JOSH5898

LOG 2: In continuation to Ram's log...
am adding a few bits which would havve skipped Ram's mind.. actually the logs are written by both me & ram so kindly bear any repetations.
well here goes the story...


It’s the start…and its always good, but the point is…it should just remain so….the perfect plan!! THE GAME IS ABOUT TO BEGIN…

Subbu & Sakthi left Bangalore on the 1st Oct and reached Tiruppur by 8:00 PM. Ram and Mahesh were supposed to reach only on 2nd Oct by noon. And me-Josh, as always, present in the right place

All five R15s were thoroughly serviced at ULTIMATE BIKES and spares like puncture kit, spark plugs, engine oil, coolant etc required for emergency was collected and neatly packed. No question of any misses…after all perfection is our motto.

The first witness form was signed by Karthik (xbhp member from tiruppur) at the Bharat Petrol Pump where we tanked up and our first receipt was collected as proof of our departure.

THE RACE AGAINST TIME started at 18:41 hrs with the swipe of the first credit card by Ram…and that gave a great feel already.
Sticking to strict group riding rules we started our journey towards Salem with JOSH – Leading, SUBBU – the second lead, followed by RAM, SAKTHI and MAHESH as the SWEEP. Expecting incidents, circumstances and hazards to not harm our path, we made up our minds and were determined to complete this ride successfully – NO MATTER WHAT.


INCIDENT: 1
Expectations are not always fulfilled…infact once you start expecting you soon realise that its better not to……why??mhh…this is the reason…..
The start of the ride was pretty smooth and we were riding at a constant speed of 60-70 kmph crossing the city limits with traffic being minimal due to holiday. We reached the NH4 highway connection at Chengapally junction and started going at 90-100 kmph, munching miles with every passing second. When 25 mins into the ride nearing Vijayamangalam, we noticed our Sweep rider MAHESH was Missing!!

OMG …what a great start…we slowed down to check, only to find that his rear wheel was flat out due to puncture. Wasnt it too quick for God to start reacting to good 5 riders trying to make history!! Taking quick action without wasting any time, we started riding back searching for a fuel station or a tyre shop.

Luckily, all thanks to Mr.God, we found a petrol station nearby, waited for 18 Minutes before the puncture was set right and started out on our journey again. The clock was ticking and everyone was tensed at the loss of time right at the beginning of the ride, hoping that this was the first and the last obstacle…but…expectations again!!!!

fixing mahesh bikes 1st puncture.


INCIDENT: 2
After the initial problem was cleared we decided to catch up on the lost time by riding fast and making it to Salem on schedule. Nearing Salem with me in the lead and Subbu following, we were again slowed down…loud continuous honks and headlight flashes doing the work this time..tragedy again plays the lead role. We found another puncture in Mahesh’s rear wheel, bang at the same place. With time almost 9:00pm, most of the shops were closed and being a holiday as an icing to the time cake, we had to take a turn and head back to the city to find a puncture shop as the repair work done by us was not helping and we needed professional help.
We had to ride about 4 kms into the city, traffic slowed us down and put us all in doubts about the ride... but with a lot of hope and thorough search, we finally managed to find a tyre shop which was just about to close, but we somehow requested the shopkeeper to help us. He did not have the tubeless tyre size or make to suit the R15 so we decided to buy a tube instead and got it fitted on his bike.
Now..it was time for some alterations to our plan…
While the tyre was getting fixed, we had our snacks, which should have been our dinner in bangalore (our first break)…but the plan had already started receiving corrections..again hopin for the best, we CHANGED THE BREAK POINTS, WORKED OUT A NEW TIME CHART AND WERE READY TO RIDE AND COMPLETE THE SS1000.
TOTAL TIME LOST – 40 MINS.

