Greetings to all you great people reading this log! I hope most of you relate to this log and enjoy it and that some of you are even inspired by it.

This is my trip log (sans photos) about the 1600kms I covered during 16th to 17th June on NH4 between Pune -> Bangalore -> Pune. I don't want to call it a saddlesore since:

1. I didn't complete the 1650kms required.
2. I didn't get the receipts and bills at the necessary checkpoints.
3. It wasn't meant to be a saddlesore run.

For those of you who want to believe me, I covered 1604kms on the odo in 23 hours exactly. For those of you who don't, treat it as the normal but rather long trip log that it is.



The Beginning

Like so many crazy ideas out there, this one too was in my head for a long time before I actually decided to do something about it. I've always called myself a tourer ever since the bug of biking bit me. I used to ride a Dio before I got my 220 but because of lack of motivation and knowledge about the scooty I only managed one trip to Lonavala in the entire 3 years i rode it. I knew I had to do something better and that I had much more in me.

Then like so many people out there, I joined the forum once I got a good bike . And like any guy, or girl for that matter, I used to go down and wipe the dust off of it every morning even if I didn't plan to ride that day. Mad with the fever of biking I gobbled up information so I could take care of my bike. I was amazed by its power which is not so surprising after a 3 fold increase in power from one ride to the next. The brakes which many say feel unsafe felt like a blessing to me. 60-0 in no time! I'd never bang into the bumper of the car in front of me again!

The ownership threads were all I needed to learn about signs to look out for in case something went wrong or started going wrong. And as I started with the small DIYs like lubing the chain cleaning the spark plugs, air filter I started feeling that bond between the bike and me. I always had a smile on my face every time I sat down on it in the morning and gave it a pat when I came back home.

Slowly my attention shifted to the other threads on the forum. Stories about saddlesores, trips to Leh and beyond, beautiful photo features from Kerala. I could feel the bug of inspiration bite me over and over. So i started small. Lonavala was the first real ride for me. Completed 100kms on that trip. The next one was slightly longer. 130kms one way to Matheran. All this while I was testing the bike as a tourer. I didn't really push it too far. Don't remember crossing 100kmph before. The bike, of course, showed no signs of weakness. And then when I read Hyperion's saddlesore log I was amazed that people and bikes, more importantly, could accomplish such feats!

So I initiated contact with a few people who'd done saddlesores, nin being among them. I bombarded them with queries about the trip, average speeds, top speeds, stops, petrol prices, condition of the roads, everything I could think of plus what the forum taught me to find out. And from them I learned that it wasn't really so much about testing the bike's limits as it was about testing mine. All this was about 2 months ago when I was getting ready for a few exams.

I'd already bought elbow and knee guards and gloves but didn't have enough time or money to save for a jacket so I decided to save for a new helmet and bought it about a week before my trip. Now I'll be selling off the Dio to get money for a decent jacket which I'd have died for on the trip as I later would realize.

Enough of the boring intros! Lets get down to business now...



The Preparation

I'd switch to Motul 5100 at 5300kms and had decided to do the trip between 6000 and 8000kms. The oil is pretty brilliant and certainly improves the shifting if nothing else. I was done with my exams by 13th June and decided to leave on 16th in the morning. Being a weekday I was sure I wouldn't encounter too much traffic and man! I've never seen such awesome roads so devoid of traffic before!

So the money for the petrol was organized, 4900 bucks in all. By my calculations, I'd not require more than about 4000 bucks for the petrol but I had to keep in mind that there are always unforeseen circumstances which hide behind the bushes just waiting to spring out! Luckily there were no major incidents but i had my share of trouble

And 15th night came. I was buzzing and somewhat apprehensive since this was my first real trip and the first time i was doing anything over 260kms in one day. I have no idea how but somehow I managed to get much required sleep on the bed which I was probably sleeping on for the last time... No kidding, I was seriously considering writing a note of sorts for my loved ones justifying my actions but thought against it.

Before i went to bed I took stock of all the items I was taking:

1. Watch
2. Chain spray
3. Engine oil
4. Camera
5. Water
6. Glares/Goggles
7. Bike papers
8. Gatorade
9. Nutri/Chocolate bars
10. Torch

Checked the riding gear and packed all the items that didn't require refrigeration.

And I slept, dreaming of nothing, my mind getting my body ready for ride that would initiate me.



D - Day

And it was time. The alarm went off at 4 am but it wasn't really required. I was alert the moment my eyes opened. Off started the drill. Brushing my teeth, readying the bag, checking the list once again. Trying hard to notice something that I'd skipped and would require during the journey. Trying to foresee incidents that could hamper my progress but as it turned out, you could can't predict everything and you're only as good as your experience in this field.

