Live Free RIde Hard
Live Free Ride Hard
Doing something for which some people might say “Are you joking?” was always there in my mind. Then I came across “Saddle sore” and heard couple of them doing it. I made plans of doing this ride right from the time I heard about it but when, had no idea.
Then, one fine day, someone in our club inquired about Saddle sore. I was aware of the details about what and how to do it and this guy was like “I have to do it before December 3rd 2014”. I was like “okay” and left the conversation there only. Though the thought was still on “Shall I too do it or not?” Finally, one of my good friends, encouraged and supported me to take this up as I had been thinking about this from a very long time. Though a day was decided - 29th November 2014- Saturday, I was still unsure whether I will be able to do it or not, but then I said “Game for it, to my fellow rider.
After making the decision that I am gonna take on this challenge on 29th November, I first thought about my strengths and weaknesses. I am not a speed freak. I am more of a "safety-comes –first” and “Ride only at the speed at which you can control your bike" guy. So, speed is not my real strength or passion. I am like 80Kmph or max 90Kmph guy. But this ride brought out the speed-freak in me. That’s what this ride can do to you- make you aware of your strengths & weaknesses, as a rider. My strength was I can ride for long duration, without many breaks, at a decent pace. And, that's good enough to crack this nut. And additionally, I have this unhealthy habit of going on without sleep and food, for more than a day, at times - Thanks to Verismo days and my routine fasting every year in July - which acted as strength in this ride.
Pearl was serviced at X-torque couple of week back, so I did not even bother to check or re-service her before the big ride. I completely checked Pearl, by myself, on 28th Nov., and found everything okay except the chain lubrication, which I did on-spot. Also, as planned, I got a GPS and a Mobile charger installed on her, the same day. Rest everything seemed to be in good shape with Pearl. Though, with me, some voracious hogging on evening snacks ruined my shape a bit and just for couple of hours, casted doubts over my fitness to take on the challenge.
I had shared my plans with my friends and asked them to be my “witnesses” at the beginning and end of the ride. They readily agreed and were very excited about the whole thing. But one of my roomies- Ravi - was still not ready to believe that I am trying to attempt something like this and he gave his smart tips, saying, that if I reach Pune on planned time then only I should continue the ride, else I should stop in Pune only, for a day and then ride back the next day.
I decided that I would begin my ride at 3.00 am since I knew the route till Hubli, which is approximately 400 Kms. away from Bangalore. I thought that I would cover that much distance quite easily and that would give me a good launch in terms of time. Also, it would be to my advantage if I am riding the initial six hours and last six hours on a known stretch of road and that too in darker hours. I owe a “Thanks” to X-torque for suggesting and replacing the stock headlight of Pearl, as it came of huge support during these hours.
On 28th afternoon, when Shivu confirmed about the meeting point, I was thinking about which would be our end point. Obviously Pune but where in Pune was the question. I started checking for a turn-around point. First I thought of a place called Katraj. But then, I finally decided upon a place called Shindewadi, which actually comes before Pune and, as per Google maps, showed the distance to be 811 Kms. from the starting point. Definitely good for me
After that, I checked on-site, a bit more about Saddle sore & made a checklist of things-to-carry. I shopped for them in the evening and then went to bed at around 8pm on Friday, so as to get up early at 1:00 am., to get ready and leave. But I could not control my sleep and could hit the sack only as late as 11.30pm.
Following morning, I got up at 1:00 am. Before my alarm could wake me, Shivu called up and woke me up. We reached the starting point at around 2.25 am. & had a brief chat about the ride. Since the decided fuel station was closed we decided to get an ATM receipt, as a start proof document. After getting the receipt, which showed 2:43 a.m., we double-checked it, to ensure that the date and time stamp were correct. I started the ride without any further delay and after telling Shivu to catch me as he was taking ages to gear up, got on to the NH4 and started riding at a speed of 60 kmph.
SADDLE SORE BEGINS:Since I have travelled from Bangalore to Hubli couple of times, I thought I knew the road conditions pretty well. But I was in for a pleasant shock. On-going road-repair work had completed and the road was super smooth. I thought I got a chance to speed up and save time. But, the traffic was, as usual, heavy, even in wee hours of morning, with roads infested with huge trucks. Also, I was constantly checking the rear-view mirror for Shivu, to appear somewhere behind me, but could not find him for a long distance. This had a drastic impact on my speed, which happens when you’re looking at the road ahead and also for someone to follow from behind. But as I could not find him, I thought of finally taking a call as pre-decided, that ‘no-one would wait for no-one even if there is a breakdown’. But still, I continued to ride at 80k – 90k.
I had not seen Shivu for close to 1 hour and I had covered just about 80 Kms. I was not expecting this. It was as if I was a total stranger on this road. So, after Sira, as the road conditions were still great, I maintained a good speed of around 100kmph. I rode non-stop without looking out for Shivu. I wanted to cover up for the initial hiccup so I decided not to take any break till Davangere.
