Patience being tested to the core:
Waiting in the long queue of 15 members in the Karur Vysya Bank, I wasted some time. Fear started mounting on my mind, "What if the card fails?" I never thought I would waste time like this in the middle of an endurance ride where every minute wasted would affect the average speed tremendously. With all these thoughts ruining my mind I finally got my turn to take cash from the ATM. Well...the machine took an unusually long time but finally got the cash on hand! Phew...what a relief! Now the trip can really happen!

Time 7.40 P.M
Tripmeter 946 Km

Eating up kms in a Jiffy:
My bike was happy on the delay as it got some rest after a 13 hour rush ride. We started to kill the kms mercilessly at speeds around 110 kmph. Tindivanam passed like a breeze and same is the case with Villupuram. After topping up Petrol in Villupuram my next target stop was set to be a non stop ride to Madurai that is about 300 kms away. Worrying factor is it's night time and Chennai to Trichy route is the most important gateway for all the cities in southern Tamil Nadu with Chennai, hence it's a nightmare for motorists due to countless Private Air Buses and lorries rushing through the highway.

Time: 9.38 P.M
Trip meter: 1081 km

Nature's furry :
With 300 kms left to madurai, I started in a good mood hoping the NH45 is gonna be smooth sailing but then came the warriors from the sky. My Helmet visor started giving up to the heavy downpour and the visibility dropped down by more than 75%. Almost all the vehicles reduced their average speeds and that affected my average too because everytime I overtake a lorry or a bus, the water/mud were splashed on to the visor and I was forced to slowdown and clean the visor with a dry cloth that I placed in my wind shield. Even if I clean the visor the muddy water created a glare that every time a vehicle passed in the opposite direction, my speeds would go down to 40 and 50 kays. I was disappointed as the milestones reading Trichy distance were not motivating. The downour was so heavy that it just kept on increasing without any sign of stopping. The dry cloth was not dry anymore and i was forced to stop. With no option left I removed the visor from helmet and started riding with the balaclava. Soon realized that the visor was better as the rain drops were so sharp that my eyes started burning and tiredness set in for the first time. Even if i speed up or slow down I was always splashed with water from the buses and lorries and cars. Unable to bear the pain on the eyes i took numerous stops just to wash my eyes with water. Time was running fast and just at that juncture came my guardian angel- A Volvo Twin-axle bus flying on the highway to Tirunelveli. My guru Arul has once mentioned about the speciality of Volvo twin axle buses that they could cruise comfortably at 140 kmph speed. However due to rains the driver has reduced his cruising speed to 120 and with less wind resistance I started tailgating the monster at a safe distance. 115 kmph was the speed maintained and my bike has gotten used to these speeds by now. Trichy went past in a Jiffy and I was thankful for that bus driver for slowing down. Alas, he came back to his aggressive mood again after cossing Trichy and eventhough i was crouching fully behind the wind shield and my bike's speedo struggling at 124 kmph the bus took off like a rocket and disappeared. With heavy rain still playing spoilsport my speeds dropped once again and the pressure mounted enormously for the first time in the ride. It was 11.50 P.M and Madurai was still 54 kays away. Just then realized that I was in Kottampatti, that belongs to district of Madurai. I don't have to reach Madurai's town cente afterall it is the distance that matters and not the fact that i enter the city or not. Finalized to stop in the next petrol bunk and head back to chennai.
Time: 11.58 P.M
Tripmeter: 1306 km

Killer rain:
Took a small break in a empty bus stop and finally got a chance to lay my back on the cement floor. What a comfort! My back thanked me and not even a million dollar bed would have given me such a comfort...that cement floor in Kottampatti, Madurai District! I have 6 more hours to go and 304 kms on hand. But considering the rain I knew it will be very tough unless I get another Guardian Angel in the highway on the return journey. Luck was not by my side though and the roads were empty till Trichy. Rain was so heavy and it took me a whopping 2 hours ride to cover just 78 kms! My eyes were burning and my toe started sending warning messages to my brain about the merciless activity that my body has been forced to. Cough set in followed by running nose and my burning eyes started to send out tears that were cruelly washed away by the eye prickling rain. After crossing Trichy I was welcomed by a long queue of trucks.
Time: 2.00 A.M
Tripmeter: 1384 km

