5,846 kilometers of four/six lane express highways called the Golden Quadrilateral, 3 crazy guys and motorcycles. What makes it different is the guys are planning to ride this in under 100 hours. Well, crazy they are, because they live to ride.
By day, these are professionals working to make a living and to fund their dreams to ride the world some day on their motorcycles. By weekend, they turn into possessed souls who just want to ride, ride and ride. The destination does not matter, what matters is the ride, the togetherness with their riding buddies (men and women alike).
The riders who are undertaking this crazy ride are Shivprasad Shetty (Shiv), Sai Subramaniam (Subu) and Manjunath Gowda (Manju).While Shiv is from Mumbai, Subu and Manju hail from the Garden City, Bangalore. They are friends and riding buddies having ridden across the length and breadth of the country. They have also attempted the Iron Butt, a challenge to ride 1000 miles in 24 hours on their Royal Enfield bullets, a feat never attempted before.
The Golden Quadrilateral is a highway network in India connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, thus forming a quadrilateral of sorts. The largest highway project in India, it was initiated by ex PM – Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The GQ makes up fewer than 2 percent of India’s road network but it carries about 40% of the country’s traffic and accounts for one-third of its traffic deaths.
Come March and they will be off on this crazy adventure. Shiv, the instigator of this crazy plan says, “I have always believed that while most people ride for commuting, it’s only when we ride for the love of riding, you really understand and experience the freedom it brings to your soul. The breeze in your hair, the visuals passing by, and the culture that you get to witness & partake in – the small little things make up for what we are. We also support the cause of safe riding, as the GQ accounts for almost 30% of India’s traffic deaths. We want to send the message that you can ride long distances yet safely. The % of riders wearing basic safety gear in India is abysmal and is a major contributor to fatalities during accidents. We want tell every one that the investment in safety gear is miniscule compared to one’s life”
The GQ has been done in 118 hours earlier and the riders plan to ride the same distance in 100 hours. This will require detailed planning and execution. The team of riders will be supported by a control room (manned by other riders) in Bangalore and will track the progress of the ride from start to end. The control room will act as the back up for all eventualities.
The riders will be using Yamaha R15s for this ride attempt which is being sponsored by Orion Motors, Authorised Yamaha dealer, Bangalore. Uday, the proprietor of Orion Motors is an avid rider himself and is also supporting the cause of safe riding. The ride will start from Bangalore on 15th March and end on 19th March. The ride will move from Bangalore to Mumbai, then to Delhi, onwards to Kolkata, Chennai and will end in Bangalore.
The riders are looking for sponsors and can be reached at shivprasad.shetty@gmail.com