After Chitradurga, roads seemed to keep getting better. I continued to maintain the same speed of around 100 kmph. And then to my complete surprise, I came across a huge road-hump, when I least expected it. I have never seen such a huge hump before, without any warnings. By the time I could apply brakes and de-accelerate, I was already air-borne and landed with a huge thud. Luckily, only my water bottle fell down from the luggage & nothing else happened I managed to balance the bike and avoided stopping in the middle of the road suddenly, to retrieve the bottle, as few vehicles were coming up from behind . Later, I slowed down a bit & maintaining a speed of around 80kmph, rode cautiously.
I reached Davangere bypass at around 5:38 am. & decided to take a nature-call break. I made a note of the trip meter and odometer readings and the time at which the break was taken. Though, I emptied myself, Pearl needed to drink a few litres
so I refuelled her at a petrol bunk. To my bad luck, the computer receipt I received showed the time as 6:08 a.m., wherein my watch was showing 5:38 a.m. I was a little disappointed and asked the fuel bunk guy if it was the correct time. He replied in negative & mentioned that it was wrong timing on the receipt. So, I managed to get a hand-written bill with correct time mentioned and also the complete details of the guy, who refuelled Pearl, at the petrol bunk. At 5.50 a.m., after thanking the guy, I started the ride towards Hubli. Beautiful wide roads and traffic reduced to a great extent helped me and I was able to hit a constant speed of approx. 100 kmph. I did not stop at all and did not even slow down anywhere. I had gained momentum and did not want to lose it. I felt as if I was part of a video game. Wide, long stretch ahead & the only soul on the prowl
I reached Dharwad outskirts even as the Trip meter showed 440.4 kms. I stopped for refuelling again and the first question asked by the petrol bunk was if I was riding for some club I had a glucose water break of around seven minutes & stretched a bit, to loosen up my stiff joints. I had covered 440 kms in 5hours 30mins. Not bad... given the initial slow-down in search of the fellow rider. I had mentally calculated 15min = 25kms. and had used it to ride accordingly, in that mind-set. Yeah, it was not done for any kind of rush, but obviously, just some maths calculation to help and after applying it only, I was able to cover that distance in 25mins.
Belgaum-Kolhapur stretch was a blessing and a biker's bliss - amazing roads & superb landscapes. I was riding at a top speed of approx. 120 kmph. I was ecstatic. The sky displayed some amazing colours. I opened the helmet visor and allowed the breeze to hit my face. Great coolant, I told myself. Slowly, at dawn, sun rays emerged from the horizon and I was left enchanted. I forgot all the calculations running in my mind, and considered myself lucky to witness God's amazing creativity at work. There were few curves which entranced me completely. Being a photographer by-choice, I felt like stopping and clicking couple of pics. But the moment passed quickly & I was jolted back into the world of calculations and estimations. I decided not to stop.
I continued, pleased as punch, and before crossing Kolhapur, near Ambawadi phatak, took a small break. My trip meter showed 630.7 kms and the time was 10.05 am. I saw a fuel station & as Pearl was thirsty again, after the kind of run she was being subjected to, I refuelled her and myself too. The break lasted for about six minutes. I had a few sips of energy drink- Gatorade. Then, I calculated the remaining distance to be travelled, to make it to 810 kms. mark, the time left and the average speed I was maintaining, and felt I was doing a decent job. Biggest relief was no back aches or joint pains. Only problem area was my arm and elbow, but not much as it was a little pain, which was normal.
I dashed towards Pune & decided not to take any break till the turn-around point. But yes this time it was real challenge everywhere I read the road from Kholapur to pune are good and to my surprise the road from Satara to pune was the worst ever road I could not manage to speed 50 and every 500meter to 1km there was a diversion also it was too many people thronged the roads and there were too many intersections before and after Satara. Even found lot of riders speeding without helmets and many bikes, which had three people on them. Intersections cut my speed down. Around 11.00 am, I stopped and asked few people how far Shindewadi was, since I was not sure about it but after a little while, I saw the board which showed Shindewadi.
The road, from the tunnel till the entrance to Pune, was the worst road of the ride so far. It was like every 500mt. you have a diversion and that is when I decided, that in return journey, from Kolhapur to Belgaum, I’ll have to cover the time lost here. As per the Google map, Shindewadi was approximately 811 kms from the starting point but the trip meter showed around 829 kms. I was obviously surprised about it.
I was riding inside a tunnel for the first time in my life. A huge board on the tunnel entrance said Naveen-Katraj tunnel. Riding inside a tunnel of that size gave me a different feel altogether. I felt like a secret agent lurking in a dimly lit burrow . But, the best part about the 1-way tunnel was, though it was under-construction, the sign-board was placed only at the end of tunnel that “work-in-progress. Please drive slow” . Nice
I rode a bit further and took a U-turn, and found a fuel station. The trip meter showed 823 kms. & the time was 12.20 am. But, the petrol bunk did not generate the receipt for the petrol. The next petrol bunk was around 1-2kms away but didn’t having a petrol stock. Finally, I reached L Kundale & Sons Petrol bunk, which had computer-generated receipts too. I refilled and got the computer receipt but it did not have the time stamp. Forgetting that I had made the payment via my credit card and that it would have the time-stamp on it, I went to an ATM, next to the petrol bunk, and withdrew some money. But the ATM had run out of receipt paper so, in search of a receipt, I went still a little ahead and found an Axis bank ATM. The best part again there was the ATM only had 1000Rs note . More than money I was in need of receipt so I withdrew Rs. 1000 and got the receipt.
