1st Southern RAID - Yelagiri

If you ask any rider, whether he likes to ride through the 'pin bends', the immediate answer is 'YES'. We too wanted that "YES" experience. RR team worked hard to find out the better place. Satheesh (kero) came out with the idea of riding to Yelagiri hills, which is around 225km from Chennai. Being active member of YMCA, Kero assured for stay and food in YMCA. The date was fixed as 28th and 29th November 2009.

This trip is considered to be more special becuase, the Banglore Jawa Yezdi club have accepted our invitation and they assured to participate in this camp. The ride being special of its nature we named it as 'Southern Raid'.


28th November'09 : I left my home by 5.00 am just gulping some water as early breakfast and dropped at Mummy-dady shop (kilpauk) were, Srikanth was waiting to pick me up to Porrur Shell pump, which is our starting point. By 6.30 am most of the riders got assembled. Xavier's gypsy was loaded with our bags and tool set. Usual meeting with instructions and route was discussed. Hari the lead, moved with first set of riders towards Sriperumbadhur route. Myself being pillion rider this time, waited along with Srini to receive our Mechanic Sekar and Ravee sir. They came late, so we left Porur only by 8.00 am.

It was decided not to take break unless we reach Vellore, which is almost 110km away from from Porur. On the way I received the sms fromXavier that the first batch reached Vellore and having breakfast at Hotel Saravana Bhavan. After we reached Vellore, it was difficult for us to trace the hotel. Traffic police men helped us to find the hotel. The food was excellent though the bill sounded heavy. Our energy level is back now.

Our 15 bikes roared along with 4 Madras Bulls ( Bullet club) from the Vellore towards the direction of Yellagiri.
At this point, Ajay ( oro - nickname) went flying in Satheesh's Roadking bike, who was maintaining a very low profile speed of 50km before. Suddenly he got vanished no were. We all riders after covering distance of 100 kms, got assembled near by-pass road junction(Ponneri) were the signboard showed Yelagiri. By the time, Banglore guys too reached the spot. There were 9 bikes from Banglore club. We did formal introduction to eachother. Banglore guys said they saw a speedy rider heading in opposite direction which actully created doubt in their minds whether they are in the right route. Later we found that the rider is ORO. He went in the direction of Tirupathur. Its no point in waiting for him(ORO), becuase the time showed almost 2.30 pm. All riders were hungry. Now it is 23bikes. All throttled up. We can see the Yellagiri hills...zoooom!!

There were 14 pin bends, and lots of monkeys along the route. The width of the road is not so wide, and looked dangerous at some points. Now we were in the top of the hill, Waiting for the Gypsy and Oro. Unfortunately Xavier's Gypsy got some mechanical fault, and was finding difficult to climb the hills. This made us sad. By God's grace the gypsy was moving bit by bit, and reached the spot.


We welcomed Xavier with applause. Almost after an hour, Oro reached the spot. As he stepped out from the bike, Angry riders took him for a** ride :)Finding YMCA was not so tough. The Local people helped us the route. The location was green and cool. The weather was at the best.
3.30 pm we were in YMCA. The Manager Mr.Antony, welcomed us. We all were hungry and had no clue what to do for lunch. Satheesh enquired the manager whether food is available at this time. Without any hesitation, he promptly gave order to Kitchen, to prepare lunch. Within half an hour the food was ready. I really thank the Manager at this point, because this was an odd time to prepare lunch, but with his orders it happened. By 4.00 the lunch and tea was ready. The dinning hall was crowded with hungry riders. There was no sound, just silence of hunger. The vessels were left empty. Steamed Rice + Sambhar + rasam + bonda + paapad was the menu.

