Good work sherry paji,,,,,Atleast route map is Finalized..!!

Hotel Rooms.

Aryan, dont worry about the accomodation, I have the address and the telephone # of the Hotel swarn Palace(located just two kms. before Chail) and sports a wonderful Scene(read Valley Facing) and to top it up, the owner is from Faridabad and a perfect gentleman.
will book the rooms once the No. of Riders and the dates are thoroughly confirmed. May leave the issue of Booking on me.

@all: am in 100% subject to last minute disappointments! heheheheheheh

@dcs: Accomodation poses the most gravest of concern of any large group ride, but since we have you, I guess everything else will fall into place.

P.S: If only somehow I can bunk work, I'm in!

Nostalgic
Feels Great - to see the enthusiasm...
I would love to be on the LIST, but March is a little too far for me to confirm right now.

One thing I would sincierly like everyone to reply here is, how many of the members who have actually nodded positively for this long ride, have ridden earlier on such long rides (300kms.+)? There are some newbies here as well I believe and it would really be neccessary that someone who have prior experience in long rides, especially in riding in hills takes charge and briefs the team before leaving for the trip.

Riding in group requires VERY good discipline, and riding in hills that too in a group requires tremendous amount of respect for not only yourself but also for the fellow drivers/ riders on the road as well. I don't really know what was the case with last week's Delhi-Chandigarh g2g, but whatever I have heard from the grapevine, it has not really left me with a good impression.

People riding with no road-sense, ripping like crazy, not following any proper rules, etc. have come to my ears and I am somewhat disappointed by this kind of immature and kiddish behaviour of xBhpians. We tout ourselves as the "safety gurus" here and we ourselves fail to follow the rules! Terrible really.

However, since this is going to be a major overnight stay g2g, it would really be great if each one of us who would be participating in this group activity takes responsibility of riding sanely, safely and following rules. Rest everything would fall into place. Presence of a senior or experienced rider does NOT guarantee a mishap-free ride, being accountable for one's own action does.

Let us make it a good, proper, "SAFE", mishap-free ride so that it can be enjoyed by one and all.

Thanks.

good initiative......keep an eye on this thread.

Sherry - will u really be seeing the odometer every km to see various places as per ur post?
Just follow NH1 to Ambala, then to Zirakpur - see the turn post for Shimla (right). Carry on till u see the Chail turn off.
Ideally it should take 7-8 riding hours with 1-2 breaks for a single rider. But ofcourse in a group, riding time increases!

My Inputs!

Aryan, I have the experience of 300kms+ ride., both on bow straight roads( Delhi-Chandigarh) and on Hills too (Ropnagar-Leh-Ludhiana),(Ludhiana-Nahan-Poanta Sahib) to name a few.

yes, definately we will make sure that we will ride in the right formation without any exception. and one thing that I want to put forward is...in case if any of us misbehaves( no need to go in details as to what sort of misbehaviour!) he/she/they should be expelled atleast from the trip then and there itself.

Mates believe me, any biker is seen with an eye of admiration by the by-standers, so we dont need to show OURSELVES off! And we are going for a ride, not to invite troubles.

Lets make this ride a pleasurable one which should give us good amount of memories to cherish for the times to come.

@ Aryan.... we will love to have you in the group. please try it this time around.
@Skipper.... LOL, Sherry was trying to give a point by point distance chart... definately, when we ride..it is practically impossible to note down the odo reading... u r too funny!

@dcs: Ofcourse you are a seasoned rider, no doubts about that fact. It's people like you who would perhaps be looked upto for 'guidance'. As for me, like I said, if I can I would SURELY join in.

@all.

guess its too early for this but I believe when we are almost sure for the dates and for the riders, why not decide upon as to who will be the leader and who will be the sweeper! also, if it is possible, may be we should assign the tasks within the group, like the Tool Kits etc. Also, lets ciculate a Code of Conduct.
also, we should have a back-up man for the leader and the sweeper, a rider who takes care of the cash( Mr. Khazanchi Lal!)!

P.S: are we going Bonkers? are we thinking too ahead...guess we are, but as it was rightly said, it might be the very first group ride to hills for a lot of us, so lets be double sure of every thing. rest its all in the hands of Prem Prakash Dhumal and God...hehehehehehe

I second Aryan and coming from a Considerate Moderator that he is, I can vouch that he only means to ensure safety and fun for all.

Guys,
It feels great to see few of the riders graduating to the next level. A short weekend ride seems just right. While we all look forward to have a memorable time together, I would want to remind and highlight couple of things.

The highway from Delhi till Zirakpur (just before Chandigarh) is among the best roads we have in our country, but then the traffic is also quite a bit. Unlike city roads where a biker has lot more scope to just zip across the traffic, on these highways you will find big cars (accords, scodas, Indian SUVs etc) honking at your back and then speeding away to glory. A rider needs to be very sure of his/her safety because most of the times these car drivers, secured in a safer cage, are not able to realize their responsibilities in time. Always remember a biker is the most vulnerable being on the highways.

From Kalka till Kandaghat is the glorious, curvy and scenic wide National Highway. This amazing stretch demands even more concentration and sanity then plains. The beautiful Mother Nature can be quite punishing if you overshoot a turn or try to negotiate one on more speed then you should. The local cab drivers and Govt. Transport buses are usually rash and a great risk for riders like us.

Group Riding
Group riding is an amazing experience, a chain of riders all geared up in colors, and that lasting exhaust note of the group attracts a lot of unwanted attraction. Especially on hills when you are unaware of the environment ahead (read potholes, cattle, humans, stationary buses etc) a rider needs to be very attentive all the time.

Rest, just be the FUN xBhpian group like always...

well said Imran...
yes, one thing that I have noted in particular is....when ever you are riding(solo or in a group), all dressed up( in Riding Gears and with the baggage), you would definately find people in Cars and SUVs trying to speed/overtake you as if they feel offended. so, be sure we all have Both of the RVMs intact, and not loose our cool. for sure we would not like to loose out on the wonderful scences racing/competing with a Moron. Enjoy each bit of the Ride.

From Delhi to Chandigarh.... its a wonderfully boring road that may force you to red line, but then keeping in harmony with the formation....we will ride at the desired speed only.

from Chandigarh to Pinjore....dusty,off roading on road (courtesy road development work)
from Pinjore to Kandaghat...decently good road....., enjoy the twisties. a few small towns on the way... Solan being the biggest of them.
from Kandaghat to Chail........ Marvellously scenic roads, though quite narrow at times, steep turns too at places, but more or less isolated.... wont see too much of oncoming traffic...enjoy the Mother Nature.

To add, there is road widening going on the NH 22 from Zirakpur to Kalka as of now, so we have to be extra careful while riding onthis strech.

Amit

No way to Chandigarh.


Oh Yes...we probably wont be entering Chandigarh....not a Heaven for Bikers courtesy Chandigarh Police..... we would be taking the turn from Zirakpur crossing towards Shimla thereby avoiding Chandigarh.will enjoy the dust STORM that will fill the eyes and all other openings with dust.
post PINJORE, its a bit narrow road, too much road construction work going on, hence till Kalka...a bit off Traffic congestion is expected.

WOW so many inputs. i have a gut feeling that this is going to be a rocking trip.
And yeah i've been riding atleast 250+ Km every month from the last one year. and sometime it extends to 400+ Kms.
So got enough experience for highway cruising.

So lets have a concrete list of people who will be coming no matter what. and then we can distribute diffrent tasks among ourself.