Felt like a protagonist of an ongoing movie, traveling through different landscapes non stop for 2 nights and 1 day (Hyderabad-Bangalore-Kanyakumari-Bangalore-Hyderabad). The serene green lush of countryside, the stretches of Coconut trees, Misty Mountains along super smooth NH7 and a chain of gigantic Wind mills were treat to my eyes. Touched Southern most tip of India (Kanyakumari) and came back in 36 hrs!
Successfully completed couple of the World toughest endurance rides IBA Saddlesore 1000 (covered 1700+ kms in 24 hrs) and IBA BunBurner 1500 (covered 2400+ kms in 36 hours) 😀
Here’s a photo log of my recent successful attempt of IBA Saddlesore 1000 and BunBurner 1500. Three months of planning and one failed attempt, were perfect ingredients for this successful recipe. The ride went as planned (more or less) with least hiccups. I would like to emphasize the importance of planning. There’s no substitute to proper planning. For everything else you can safely assume that things were not in your control.
Here is the list of stuff, which I did/carried for the ride.
- Sorted Safe route with abundant Petrol bunks with E Receipts,
- GPS , paper maps (just in case) and monster battery (5000 mAH) to keep me on track for entire route
- Planned the ride on full moon for clear visibility at night,
Monitored the weather in the route to avoid unnecessary delay due to fog and rain,- Spares (clutch lever, brake lever, gear lever, rear brake lever, acc. cable, clutch cable, bulbs), puncture repair kit, allen key set and tool kit,
- Engine oil, Chain lube , Coolant, funnel and tools to change engine oil,
- 2 litres of fuel, 2 litres of water, getorade and glucose, snickers, mars, dry fruits, Red bulls, Cup noodles
- First aid kit with medicines for all common issues,
- 2 copies of Bike papers, RC, PUC and Insurance,
- Torch,Extra Key kept safely,
- Radium stickers on bike, jacket and helmet to enhance visibility on highways at night,
- Face Wipes and lens cleaner for visor,
- Lenses (I wear spectacles. Just in case my specs get damaged),
- Proper servicing of bike (plus slime in tyres to avoid punctures),
I zeroed in all the pit stops (Petrol bunks, U turn point) in my GPS device before the ride and strictly followed it throughout the ride. Because of the extra luggage, I had a tank bag and a bag on pillion seat (served as good back support for the ride).
Failed Attempt
With all of the preparation, Me (Joeled R15) and my fellow rider Tanumoy (Stock R15), attempted this on 10th Nov, 2011. However, due to engine warning light popping up (coolant temp. sensor going kaput) after initial 600 Kms in 8 hrs, I had to pull over and end the ride. It was disheartening, considering I did my homework pretty well but still some problem popped up. It was disheartening for my xBhp friends as well,who came to wish me for the ride. Hyderabad’s Veteran Rider Captain M.A.Kaleem had supervised the ride and extremely talented rider Vinu Viswanathan (from Hyderabad) mentored me with simplest of the details. We were flagged off by APTDC Director. The failure was completely unexpected but again completely out of our controls. I started looking for next attempt.
Regards,
Dhiraj
P.S. Photos are available in high res here.
