The Great Indian RoadtripBlog
Aug 15th - Dec 15th 06 . 20,000kms . 4 bikes

The Great Indian Roadtrip : On the Road Blogs

Posted by Sundeep Gajjar
On March 30th, 2007 at 20:03

Permalink | Trackback | Links In |

No Comments |
Posted in The Great Indian Roadtrip

The Great Indian Roadtrip : On the Road Blogs

One of the major differences between the GIR and other pan India roadtrips already done was the underlining objective to share, and to share it as soon as possible ( if not real time ).

This blog contains entries that are dipped in emotions of that day. They were not written after the trip, but the very same day. After the many hours of grueling riding the riders used to write down the blog for the day. The blogs were of two kinds : 1. Describing day by day events 2. Any special interest or emotion that the rider may want to share

This blog is like a book. I am sure that you will find it very interesting to read through all the entries, randomly, or in a sequence as listed below to get the complete picture of just how magnificent and once in a lifetime experience this trip was.

The Blogs

Leg 1

Break to plan Leg 2 and recollect resources / riders

Leg 2

The above were day by day blogs. There are some specific blogs which have been written on subjects close to the riders’ hearts or just in general. Here they are:

The End of a Lifetime : A Full Circle

Posted by Sundeep Gajjar
On January 12th, 2007 at 14:01

Permalink | Trackback | Links In |

No Comments |
Posted in The Great Indian Roadtrip

The Great Indian Roadtrip was a pan - India roadtrip conceived and executed by xBhp.com with help of sponsors.

You can re-live the GIR experience online in April 2007. Meanwhile you can read our real-time blog here which we wrote while being on the trip.

You may also choose to view the Touring Forum here.

The Great Indian Roadtrip ended after 108 days on the road. But is this really the end? If you know xBhp and the people behind it then your guess is as good as mine!

For starters we are coming up with a new xBhp.com and theGreatIndianroadtrip.com integrated into a single website with many unpublished pictures, blogs and information on the trip. The new site will be released in March 2007.

In the meanwhile here are some important statistics of the trip :

The Great Indian Roadtrip : Statistics

The Dates : 15th August 2006 ( Leg 1 ) – 18th September 2006 and 4th October – 15th December 2006 ( Leg 2 )

Route for Leg 1 ( Outline )

Delhi – Chandigarh-Wagah-Jammu-Srinagar-Sonamarg-Kargil-Leh-Sarchu-Manali-Kaza-Peo-Rohru-Musoorie-Delhi

Route for Leg 2 ( Outline )

Delhi – Agra - Jaipur - Udaipur - Ahmedabad – Rann of Kuchh - Silvassa - Mumbai – Pune – Goa – Mangalore – Bangalore – Mysore – Ooty – Munnar – Kumarakom – Kovalam – Kanyakumari- Dhanushkodi – Chennai – Vijaywada – Hyderabad – Rajahmundry – Vizag – Bhubaneshwar – Puri – Kolkata – Siliguri – Darjeeling – Gangtok – Nathu La – Siliguri – Kolkata – Lucknow – Agra – Delhi

The Vehicles

* Kinetic Italiano Blaze
* Kinetic Italiano Jupiter
* Kinetic Hyosung Comet
* Honda CBR 1000RR Fireblade
* Tata 207

The Riders

* Sundeep Gajjar ( Sunny ), 26, Delhi
* Bunny Punia ( Bunny ), 24, Delhi
* Ashish Divakaran ( GasolineJunkie ), 20, Hyderabad
* Gurpreet Singh ( SkyScraper ), 21, Delhi
* Krishnendu Kes ( Ken Cool ), 38, Kolkata
* Sunil Gupta ( SUnilG ), 26, Delhi

Some statistics :

* Kilometres done : 18,780 kms ( +- 100 ), Blazes ( 18,000 kms ), Jupiter ( 7 000 kms ), Comet 15,000 kms, 1000 RR : 12,000kms
* Photos clicked : 29,587 ( using 2 Canon 350Ds and 1 Canon 300D and 4 Nokia N70s)
* Video Footage : 25 hours ( MINI DV )

* Fuel Used : Petrol : 3330 litres Diesel : 1685 ( including 3 bottles of Octane Boosters for 1000RR )
* Accidents : Medium Level : 1. Sunil and the comet in Jaipur ( mild bruises, bike little damaged ), 2. Ashish and the Comet in Trivandrum ( medium bruises and bike damaged a little ) Mild Level : 1. Ken on the Blaze in the Himalayas slipped on wet tarmac, 2. Sundeep on the Blaze in Kolkata slipped on a tram lineNo accidents involving the 1000RR or the Tata 207

* States and UTs : Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, HImachal Pradesh, Uttranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Daman, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerela, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Bihar.

* Trip Assets : 29,000 pictures, 25 hours digital video, countless experiences.

* Maximum kilometers in a day : 815 kms ( Chennai – Hyderabad )

* Highest Point : Khardung-La ( 18,430 ft ), Ladakh

* Maximum Temperatures : ~ -10 degrees in Khardung-La, ~45+ degrees in Rann of Kutch

* Maximum Speeds ( speedo error not accounted for) : Blaze ( ~120kmph ), Jupiter ( ~125 kmph ), Comet ( ~145 kmph ), Fireblade ( ~260 kmph ), Tata 207 ( ~110 Kmph ).