INCIDENT: 3
After some motivation and self assurance we started again towards Bangalore. Good roads, less traffic, best conditions…which were not to last…a lightning thunderous warning from the Rain Gods made the best meet the worst.
Within seconds there were tiny little rain drops on our helmet visors which were getting heavier and heavier by each passing second. We kept riding with our hearts full of hope that the rains would stop and we would easily pass through a drizzle, but we were to be proven wrong. In a matter of minutes it started raining Cats & Dogs and with zero visibility we had no other option but to take shelter in an empty bus stop.
A quick consultation among the riders and with everybody thoroughly prepared to face anything, we decided to ride through the storm with Subbu in the lead with his HID lights, we started our journey to Bangalore against the rain.
Daring spirits riding at an average speed of 60 kmph with open helmet visor and tasting all kinds of highway bugs as post-dinner desert, finally reached Dharmapuri. The time was 22:15 hrs, totally drenched to our socks and with our eyes on the verge of bleeding due to riding with open visors, we decided to take a halt at a tea stall and freshen up.
We won our battle against the rain gods…slowly the rain started to slow down and in a few minutes totally stopped..here was our first victory!! Upon enquiring we came to know that there has been no rains after Dharmapuri and the roads are excellent upto Bangalore now..so…this was a test which we cleared with great scores J
Without wasting any further time, we quickly got on our bikes with a new spirit and perfect staggered formation, started our ride with constant 3 digit speeds of 120+ kmph reaching Bangalore right as per our schedule time of 12:00 hrs, overcoming all the hazards and reaching our first fuelling up point on time. This gave us a new ray of hope and a new wave of energy, which was desperately required.

Our friend Sunil from Bangalore was eagerly waiting more than an hour to meet us. We had a break for 15 mins and headed towards NICE road. Sunil was more interested to ride with us. He joined us till NICE road.

with SUNIL near electronic city elevated highway toll gate, Bangalore.

Sakthi started leading towards NICE road and we tanked up at the Indian oil petrol pump on kanakapura road…asked for directions to tumkur and as luck would have it, we TOOK THE WRONG TURN & rode in full speed for 4 kms, suddenly realizing that we were going towards the wrong direction. Feeling frustrated, we started hunting for someone to ask for the directions…on that totally empty road only an angel could have helped us out…
But…where there is a will there is a way…after a few minutes we found a cab parked and woke up the driver to ask him the right way …once we were sure we sped up and reached Tumkur road.

Time lost travelling 8 kms & asking for directions - 16 mins.

1st fuel checkpoint kanakapura road near NICE road, Bangalore.


INCIDENT: 4
Managing to reach the Tumkur road, we split into two groups so that each group has its own lead and start. Riding full throttle, making up pretty good time and catching up on our schedule..we were going pretty good…but guess the rain gods had more in store for us...suddenly it started pouring.. damn again.. with zero visibility and no chance of riding with our helmet visiors open .. we took refuge and prayed that it stops raining.. re-worked on break points and kms to be covered…..
This time we understood that no obstacle was to cross our way just once…we were up against all odds and were determined to do or die!!!!

INCIDENT 5
The rain finally stopped after 20 mins and got down to a light drizzle…we quickly geared up again and split to start our journey towards Tumkur with just one commitment in mind - TO COMPLETE SS1000 SUCCESSFULLY AT ANY COST.
With no more rain and minimum traffic we kept riding the whole night with constant three digit speed, somehow managing to keep up to our time chart and crossed Chitradurga – which was supposed to be our break point and fuel top up point. Deciding to skip the break so as to make up on the lost time, we kept riding towards Hubli-Dharwad, where we had decided to tank up and collect fuel receipts and witness forms. Afterall…whatever was planned must be met up with.

We crossed Hubli 12 mins before our scheduled time and started looking for a fuel station…the whole night of ripping the bike at 3 digit speeds had taken a toll on the mileage and the riders…all muscles were so rigid now that it was getting difficult to ride for another second.
God suddenly spread out a ray of hope…we saw a BP pump…but only to find there is no petrol in stock and the next station was 35 kms away…wow…what a ray that was!!!
But we riders never lose courage...with hope in our hearts and the fuel gauge nearing zero levels, we kept riding…josh leading…subbu-ram-mahesh & sakthi following in the same lineup.
The empty ray kept following…Subbu’s bike started stalling and he signalled us to a halt...we found that his bike was totally dry…by now our brains had started working like computers…solving issues every min!!! Quickly putting mahesh on subbu’s bike ( as he’s the lightest of all) and subbu on mahesh’s, we split again…subbu,ram & sakthi riding ahead in search of fuel and me towing the bike with mahesh for a distance of 35 kms…almost a marathon…that too with a tow bike!!!
After those agonising and painful 35 kms…we finally reached the hp petrol pump where the other 3 riders were waiting. To add to the agony,the fuel quality was very poor and we did not want to take a chance so just filled in for RS 200 in each bike and headed towards Belgaum....

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Cheers

JOSH