In Brief this is what we have done…
1. M. Sriharsha (ME) – Kawasaki NINJA250R – Completed BB2500K and SS1600K
2. N. Ramvarma – Honda CBR 250R – Completed BB2500K and SS1600K
3. K. Abhinav Santhosh – Kawasaki NINJA250R – Completed SS1600K
We would like thank Vinu S.V. who is fondly called as MADMAX by the bikers of Hyderbad. He is the first one in Andhra Pradesh to do SS1600k and the first one from the entire South India to have done BB2500k, he is the one who helped us a lot in the planning stage as well as during the ride and he is the one who inspired and encouraged us to do this wonderful feat. Want to see you breaking many more records.
How it all Began
Me (Harsha), Ram and Abhinav shared the common hunger for biking and we were unable to satisfy ourselves with normal weekend rides/speed run. To satisfy our hunger to be on tarmac we did interstate rides but still we werent satisfied and yea more is never enough. Its then we got to know about the IBA which focuses on endurance riding and certifies the bikers for attempting their rides.
It’s then we decided to give it a shot and then we started planning for this big ride. First we planned to SS1600k for which we need to 1600kms under 24 hours but later we felt it to be quite easy and its then we decided to move on to the next level that is Bunburner 2500K in which we need to cover 2500kms under 36 hours. Then we started searching for route and in mean while Vinu attempeted this ride and completed his ride successfully and we consulted him and finallly decided on the route.
Route Choosen: Hyderabad – Kanyakumari – Hyderabad – Chegunta
Then came another question of choosing the start time, since its going to be a 36 hours ride we have two options to choose i.e to ride on 2 days & 1 night or 2 nights & 1 day, as we are comfortable in riding night and if we choose day we need to to encounter Bangalore traffic which eats lot of time so we decided to choose 2 nights & 1 day and we also fixed the dates for the ride which suits three of us. A week before the ride we got our bikes serviced and did a couple hundred kms to ensure that everything is ok with our bikes.
We picked up redbulls, choclate bars, glucose sachets, wet tissues, dry tissues (to clean visors), waterbottles (to carry extrafuel), first aid kit, bungeenets, few spares, engine oil..etc and prepared ourselves for the ride physically as well as mentally. We decided not to over speed in order to avoid any unfortunate circumstances and decided to keep ourselves cool keeping the aspect of safety in mind
The D-day (23-11-2011)
We reached the fuel station by 6:30 P.M. got the witness forms signed, took pics, tanked up the bikes, took pics of odo meter and collected the ATM receipts and we started from fuel stop exaclty at 7:05 P.M, just 15 mins after the start of our ride there was a road block because a politician was arriving which took half n hour of time still we didn’t hurry up and started riding at comfortable speeds and we reached Kurnool (which is 220kms away from Hyderabad) which is our first fuel stop and we tanked up bikes and completed formalities by taking the pics of odometer, bike and collected the electronic receipts and resumed our ride, then we again stopped at Anantapur (150kms from kurnool) which is our second fuel stop we stopped here because we couldn’t find many 24hr petrol pumps in between Anantapur and Bangalore. After finishing the formalities at Anantapur we resumed the ride again and headed towards Bangalore.
As we reached the outskirts of Bangalore city we started encountering numerous speed-breakers (I would prefer to call them as speed-mountains) thus we were forced to decrease our speeds drastically, In addition to that we got confused with the route in Bangalore luckily as it was night we didn’t loose much time, sooner we were on the correct route and again we stopped at hosur for fuel and it took nearly 7hrs for us to reach Hosur from Hyderabad which is not bad by any standards, then we munched few choclate bars cleaned our visors, finished the formalities at bunk and then again we were back on saddle with cool mind as were ahead of time-plan, then again we stopped at namakkal for the fuel stop.
Its then abhinavs bike started behaving weirdly, the temparature needle didnt want to come down but we saw nothing unusal and kept riding. After 10 kms Abhinav pulled over the bike and complained that he could smell something burning, then three of us pulled over side of the road and then we saw smokes coming from the bike, we three were tensed then. Took out the torch light and along with the help of bikes headlight (it was pitch dark then) we removed the fairing of the bike fastly without getting our fingers burnt only to find out that there was coolant spill over the engine block.
Then Abhinav called to the PBK mechanic of Hyderabad showroom and explained him the situation he suggested to let the bike cool down and continue the ride. We let the bike to cool for half an hour and then fixed the fairing back and started to ride again and again abhinav noticed smoke coming from the bike. Then we made few calls to the mechanic and we realised that it couldnt be fixed there. Its then Abhinav decided to call of his ride and to make it a SaddleSore 1600k and urged me and Ram to continue with BB2500k.
With nothing left to do me and Ram started riding towards Kanyakumari. After riding for some good 100kms Ram found something falling off from my bike and then he signalled me to stop the bike, after coming to halt we were surprised to see the bolt which holds the exhaust to the bike is missing and exhaust was hanging without any support.then Ram using his DIY skills and with the help of hooks of bungee nets he gave support to the exhaust and thus this issue was fixed but it half an hour which is a lot of time especially in this kind of rides! then the ride was smooth and we reached Madurai where we decided stop for fuel stop filled up the tanks, collected receipts, took photographs and resumed our ride again.