Put on my jacket (which is thick and well suited for cold Delhi like winters), elbow pads, knee pads. Took the gloves, helmet and keys down to the bike. Performed the pre-ride inspection. Tires, oil, chain, brakes. Let the bike idle for half a minute or so as is my ritual while I put on my helmet and gloves. And I was off. Riding towards Chandani Chowk, towards the ride that would define me for months to come.

I reached Chandani Chowk at 5 am dot. Took the ramp down to NH4 and left my worldly desires at the edge of the road. Unleashing the beast at just 6k rpm I had that kiddish smile on my face which I had when I first rode the bike. I rarely go over 4-4.5k in city riding so every time I use the mid range or red line the bike, its heaven!

The ride had started! I had to be back before 5 am the next day. It was a personal goal and like I said, not a saddlesore run. It was dark but the headlights which can only be described as awesome held their own even at 80-90kmph. I'd read about the dangers of out running your headlights and since this was my first time riding on the highway at night, I'd tried to dig up all the safety information I could. I was comfortable at those speeds. At least initially. 50kms into the journey and the road was turning out to be amazing! It was living up to my expectations from what I'd heard about it.



Phase I - Pune to Kolhapur (or so I thought)

I'd planned to take a 10-15 min every 200kms because I was acutely aware of the fact that when I'd be riding back to Pune, it'd be night time plus fatigue would be kicking in. So I wanted to do all I could to avoid that very dangerous combination of riding and trying to sleep

But as it turned out, the highway was too awesome! The roads were smooth as butter, no abrupt bad patches or even worse, potholes. The bike was running brilliantly, surprising me with its performance. Handling has always been a weak point for Pulsars. But I find that even crouching down a few inches improves the handling many folds and that gave me confidence in case I had to maneuver suddenly in case of an obstruction like stones or oil spills or animals and most unlikely - humans who emerged from the wrong side of buses while trying to cross highways as was the case while passing through a few towns along the route.

So the first stop was to be somewhere around Kolhapur but when the milestones showed under 50kms for Kolhapur and I did a check on myself and the bike, I realized that I did not really need a break at Kolhapur. Confident in my abilities, I zoomed past Kolhapur. Chugging along at a healthy 90kmph and riding past my previous longest distance in a day of 260kms. It was kind of an achievement for me .

And I kept going until my butt was driving me mad . The first stop was for petrol and from then on I decided to combine my petrol and rest stops to save time. So I went on riding till 340kms and stopped at Belgaum for petrol. What a relief it was to get off and stretch my legs!

I'd already topped up the tank the night before. The bike took a long 12 liter drink. Spoke with the guys at the petrol station, inquired about the weather, condition of the roads and general small talk. They were of course interested in knowing where I was coming from, where I was going, etc. I've realized that if you're an open person, help comes to you much more readily. But you still have to ask for it since Indians in general are pretty apathetic. So after some Gatorade, chocolate bars I was off again. Feeling confident in my butt's abilities, I started the second phase.



Phase II - Belgaum to Chitradurga

Now I was bored of 90kmph. I decided to up my speeds and test the bike at speeds greater than 100. So I accelerated to about 105kmph which came up at something around 7k. The bike felt smooth on the road. Vibes were present of course but they weren't too disturbing. The shockers were doing their job well and keeping me happy but there was this one thing which was as unrelenting as the monsoon rain of Bombay - crazy cross winds!!

While riding, to keep my mind occupied I kept doing mental calculations for the distance remaining, money left, mileage, various times. So my mileage for Phase I came out to be about 35kmpl which for me was pretty good.

I'm pretty sure if I had sails, the cross winds would have taken me to 140kmph easily! Absolutely crazy cross winds! Ticking me off and swaying me off course and coming and going off abruptly like cross winds do. That was the only thing spoiling my ride but not quite spoiling my mood. So I decided to crouch. Went down into a half crouch and immediately felt a huge difference. It was much easier to fight the cross winds but it was still a battle. Moreover, crouching down decreased the wind resistance and I gained a few kmph.

There was this patch of about 20 odd kms just after Dharwad which was two laned and without a divider. It was easy enough overtaking slow moving trucks in day time but as I'd realize while coming back, at night, that stretch was as close to suicide as you could get.