Feeling relaxed, I then checked the time. It was only 12:45p.m. It was as per my planned calculations, to complete the 1-way ride. I amusingly remembered my room-mate Ravi’s words that if I don’t reach Pune before 3:00pm I should quit the ride and “come aaramse”. Finally, deciding to start the ride only by 13:00 hrs. , I called Prabhat to update about my riding status and check on my GPS status. Then only, I got the news that the GPS had stopped working and the rider, who started along with me, was almost 100+ kms away from me and wanted to know the turn-around point. I called & spoke to him, had 2 dates and quenched my thirst with Gatorade. Finally, I took the pic of the receipt with the odometer. The time was 12.52 PM. I thought I could easily make it to Bangalore in time. Well, unknown to me, another setback awaited.
I just rode along with the swarm of vehicles and by the time I had realized, I hit the ascending curves of the Ghat section, out-of-nowhere. Again, the traffic became heavy and this time monster-size long-trucks added to the heavy congestion and I had nowhere to escape. A huge monster truck was slowly moving with a bunch of cars on either side, just ahead of me, and that killed a lot of precious time. I, for a moment, thought I had taken a wrong route because I had not anticipated a Ghat section while returning. So, I was totally unprepared for this stretch. I, by now, knew that this is the beauty of the bike trips. So, again I started manoeuvring around and slowly getting rid of the congestion, hit the downward spiral and finally on to the straight roads. I was overjoyed. I had lost a little bit of time and now balance tilted not exactly in my favour. Broad day light helped me to anticipate any sudden emergence around intersections. I could not imagine riding like that in the night. Finally I was ripping and was in a mood to cover as much distance I could.
Meanwhile, the GPS device was coming off again and again. While fixing it, even as I rode, I saw the nut, which holds the handle bar to the main frame of the bike, was coming off loose. I thought it must be a little loose and I tightened it with my hands, while riding only. But, after a few kms., it started moving again. Then I took a call to make a stopover and fix the issue. Somewhere before Kolhapur, near Kanerwadi, I stopped, fixed the issue, refilled petrol and had a little Gatorade. At the same time, the thought of riding Kolhapur-Belgaum stretch cheered me up and boosted my confidence. I would like to say, that the way how this stretch is utilized, along with Belgaum-Dharwad and Hubli-Davangere stretches, decides whether you can crack the saddle sore or not.
Long stretches of well-laid tarmac welcomed me as soon as I crossed Kolhapur. I maintained a good speed of around 110 kmph. This stretch was my saviour and this helped me to make up for the loss of time I had suffered earlier. It was getting extremely hot and I could smell the burning rubber. My Avenger was guzzling gasoline.
Near Sankeshwar, I noticed that my speedometer and odometer had stopped working. I thought a screw must have got loose so I stopped & tried to fix it. I was happy to see it working again & felt a bit relieved. But after riding few more meters, the Speedo and Odo both stopped working again. I called my friends, who were tracking me and updated them about this & my ride. And then, rather than wasting much time working on speedo and odometer, I thought I would move on in the same way. Still, I kept looking for some shop where I could fix them but didn’t find any. Finally, I decided I will keep sending my current location, everytime I stop anywhere, to my friends and then later, based on that, I will calculate my odo reading manually, using Google maps. I was able to hit Hubli by 6:30pm. The single 2-way road and heavy traffic were slowing me down. Also, my arms and left wrist had started paining more & fatigue had started setting in. Fighting all of them, I continued on.
I crossed Davangere at around 8.30 pm. And was riding at my regular pace when suddenly, joyfully, I realised that I had lot of time in hand. But I still did not slow down and continued riding with same speed. I crossed Chitradurga around 10.20 pm. I had around four and half hours to cover around 150 kms to reach 1610 kms mark. But the odds were that it was a night-ride and high beams, from opposite oncoming vehicles, were hitting my eyes & making me go totally blind towards the road ahead. But thanks to the eye goggles, which I borrowed from one of my friends, it helped me a lot and gave me a better clearer vision. I called up Prabhat & told him about where my whereabouts. I also told him that I am gonna finish the ride much within the stipulated time and asked him to be at a point, which was around 80 kilometres from Bangalore. He agreed and told me to ride safe. I refilled again, after Chitradurga. Oh! I forgot to tell you all about the open manhole, in the centre of the road, at Chitradurga. Thanks to Pearl, since she controlled herself at the right spot and right time.
Now, I was unable to sit anymore in one position for more than five minutes, so as usually I do on long rides, I changed positions quite frequently and at one point I literally was standing. I am sure couple of guys who sped past me in their cars cursed me for the antics I was displaying, and couple of stares said it all. How would they know what I was up-to and what I was going through, and what anyone in the world thought about me at that time, I couldn’t care any less.
