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Re: South India Interstate G2G 2017 | Thekkady (KL) | 100+ Riders
So , it all started on the 30th of June. Luckily, Since I was bit unoccupied for the day , I took some time out and logged into xBhp forums which is where I noticed that there would be a ISG2G at Thekkady. Realizing that I was way too late for all this ( registrations had already closed on the 15th of June) , without any further delay I PM'ed Praful and expressed my interest in joining the ride , only to know that they were over booked already
.
Lucky me , few people apparently had dropped out and I got confirmation later that I can join the trip the very next day
. Immediately filled in the form, transferred the amount and voila , I was officially part of the ISG2G and was on my way to probably making the most memorable trip of my life.
This was my first Group ride and first ISG2G as well. I had only done few trips to Chennai - Bangalore in the past. The pre-ride was sure very helpful since I got to actually meet people who I would be travelling. Also got to know I would be part of the "SLOW Group" owing to the meager 150 CC engines that we are riding on.
The following week after the pre-ride, I got my bike serviced and it was all set for the long ride. Next was the huge task of convincing my parents for a 1000+ KM trip on a bike. It took no more than 45 mins to convince them about how safe this was going to be. But , they approved this conditionally that I would be texting them whenever I make a stop and also post photos of locations I visit. ( I would probably do the same if I were to be in their shoes).
On the night before the ride day , the schedule was finalized that the slow group would start at 3:30 AM in the morning from ECITY. I packed everything and lay down in my bed to sleep , But I was too pumped to sleep thinking about the ride in next couple of hours. Set up 6 Alarms from 2:30 AM till 3:00 AM ( Just in case I slept off :P ).
Clearly , I wasn't getting any sleep at 11:00 PM in the night , then I opened Chrome on my mobile , was reading through this link 15 Ways to fall asleep faster.. and was asleep already. The next thing I remember I was waking up at 2:29 AM with a message from Praful on our Whatsapp group to post a text if anyone was already up. ( Looks like mere reading of that article helped , without doing any of it in actual). Also bookmarked it for future reference.
Kicked off the ride from my home at 3:25 AM and reached the meeting spot at 3:34 AM. Fellow member Pavan had reached the spot at around the same time ; after introducing ourselves to each other , I realized he was here for the 4 AM group. Momentarily , Praful had reached there too and my 500 KM drive had started off.
First stop was supposed to be at 140 KM near Thopur for Breakfast, but it was only 5:40 AM in the morning and we decided we would ride until its 7:45 or 8 AM for a halt. I guess we got carried away a bit but we realized we had reached Karur already at 7:45 AM where stopped for breakfast. We had already done 300+ KMs from start point.
This was when I realized , being part of the slow group was the best thing that happened. Hands down!
The next stop we made was after Dindigul , we decided to refuel; Where we met Rajesh and Sharad who were travelling by Car. After a short talk , we started off again and made the next stop at Cumbum for lunch. Our destination was less than 20Kms away and it was only 12:20 PM in the afternoon.
Finally , we reached our hotel , While I and Ganesh parked our bikes in the basement of Sandra , Praful proceeded to his hotel which was very close by.
Checked into our rooms after having the welcome drink and leaped out the common balcony to this wonderful view.
There was the Tee distribution in the evening and luckily I got a Tee myself too. Also , the bikes parked in the basement were being checked out. Noticed my bike was in the last since I was part of the first few to reach here.
Next day , we went to Parunthumpara. We were the first to get there I guess since we took a different route. The view was absolutely amazing and we took enough pictures.
This was followed by the group photos and strangely I don't seem to have taken any of those pics. I'm sure they are already posted here.
Post lunch , my roommates Rajesh & Sharad took to me to this unnamed place filled with windmills and mind blowing views - This is in close proximity of Ramakkalmedu.
Last day was really sad ; I was getting back to Bangalore , getting back to office. Started off at around 6:30 AM in the morning and it was almost 3 PM when I reached home. Trip count after I reached home.
Also , pasted the ISG2G sticker on my bike.
This was undoubtedly one hell of a trip and I never thought I'd be travelling 1000+ Kms in three days. Special thanks to Praful and Phanikar for trusting and accomodating a random dude for his first 500+ KM long trip . I hope to be part of more such trips.