So I was riding along, enjoying the scenery and making a mental note to come back on this route some other time with a more relaxed objective and take good pictures. The cross winds were still pretty much there and I thought to myself,'They should put up a wind farm here!'. And sure enough a huge wind farm emerged. There must have been at least a hundred wind mills from what I could make out in the few glances I took to count them. And there were trucks with the blades of these wind mills. Honestly, they seem very small up there spinning in the wind 200 feet off the ground. When I saw the blades on the trucks, they were really big ass!!

One thing that you learn from such trips is the geography of the area. Its good to know about the various towns and cities you encounter on the route. So while I was going around Ranebennur, I discovered true peace. It might sound like a cliched line but when you're no longer a kid, cliches start appearing everywhere. There was this small dip in the road and a slight turn and when the turn ended, I saw this flat barren terrain, filled with poles which carry electricity lines. It really was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen and ranks right up there along with Leh. It was this sight that filled me with peace and gave me strength to continue later in the journey. That sight plus the couple of songs stuck in my head were very useful near the end of the trip

Riding past Davanagere, I reached Chitradurga where I took my second break. I'd ridden 300kms since Belgaum and was 640kms into my 1600km journey. This break too was a relief for my butt which was still in pretty good condition. And here the first 'unforeseen incident' occurred.

I'd filled petrol in the bike, the helmet was on the seat, my bag was slung over one shoulder. I was standing beside the bike and moving it forward a bit when my bag hit the helmet and it started to fall down. To save the helmet I let go of the bike and caught it with my hands while my bike was resting on my legs. And that wasn't really a problem. The guy at the petrol station helped me. What happened was that somehow I managed to scrape a decent amount of skin off of my little finger between the nail and the first joint. The wound in itself wan't so bad and stopped bleeding after a while. The problem was that I had to wear my gloves over it. The insides of the gloves were going to rub against it and I knew it was going to be bad. Moral: Carry band-aids.

Laughing it off I drank some more of that amazing energy drink and another chocolate bar and started off on the third leg of the journey after the bike had had its 8 liter drink.



Phase III - Chitradurga to 800kms

This time i decided to up my speeds again and was now travelling at 115-120kmph. Battling the cross winds and wind resistance with an almost full crouch, while doing the mental calculations. For the previous leg of the journey, my mileage came to about 30kmpl which for me was time 10!! I'd expected something like 25 riding above 100 but the bike amazed me! So i thought that the mileage couldn't possible go below 25 even at 120kmph.

Delighted by this turn of events I rode on when the next 'unforeseen incident' occurred.

I was cruising at about 120 when my jacket's zip came lose. It flew open and the sudden increase in wind resistance decreased my speed by at least 5kmph. So I pulled over and was trying to close it again when the metal piece which is used to operate the zip broke. I mean it just came off!! But I didn't wait and cry in agony and went straight to finding a solution since we all know that India runs on 'jugaad' . I tried brute force to try and close it. Didn't work. Tried thinking of some solution like tying it to something. Nothing came to mind. So since I'd already wasted 10 minutes, I decided to continue with the ride. I tucked the two open ends of the jacket behind my back and the weight of the bag would hold it in place.

So now I was riding with just one t-shirt protecting me from the elements. Not so bad in the day but it almost shattered my confidence in the night when I was riding completely drenched. But more on that later.

So on I went, tucked in at 120kmph. Reached the 800km mark or rather 794.9 km mark about 50kms from Bangalore somewhere near Tumkur. Took a U-turn, pulled over and put the bike on the center stand. And then I just stood next to the bike for a few minutes. Taking in the surroundings. The highway, the trucks, my achievement (for me it certainly was one!).

I reached Bangalore at 330 which meant that I'd somehow managed to cover 800kms in 10.5 hours! I stood there relishing and savoring this small victory in the war I was fighting. Drank lots of gatorade, ate a couple of chocolate bars, checked the oil, tires, lubed the chain since it was completely dry because of the little drizzling I'd faced along the way. And taking one last look around me, started the bike, checked my rear view mirror and was off again!



Phase IV - 800 to 1300kms

I started riding again, calculatings the money I had left, how much I'd require at 30kmpl, if I needed to slow down, etc... So I started riding back to Pune. From Tumkur I rode about 200kms and stopped for a petrol break somewhere between Chitradurga and Davanagere. This was the first stop I felt any signs of weakness so i drank a little extra gatorade while the bike drank abput 8 liters. Stretched a little, collected my thoughts, emptied my bladder and took a little extra time out.

Was chatting with the guys at the petrol station. They were pretty friendly, offered to clean my headlights since they were all foggy by that time. Spoke about the route ahead, if it was very accident prone at night. And they too were surprised when I told them the purpose of the ride.

