The Official Chennai Offline Meet(G2G) Thread

[Ananth]

If thats gonna bring the transfiguration in the riders list, I could PM you right away! Atleast you could consider few!

Wonder why cant the fascinated riders contact me directly or post here? Except for YellowsPunk, Pinturocks, no one else really pinged me or posted / PMed asking for details.

This is what i posted after i came back from Meghamalai..

Guys, Me, Sai Karthik & Deepak went for a ride to Meghamalai last weekend. The place looks absolutely beautiful. Without a second thought, Decided to go back *after* the monsoons are over.

I propose a Chennai GTG sorta Ride to Meghamalai for 3 days in Mid September or 'before' First week of October 2012

Few things to ponder:

1. There are literally No proper roads from Chinnamanur to Meghamalai (About 30 - 40 kms)
2. There is not much accommodation options, But the ones available MUST be prebooked well in advance (A month before the ride atleast!)
3. Place is COLD even in May/June!
4. Place looks absolutely STUNNING!!
5. There is hardly any tourist!
6. I shouldn't say this, But - Would welcome people only with some prior touring experience to join this GTG Ride.
   
7. Once again, The ride up the hill is tough & challenging, Ninja's Fork Seals were broken
8. The place is about 550 Kms One way - Takes close to 12 hours to reach from Chennai.

So, Who all are IN?

I would still re-consider the list of riders if i missed any one mistakenly. I am not avoiding any one out here!

[whizzkid_ram]

Under the table dealing-a?

Nothing personal. lol. I just wanted everybody to be in the part of ride who are very much interested to participate in Meghamalai ride!

Wonder why cant the fascinated riders contact me directly or post here? Except for YellowsPunk, Pinturocks, no one else really pinged me or posted / PMed asking for details.

That is because the interested ppl. hesitated to ask you as you have posted that the riders have already been confirmed & finalized.

I would still re-consider the list of riders if i missed any one mistakenly. I am not avoiding any one out here!

Thanks for that. PMed you!

[Ananth]

That is because the interested ppl. hesitated to ask you as you have posted that the riders have already been confirmed & finalized.

No, My question was about what took them so long to raise their voice? ( I posted the moment i came back) and All new names in the list you sent were being in constant touch with me / forum all the while & still they chose to call you & not me even after having my number?

I had to post saying confirmed & finalized since the bookings to Meghamalai rooms were about to get over & we already had over shot the list of possible riders vs amount of rooms available.

Anyway, The posting will go on forever, WE will organize another ride sometime soon after the rains get over - so we all can go, enjoy & come back!

[whizzkid_ram]

No, My question was about what took them so long to raise their voice? ( I posted the moment i came back) and All new names in the list you sent were being in constant touch with me / forum all the while & still they chose to call you & not me even after having my number?

They must had got in touch with me as to know whether I got the invite from you and hence the chaos! Leave that apart!

Anyway, The posting will go on forever, WE will organize another ride sometime soon after the rains get over - so we all can go, enjoy & come back!

No issues. For all those who gonna raid the meghamalai under downpour, Ride Sane n Safe and turn up with umpteen no. of clicks!

[Divya Sharan]

Whoa! Last couple of pages were full of action.

Well, my take on the Meghamalai invite from Ananth bhai:-

1. I was a little saddened to read the part where he'd mentioned that only experienced guys shall be short listed. I too felt it was wrong.
(Realized the wisdom later.)

2. Soon, I went on a trip to Polur/Vandavasi with Sriram sir, Prithvi and Magesh.
In my mind, I was prepared to prove that I was worthy of riding till Meghamalai with the pros.

3. Highways and hills are two different territories. I knew it earlier, but experienced it on that day. In the hills, I had 6 incidents where I almost crashed due to some reason or the other. It was all my fault and inexperience.
[All this in dry conditions and comparatively better paved roads than the wet, slushy no-road conditions in Meghamalai]

4. Confidence shattered.
But I remember Sriram sir's lines - "This is the exact reason why Ananth said only experienced riders. You did ok. You'll get better with more rides. Even some seniors shall find Meghamalai very tough to ride to. Don't lose heart!"

Golden words. I wanted to do a hill trip with him again, but got transferred soon.

Nevertheless, I'm touring here in Bangalore and within a month I did separate trips to:-
Nandi hills, Tumkur, Mysore and Srirangapatna bird sanctuary.

Planning a Coorg trip in the 18-20 Aug holidays.

Chill out guys. Seniors ain't that bad. Their decisions are wise!
Cheers...

See ya!!!

[bikerfas]

Urge to Ride but currently not much time for weekend rides too :-( - so planning to ride some distance towards Vellore - Amriti Falls.

