While surfing the Internet, I came across the IronButt Association of USA. IronButt association has certification for long distance rides called the SaddleSore1000. In this ride you have to complete 1,610kms (1000 miles) in a period of 24 hrs. I had to locate a suitable route where the roads were good and traffic was light. For proof the ride has to have petrol receipts,logs,witness forms for verification process.I choose the route of Mumbai to Eklinji and back to Mumbai covering a distance of 1650kms. Eklingji is located in Rajasthan which is at a distance of 15kms north from Udiapur. So the route was Mumbai (Maharashtra), Surat(Gujarat), Udaipur-Eklingji(Rajashtan) and turn back and come back to Mumbai thus completing the required 1,610 kms.
DAY1: I started out from Sion (Mumbai) on 23rd November’09 at 7:54am at western express highway. The W.E highway connects to the golden quadrilateral which takes me across to Gujurat and Rajasthan. This route goes all the way north direction to Delhi. I topped up my fuel tank on my Yamaha FZ16 took a petrol receipt as proof for documentation and my saddlesore ride has begun.
My destination was to reach Eklingji which is ahead of Udaipur and head back to Mumbai. The journey on the golden quadrilateral is much better than riding on other highways. I had to be extremly carefull of the trucks plying as I did not want to be run down by any of them. Riding the FZ16 was fun as the engine and gear change was smooth, rest assured the extra wide 140mm tire on the bike provided fantastic grip and stability. I reached Surat at 11:35am covering about 284 kms. This was my first stop after my ride begun to fill fuel in my tank.
The scenery covered while riding the bike is breathtaking, I thought to myself this is the best part of doing the ride. I finally reached the end border of Gujurat at Himmatnagar at 4:30pm. The only stops I did was at the petrol pumps to refuel and I sipped on red bull to give me energy. I continued my ride entering into Rajasthan. This was my first visit to Rajasthan, it is really a lovely place to visit once at least. Finally I reached Eklingji at 7:26pm and I was glad. Now I just had to make it back to Mumbai in one piece. After leaving Rajasthan to return back to Mumbai I reached Himmatnagar(Gujurat) at 10:28pm.
DAY2: The journey in the night became a problem as lots of insects were starting to hit the helmet. I had to stop frequently to clean the helmet visor so that I can have a proper view in the night. I reached Surat (Gujurat) early morning at 3:40am and my god I was dead tired not knowing whether I will be able to make it back to Mumbai. My odometer reading showed that I had covered a distance of 1363 kms. Continuing riding I made it to Dhaisar check naka and to my surprise there was a hell line of trucks lined up. Making my way on the side path I made my way out. I reached Mumbai and I made to to the western express highway, I was nearing my time. After much riding I reached a petrol pump but the credit card machine was down . Ahead I was glad to see a ATM machine and I quickly punched in my card and got a time stamp slip for proof. I reached Goregaon (Mumbai) on W.E highway at 7:50am on 24th November’09. I had done it, I had completed 1650 kms in 24 hrs. Now I had to make my way back home satisfied that I had done the SaddleSore1000 ride.
– Melroy Alphonso