Evening programe schedule was discussed. The campire, music, soft and hard drinks were arranged. The party started with formal speech by Sachi from RR and Amirit from banglore club. They shared the history of the clubs and its member who worked behind the scene. Mementos, gifts and certificates were given to all the riders. And everyone shared their part of experience with their bikes. The party was with full of fun, calling PP , Oro, Kero, Silk Jai names loud. This shows, how the friendhsip is bounded among the riders. Its time for camfire now, the music was on...and the floor was open to dance. Mr.Antony was keep informing that dinner will be closed by 10.00 pm, some heard his words, some were out of the world ! The dinner was quiet simple and good. Chicken curry, Chappatis, Rice, Vegetable curry and Rasam was served.

The night was getting cooler and cooler. Its time to go for nap. I just found a free space in the dormitory, and tried to sleep. But it was difficult. I was surrounded by different makes of Norton + bullet+ triumph bike sound. I mean, I heard different versions of Snoring. Good night !!
I got up early in the morning, hearing Sudersan voice. He proclaimed that he got up early 3.00am and took bath in cold water( hard to believe though), even our Kero was claiming that he got up early. Well, its all in the fun game. The breakfast was ready by 8.00 am. Pongal, iddli, vadai was the menu. The taste reminded our home. Now its time to get our things packed. After a while we did photo session with our group, and 10.30 am, we left YMCA heading down the hill.

We reached Ponneri junction by 12.00 am and its time for us to say good bye to Banglore yezdians. They moved to the direction of signboard showing Banglore, and we towards Chennai. On the way, some of our riders stopped at Ambur ( place famous for leather products) and picked some shoes in cheaper rate, and some disappeared to have ambur biriyani. By 2.30 pm we were in Vellore and all riders gathered for Lunch at Dhabha, which was recommended place by Hari. As usual the food at Dhabha was awesome. This Dhabha is exactly 100km away from Chennai, almost borders of Vellore.
After some Dhabha Roties and chicken curry's are energy level got boosted up, and all us were ready to head towards chennai. Me and Srini, alongwith Kannan Sir left Dhabha as soon as other riders left the place. We just crossed some 40km, and saw Hari along with Sudersan standing with their bikes. Hari's 350cc bike got stopped with no reason. Senthil ( Mechanic) tried his best to solve, but not able to do so, becuase he needed some coils/parts which was packed and kept in Xavier's Gypsy. By this time the first batch of riders reached Savetha dental college, and we informed Sachi and Sekar about Hari's bike condition. Hari said its better to tow the bike, with the help of his fiends who were riding their bullets. The Scene was mindblowing one. Joe from Madras Bulls, tow'd hari's yezdi with an ease. He almost crossed speed of 100km. Something amazing to see bike being towed in 100km plus.The bike went for an stretch of 50km tow. We all reached the savetha Dental college by 6.30pm. Sekhar was waiting for us, who immediately started working on the bike to fix the bug.
It was getting dark, the felow riders said bye to each other and all moved towards their home, safely and peacfully. Tarun from Madras Bulls, helped to drop me in my home.

Thus the 1st Southern Raid came to end with fine happy note.



Cheers !!
Happy riding.

Highlights of the Ride :

• This is the 1st Joint Ride by two active clubs of Jawa-Yezdi in south India
• This was the last ride for Xavier as a Bachelor.
• Kannan Sir and Vathiyar ( the senior most) took part in this two day ride. They were fit like their machines
• The weather was at its best. I recomend YMCA to be one of the best place to stay in Yelagiri, especially when you go in big group.
• The Roads are good for riding.
  
  For album :
  http://picasaweb.google.co.in/satheeshsangee68/YellagiriRide?authkey=Gv1sRgCLOK5smNo_aHWg&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/vikee007/1stSouthernRAID

Endurance Day

7th International Jawa day ( falls on 2nd Sunday of July), something big for all the global Jawa riders. RR ( Roaring Riders), wanted to make this occasion to be memorable and BIG. They planned for a 'Marathon' ride. The plan was to make a trip to 'Hogenakkal' which is 360km from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This Plan was proposed in the RR's meet and there was no hassle from any riders. The first word was, 'Yes! we will do it'.

