First Long Distance Practice

Long Practice Ride

After getting back to biking regularly again, I decided to have a long distance run. By this time the temperatures in India had shot up and it was hot.

I planned to bike more than 2000 Kms with more than 600 Kms on a particular day. During our trip we would not be driving more than 600 Kms on a day ever and I wanted to do more than that in practice for obvious reasons. After lot of options finally settled on Delhi-Baroda-Delhi a distance of 2140 Kms.

This would also ensure my meeting few so called friends (actually bikers going along on the ride) and coordinating final issues of the trip. I also decided that Rekha, my wife, would accompany as pillion to get her practice also. As per rough plan she would join me in the trip mid way, depending on my final route and my daughters examinations.

For this practice run a God send long weekend came in from 19 April to 24 April with only two working days in between. Leave applied and granted I was all set for the drive.

Planning for Drive - I decided to bike down in my recently purchased protective jacket and pants and did slight modifications on the bike. I bought Royal Enfield protective pants (Rs 5500) and Cramster protective jacket (Rs 7100). The jacket and my new saddle bags I bought from Meandoring Store (+91-11-26898955). Got my bandana, my googles, hydra pack, gloves and tank bags all from this store. An excellent biking and camping gear store run by fellow biking enthusiast, Rajiv Thapa (+91-9810168402), in Vasant Kunj opposite B-8 Gate 2. He has excellent stuff at reasonable price and special informative advise for bikers. A must visit place for bikers in Delhi.

Bike Modifications - I did not want any thing fancy and just got my wind shield tightened, got luggage carriers put with new seats installed. My seat has back rest for both biker and the pillion now.

Backrest for Riding : Seat Modification

NH 8 Route from New Delhi to Udaipur

Day 1 (Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Udaipur) - I decided to drive from Delhi to Udaipur a distance of 700 Kms on day one. We planned to leave by five in morning and managed to be only 20 minutes late. The cool breeze on my face, manageable traffic on highway, company of my wife all reminded me why biking has to be continues part of our lives. As they say, If you don't drive; You don't know. The planned route was from New Delhi to Jaipur to Ajmer to Udaipur all along the National Highway 8.

Fauji Dhaba : Eatery on Delhi-Jaipur Highway

First break was after covering more than 100 Kms in 90 minutes for early morning tea and snacks. This was in a dhaba (Indian road side eatery) I had seen during my previous rides. Short break and we continued on. The traffic and heat kept on increasing till we crossed Jaipur. The best part of NH 8 started and so did the heat. Me with my full protective gear with temperatures hitting 40 degrees centigrade and fumes of trucks. It still felt closer to God than sitting on desk pushing files. We continued along the highway even in afternoon. I started taking water sips every 5 minutes to remain hydrated and we had covered our faces with buffs. Driving gets you de-hydrated without you coming to know as the wind takes off the sweat. I remember telling wifey that my undies are dripping. We also met fellow Royal Enfielder's zooming off. The drill of Bullet wave and exchange of nod for each other continued.

Indian Innovation : Towing a Friend

We crossed biker (transport category) being towed by another biker with Indian innovation of his pagri (Indian head gear). In dead heat of Nasirabad decided to give bike a rest and had lunch in a dhaba in middle of nowhere. 

Dhaba near Nasirabad

The temperature below the thatched roof was at least 5 degrees less. With heat came my loosies and use of dhaba toilet was bliss. Had fresh and good food which Rekha shared with their dog and after break of 45 minutes started again. We had re stocked our water and got few energy drinks also.

Phantom Cave

Continued driving on the lovely Rajasthan roads till we crossed the Phantom Cave with Lion or Walrus (as you imagine) sitting on top of cliff, amazing rock formations. Finally by 5 in the evening it started cooling off and we entered city of Udaipur by around 7 in the evening. Both of us were coming to Udaipur after nearly 17 years. Reached our rooms by 8 after continuous biking of nearly 15 hours. My speedometer showed 702 Kms on the first day. The biggest surprise was that my friend with whom we were staying in Udaipur had his marriage anniversary party and in our biking gear we attended the party and finally hit the bed after shower at 11:30 in the night. Both of us fully tired but satisfied with our efforts.

