Re: Day 7 & 8: Kochi

Some nice snaps there!
Waiting for the Kolkata chapter.

Re: Day 7 & 8: Kochi



At 6 AM sharp Swaroop was back this time to guide the team to the meeting point of the G2G. The four Benellis obediently followed the nimble Duke of [MENTION=21846]Swas[/MENTION] to Chathiyath Terminal Road. A scenic road near the waterfront with sweeping corner which the bikers apparently love to take!

The groups present there were Kochi xBhpians, Duke Owners Club, Bullet Buddhas, RedLiners who joined the team in being thankful for having motorcycling in their collective lives. After introductions between the groups, all the riders hopped onto their steeds to ride out to Puthuvype Beach where a short photo shoot was held with all the bikers on the beach. After that everyone rode in proper formation to Hotel Centre Point for the felicitation ceremony.

Bullet Buddhas have been contributing to the motorcycling fraternity by doing rides for various social causes. The DOC have also been involved in positively influencing the outlook towards motorcycling. RedLiners are from Thrissur and had ridden down to Kochi to be a part of the ThankYouRide. After the groups it was time for the xBhpians to be thanked. The pillars of the community who have helped build xBhp to what it is today. The first to be called was Swaroop of course who has been instrumental in organising the ISG2Gs from the Kerala chapter. Ranjith Murali was the other xBhpian there who was thanked for his contributions. Praveen Mathew and Anand Subramanian were thanked with Swaroop being presented the certificates on behalf of the two as they were unavailable to make it for the G2G.

After so many thanks were said, it was time to hit the breakfast table, with excellent food having been arranged by Swaroop, which everybody present enjoyed. Sometimes the small things stand out the most and one such incident was after breakfast was served. At any function up north, one can find the used plates left under chairs, tables and any other crevice that can be found. In Kochi all the used plates were not just kept in the correct place, but were stacked up perfectly! Being the most educated state has its advantages!

After the proceedings came to halt, it was time for the ThankYouRide team to head towards Trivandrum, the capital of the State. On advice from the Kochi guys, the team took the backwaters route via Allapey, Changanasserry, Thiruvalla to enjoy the scenic parts of Kerala. The houseboats in the backwaters made for a picturesque moment as the photographers had a field day! Lunch on the side of these water bodies was the icing on the cake.

Photography is time consuming as the team realized as it was getting late, while TVM still appeared quite a few kilometres away. En route a thunderstorm rolled in to make matters worse as the bikes and bikers were thrown around with the gusts of wind. After many kilometres of attempting to out ride the storm, the team finally reached safe shores by meeting Jayan and the TVM xBhpians who had ridden out to Kilimanoor to receive us and escort us from there all the way to the hotel in the city. A long group ride which the team had not anticipated was a wonderful day to bring to end a fun packed day meeting awesome bikers of two cities.

The TVM xBhpians left the hotel only to go to a nearby CCD where they had another midnight G2G, undeterred by the fact that they had to return at 7 in the morning for the ThankYouRide G2G!