Exactly a month before the Jawa day, RR mgt scheduled their plans. The T shirt designs - Ordering T shirts - Banners - Booking the Hotel for stay - Looking out for the best route - Ordering Key chains - Tool kit - Bag...The list is BIG to explain. Kudos to all for their hard work. The route was decided, and Plan was to leave Chennai on Saturday to Hogenkkal and coming back to Chennai on Sunday. Dormitory was booked in TamilNadu Tourism hotel, with Dinner and breakfast. The plan is set now, and Bikes were serviced, the documents were in current, and we all were waiting for the day....

11th July, 2009 : Clock showed 4.30 am, I got ready, and packed the required things and checked whether I have carried the extra spark plug, Lubricant Oil, Clutch cable with me. This is something important to carry when a rider goes for a longer ride. My father opened the gate for me, said bye to him, and I throtlled towards Vineeth's house. He was getting ready when I reached his flats. From there we moved to Dr's place to pick him along with his 1960 Jawa which was looking for us waiting near the gate. Myself, Vineeth, Dr and Vineeth's brother took our Lions, and moved towards Porrur, Shell petrol pump were all riders are supposed to meet.

By 6.00am all the 22 riders from different parts of Chennai with their bikes were ready at this point. Sachi distributed the route maps to all the riders, and as usual he explained the rules to be followed while riding in a group. Veterans Kannan sir, Srini's Father, Walter's Parents, Dr were their with us and gave their set of advices. We all took it in a positive note, as we knew this ride is not going to be simple because we are on a long ride. Kannan Sir released our Club Rally T-shirt and he flagged off us, when the clock showed almost 7.00am.

All riders had in mind that there should not be frequent breaks, so that all can reach Hogenakkal by lunch time. We almost covered 70km and thought we need a break for filling our stomach, though our tank is full.

We found one reasonably a good roadside hotel, which served as some nice Iddlies and chattinis. The Chattini taste still reminds in my taste buds. Something rare to find in City hotels. Here we wasted more time almost 1hour. Then it was decided not take a break for another 100 km.

The weather was helping us with nice breeze and very moderate temperature, to throttle in high speed in the highways. I don't think any one's speedometer showed the speed less than 65km. Though I have speed phobia syndromes :) I tried to maintain a steady speed of 60km. We reached Ambur by almost 11.30 am. Venkat sir bike started flooding and lost some liters of petrol. Anyhow no worries, because Sekar ( mechanic) is there for help who carried BIG sack of spare parts and tools with him. He sorted out the BUG. Now, we all were set to leave towards the direction of Krishnagiri, which is 70km from Ambur.

We reached krishnagiri now, and halted for Lunch at Tamil Nadu tourism hotel. But our time got wasted here waiting for our tables. Thought we must leave this place for another hotel. Xavier came out with an idea of having lunch at Dhaaba which he knew. So we all set to Dhaabha. Good choice, the Dhaabha rottis were awesome. Our stomach is full now. After this break we did'nt stopped anywere unless we see the sign Board showed 'Hogenakkal'. In this long stretch of ride there was no major problems with our bikes though they were considered to be old machines. Only Gokul ( the lead) machine had a problem by losing the foot peddle on the road. He is a excellent rider who rip around with confidence, who leaded my batch of riders with great support.
4.00 pm we were at Pennaguram. From this point we took a route which will take us through Ghats and pin bends. After covering 13km we were in 'Hogenakkal' now. For my surprise the Tamil nadu Tourism hotel looked clean and interesting. The service was good. They welcomed us by serving 'Bondas' ( south Indian snack) and Tea. We all moved our machines to the block were our dormitory was booked. Got settled there, and refreshed.
Srini checked with the manager regarding Dinner and Campfire. Bala went down to Pennagram for getting Cakes.