I crossed Tumkur around 11.10 pm and had about an hour to cover forty kms to complete the ride. The moment I saw the sign board that I was in Tumkur and Bangalore was just some 45kms. away, I accelerated the speed. I did not want to relax. I did not want to be casual. I reached Tumkur road near Peenya and started searching for any open petrol bunk. I saw one on the left side of the road, below a bridge. I took a U-turn, went to the petrol bunk and took the receipt, just in case if I don’t find any inside Bangalore. From there, I rode directly to Orion mall, which was “supposed” to be my starting point, thinking the Shell petrol bunk will be open. But to my hard luck, they were just closing it. I requested the manager there to let me fill the petrol and give me a receipt. I explained to him also why that was important to me, but he denied it and I was left with no option but to turn around.
Finally, I decided I will go back to my “actual” starting point, near Canara Bank ATM and luckily, I found the petrol bunk open. There, I filled the petrol and took the final receipt. Luckily again, I also got my vehicle number printed on it. I waited for my friends to come and also spoke to Shivu meanwhile, who was still 100kms away from Bangalore. I punched the air with my fist. I was jubilant and thrilled. I had achieved what I had set out for. What a relief! Wow!What a joy!
I called Sid and informed that I successfully completed saddle sore He must have been in a shock too at that time ..In the meantime, my friends came and congratulated me at the fuel station. They hugged me with joy. I was excited. And since they knew I had not eaten properly since morning, they had made “poha” for me and got it to the petrol bunk. Special dinner had been cooked for me at home We then took some pics. My face was battered by dust, wind and sun. My eyes were blood shot. But, I forgot all the pain in the joy of triumph. I talked to my pals for quite some time and finally the rider, who had started the ride with me, arrived at 1:30 a.m. We talked for a while & congratulated him. I enquired where he had got lost when we were actually supposed to do the ride together.
Since I had been riding blindly and did not know how many kms. I had actually completed, I thought I would ride few more kms. and then my friend suggested “let’s ride back home”, since we had a petrol bunk 24/7open near our house too. So, we headed back home after bidding good-bye to fellow rider & friend. We reached home by 1.50 am after picking a receipt from the petrol bunk.
I patted my Pearl for what we had achieved together, in last 24 hours. To me, she is the best bike in this world. And finally, I also called myself nuts for attempting something like this. Actually, my joy knew no bounds. I offered my prayers and obeisance to Gods. Carefully kept all the receipts, logs and forms in the bag and kept it aside. Logged into OGTS to check what happened to the GPS but could not figure it out. So, crashed myself on the bed and slept like a baby.
I would like to thank everyone who contributed in every way to make this ride a success. I applied for IBA saddle sore certification in December with all required documentation and finally in April. I got the rewards.
I wish all the best to everyone attempting saddle sore. This ride has given me a great experience about endurance rides. I hope my trip log would be of some use to all the aspirants.
Experience Says ………
Some Tips from self-Experience who are attempting Saddle-sore
1) Selection of Route
a. You need to know the route completely.
b. Don’t select the route that you do not know anything. This may results in extra time consumption.
c. You should have homework ready for the possible petrol stops, road patches under construction, legal things from different locations where you will be passing.
d. It will be great to have your contact persons somewhere around the route in case of any help.
2) Bike Pre-requisite:-
a. Have the bike properly serviced at least 10 days before
b. Carry all the necessary spares like Accelerator , clutch wires, spare front and rear tyre tubes, tool Box, Puncture Kit
3) If possible have endurance test ride which will be eye opener before real show. For me this was only the trial run but converted into successful ride.
4) Personal tips for diet and other things on the Big Days:-
a. 8-9 Hours sleep is must in when you wake up for Saddle-sore attempt. (but I could not)
b. During Saddlesore, don’t have Full course of meal as it will start to make to sleepy and also can start pressure building on your digestion system. Keep having Energy Bars, Oranges (Vitamin C), Glucose Powder and plenty of Water I was only on Kitkat and Gatroids
c. Riding Gears are must as time is Full of hidden of uncertainties.
d. Use only full face helmet to protect you from wind. Impact of wind will play major roll in your fatigue.
e. If possible try to get the riding yellow color riding goggle it’s help a lot in
f. At start point and end point and petrol stations, first check bike, fill petrol and refresh and then only swap the card as this will save your time on paper. The time saved for 5 Minutes also plays important roll as in 5 minutes you may cover 8 Kilometres.
g. Petrol stop after covering 300 kms is must by IBA rules. Though also your petrol tank of bike is large, do take mandatory stops on or before 300 kms.
h. Electronic date and time stamped receipts are very important. Hence preserve them like nothing during ride.
i. Do maintain Log of all the activities, stops taken during ride.
j. Use Wet tissue and Itone drop to keep yourself fresh and prevent eyes from small dust particals.
6) After the ride:-
a. Contact IBA and inform them about your successful ride.
b. The documentation is tedious and don’t allow any open loop in the documentation.
c. You will find all the necessary documentation requirements with guidelines for SS on IBA’s website.
Last But Not least…………..
Our Life is precious. Saddle-sore is meant of us…..Not like ,we are meant for Saddlesore……
In any case if it is unsafe for you, then please park your Bike roadside or in nearest Hotel and return Home safely. Somebody is waiting for your at your home.
