Team North - till date

The initiation of any big venture is usually to do with getting a large spectrum of elements, things, schedules and people to start co-ordinating. And this xBhp-Videocon-Ducati Mobiking ride is big enough not to be an exception. To begin thinking on the move and about the movement. Apart from the extensive preparations done before we left Delhi for Mumbai, there's a lot that needed triggering, follow-up, execution and finishing before we left Mumbai and hit the open road for the rest of the country.

That said, the effort is making things take shape and we are on the roll. This ride is a s much about the Ducatis and xBhp as it is about the new revolutionary mobile phone that Videocon has launched with Ducati as its co-branding partner. And so part of the first and the entire second day was utilized in helping promote this phone, the V6200 (for details click here). We were at Planet M at Hill Road, Bandra West on the 10th evening and at The Center One Mall, Vashi for the entire 11th. Of course, the Monsters are a huge draw, pulling people like human magnets and the phone gets seen, handled, appreciated and sold in the bargain!

Dec 12, day-3 for us was special. A day made for a motorcyclist. A group of almost 50 motorcyclists rode as one on the Mumbai-Pune route towards the Big Wheels Motoring Cafe while an equal number rode in from Pune. The meet-up was a wonderful experience. The camaraderie was profuse, the enthusiasm for biking sky-high and the atmosphere electric with excitement. We had a great time with bikes and biking banter overflowing all over the place. The return ride, though in smaller groups, was no less exciting and fun filled.

Day 4 saw us in Mumbai, sorting out certain nitty-gritty stuff related to the ride before we hit the road and then stay on it with a free and focused mind. The road, the bikes and the weather promise a great couple of weeks ahead. The good wishes of our xBhp brotherhood and their dependable help shall see us through all that time and travel hand us out.

Day 5 dawned clear and cool. We hit the road by 0730 hrs headed for Ahmadabad. Took the Thane-Ghodbunder road out of Mumbai and reached NH8 soon. The Ducati's could now really stretch their legs and we had fun in the bargain. In Mumbai, we could barely go beyond the 2nd gear as the 796 has pretty tall ratios. NH8 is diversion infested almost till Surat and then onwards its six-lane all the way till Vadodara. Of course the truckers are all over the place, never heard of lane discipline I guess but a bike as nimble and responsive as the Monster was pretty much at home all through. The mere 13.5 ltr tank capacity did give us some problem with the bike's abominably short range but fuel bunks are thankfully not that rare anymore on NH8. The four bikes would have made quite a picture at speed on the road.

Vadodara - Ahmadabad is quite another matter though. The road is back in time - the late 80's in fact when two-laners without any road divider was a norm. But traffic in 2010 is a lot different from back then and that made these last 120 odd kilometers quite a pain. We were booked up at a hotel on C G Road and Akshay kaushal, an xbhpian and a Saddlesore guy met us at Narul Chowkdi to guide us in. We reached our hotel at around 7PM after spending 12 hours on the road. A good clean ride that covered almost 600 kms. The Monster is a close friend now.

Day 6: The bikes were to be displayed at the Iskon Mall and we set up things by 0830 hrs in the morning there. Noor and Manan were at the Mall to guide the Videocon phone promoters and Sunny joined them after the press conference at the opening of the Ducati showroom in the city. Yours truly was at the hotel hammering away at the key-board, catching up on things pending due to the time spent on the road.

Tomorrow morning, we head for Jaipur. the idea is to leave early to gain plenty of day-light for riding and photography. As per the plan we should hit Delhi on the 17th. So bye for now till I get back with another update from Delhi.

Ride long and safe till then...

@simon and ankit: missed catching up with you guys today though I am glad you could meet Sunny, Manan and Noor. I did drop in at the mall but that was late in the day. And of course the Monsters. Take care and try to spread the word about the importance of wearing a helmet. Ahmadabad has terrible traffic and almost no one here wears a helmet on 2 wheelers.

regarding picasa album link, the album is not ready yet ... will share it once its done !

Thanks from the team here at BWM!

Finally all pics are uploaded here -> Picasa Web Albums - Rohit Jain - xBhp Mumbai-Pune Ducati G2G