Walrus/ Lion Guarding his Area

Starting from Udaipur : Pichola Lake in Background

Day 2 (Udaipur-Shamla ji-Godhra-Baroda) - had decided to get up late and after leisurely breakfast started our ride by 09:15 in the morning. Udaipur is as beautiful as I remembered it to be but has gone crowded like other cities. Weather and winds are still good and we had morning tea with peacocks dancing around. Gave a good wipe to my bike "Redbird" first thing in the morning. There were clouds today and drive was beautiful. However, strain on long drive a day prior and lack of sleep forced me to take frequent breaks. We had decided to go to Ahmedabad but after 100 Kms from Udaipur at Shamla Ji we saw a wide highway with marking of Baroda. After confirmation from local drivers took this route. This was State Highway 5 of Gujrat. The beauty of driving is realised on entering Gujrat. The roads are extremely good. This highway went through Godhra and we were witness to progress of Gujrat every where around. We reached Baroda by 3:00 in the afternoon after driving for 370 Kms.

Udaipur to Vadodra

Day 3 & 4 We halted in Vadodra in one guys place and got my bike serviced. It was too hot to move around but had final discussions regarding my main trip. This guys we stayed with was the one with whom I was going on the trip and the treatment and attitude sowed some seeds of doubts in our mind. My wife told me to modify my plans and go alone but somehow did not take her advice and decided to continue to move with this guy. Sometimes for familiarity and safety one takes bad decisions......

Early Morning Sun - Promises to be a scorcher

Meadoring through Marble Belt

Day 5 (Vadodra - Udaipur - Ajmer) Having learnt our lessons of driving in heat, we decided to start our journey early and kicked off at 0500 hours in the morning. It was still dark and by the time dawn came we had covered more than 100 kms. The sun rise was beautiful and reminded us of simple pleasures of life. Though moving early morning on Indian highways also reminds you that we lack basic toilet facilities in our villages (or perhaps pull of crapping in open is too high). We had to be careful where we took our breaks. We generally followed same route as the one we came from, however, before entering Udaipur we were guided to the bye pass road. We decided to take it as it was already nearly 10 in the morning and I wanted to avoid traffic. What a shambles of a bye pass with narrow broken road, no sign posting and mis-managed traffic. It took us more time to cross Udaipur and we finally found our selves on old NH-8, the old highway, passing through lovely places of Marbel belt with temples and old forts all along. The drive was amazing with the rising sun our breaks started getting longer. I was boiling in my riding jacket and pants and was waiting for an opportunity to take them off. Finally under a tree on the highway changed my gear at 1400 hours and continued driving. The route took us longer but was more enjoyable as it was passing through towns and villages. We finally reached Ajmer by 6 in the evening nearly 13 hours on the road. Ajmer was confusing, it was our first time in the town and it took us nearly two hours to reach our rooms after asking nearly 10 guys for directions. Had a shower and we were off to bed after simple dinner.

Rekha, Bike and the HIGHWAY

Day 6 (Ajmer - Jaipur - New Delhi) We continued our journey without breakfast and took off at morning 0530 hours. By now our bums were numb and seats were feeling uncomfortable. The journey was relentless; sun over the tarmac of highway with bike constantly above 100 kms. Stopped for a quick breakfast (I had Rekha's paranthas also) and continued plowing onwards. Outskirts of Jaipur started the real test of bike and us; HEAT, pollution, no winds and traffic. Took off my jacket also. Applied massive amount of sunscreen on my hands and continued on our return leg. Only consolation was that home awaits us. We finally reached back at nearly 3 in the noon after covering more than 2100 Kms in four days.

Well deserved break

Back home after more than 2100 Kms

Preparation and Modifications

In this part I would cover, preparation of myself, my bike, modifications to bike, and packing lists.

Preparation

Though I had done my fair bit of biking but since last few years had not done serious riding. The first thing I started was practice bike runs during weekends. Every weekend I would take the bike during the hottest period for a ride of 250 to 300 Kms on various highways around Delhi. This got me to a few pointers......

I needed better and comfortable seats. The seat had to be wider (as per configuration of my butt), softer and must to have a back support.

I needed protective riding gear (NO brainer actually). The gear should be used often before the main ride so that you are comfortable wearing it for long rides.

Some modifications are required in the bike. Some for safety and some for efficiency and some for fun.

In Indian roads, come what may, a biker is not given his due respect. I had to be extra careful. A few of practice runs were.....