For more details about IBA - http://ironbutt.com/
Doing something for which some people might say “Are you joking?” was always there in my mind. Then I came across “Saddle sore” and heard couple of them doing it. I made plans of doing this ride right from the time I heard about it but when, had no idea.
Then, one fine day, someone in our club inquired about Saddle sore. I was aware of the details about what and how to do it and this guy was like “I have to do it before December 3rd 2014”. I was like “okay” and left the conversation there only. Though the thought was still on “Shall I too do it or not?” Finally, one of my good friends, encouraged and supported me to take this up as I had been thinking about this from a very long time. Though a day was decided - 29th November 2014- Saturday, I was still unsure whether I will be able to do it or not, but then I said “Game for it, to my fellow rider.
After making the decision that I am gonna take on this challenge on 29th November, I first thought about my strengths and weaknesses. I am not a speed freak. I am more of a "safety-comes –first” and “Ride only at the speed at which you can control your bike" guy. So, speed is not my real strength or passion. I am like 80Kmph or max 90Kmph guy. But this ride brought out the speed-freak in me. That’s what this ride can do to you- make you aware of your strengths & weaknesses, as a rider. My strength was I can ride for long duration, without many breaks, at a decent pace. And, that's good enough to crack this nut. And additionally, I have this unhealthy habit of going on without sleep and food, for more than a day, at times - Thanks to Verismo days and my routine fasting every year in July - which acted as strength in this ride.
Pearl was serviced at X-torque couple of week back, so I did not even bother to check or re-service her before the big ride. I completely checked Pearl, by myself, on 28th Nov., and found everything okay except the chain lubrication, which I did on-spot. Also, as planned, I got a GPS and a Mobile charger installed on her, the same day. Rest everything seemed to be in good shape with Pearl. Though, with me, some voracious hogging on evening snacks ruined my shape a bit and just for couple of hours, casted doubts over my fitness to take on the challenge.
I had shared my plans with my friends and asked them to be my “witnesses” at the beginning and end of the ride. They readily agreed and were very excited about the whole thing. But one of my roomies- Ravi - was still not ready to believe that I am trying to attempt something like this and he gave his smart tips, saying, that if I reach Pune on planned time then only I should continue the ride, else I should stop in Pune only, for a day and then ride back the next day.
I decided that I would begin my ride at 3.00 am since I knew the route till Hubli, which is approximately 400 Kms. away from Bangalore. I thought that I would cover that much distance quite easily and that would give me a good launch in terms of time. Also, it would be to my advantage if I am riding the initial six hours and last six hours on a known stretch of road and that too in darker hours. I owe a “Thanks” to X-torque for suggesting and replacing the stock headlight of Pearl, as it came of huge support during these hours.
On 28th afternoon, when Shivu confirmed about the meeting point, I was thinking about which would be our end point. Obviously Pune but where in Pune was the question. I started checking for a turn-around point. First I thought of a place called Katraj. But then, I finally decided upon a place called Shindewadi, which actually comes before Pune and, as per Google maps, showed the distance to be 811 Kms. from the starting point. Definitely good for me
After that, I checked on-site, a bit more about Saddle sore & made a checklist of things-to-carry. I shopped for them in the evening and then went to bed at around 8pm on Friday, so as to get up early at 1:00 am., to get ready and leave. But I could not control my sleep and could hit the sack only as late as 11.30pm.
Following morning, I got up at 1:00 am. Before my alarm could wake me, Shivu called up and woke me up. We reached the starting point at around 2.25 am. & had a brief chat about the ride. Since the decided fuel station was closed we decided to get an ATM receipt, as a start proof document. After getting the receipt, which showed 2:43 a.m., we double-checked it, to ensure that the date and time stamp were correct. I started the ride without any further delay and after telling Shivu to catch me as he was taking ages to gear up, got on to the NH4 and started riding at a speed of 60 kmph.
SADDLE SORE BEGINS:Since I have travelled from Bangalore to Hubli couple of times, I thought I knew the road conditions pretty well. But I was in for a pleasant shock. On-going road-repair work had completed and the road was super smooth. I thought I got a chance to speed up and save time. But, the traffic was, as usual, heavy, even in wee hours of morning, with roads infested with huge trucks. Also, I was constantly checking the rear-view mirror for Shivu, to appear somewhere behind me, but could not find him for a long distance. This had a drastic impact on my speed, which happens when you’re looking at the road ahead and also for someone to follow from behind. But as I could not find him, I thought of finally taking a call as pre-decided, that ‘no-one would wait for no-one even if there is a breakdown’. But still, I continued to ride at 80k – 90k.
I had not seen Shivu for close to 1 hour and I had covered just about 80 Kms. I was not expecting this. It was as if I was a total stranger on this road. So, after Sira, as the road conditions were still great, I maintained a good speed of around 100kmph. I rode non-stop without looking out for Shivu. I wanted to cover up for the initial hiccup so I decided not to take any break till Davangere.