So I sped off again, Slowly the darkness started creeping in. Initially it was alright, the headlights weren't required but I had them on anyway. I then encountered this patch of the highway where they were expanding the highway to a 6 lane. The traffic was being diverted in places so we had traffic going in both directions on the same side of the divider. Not so scary since it was still twilight but I didn't skip any chance to overtake a truck as I wanted to cover as much distance as I could before it was dark.

Just as this patch of construction got over, I reached a bridge which was under construction. It was being constructed over a railway line. I forgot to mention this earlier as it was inconsequential but while going back there were a couple of trucks carrying the blades for windmills. And for obvious reasons they wouldn't go over 40-50kmph. I wouldn't have minded that had it not been for the fact that now there was more mud than road. Because of the construction work the road was non-existent and traffic was literally crawling. Luckily for me, there was no divider and the trucks were all in a straight line with minimal traffic coming from the opposite side. So I could easily 'filter' them as they say. I'm sure I passed by 20 trucks this way saving at least half an hour.

This patch was just about to get over and I was just getting onto good roads when the next 'unforeseen incident' occurred. I got stuck in third gear. The gear pedal was moving but the gear wasn't shifting. So I pulled over yet again, this time completely perplexed since I'd never faced or heard about this problem before. But I knew how the pedal worked so I was able to figure out that the problem was simply in these two nuts which connected the gear pedal and the shaft leading into the gearbox. Managed to correct it by hand and voila! It was all

Now it was pretty much dark and the headlights were working their magic again but I knew it wouldn't be long before they too would be useless and I'd have to get back down to 80kmph. To make matters worse, as I'd expected, it started raining. Initially it was just a drizzle and my tucked in position protected me from the rain. But slowly it got stronger and stronger and got to a point where I had to actually open my visor just a bit to prevent it from fogging up. I passed by the wind farm and could see really dark, heavy clouds in the general direction of Pune and right then I realized what I'd signed up for.

Now I was at the two laned patch of highway I'd talke about earlier. Around 20-30 kms from Dharwad. And this is where I felt a very strong need to have a couple handguns so I could shoot the idiot truckers and many cars who were travelling on high beam. Like I said earlier, it was as close to suicide as I'd ever been (not that I'm very suicidal anyway ). Thankfully it wasn't raining heavily so that variable was removed. But the combination of the few droplets still left on my visor and the high beams managed to, literally, almost kill me.

I was riding and the road was going straight. A line of trucks was coming in on high beam and I couldn't see a thing. Unknown to me, the road had started curving. I was cautious enough to be doing less that 60 when the high beams were coming so imagine my horror when I found myself on the wrong side of the white line marking the edge of the road!!

My eyes opened really wide and pure reflexes kicked in to counter steer immediately! This was a really horrifying experience and I dared not go above 50 after that. I had the idea of following a truck but none were going above 40kmph which frankly, was too slow to follow. I'd read to change the position of the RVMs at night so that high beams from the rear don't hit your eyes so that at least was taken care of. After what seemed like an eternity I reached Dharwad and this horrific part of the journey was over.

Relieved, I sped back up to 80kmph when a few words of advice from hyperion emerged from my clouded memory. He'd followed fast cars when he was riding at night thus helping keep his average speed up as well as providing safety. I was moving along between 80-90kmph when I noticed unusually powerful lights in my RVMs. I let the alien lights pass and with a smile noticed that it was a Neeta volvo ! Doing a healthy 110. With a big smile on my face I mouthed the words,'Neeta volvo! You are my saviour!'. And I started following it at a healthy 100-150 meters at above 110kmph. It was raining slightly but the tires were gripping tremendously well and I was completely confident even on the curves at those speeds. One side effect of the rain was because of cross winds which were blowing from the left to the right, the mist from trucks' tires was being blown into me. Every time I overtook a truck I would completely tuck in behind the bike's visor to avoid this depressing mist.

After a while the volvo pulled over. I figured someone was probably pukish so I slowed back down to 90 and waited for another one of my 'saviours' to come. And sure enough, a Skoda Octavia with a MH 12 registration volunteered .

And we were off again, back to 100-105kmph. I followed this car through one toll booth. Waited for it till it paid the toll and started following it again. I'm pretty sure the person in the car realized what I was doing. Soon afterwards this Swift overtook us and I started following it instead of the Octavia. I was doing 120kmph but the car was too fast for me so I got back behind the Octavia. It was still drizzling a bit and I really had to pee by that time.

So I pulled over and peed to my contentment and looked up and down the highway. It was pretty deserted and I was getting a solitary traveler sort of feeling.



