turn?
	() Thanks