After Chitradurga, roads seemed to keep getting better. I continued to maintain the same speed of around 100 kmph. And then to my complete surprise, I came across a huge road-hump, when I least expected it. I have never seen such a huge hump before, without any warnings. By the time I could apply brakes and de-accelerate, I was already air-borne and landed with a huge thud. Luckily, only my water bottle fell down from the luggage & nothing else happened
I managed to balance the bike and avoided stopping in the middle of the road suddenly, to retrieve the bottle, as few vehicles were coming up from behind . Later, I slowed down a bit & maintaining a speed of around 80kmph, rode cautiously.I reached Davangere bypass at around 5:38 am. & decided to take a nature-call break. I made a note of the trip meter and odometer readings and the time at which the break was taken. Though, I emptied myself, Pearl needed to drink a few litres
so I refuelled her at a petrol bunk. To my bad luck, the computer receipt I received showed the time as 6:08 a.m., wherein my watch was showing 5:38 a.m. I was a little disappointed and asked the fuel bunk guy if it was the correct time. He replied in negative & mentioned that it was wrong timing on the receipt. So, I managed to get a hand-written bill with correct time mentioned and also the complete details of the guy, who refuelled Pearl, at the petrol bunk. At 5.50 a.m., after thanking the guy, I started the ride towards Hubli. Beautiful wide roads and traffic reduced to a great extent helped me and I was able to hit a constant speed of approx. 100 kmph. I did not stop at all and did not even slow down anywhere. I had gained momentum and did not want to lose it. I felt as if I was part of a video game. Wide, long stretch ahead & the only soul on the prowl I reached Dharwad outskirts even as the Trip meter showed 440.4 kms. I stopped for refuelling again and the first question asked by the petrol bunk was if I was riding for some club I had a glucose water break of around seven minutes & stretched a bit, to loosen up my stiff joints. I had covered 440 kms in 5hours 30mins. Not bad... given the initial slow-down in search of the fellow rider. I had mentally calculated 15min = 25kms. and had used it to ride accordingly, in that mind-set. Yeah, it was not done for any kind of rush, but obviously, just some maths calculation to help and after applying it only, I was able to cover that distance in 25mins.
Belgaum-Kolhapur stretch was a blessing and a biker's bliss - amazing roads & superb landscapes. I was riding at a top speed of approx. 120 kmph. I was ecstatic. The sky displayed some amazing colours. I opened the helmet visor and allowed the breeze to hit my face. Great coolant, I told myself. Slowly, at dawn, sun rays emerged from the horizon and I was left enchanted. I forgot all the calculations running in my mind, and considered myself lucky to witness God's amazing creativity at work. There were few curves which entranced me completely. Being a photographer by-choice, I felt like stopping and clicking couple of pics. But the moment passed quickly & I was jolted back into the world of calculations and estimations. I decided not to stop.
I continued, pleased as punch, and before crossing Kolhapur, near Ambawadi phatak, took a small break. My trip meter showed 630.7 kms and the time was 10.05 am. I saw a fuel station & as Pearl was thirsty again, after the kind of run she was being subjected to, I refuelled her and myself too. The break lasted for about six minutes. I had a few sips of energy drink- Gatorade. Then, I calculated the remaining distance to be travelled, to make it to 810 kms. mark, the time left and the average speed I was maintaining, and felt I was doing a decent job. Biggest relief was no back aches or joint pains. Only problem area was my arm and elbow, but not much as it was a little pain, which was normal.
I dashed towards Pune & decided not to take any break till the turn-around point. But yes this time it was real challenge everywhere I read the road from Kholapur to pune are good and to my surprise the road from Satara to pune was the worst ever road I could not manage to speed 50 and every 500meter to 1km there was a diversion also it was too many people thronged the roads and there were too many intersections before and after Satara. Even found lot of riders speeding without helmets and many bikes, which had three people on them. Intersections cut my speed down. Around 11.00 am, I stopped and asked few people how far Shindewadi was, since I was not sure about it but after a little while, I saw the board which showed Shindewadi.
The road, from the tunnel till the entrance to Pune, was the worst road of the ride so far. It was like every 500mt. you have a diversion and that is when I decided, that in return journey, from Kolhapur to Belgaum, I’ll have to cover the time lost here. As per the Google map, Shindewadi was approximately 811 kms from the starting point but the trip meter showed around 829 kms. I was obviously surprised about it.
I was riding inside a tunnel for the first time in my life. A huge board on the tunnel entrance said Naveen-Katraj tunnel. Riding inside a tunnel of that size gave me a different feel altogether. I felt like a secret agent lurking in a dimly lit burrow . But, the best part about the 1-way tunnel was, though it was under-construction, the sign-board was placed only at the end of tunnel that “work-in-progress. Please drive slow” . Nice
I rode a bit further and took a U-turn, and found a fuel station. The trip meter showed 823 kms. & the time was 12.20 am. But, the petrol bunk did not generate the receipt for the petrol. The next petrol bunk was around 1-2kms away but didn’t having a petrol stock. Finally, I reached L Kundale & Sons Petrol bunk, which had computer-generated receipts too. I refilled and got the computer receipt but it did not have the time stamp. Forgetting that I had made the payment via my credit card and that it would have the time-stamp on it, I went to an ATM, next to the petrol bunk, and withdrew some money. But the ATM had run out of receipt paper so, in search of a receipt, I went still a little ahead and found an Axis bank ATM. The best part again there was the ATM only had 1000Rs note . More than money I was in need of receipt so I withdrew Rs. 1000 and got the receipt.