* Best Roads ridden on : 1. More Plains ( Sarchu – Manali ) 50 kms of straight road in surrounded by mountain ranges2. Peo – Rohru : Narrow road with canopy as dense as an Amazon Rainforest with ravine on one side and high flora covered mountain wall on the other.3. Musoorie – Dhanolti : 25 kms of winding butter smooth tarmac. Best place to practice kneedragging skills we say4. Jaipur – Udaipur : 4 and 6 lanes of sheer madness. You can max out any vehicle on this butter smooth road5. Ooty – Munnar : Through many national and state forest reserves in a single day with an Amazon Rainforest like feel.6. Chennai – Vijayawada : 450 kms of butter smooth 4 laned superhighways7. Gangtok – Nathula : Unbelievable vertical ascent with breathtaking views of the Himalayan Range8. Varanasi – Lucknow ( NH 54 ) : Terrific double lane road ( with no divider ). Greenery on either sides with lots of villages to pass through and experience local culture.

* Worst Rods Ridden on : 1. Bhubhaneshwar – Kolkata : The 4 lane stretch of the Golden Quadrilateral at the Orissa border just ceases to exist without any warning and merges into kilometers of wasteland. In the night a speeding vehicle will surely rocket to its death.2. Kolkata – Malda : Only monster trucks with reinforced suspension should be allowed here. The road looks like there was a nuclear war here. We saw at least 10 trucks with broken axles on this stretch.3. Varanasi – Agra : Golden Quadrilateral was not complete when we went on this stretch. Intermittent stretches of four lane with bad roads. Very irritating and dangerous if you are not patient.

* Best Experiences :

1. Watching the Beat the Retreat ceremony at the Indo – Pakistan border in Wagah. Really made us2. Ride from Leh to Khardungla in sub zero temperatures with fresh snow3. Sitting besides the ultra placid Pangong Tso Lake at 14450 feet4. Midnight meet with 50 bikers in Pune on Diwali eve5. Riding besides the vast tea gardens of Munnar6. Riding in Torrential rains in Tamil Nadu7. Riding towards Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India mainland, and viewng the vast ocean from it.8. Dhanushkodi, lands end. 18kms from Sri Lanka. This town was destroyed by a cyclone in 1964 and bears an eerie feel with the ruins of a church, post office and other ruins.9. Riding ( offroading ) in the tall tall woods in Ooty.

10. Riding from Gangtok – Nathula

11. Riding to India gate after being away on road for over two months at a stretch.

* Worst Experiences :1. Getting mild AMS ( Acute Mountain Sickness ) after pushing around vehicles in Khardungla2. Getting harassed by police in Jaipur after Sunil’s accident with the Comet3. Sleeping in a petrol pump near Farakka ( West Bengal ).4. Getting in a commotion with villagers over their demand for some money to let us pass.5. Riding in Kolkata’s roads having randomly placed tram lines, potholes and tar with jutting rocks which cut through a soft compound tyre like the Fireblade’s.

See you in April 2007!

Day 108 : Agra - Delhi

Posted by Ashish Divakaran
On December 15th, 2006 at 12:12

Permalink | Trackback | Links In |

No Comments |
Posted in The Great Indian Roadtrip

All good things come to an end. Yeah, it sure did!

We woke up really early this morning because I-pan had organized a press meet for us at some impractical time in the afternoon. We were in such a mad rush, it was like pack – load the truck – see you in Delhi. And then I found my self riding the road to the end, I was happy, satisfied and excited about finishing the trip but at the same time it was like an era coming to an end. The last four months we spent on the road was the best time in my life and I couldn’t believe all this would be over. We’ve been so used to going places and meeting people, it would be hard adjusting to normal or should I say abnormal life again.
This whole morning was spent reflecting on thoughts and remembering the good times, from tomorrow morning I wont have to get up early, pack, ride, write and meet hundreds of new people, but from tomorrow there wouldn’t be anymore of those breakfast tech-talks with Bunny, none of those debates with Sunny about Honda or Yamaha and no more arguing with Sunil about how heavy metal is better than himesh reshamya. Well, those were the good days!
Suddenly, all of a sudden there was this loud crack and a Bang. I immediately knew what happened so I just let go of the throttle and leaned to the left. Then looked back and yes, it happened, the silencer had fallen of AGAIN. And this time it wasn’t the nuts falling off. What happened was a bit of the swingarm holding the pipe had broken off and what was more bizarre was, I was riding on a flat strait road. No off-roading, to jumping speed bumps, it was just a flat stretch of road and I don’t know how a piece of metal could just break off. But that speaks of how tortured our vehicles were at this point of time.
The backup vehicle was way ahead so I had to ride most of the way to Delhi without a silencer. When it came to an exhaust note, my battered up blaze would have given a Hayabusa with a Yoshimura exhaust a run for its money. I remember when overtaking a state bus, the driver suddenly swerved left giving me a good 20 feet of space. He must have thought I was driving some monstrous earth mover capable of crushing the bus. And when riding next to Sunny and Ken, I got all the attention. Suddenly the 1000RR and R1 went unnoticed next to the thundering Blaze.
But fortunately just before entering Delhi I managed to catch up with Gurjant and swap the Blaze with the one in the truck.

After this we went strait to India Gate for the photo shoot with the press. The Great Indian Roadtrip was officially completed and there was the handshaking and pats on the back. Bunny’s family and a few other people were there to meet and greet us. After the shoot we went to the I-pan office to meet with some press, and then after lunch it was all over. Sunny, Gurjant and Sunil went shopping, Bunny went home and I went to Ken’s place. That’s how it ended and that’s how The Great Indian Roadtrip was completed, just said our byes and then it was over.
In the last four months we’ve been to the highest of highs and lowest of lows, we’ve been pushed to our limits physically, mentally and mechanically. As a team we pulled through, in the good times and bad, and have always come out of situations smiling & in good spirit, be it the brush with villagers or the accident killing a dog. And I couldn’t be more honored to be part of this band of bikers/brothers/bunch of ordinary people with extraordinary passion who could say Yes, we’ve DONE it!

The Final Route


At India Gate

Map:Delhi

— Next Page »