Rider Mania 09

Condensed version / executive summary


- Woke up
 - Rode alone
- Met biker, rode
- Reached ooty
- Slept
- Woke up
- Reached venue
- Partied and enjoyed
- Slept
- Woke up
- Partied, enjoyed and partied, enjoyed some more
- Slept
- Woke up 3 hours late
- Rode Solo
- Met Bra, Gunfight, Rode
- Reached
- Slept

Done – end of story.

:-)

Slightly more detailed version as below:

Ok here goes:

Thursday Jan 22, 0900 hrs

- Boss still in town, not sure when am leaving, praying that he leaves early.
- Boss man asks me about RM as I usually take leave, I say its dependant on when he leaves..
- He is surprised I have not told him yet. Have not as have taken on a senior role so need to do be here when he comes
- He decides to leave early since I have to go to RM – wow!
- Allegedly plan to leave at 2300 for a night ride(I work best at nights! Now now Bobby – don’t get all antsy on me!)

Friday Jan 23, 0000

- Leave work only at 0000 
- Meet Bobby for Chai
- Contact vinod535 thro gunfight
- Plan(Har har har) to meet up enroute. Caveat based on work that had to be completed
- Plan (Har har har again) to meet Indro and take him along – yah right!
- Finish work from home at 0200
- Call Indro – he does not pick up
- Decide to pack up and leave
- Leave at 0400 after searching for gear, tools, etc
- Fill up at BP bunk in Butt Road
- Draw money from ICICI at Porur
- Hit the road
- Solo ride, good ride, fast ride.
- 0630 – Vaniyambadi for tea break
- Heading via Bangalore so call Dosai to update – (forgot about Base contact!!)
- Instructions given, keep riding
- Run out of petrol in Hosur (Har Har Har)
- Thankfully am able to coast into a bunk with about 50 metres of running and jumping on!(Phew!)
- Fill up, thankfully Credit cards accepted and Speed available.
- Reach outskirts of Bangalore
- Ask instructions and am given directions contrary to what Dosai told me
- Directed on to “Nice Road”
- Perfect road – ripping it
- Suddenly – no road! Damn thing is not completed
- Follow another bulleteer (not RM related, but like me lost)
- Finally wind up on Mysore Road at 1000 Hrs
- Break

Friday, Jan 23, 1030

- See a bullet with pillion rip past, good riding, perfect cutting of gear when he came across an obstacle(later found out it was Poo from RTMC)
- Waited 15 minutes for me to wake up properly, then left
- Did good speeds as was trying to catch up with pillion rider as above
 - See bike parked on highway
- Stop.
- Dickso from RTMC, with electrical issues
- Assist and move on together
- Again rip, roaring away
- Reach outskirts of Mysore meet batch of RTMC
- Tea
- Dickso and I leave as dominic and co are apparently 45 minutes ahead
- Take photos and talk about how Bangalore boys don’t see the need to, while we do – when was the last time  saw a full lake of water with birds!
- Reach Gundulpet
- Tank up
- Bad stretch till Bandipur
- Stop at Pugmarks restaurant assuming others are there. No one else
- Decide to halt for lunch

Friday Jan 23, 1300

- Relaxed brunch
- Bikes rumbling past without stopping
- Soon trooper turns up (lost without a group!)
- Followed by chenthil, freya, freyas brother, Poo and Mouna?
- Leave with group
- Roads much better now
- Chenthil on F650
- Trooper and me ride fast and hard
- Apparently take a oneway – but enjoyed it
- Overtake Chenthil(well he let us go)
- Fast.
- Roads in TN good, depressions in road at periodic intervals cause us to fly high
- See 2 elephants
- Hit the ghats
- Stop a few hundred yards into it for photos
- Another group joins us
- Trooper and me take off
- Good ride with alternate leading by both of us
- Dickso trailing us
- One more photo opportunity
- Dickso ahead of us
- We finally reach ooty
- Get lost trying to find the place but eventually got there at 1600 hrs

Friday Jan 23, 1630

- Sleep till 1830
- Wake up and freezing
- Go buy thermals
- Eat parotta and chicken at Irani café
- Beverages
- Have dinner
- Around 2300 meet up with Abhi(RTMC) who is part of Crisis team on rounds
- Hithc ride with him back to various venues and the main venue
- Meet the boys from RTMC, offer tips, suggestions, and consultancy!  No charge of course!
- Get ride back to youth hostel
- Beverage with Vinod 535
- Sleep

Saturday Jan 24, 0830
Following are just various thoughts as too much happened to write down so only important parts!:-)

- Meet all members as we assemble here
- Briefing the club
- Ride out to venue
- Assist in moving registrations along
- Go to rooms
- Have a bath! (gasp! – yes yes)
- Meet Brijesh and Smitha
- Wander and loiter and beverage!
- Do crisis management with another club at another venue
- Come back
- Party – chill out
- Take care of a particular person in the crisis team! (who was shall we say in a crisis himself!!!)
- Meet up with RTMC folks – Rakshas, Nisha, baby, Kavitha, ABHI, Mouna, Poo
- Head back to room
- Room hijacked!!!
- Sleep on floor

Sunday Jan 25, 0200

- Cold in night
- Manage
- Wake up and bathe again (Come on – I don’t know what I was thinking)
- Breakfast
- Give Brij my bike (He came by car – shoddy fellow)
- Jump on to Prashis bike as pillion
- Take few photos
- Good ride, good photos, nice temperature
- Get back to venue
- Beverages, loiter and more wandering
- Attend press meet
- Get ready for evening party
- Starting to feel feverish! Not good
- Go to party
- Enjoy the presentations, etc
- Enjoy the camaraderie
- Dinner
- Byes and see you next year’s…

Monday Jan 26, 0200

- Head back to room
- Get heater working – yay!!
- Sleep after taking a couple of meds
- Wake up in night freezing
- Heater not working
- No current
- Heater has tripped a fuse
- Un trip
- Heater still not working
- Freeze and sleep
- 0545 – wake up to Dom calling me to meet him at park place
- 0600 ranga, Maya confirm (apparently) that I have no fever
- Too tired, and sick to move
- Tell the others to leave
- Vps and sreejith give me a bed(thank you gentlemen) with 4 blankets
- Wake up at 0830
- Chill in bed for some time
- Breakfast
- Pack up and leave alone after gunfight have left around 0945
- Take the satyamangalam route
- Ride alone
- Reach metupalayam and Hari
- Hear about doms group and aim for it
- Overtake VPS and the RERAM riders and Kanakku
- Overtake one more group
- Take photos
- Get lost and go to Bhavani
- Take a 20 off KM detour
- Reach the highway(the real one – woo hoo!)
- Rip and catch up with Doms group leaving dhaba – can remember Jeep raj, and a few others
- Swap stories, they leave
- I crash on the string bed at least an hour
- Wake up to Bra and Gunfight thundering in
- They lunch, I sleep at least an hour
- Water, electoral, crocin and wake up
- Leave around 1600
- Peaceful cruising at 100
- Stop for gas and oil
- Keep riding
- Stop at vellore, meet my dad on highway
- Continue riding
- Meet one group on the way, have chai
- Ride in and reach home safe at 2100

Phew.

- That’s it.
- Thanks for reading.
- Bye for now
- Sleep!