Feeling relaxed, I then checked the time. It was only 12:45p.m. It was as per my planned calculations, to complete the 1-way ride. I amusingly remembered my room-mate Ravi’s words that if I don’t reach Pune before 3:00pm I should quit the ride and “come aaramse”
. Finally, deciding to start the ride only by 13:00 hrs. , I called Prabhat to update about my riding status and check on my GPS status. Then only, I got the news that the GPS had stopped working and the rider, who started along with me, was almost 100+ kms away from me and wanted to know the turn-around point. I called & spoke to him, had 2 dates and quenched my thirst with Gatorade. Finally, I took the pic of the receipt with the odometer. The time was 12.52 PM. I thought I could easily make it to Bangalore in time. Well, unknown to me, another setback awaited.I just rode along with the swarm of vehicles and by the time I had realized, I hit the ascending curves of the Ghat section, out-of-nowhere. Again, the traffic became heavy and this time monster-size long-trucks added to the heavy congestion and I had nowhere to escape. A huge monster truck was slowly moving with a bunch of cars on either side, just ahead of me, and that killed a lot of precious time. I, for a moment, thought I had taken a wrong route because I had not anticipated a Ghat section while returning. So, I was totally unprepared for this stretch. I, by now, knew that this is the beauty of the bike trips. So, again I started manoeuvring around and slowly getting rid of the congestion, hit the downward spiral and finally on to the straight roads. I was overjoyed. I had lost a little bit of time and now balance tilted not exactly in my favour. Broad day light helped me to anticipate any sudden emergence around intersections. I could not imagine riding like that in the night. Finally I was ripping and was in a mood to cover as much distance I could.
Meanwhile, the GPS device was coming off again and again. While fixing it, even as I rode, I saw the nut, which holds the handle bar to the main frame of the bike, was coming off loose. I thought it must be a little loose and I tightened it with my hands, while riding only. But, after a few kms., it started moving again. Then I took a call to make a stopover and fix the issue. Somewhere before Kolhapur, near Kanerwadi, I stopped, fixed the issue, refilled petrol and had a little Gatorade. At the same time, the thought of riding Kolhapur-Belgaum stretch cheered me up and boosted my confidence. I would like to say, that the way how this stretch is utilized, along with Belgaum-Dharwad and Hubli-Davangere stretches, decides whether you can crack the saddle sore or not.
Long stretches of well-laid tarmac welcomed me as soon as I crossed Kolhapur. I maintained a good speed of around 110 kmph. This stretch was my saviour and this helped me to make up for the loss of time I had suffered earlier. It was getting extremely hot and I could smell the burning rubber. My Avenger was guzzling gasoline.
Near Sankeshwar, I noticed that my speedometer and odometer had stopped working. I thought a screw must have got loose so I stopped & tried to fix it. I was happy to see it working again & felt a bit relieved. But after riding few more meters, the Speedo and Odo both stopped working again. I called my friends, who were tracking me and updated them about this & my ride. And then, rather than wasting much time working on speedo and odometer, I thought I would move on in the same way. Still, I kept looking for some shop where I could fix them but didn’t find any. Finally, I decided I will keep sending my current location, everytime I stop anywhere, to my friends and then later, based on that, I will calculate my odo reading manually, using Google maps. I was able to hit Hubli by 6:30pm. The single 2-way road and heavy traffic were slowing me down. Also, my arms and left wrist had started paining more & fatigue had started setting in. Fighting all of them, I continued on.
I crossed Davangere at around 8.30 pm. And was riding at my regular pace when suddenly, joyfully, I realised that I had lot of time in hand. But I still did not slow down and continued riding with same speed. I crossed Chitradurga around 10.20 pm. I had around four and half hours to cover around 150 kms to reach 1610 kms mark. But the odds were that it was a night-ride and high beams, from opposite oncoming vehicles, were hitting my eyes & making me go totally blind towards the road ahead. But thanks to the eye goggles, which I borrowed from one of my friends, it helped me a lot and gave me a better clearer vision. I called up Prabhat & told him about where my whereabouts. I also told him that I am gonna finish the ride much within the stipulated time and asked him to be at a point, which was around 80 kilometres from Bangalore. He agreed and told me to ride safe. I refilled again, after Chitradurga. Oh! I forgot to tell you all about the open manhole, in the centre of the road, at Chitradurga. Thanks to Pearl, since she controlled herself at the right spot and right time.
Now, I was unable to sit anymore in one position for more than five minutes, so as usually I do on long rides, I changed positions quite frequently and at one point I literally was standing. I am sure couple of guys who sped past me in their cars cursed me for the antics I was displaying, and couple of stares said it all. How would they know what I was up-to and what I was going through, and what anyone in the world thought about me at that time, I couldn’t care any less.