Delhi-Jaipur Highway.   NH 8 used to be the best road around for driving some ten years back. Now probably it's the worst stretch due to construction and widening work in progress. The main practice can only commence after the toll gate, however, for bikers you have to either go below the first flyover or take two U turns to get on the main highway. Once on highway, the ride is satisfactory till next toll gate. The battle commences after second toll gate near Manesar. There are numerous flyovers being constructed since last many years and traffic is forced to move through narrow side lanes. The trucks are another story. Why is it only in India, that trucks are also in race with each other flouting all traffic rules. There are times when all lanes are covered by trucks competing to overtake each other though at slow pace due to overload of weight. This forces already erratic car drivers to zig zag on the highway leaving biking akin to video games of yester years. Over and above all this is the persistent road crosser. They are the guys who have pedestrian bridge blindness. Some have night blindness, some are colour blind but these guys just can not see pedestrian crossing bridges or places. They stand smilingly on side of road or on the central divider and hop across the highway between traffic. If you hit God save you or your bike with pedestrian fury and the police. The general trend with Indian police is that mistake is of the bigger vehicle, so with pedestrian it would be the bike.

Bikes in India are not a passion but mode of transport in general for guys not yet graduated to a car due to financial constraints. Real bikers are available but far and few. These 'Transport Bikers' (they use bikes for transportation) are worst of the lot. They use their bikes for going to office, work, job and all mundane tasks but with intent of driving on a traffic dare devil stunt ride. You can find them squeezing between cars, zipping across the lanes and trying to be off the block on red lights. They can materialise from any where, any time and have no protection on them. Only protection they have is that they are never wrong and there exists a unity among this clan. Let one of them be hit or in a fracas and you would have all two wheelers coming to halt around that four wheeler.

Practice on Jaipur highway has it's gains. It polishes the jaded reflexes I would need on long drives and gives you an experience of worst. You can be prepared for the worst by biking along the Delhi-Jaipur highway during peak traffic hours. Best time to ride on this highway is either when it's essential or after completion of flyovers :))

Delhi-Gurgaon-Alwar Road. This highway takes off from the Delhi-Jaipur highway from exit 10 along the Sohna Road. Once you cross the heavily populated areas in initial 40 Kms it's two way road with less traffic during afternoons and relatively pleasant drive. The road passes through lot of small villages (where speed has to be checked) but overall a good ride. Through like all Indian roads it does not have barricades on sides and danger of animals or humans crossing the road exists. best time to ride on this highway is late afternoons.

Delhi-Chandigarh Highway. Exiting from Delhi towards this highway would take it's time depending where you are starting from. Once you enter the highway it is a good ride with normal Indian dangers existing along. It has some very good eateries (dhabas) along, though the highway crosses one town to next constantly. Many flyovers have been constructed resulting in our car riders confusing it with Formula 1 track. This stretch has one of the maximum vehicle crashes. Best time to ride on this highway is during early hours but not on a foggy day. Fog is legendary on this stretch. 

Delhi-Rohtak-Hissar Highway. This is amazingly an interesting Indian road drive through heartland of Jats (Indian Texans). It again involves ride through traffic till 60 Kms out of Delhi. After crossing Rohtak the highway becomes a bit drivable for bikers. However, if planning to practice speed riding; forget it. The is no way one can go beyond 80 kms per hour and survive. Besides erratic drivers you would encounter bullock carts, tractors, cyclists and animals. Cows and buffaloes make the highway their home.

Delhi-Meerut and beyond. Option was available but never tried the road. Feedback was not very encouraging owing to traffic.

Delhi-Agra Express Highway. This is a toll road constructed for decreasing driving time from Delhi to Agra for easing the time lag for tourists. Its eight lane high quality highway of international standards. One has to cross Delhi and then Noida to enter this highway and thereafter it is a dream run for next 200 Kms. Though beware, it might be international standard highway but guys driving vehicles are Indians and one needs to be alert and ensure bike is within control speed. There have been many bike accidents in recent times due to over speeding.

Bike Modifications

This was the first time I was attempting biking for such a long distance in a limited time frame. Decided to modify my bike for the trip to ensure efficiency as well as comfort. My modification concept based on safety, ease and looks in that order.

I decided against any modification for the engine. My basic modification would range from luggage compartments, lights and seats.

Initially got carriers placed and changed my seats to have back rest for both riders. Got a big leg guard and rear view mirrors on my handle bars. Tried the bike for 2000 Kms and decided on final modifications. All my modifications I did with different guys from Karol Bagh area in Delhi after identifying good guys for various jobs.