Got a company too, Me and Sriram are riding... Anyone Interested to Ride in the morning - be at CTC by 5.30am

[bikerfas]

Sunday Morning Ride - To Amriti Falls

A Short sunday morning Ride to Amriti Forest :-) Nothing much to see there but had a good prescribed dosage of NH, SH and Village Roads. Was lucky with the Forest Clerk over there who let us to wander inside/towards the Amriti Falls which is banned from last month due to people being caught in Quicksand and passed away - but we weren't prepared for a trek and that too for falls which was just for the name - but had some walk over the place
and turned back. Back with a happy mind and as usual we tried to expore the place a bit - but sun had other intentions so we headed back with less exploration.

Behind Forest Officer Guest House







once upon a Time - Hospital





Path towards Falls and its surroundings











My Favourite !




We taking Rest and returned back from there












Same Place 2.5 years before was feeding my brain with the Riding tips and tricks from Kiran !




Time to shoot Yamaha R15






Feilds surrounding/enroute Amriti Forest







Some Out of Track Off-Road - seems like Sands are smuggled from here
















2.5 Years we had full water in this place still the Road isn't Fixed. Riders who came for the Pre-Ride for Yercaud Tri-state would remember.




Some Fields and Nature









Thanks Sriram for the Company

[sayhi2sai]

My take on the matter

Avinash, Jafar, Divya Sharan, tdjbiking, deva_hunk, dpak89 INCLUDING PSR Ji have one thing in common...all of them joined after you did. Yet none of them have any frictions with anyone here & no one said senior riders are mocking & unsupportive.

You completely forgot me. Is it because you no longer consider me a part of the Chennai gang?

On a more serious note, having gone through the past couple of pages, I feel it's my responsibility to give the larger community an account of my experience so far with the Chennai Xbhp chapter because we rarely give due credit to the worthy. If I donot speak up now, the negative comments might spur up and drown all that the seniors stood for, in my case.

For all those, who are not already aware, I have heard about Xbhp for the first time in April 2011, which is when I had joined this community. So it's safe to say that with no noteworthy serious biking experience before, I was as noobish as a noob can get. My first ride with the Chennai Xbhp was sometime in July, just about a week after I got my bike which at that point of time did not even have a permanent registration number, and all that my "protective gear" comprised of was a sorry excuse of a helmet ( the very popular Vega offroader ) . The first ride was to Tada falls, to which thanks to my good fortune, many of the seniors turned up. Given the background up until now, it makes perfect sense to assume that I would be ridiculed, made fun of and put on the side lines. Afterall, I was a noob, inexperienced(both might not necessarily mean the same thing) and an outsider(Andhra Pradesh, could not even understand a single Tamil word back then). It doesn't even seem to be worth the effort to educate someone and include him, given the circumstances but what followed later on is quite the contrary to the usual.

I still vividly remember Sriram patiently explaining each and everyone the hand signals, group riding etiquette and general safety awareness(which mind you, he still does on each and every single trip even if there is one mildly inexperienced or new rider). Then Sunny turned up, the life of the party with all the experience and knowledge he has gained over the years and yet ever so patient to answer the silliest and the most obvious of questions.

I have absolutely no qualms in admitting the fact that these guys have taken me under their wing and treated me as their own brethren and explained everything (this includes a very large set of information), with reason and logic behind doing so. It wasn't like Hitler's blind folded conviction about the Jews, they didn't order me or tell me that I couldn't ride with them until I got proper riding gear. They do give due lenience and consideration where it is needed, and it is for the same reason that has been quoted so many times, They have experienced it all.

There is an age old saying, you can only walk the horse until the pond. Whether it wants to drink the water or complain that they didn't provide a straw or just go randomly poop around is entirely upto the horse. Like everything else in the world, you need to make a proactive effort towards something you are passionate about (riding in this scenario).

From then on, I have been on numerous trips with the Chennai Xbhp members, most posted publicly, some initiated by a personal invitation. Personal trips are just that, personal, period. What I have learnt in this year, is that our camaraderie goes beyond the confines of a keyboard and this online forum. Some acquaintances blossom into strong friendship, that has got more to do with personal affinity between the members, which might at times welcome an unplanned trip for whatever circumstances might not be posted online and that does mean not some or most people are selectively omitted.

So my advice, if it all I can offer any to the newbies is that, grab all that you can. Be modest, be sincere and most of all be respectful and the same shall be reciprocated to you many fold. From whatever I know, there is no other community that welcomes it's newcomers so freely and offers such incentives. If someone had told me an year ago that I would be riding alongside Ninja 650's and veteran riders, and that I would be sharing a friendly relationship with them, I would have probably just laughed it off as a distant dream, but... Do I need to elaborate anymore?