Almost There

From this point on, the conditions only got worse and my morale only went down. The constant downpour was beating down my confidence and the pretty much non-existent jacket didn't help either. I was no longer able to follow cars at high speeds and had to slow down to 80kmph or so and ride in the slow lane. The visor was open ever so slightly to avoid fogging but I was still having a hard time understanding what my eyes were telling me.

And for the second time that night, I almost ran off the road. The same story again, high beams and rain = no vision. The road started curving and I realized just in time. Even the white lines on the road were difficult to see because of all the rain.

I could not tell if there was a truck or a tree or if the road was turning or whatever other illusion. It was almost like hallucination. I wasn't low on petrol but I didn't want to stop elsewhere and waste precious time. The rains just kept getting worse and I was down to 60kmph but had to fully tuck in to keep my chest from getting wet and to keep the cold winds off. The bike's fairing really helped a lot and went a long way in keeping wind and rain off. I was thankful I hadn't gone in for the streetfighter version.

A petrol station finally emerged and I took a sigh of relief. The bike drank a good 10 liters and I was pretty much completely out of my senses for a while. A little stretching and some nutrition was enough to get my head back in the game. This was to be my last petrol stop and I'd covered about 520kms of the 800 while going back to Pune. It was still 11 in the night so with a good five hours in my hand I had to maintain an average speed of just 60kmph. Sounded simple enough and the fact that traffic was beginning to thin out by that time certainly helped.

On I went again. Back in the rain, this time I got completely drenched and I was seeing things that weren't there at times. I caught my self half dreaming this one time and though I should've pulled over, I didn't. I persevered and kept my wits about myself. Slowed down to 50 and decided that even if I didn't complete the run in 24 hours, it'd still be and achievement and a very big one at that. I decided that I'd be at peace with myself even if I failed and this thought somehow gave me the courage to go on.

I was riding slow for a while and the rains had almost stopped now. The monotonous darkness was pressing down from all sides but the absence of morale beating rain was a confidence booster. My speeds steadily climbed up to 80kmph but I didn't dare to follow a fast car after the harrowing experience I'd had in the rain.

If you've gotten this far in the log and it seems to have become dreary and you're wishing it'd end already you'll understand what I was feeling for the last 200kms of the journey. I'd lost all reason and have no idea what was pushing me to complete the journey. I felt like a robot doing its master's bidding without question. I trudged along on my bike varying my speeds between 50 and 80.

The milestones provided a little inspiration and every 50kms I'd say a 'yay!' to myself.

By the time I was 50kms from Pune, even the songs which were stuck in my head earlier weren't playing anymore. So now I know one way of getting rid of songs which get stuck in my head .

And finally I recognized the landscape, the tunnel I'd ridden through one day ago. It was starting to dawn on me that I'd actually been riding for a whole day. The very thought sounded absurd.



The End

I was now almost done with the journey. My body too was almost done. My back was aching because of all the tucking. I could no longer sit straight and was riding like the hunch back of notre dame . The insides of my thighs hurt from gripping the petrol tank. My little finger had gone numb from the open wound rubbing against the gloves constantly. To a bystander, I might as well have been half dead.

One last toll booth and I made my last mistake. Like an idiot, for some reason, I took the Katraj exit. By the time I realized, I couldn't have turned back so I had no option but negotiate ghats at night in the rain. Didn't go over 40 in 4th gear and let the engine braking play out.

Finally in familiar territories, I found my way back home and the moment I entered the colony's gate, a big smile lit my face up inside the helmet. The way I was smiling from ear to ear, it could've been my birthday!

Back in the stilt parking under my building, I switched off the bike, put it on the center stand (which took a few tries since my legs weren't really working) and just sat there for a few minutes. Completely alone, with the world oblivious to what I'd just accomplished in the past 24 hours, I literally looked upwards and raised my arms and with clenched fists punched the air in pure jubilation! Ecstasy engulfed me and the endorphins started flowing. Home at last! 1600kms! I couldn't help but smile and smile. For me, it was nothing short of climbing Everest.

I got off the bike, took out my watch and read the time. To my disbelief it said 4 am!! Imagine my delight when I realized that not only had I successfully covered 1600kms but I'd also managed to do it in 23 hours! I'd surpassed my own expectations and the bike, well, it was still standing tall! I gave it a nice pat on the tank and turned towards the elevator. Almost every muscle in my aching body must have been cursing me to hell. I opened the door, ready to wake up my roommate who'd assured me as well as he could that I'd take 20 hours to reach Bangalore and that I'd have to stop for the night. He sure was surprised .