All were set, the time showed 7.30pm, the campfire is on. Sachi started the programme with his usual speech. The cake was cut by the youngest rider Walter ( now he is called PP ). I don't think anyone had a little bit of this cake. All the creams and cake was in the face and head of each and every rider. This is the "Signs of enjoyment" though irrespective of different age - different class - different profession. Only common thing we all have is "LOVE for this Beast". The party went on, all the riders were issued the rally Tshirt and gifts containing Club logo embedded Key chain, Tool kit, and a small pouch.

It was too late for us in the evening to see the falls so the plan was scheduled to Sunday morning. The next day myself, Srini decided to leave early in the first batch, without seeing the falls. Arul an experienced rider from Bangalore, joined along with Walter and Satheesh to leave in the first batch guided by 'Shy' Jai, another experienced rider in Roaring rider club. After breakfast, exactly 8.00am we left Hogenakkal. Down in Pennaguram we filled our tanks half atleast to cover 100km. Actually we were looking for pumps which accepted credit card. We went through the highways by clicking some interesting snaps. This time my speedometer showed 80km. The confident was high, and my machine supported.
Almost in every 80km we took a small break to stretch our bodies. It was 11.30am we reached Ambur. Jai - Satheesh - walter went for early lunch. Srini - Anand and myself gulped couple of cool drinks to stay alive :). After Ambur we did's stopped much this time. Just stopped in a petrol pump to fill the tank.

3.00pm we were in Porur. Now its time for fellow riders to move to their own direction of their house. Said bye to everyone and I moved towards the direction of the arrow showing 'Koyammedu'. Unfortunately at this place (Porrur) my bike got punctured. And there was no one around me. Good thing is, this happended exactly near to the shop which does some oiling and tyre works for lorries. Since I got stuck in the main lane, I have no choice to drag the vehicle. So with the puntured tyre I rode the machine towards the shop which was inside the service lane. I have to cover a big U turn to reach this shop. The Shop guy helped me out, and for him it is the first time he is doing puncture work in Jawa bikes. Some how he managed to solve the problem and fixed the tyre back and charged 60bucks. I thanked him, and had a cooldrink to kill my thirst and ripped the beast towards my home safe. As I reached home I communicated with Sachi and Vineeth. And they too left Hogenakkel with other riders as another batch of riders after seeing the falls. I heard they reached by night since they slowed down the speed being there was slight rainfall on the way. 22 Riders reached their home safe with their set of stories to share with their family members. I also appreciate Motor Vikatan Reporter who was with us from the day1 along with us as pillion rider.

Physically I was tired and there was ache near my neck region and trapezius muscle. But mind was feeling something great achieved by a amateur rider.
A new experience is penned down in riders diary. A milestone achieved by 'Roaring Riders' club.
Cheers to all fellow riders for making this Jawa rally a succesfull one. The world is watching us.

keep riding !!

Note: Below is the Article published about our ride in 'TIMES OF INDIA'

for photos : http://picasaweb.google.com/vikee007/7thInternationalJawaDayAndRoaringRidersAnniversary

HOT ride on Race TRACK

Agni Nakshatra ! something "HOT" for chennaities. Don't imagine anything else. I am just trying to say its a 14-day period in May, the hottest part of the year. During this period no one prefers to travel but, our Roaring team DID !
Its every Bikers lifetime dream, to ride along the "Race tracks". We too had the same dream. But how to make it possible ? Kannan sir, who is a veteran Racer in our club, made the dream possible. He got the permission from "Madras Motor sports Club" (Irungattukottai race track_Sriperumbudur) to showcase our bikes and our riding skills along the racetrack on 3rdMay2009.

A week before the track day we all riders had a meeting at beasant nagar and dicussed about the route and timings. It was decided one part of the group will start from Besant Nagar and other group to join from Chennai Trade center(CTC). I prefered CTC, being the near point from my home.

Sunday morning, I left to Vineeth house who accompanied me to CTC. We waited almost for an hour. It was burning hot. Exactly by 9.30 all other bikers reached our spot. There were 26bikes. All 26 bikers roared from CTC towards the direction of Sriperumbudur. This time we didnt took any journey break, and there was no bike ceasing. Something positive signs of our rides.