The Accident:
Nothing worked on my way since evening. There was a long queue of trucks and an Ambulance rushed passed me. I knew something bad has happened. The police stopped my bike when I was trying to cross the long queue of trucks and asked me to wait for a while till they clear the bodies(!!!!) oh my God...a lorry has crashed into a car and the Butter smooth highway was sparkling by the broken glasses. 20 minutes passed and after crossing the lorries slowly I was at the front waiting for the Police to allow us continue the Journey. Once I heard the whistle I started to zoom past the accident scene and started twisting the throttle like never before. Yes.. fear has set in by now. I was 226 kms behind the target of 1610 km and time left was 3hrs and 30 minutes. Finally nature stopped her play and my dear Fazer, that never showed any signs of giving up, started roaring. Even now when i'm typing this blog i could hear my bike's sound and my heart's sound that time is running...time is running...we may lose like that other guy who has tried saddle sore in Fazer and lost it by an hour. Everytime i thought about that guy my speed climbed up and was chasing the wind.

and finally....

Villupuram passed by and i didnt had any mood to stop anywhere. My own tank was full and needed a leak but a big no no! Tindivanam passed by and i recieved the final reminder that if i'm not gonna stop then my bladder will blow out. Unable to bear the pain i stopped for a leak and when i was back on my saddle it felt so comfortable! I had 45 kms to cover in a solid 1 hour and 30 minutes. Still i didn't want to slow down and kept the throttle fully open. 45 kms were done in 42 minutes and that's it! I've completed the saddlesore challenge of 1610 kms with 48 minutes left. Messaged my friends (Somehow the message I sent to shaggy who was updating my status in my orkut community didn't reach him) and they were present in Vandalur to recieve me. Every km beyong 1610 km felt great! My heart was jumping with Joy...finally we did it...as promised i've given my bike the best gift she deserves "The first Fazer to do Saddlesore 1600K challenge successfully". I knew there were lot of formalities in IBA and it would take them at least 2 or 3 months to complete the verification process but who cares! I have the proof with me!

We made it!
My burning eyes sent down big packets of tears...my mind was recollecting the comments made by many people that it won't be possible to do a 1600+km ride on a air cooled 150cc engine...I also remembered the words of my friends who came from long distance just to wish me have a safe journey, though they had late working hours still they woke up early and came to see me, wishing me luck..Deepan, Vinoth, Jayaraj sir, Prabhakar sir, Thirumavalavan sir and Suresh from HCL..then my very own beloved touring companion Shaggy from the orkut community who rode besides me for the initial 3 kms to see me fly off on NH4 safely..I also remebered that dreadful "Sir, your card has error" message given by the attender in a petrol bunk...the long queue in the ATM at Urapakam, chennai...the heavy rain ...the Volvo bus...the accident...my toe stopped sending warning messages...my heart took over the control of my mind and I stopped my bike just 5 kms before reaching the final check point,Vandalur. I Walked up to the front of the bike and hugged my bike's fairing with my tears rolling down the sweet looking pilot lamp nestled at the centre of the twin headlamps and gave my bike a kiss that tasted more sweeter than honey. My Fazer has silently taken up all the pain throughout the ride and is trully the best companion a guy can get.

Back in Vandalur my friends were waiting for me and finally got the computerized reciept from the Bharat Petroleum bunk. It read "6.03 A.M on 3rd October 2010" We made it with 8 minutes to spare! Everybody were filled with Joy that i acomplished my dream run and we went on to have breakfast.

"What's the best part of the Journey?" one of my friend asked me.."Well it was the kiss that I gave my bike!" murmured my heart inside. But my mouth started out.. " While returning from coimbatore the roads were.......blah blah blah"

Time: 6.03 A.M
Tripmeter: 1665 km