We were smiling inside as we were able to keep up with our planned time despite of the time we lost because of the mechanical problems but nature has some surprise for us, suddenly it started raining which reduced our speeds drastically which continued for 50kms after which rain disappeared (thanks to our stars!) it was smooth ride afterwards and we were welcomed to Kanyakumari by the sight of huge windmills and we entered Kanyakumari which was our u-turnpoint fuelled up the bikes, took all the pics, electronic receipts along with ATM bills and headed towards highway, we pulled our bikes to side to take some rest. Then we topped up the engine oil, lubed chains, streched bodies, muched few chocs along with redbull and glucose and started from there at 11:00 A.M on 24-11-2011
Meanwhile we called up Abhinav and found that he was somewhere past Hosur and lots of traffic, and reached reached the toll gate of elevated flyover at 11.45am with a smile hoping he’d be able to complete the SS1600 as he had 500km and 7 hours left to complete them. Once on the flyover he switched on his GPS and plotted the course to Bangalore New Airport and voila! The GPS guided him through thick and thin without a single mistake on its part but it was tough for him to cope with the sheer volume of traffic on ridiculously congested roads with construction happening left right and centre.
Finally holding his nerve, he reached new town Yelahanka petrol station at around 1pm and luckily so as his bike was on reserve much before he reached Yelahanka! He took his time to regain his composure, made a few calls to Ram, Vinu and loved ones, had couple of red bulls, mars bars and washed his face as well as not forgetting to take photos. More than anything he rested his bike for one hour before he made his way back to home sweet home but not before doing the math that he still had around 450km to cover in 5 hours which even on a good day is a challenge! hoping that everything goes good with Abhinav we started the return leg of our ride!
Me and Ram stopped at Madurai to fill up the tanks and we headed towards Salem which is the end point of our SS1600k. We reached salem with around 4 P.M by which we completed SS1600k with 3 hours left and we were very happy and confident that we will be able to complete BB2500k with an ease as we were left with 700kms which we should complete under 14 hrs which seemed to be a peice of cake, then we started riding towards Banglore and at the same time fatigue started to set in, so we took few breaks in middle to have tea and to have the food we were carrying and we reached banglore at 7:00 P.M and stopped at a fuel stop in banglore, called up Abhinav and by that time he reached Hyderabad thus finsihing the SaddleSore1600k.
Then we were left with 12 hrs in which we should complete close to 600kms, then we tanked up the bikes and headed towards Hyderabad from the middle of Banglore, its then we tasted the Banglore traffic, it took us nearly 3 hrs to reach the outskirts of banglore considering the fact that its the peak traffic time and at the same time we were not well versed with route of Banglore and thus we reached Banglore outskirts by 10:00 P.M.
Then we were left with 550kms which is to be covered under 9 hours, then we kept on riding till Anantapur where we filled up tanks and finished our formailites then the time was somwhere close to 12:00 midnight, so we should cover some good 350kms under 7 hours, but slowly fatigue started showing up and its then we decided not at all to risk ourselves so we took ample breaks whenever we felt sleepy (we stopped for every 30kms till we reach Kurnool), then we stopped by a tea stall had 2 cups of strong tea and then we running tight on time and dont know what happend to us sleep dissapeared and the only thing in our mind was to complete the BB and reach home safely and after that point we never got sleep. We reached hyderabad by 5:OO A.M on 25-11-2011 and soon we reached Chegunta (which is 50kms from Hdyerabad) which was our end point for BB2500k at 6:00 A.M ,took the atm reciepts which had the time and date stamp took the pics of the odo meter and thus the challenge is done!
The seemingly impossible obstacles have been overcome! Months of planning, days of efforts and there they are! It is an ecstatic moment and our hunger for tarmac was satisfied temporarily though and thus…
- Abhinav completed SS1600k (1600km in 24 hours)
- Harsha completed SS1600k and BB2500k (1600km in 24 hours and 2500km in 36 hours)
- Ram completed SS1600k and BB2500k (1600km in 24 hours and 2500km in 36 hours)
- The END (I guess some real stories do have a happy ending after all)
Ram in his own words “After I bought my CBR in May, I met some really interesting people (read bikers). Initially I found them to be just bikers but soon after a couple of weeks got to know them more and more. End conclusion was that they’re much more than just bikers. I saw the real meaning of brotherhood. Now we (bikers from Hyderabad) are a family. We hang out every so often, whenever possible not just to talk about the bikes but we end up doing much more”.
Harsha in his own words “This itch began for me when I did an interstate ride along with Abhinav but at that time I couldnt proceed as no one from AP have done it till then,but after Vinu have done both BB2500 and SS1600, I got confidence and then I decided to do it. I couldn’t risk doing something like this solo and I don’t think I’ll be able to find two great friends ever! Meeting these like minded individuals was a no brainer in the beginning but we now end up meeting for things like dinner, movies and even for companionship 24/7”.
Abhinav in his own words “I wanted to do this for myself and not for a certificate from the IBA, I just wanted to push myself and know my limits but when doing these it was very important to have friends who’re there for me, always! I made some great friends in the process, Kiran who’s helped us out like no other during Harsha’s crash and during mine. People sharing the same passions tend to transcend the boundaries of friendship much faster and I’m grateful for this. In all Harsha and Ram are more than just great friends to me”.
– Harsha Sree
