Yes very much; Yesterday we noticed the speed limit on NH4 (Chennai - Vellore) & a little over Vellore (NH46 leg) to be 50 Kmph. Two weeks back I remember noticing somewhere in Krishnagiri stretch to be 50. Its pathetic to see the govt laying down such inviting highways but a pathetic speed limits; they couldn't control the villagers & hence they're controlling the motorists ; so much for the Rs 200+ odd toll fee!!!

You should have attended the Pre-Ride G2G yesterday. Group Riding/Speeds/Etc all was discussed.

EDIT: Speed limits on most NH's if 4 lane median separated have 80 Kmph as speed limit. This changes at interchanges/intersections/towns/villages. It can go down to as low as 40Kmph.

@ Aargee and Praful : Thanks for the Information.
80kmph in NH's it seems to be only in paper's and not on the roads, in practical we can't stick to the 80kmph speed limit when the roads are empty. However at intersections I do agree that 40kmph is mandatory.

@ Praful : Sorry that I have missed the Pre-Ride G2G. However as being a frequent group and highway rider, I can understand the group formation instructions if you post it.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Please Do Not send updates individually via SMS to either me or John. Update on this thread directly. Its easier to keep track of things this way.

@sakthi: I'm sure you are an experienced rider and definitely ride well (we've met many times in traffic ) But the Pre-Ride was for more than that, its so that you can develop a riding relationship with the other riders too and that becomes important as time passes.

Anyways, about 30 people came yesterday I'm sure each one has some learning from yesterday's ride which will be implemented during the D-Day.

Anyways, the splitting of groups will be done based on speed at the meeting spot. Formations, hand signals, basic rules will again be discussed prior to the start of the ride.

@Praful & @John - what is the final itinerary for the Bangalore group (time, etc)

Day 1

Meeting Time - 5AM
Start Time - 6-6.30 AM (Need time to lay down the basic ground rules of the ride)

Breakfast @ A2B Chinnar - 8.30 AM

Meet Chennai Gang @ Krishnagari - 10.30-11 AM

Chennai Day 1

Chennai:
03:45: Meet up at CTC, Nandambakkam; paper check, ride briefing.
04:15: Leave CTC for NH4; halt at Saveetha College flyover
07:00: Reach HSB, Vellore; breakfast
07:45: Leave for Krishnagiri
10:30: Meet up with Bangalore team at Krishnagiri

Praful, IMO, 10:30 is too late. Another reason, if you plan 10:30, then it may happen by 11:00!!!
Another important question - Did you say Krishnagiri? I thought we were meeting at Vaniyambadi. Looks like confusion prevails

@Kirosh - Looks to be different from what we discussed y'day, am I right?

If we were meeting @ Vaniyambadi, it was @ 9.30AM. Krishnagiri is another 1-1.5 Hrs away. So keeping the Chennai start time constant the meeting time @ Krishnagiri would be close to 10.30-11 AM.

Yes, a vote was taken and it was decided (This happened Today!) that we would taking the better/easier road through Krishnagiri.

Kirosh whats the approx. halt time or reaching time at Kanchipuram?

Am too skeptical to night driving as I have to ride on with the glasses. This will be kinda risky when I have the Visor closed.

Kancheepuram is around 60kms IIRC. So we shud reach there by 5:30 AM. Correct me if I am wrong Kiran.

Attention Bangalore Group

In order to avoid confusion and collection of a huge amount of money on the D-Day. We would encourage you to transfer money in advance to either the CFO (Bangalore) or Me for this ride.

I strongly recommend all you to transfer the money in advance to ensure an easier start of the ride. Additionally, if you have an account in any of the listed banks you can transfer the money online Or if you have any of the below listed banks nearby you can directly deposit the amount at the bank itself. If you don't have an account in any of the banks or a branch from that bank in an area near to you then please ensure you are getting the amount at the day of the ride.

Transferring the cash in advance is helping in speeding up things, so hope you guys help out the team by doing you bit and reducing the work that needs to be done at D-Day.

We currently have the following banks to which you can transfer :-

1. ICICI Bank
2. HDFC Bank
3. Axis Bank

If you have an account in this bank or branch of this bank close to you please get in touch with me over PM for details. Account details will not be posted on the thread, if you have any queries post it in the thread. My PM inbox space is limited, so if you need the information about the bank account then only send me an PM.

We should be passing through the Kanchipuram junction around 5:15am.

As discussed a lot, we have to ride in the dark on both days. The fact that you will be riding in a group will make you forget this.

There are quite a lot of folks who ride in the dark wearing specs. Aparajith is a good example. He did some unknown routes (Delhi-Ambala NH1 and Mandi-Manali ghat section) in the dark wearing glasses and visor down.