The purpose of this post is not to back someone up but merely my heartfelt gratitude to all those who have helped me in my personal transformation. I would have probably got it on my own in a decade or so, but thanks to you I didn't have to learn it the hard way. Amidst all the constructive or otherwise criticism, you are enduring, this is just one of those voices telling you that, "You are doing it right". And for all that effort you have put in, I suppose a Thank you is long overdue, which had been avoided because some feelings are better felt that typed, and I always look upto each one of you as my mentors. And I will sorely miss riding with you guys.

Until next time... Ride hard... Ride Safe...

[thegame0012]

My first ride with the Chennai Xbhp was sometime in July, just about a week after I got my bike which at that point of time did not even have a permanent registration number, and all that my "protective gear" comprised of was a sorry excuse of a helmet ( the very popular Vega offroader ) . The first ride was to Tada falls, to which thanks to my good fortune, many of the seniors turned up. Given the background up until now, it makes perfect sense to assume that I would be ridiculed, made fun of and put on the side lines. Afterall, I was a noob, inexperienced(both might not necessarily mean the same thing) and an outsider(Andhra Pradesh, could not even understand a single Tamil word back then). It doesn't even seem to be worth the effort to educate someone and include him, given the circumstances but what followed later on is quite the contrary to the usual.

I still can't forget that ride - It was fun for sure. There was some leg pulling done but not to forget, no one is spared in this part

So true Sai - We all are on same boat after all. We ride - We learn - We enjoy - We come back with big Smile on our face after every single ride. Sriram, Sunny, Ananth, Dinesh, Steve and other seniors do deserve a big Thanks for all the patience they showed with me .

Anyways, Lot of unexplored places, lots of dream rides, lots of fun. This Gang will be always have room for those who except it with good intention and hopefully will keep the untold visions in sight for very very long time.

[rkum4881]

A Short sunday morning Ride to Amriti Forest :-) Nothing much to see there but had a good prescribed dosage of NH, SH and Village Roads. Was lucky with the Forest Clerk over there who let us to wander inside/towards the Amriti Falls which is banned from last month due to people being caught in Quicksand and passed away - but we weren't prepared for a trek and that too for falls which was just for the name - but had some walk over the place
and turned back. Back with a happy mind and as usual we tried to expore the place a bit - but sun had other intentions so we headed back with less exploration.

Awesome pictures

[Da1AnOnlyHermit]

This might be off topic. Since I made the mistake* of working for my self and off IT area, I do not have certain privileges. (No, this is not a crib, I have way bigger things to crib about!).

Most of these automotive forums have given me a lease of life, a new hope, they have helped me connect to what I loved as a kid. Engines, their beat and everything that has to do with them.

I do respect each and everyone who has done his ride. I respect the friends who got leh'd. They are inspiration. I respect the sensible, married ones with kids that do the same thing but with minimum risks.

Responsibility on ones shoulders is no match for the adrenaline rush of the physically younger guys.

Having said that, I will add, age has nothing to do with experience or seniority.


I have been in too many places, too many schools. The newbies are never welcome. they always have to prove their worth. ( Anything from feed a few, make a few laugh and at times break a rib of the biggest bully) Ive seen that all through my schooling.

A lot of guys, seniors, out here, I have never met them, but they have been the inspiration behind me getting the most sedate 'bigger' bike.
Ill name them, Aananth, Sriram, RG. And Sunny for the most sensible talk and being a true biker.

I do have a solution.

Be a baker! Sugar coat stuff. We are not some biker gang from a hollywood movie! Its all with the attitude. Unless we resemble Steve Austin ( not just the head, the Mus kils et al), I do not see any reason to piss anyone off out here.

Having said that, yellow spunk got some spunk! Ive read his rides too.
Me thinks he came on someones eye!


P.S: This is really irritating, I would like to keep my image of some Hermit on Bong!

[aargee]

You completely forgot me. Is it because you no longer consider me a part of the Chennai gang?

Saar, you're an exception You were never a newbie, you jumped straight into senior rider Lol

[aargee]

When riding from Pune to Chennai on 20-Aug (Yesterday), I witnessed a Bulleteer (Greenish Blue) (riding responsibly) in the direction towards Chennai around 4:15ish

I was speeding on my Red CBR with black tail bag; wondering if he was a xBhpian

Edit - Also witnessed a R15 (guess it was RED) biker riding with tailbag towards Bangalore somewhere closer to Vaniyambadi yesterday; wondering if he were an xBhpian

[SriramEfunds]

Shall we meet on coming Sunday Meet at Thiruvanmiyur Beach at 6 PM?

[prithviq8]

Shall we meet on coming Sunday Meet at Thiruvanmiyur Beach at 6 PM?

I'm in, Bella ciao or Thiruvanmiyur beach?