I crossed Tumkur around 11.10 pm and had about an hour to cover forty kms to complete the ride. The moment I saw the sign board that I was in Tumkur and Bangalore was just some 45kms. away, I accelerated the speed. I did not want to relax. I did not want to be casual. I reached Tumkur road near Peenya and started searching for any open petrol bunk. I saw one on the left side of the road, below a bridge. I took a U-turn, went to the petrol bunk and took the receipt, just in case if I don’t find any inside Bangalore. From there, I rode directly to Orion mall, which was “supposed” to be my starting point, thinking the Shell petrol bunk will be open. But to my hard luck, they were just closing it. I requested the manager there to let me fill the petrol and give me a receipt. I explained to him also why that was important to me, but he denied it and I was left with no option but to turn around.
Finally, I decided I will go back to my “actual” starting point, near Canara Bank ATM and luckily, I found the petrol bunk open. There, I filled the petrol and took the final receipt. Luckily again, I also got my vehicle number printed on it. I waited for my friends to come and also spoke to Shivu meanwhile, who was still 100kms away from Bangalore. I punched the air with my fist. I was jubilant and thrilled. I had achieved what I had set out for. What a relief! Wow!What a joy!
I called Sid and informed that I successfully completed saddle sore
He must have been in a shock too at that time ..In the meantime, my friends came and congratulated me at the fuel station. They hugged me with joy. I was excited. And since they knew I had not eaten properly since morning, they had made “poha” for me and got it to the petrol bunk. Special dinner had been cooked for me at home We then took some pics. My face was battered by dust, wind and sun. My eyes were blood shot. But, I forgot all the pain in the joy of triumph. I talked to my pals for quite some time and finally the rider, who had started the ride with me, arrived at 1:30 a.m. We talked for a while & congratulated him. I enquired where he had got lost when we were actually supposed to do the ride together. Since I had been riding blindly and did not know how many kms. I had actually completed, I thought I would ride few more kms. and then my friend suggested “let’s ride back home”, since we had a petrol bunk 24/7open near our house too. So, we headed back home after bidding good-bye to fellow rider & friend. We reached home by 1.50 am after picking a receipt from the petrol bunk.
I patted my Pearl for what we had achieved together, in last 24 hours. To me, she is the best bike in this world. And finally, I also called myself nuts for attempting something like this. Actually, my joy knew no bounds. I offered my prayers and obeisance to Gods. Carefully kept all the receipts, logs and forms in the bag and kept it aside. Logged into OGTS to check what happened to the GPS but could not figure it out. So, crashed myself on the bed and slept like a baby.
I would like to thank everyone who contributed in every way to make this ride a success. I applied for IBA saddle sore certification in December with all required documentation and finally in April. I got the rewards.
I wish all the best to everyone attempting saddle sore. This ride has given me a great experience about endurance rides. I hope my trip log would be of some use to all the aspirants.
Experience Says ………
Some Tips from self-Experience who are attempting Saddle-sore
1) Selection of Route
a. You need to know the route completely.
b. Don’t select the route that you do not know anything. This may results in extra time consumption.
c. You should have homework ready for the possible petrol stops, road patches under construction, legal things from different locations where you will be passing.
d. It will be great to have your contact persons somewhere around the route in case of any help.
2) Bike Pre-requisite:-
a. Have the bike properly serviced at least 10 days before
b. Carry all the necessary spares like Accelerator , clutch wires, spare front and rear tyre tubes, tool Box, Puncture Kit
3) If possible have endurance test ride which will be eye opener before real show. For me this was only the trial run but converted into successful ride.
4) Personal tips for diet and other things on the Big Days:-
a. 8-9 Hours sleep is must in when you wake up for Saddle-sore attempt. (but I could not
)b. During Saddlesore, don’t have Full course of meal as it will start to make to sleepy and also can start pressure building on your digestion system. Keep having Energy Bars, Oranges (Vitamin C), Glucose Powder and plenty of Water I was only on Kitkat and Gatroids
c. Riding Gears are must as time is Full of hidden of uncertainties.
d. Use only full face helmet to protect you from wind. Impact of wind will play major roll in your fatigue.
e. If possible try to get the riding yellow color riding goggle it’s help a lot in
f. At start point and end point and petrol stations, first check bike, fill petrol and refresh and then only swap the card as this will save your time on paper. The time saved for 5 Minutes also plays important roll as in 5 minutes you may cover 8 Kilometres.
g. Petrol stop after covering 300 kms is must by IBA rules. Though also your petrol tank of bike is large, do take mandatory stops on or before 300 kms.
h. Electronic date and time stamped receipts are very important. Hence preserve them like nothing during ride.
i. Do maintain Log of all the activities, stops taken during ride.
j. Use Wet tissue and Itone drop to keep yourself fresh and prevent eyes from small dust particals.
6) After the ride:-
a. Contact IBA and inform them about your successful ride.
b. The documentation is tedious and don’t allow any open loop in the documentation.
c. You will find all the necessary documentation requirements with guidelines for SS on IBA’s website.
Last But Not least…………..
Our Life is precious. Saddle-sore is meant of us…..Not like ,we are meant for Saddlesore……
In any case if it is unsafe for you, then please park your Bike roadside or in nearest Hotel and return Home safely. Somebody is waiting for your at your home.
For more details about IBA - http://ironbutt.com/
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