My Final Modifications....

Bottle holders on my leg guard (one for water bottle and other for fire extinguisher).

Exhaust pipe wrap (to reduce heat on my right leg during long driving times).This is also supposed to increase kick (power) of the bike.

Exhaust Cover to reduce heat on my legs

Wind Shield in front with additional fog lights. This wind shield I choose was after many trials and was of highest quality. The aerodynamics of these wind shield are important to ensure stability and movement over long distances in heavy wind conditions.

Changed my head lights with reflector light of Maruti Omni Van (more powerful lights). Got this idea from Bhavishya, another biking enthusiast. The power of head light went up tremendously.

Complete Wiring Redone

Reinforced the carriers at it's weak points and extended the carrier by two inches.

LED lights on carrier connected to side signal and brake lights for safety and more visibility.

Additional LED lights in Rear

Changed my seats to the best in category available at Khajanchi, Karol Bagh. Back rest for rider and back rest with arms rest for co-rider. Amazing material of seat for comfort. Though he charged a bomb, I think it is worth it.

Got complete wiring checked and changed where required. All my electrical issues of the bike was done by two amazing guys Simpi (+91-9810770235) and Javed.

Got all worn parts of bike engine changed with new ones. Basically hubs, nuts, chain links, spokes and bearings. Got my bike fully checked from 'Bawa Bullet Engineer, Karol Bagh' (+91-9810674823)

Got new tyres for both front and rear. Though my tyres had about 6000 Kms left I decided to take fresh tyre and tubes for the trip.

Tried the bike with all modifications and was satisfied after at least five trips to Karol Bagh for changes. I feel it is essential to try out all your modifications before main ride.

For helmets I had to buy DOT (Department of Transport, US) approved ones as ISI approved are not valid in Europe. I bought these from Gaurav (Chopra Helmets +91-9212728848) in Karol Bagh and also fitted them with communicators. Communicators are for talking with each other as well as it connects to FM radio and takes mobile calls. The ones I had bought were not up to my standards and finally bought expensive ones four days before departure.

Got names stickers made with blood group for my helmets, tool boxes for my spares and bike was ready to go.

All these modifications and safety gear was keeping in mind that my wife would join me mid way.....

I feel that modifications to one's bike should be done keeping safety, comfort and ride requirements in view......

I had a to waste a lot of my time as this guy from Baroda came with his old bike, one check by Bawa and he declared it unfit to go even to Agra, what about many thousands miles. Cajoled thisguy to get his bike repaired to ensure less trouble during travel.

Packing List

It was a constant battle between desire and space. I desired to take lot of my things including luxury items one has got used to in life as the journey was for nearly 70 days but was restricted due to space in terms of volume and weight.

Read through at least 15-20 packing lists available on net and dug in deep on my experience of trekking and biking in India to come up with my own packing list for this trip.

Bike Related

Spares nearly 35 kgs worth 30 grands (Guys do not do this mistake and carry only spares which you think will not be available on the trip. I got influenced by these other guys and ended up carrying massive dead load, all of which came back and is lying in my garage).

Tools

Puncture kit

Spare tubes

Disk lock

Tyre lock

Chain lock

Helmet

Communicator for helmet

Poncho Raincoat (this should be the best quality one. We got stuck in massive rains and finally had to buy high quality leak proof top & trouser in Moscow).

Personal Kit

Riding jacket

Riding pants

Riding shoes

Soft shoes one pair

Jeans one

Shorts one

Cargoes one

Dry fit T shirts three

Night wear two sets

Buffs

Gloves (should be water proof for all types of trips)

Thermal inner

One fleece top

Socks

Scarf

Comb

Tooth brush with small paste

Soap

Toilet kit (scissors, tweezers and nail cutter)

No shaving as had decided to grow my beard

Miscellaneous Items

Goggles

Cap

Book

iPad

Mobile phone

Swiss knife

Sunscreen lotion

Chapstick

Debit and credit cards

Forex cards

Passport

National Driving licence

International driving licence

Bike registration card

Hotel bookings sheet

Carnet

Water bottle

Packing Stuff

One ruck sack

One tank bag

One waist bag

On final packing realised even this is long and heavy list but had to be on road for 70 days and needed some spares.

Initially I had decided to carry camping gear but then dropped it at last minute due to massive overload on bike.

Will keep updating of utility of items and what should have been brought along.