So , it all started on the 30th of June. Luckily, Since I was bit unoccupied for the day , I took some time out and logged into xBhp forums which is where I noticed that there would be a ISG2G at Thekkady. Realizing that I was way too late for all this ( registrations had already closed on the 15th of June) , without any further delay I PM'ed Praful and expressed my interest in joining the ride , only to know that they were over booked already
.Lucky me , few people apparently had dropped out and I got confirmation later that I can join the trip the very next day
. Immediately filled in the form, transferred the amount and voila , I was officially part of the ISG2G and was on my way to probably making the most memorable trip of my life.This was my first Group ride and first ISG2G as well. I had only done few trips to Chennai - Bangalore in the past. The pre-ride was sure very helpful since I got to actually meet people who I would be travelling. Also got to know I would be part of the "SLOW Group" owing to the meager 150 CC engines that we are riding on.
The following week after the pre-ride, I got my bike serviced and it was all set for the long ride. Next was the huge task of convincing my parents for a 1000+ KM trip on a bike. It took no more than 45 mins to convince them about how safe this was going to be. But , they approved this conditionally that I would be texting them whenever I make a stop and also post photos of locations I visit. ( I would probably do the same if I were to be in their shoes).
On the night before the ride day , the schedule was finalized that the slow group would start at 3:30 AM in the morning from ECITY. I packed everything and lay down in my bed to sleep , But I was too pumped to sleep thinking about the ride in next couple of hours. Set up 6 Alarms from 2:30 AM till 3:00 AM ( Just in case I slept off :P ).
Clearly , I wasn't getting any sleep at 11:00 PM in the night , then I opened Chrome on my mobile , was reading through this link 15 Ways to fall asleep faster.. and was asleep already. The next thing I remember I was waking up at 2:29 AM with a message from Praful on our Whatsapp group to post a text if anyone was already up. ( Looks like mere reading of that article helped , without doing any of it in actual
). Also bookmarked it for future reference.Kicked off the ride from my home at 3:25 AM and reached the meeting spot at 3:34 AM. Fellow member Pavan had reached the spot at around the same time ; after introducing ourselves to each other , I realized he was here for the 4 AM group. Momentarily , Praful had reached there too and my 500 KM drive had started off.
First stop was supposed to be at 140 KM near Thopur for Breakfast, but it was only 5:40 AM in the morning and we decided we would ride until its 7:45 or 8 AM for a halt. I guess we got carried away a bit but we realized we had reached Karur already at 7:45 AM where stopped for breakfast. We had already done 300+ KMs from start point.
This was when I realized , being part of the slow group was the best thing that happened. Hands down!
The next stop we made was after Dindigul , we decided to refuel; Where we met Rajesh and Sharad who were travelling by Car. After a short talk , we started off again and made the next stop at Cumbum for lunch. Our destination was less than 20Kms away and it was only 12:20 PM in the afternoon.
Finally , we reached our hotel , While I and Ganesh parked our bikes in the basement of Sandra , Praful proceeded to his hotel which was very close by.
Checked into our rooms after having the welcome drink and leaped out the common balcony to this wonderful view.
There was the Tee distribution in the evening and luckily I got a Tee myself too. Also , the bikes parked in the basement were being checked out. Noticed my bike was in the last since I was part of the first few to reach here.
Next day , we went to Parunthumpara. We were the first to get there I guess since we took a different route. The view was absolutely amazing and we took enough pictures.
This was followed by the group photos and strangely I don't seem to have taken any of those pics. I'm sure they are already posted here.
Post lunch , my roommates Rajesh & Sharad took to me to this unnamed place filled with windmills and mind blowing views - This is in close proximity of Ramakkalmedu.
Last day was really sad ; I was getting back to Bangalore , getting back to office. Started off at around 6:30 AM in the morning and it was almost 3 PM when I reached home. Trip count after I reached home.
Also , pasted the ISG2G sticker on my bike.
This was undoubtedly one hell of a trip and I never thought I'd be travelling 1000+ Kms in three days. Special thanks to Praful and Phanikar for trusting and accomodating a random dude for his first 500+ KM long trip . I hope to be part of more such trips.
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