Speedometer showed 70km and we were at Irungattukottai race track now. We were welcomed by the Manager ( senior most person) of Madras Motors club. We got introduced and bikes were parked in order for posing the onlookers cameras. Many were keen to know about our bikes history and their performance. "Mambo" bike was quiet a hit, because of its modification.

We were alotted 12.00pm for the track. The Manager gave a detailed strict instructions to follow inside the track. He asked not to overtake the yellow car ( which leads us in the track) at any point. Before the track time, I was just checking my wheels, which had a problem to move. Mechanic Senthil told it is because of some clutch issue, and the bike can go on by keeping the speed by 60km. I felt really bad that I will not be able to test the speed in the track. Anyhow good thing is the bike moved !

The clock clicked 12.00 !! Yes. Its our ROARING RIDERS TIME. The track smelled with our burning tyres with the combination of "Roaring" music. Yogi bros zoomed away following the yellow car, they were really racing with other fellow riders. Unfortunately Srini's bike got punchered immediatley after the start in the track itself. His bike was parked aside followed by my bike. But Senthil gave me the confidence to go for the ride. So I left Srini and throttlled through the track. People sitting aside the track were excited to see these old LIONS roaring through the track. It remainded them 70's "hippies period"

After the 4th Lap we were flagged to Red. "WOW" "COOL" "EXCITING" these were the words I heard all over from the riders. The thirst for tracking never ended though it was terrible hot outside. We all were exhausted not becuase of the ride, its the temperature. After our event got over, there was some amateur riders who were testing in "Apachi bikes". It was time to say goodbye and I left with Sachi, Vineeth towards our home, without stopping at anypoint. Later Srini's bike got ready and he left with other group of riders to home.

It was quiet hard to believe that we and machines got this wonderfull opportunity to ride around this famous RACE TRACK! This event will have a special place in our clubs archive. Thanks for all riders for making this event safe and success. I also take this opportunity to thank "Motor Vikatan group" who have covered us for their magazine, from the starting point beasant nagar to the track. Thanks guys!

Thank you for reading,

cheers,

Roaring Rider.

for photos : http://picasaweb.google.co.in/vikee007/HotRoaringRidesOnRaceTrack

http://picasaweb.google.com/srinikasyap/TrackDayauthkey=Gv1sRgCI3Wi_n7z8vrFw&feat=email

http://picasaweb.google.com/satheeshsangee68/RRidersRaceTrackTrip?feat=directlink

Pulicat Lake_Ride in Yezdi bike

On Valentine's Day Eve, I surprised my Girl Friend (hey I am talking about my bike) by filling 10 liters of petrol, promising her to take a ride for more than 100km .
Sachi made it very clear in our Roaring riders meet, that everyone should carry their helmets and boots, if not they are not in for the ride. Since this is a group ride we need to be responsible to each fellow rider safety.
15Th Feb 2009, (Sunday) I got up around 6.30 am and my mom, wife and Trisha(daughter) all were in good sleep. I don't want to disturb them for a cup of tea, still my mom saw me and made a garam Chai and she also asked " should i make dosa for you". I said "no" (wrong decision).
I said bye to mom and to my wife who was in half sleep. I kick started my bike around 7.30am from home and reached the Lucas-Paadi flyover were I saw a Roadking in stands. The rider eagerly looked at me, and I asked him "are you for the ride ?". He replied "yes". We got introduced to each other. He is Mr.Elango who is joining us for the first time. We both moved towards "Erattai Yeari" ( means "Two lake junction", which is our pick up point.) There Jaidev too joined with us in his Jawa. We almost waited for more than an hour for other riders, who promised to start my 7.30 from Ashok pillar. By then, many on lookers were seeing our bikes and were sharing their known knowledge of these bikes with their friends . Hmmm we felt proud at that time for being the owners !!
Suddenly there was a huge Roaring noise near the signal and they moved towards us as the signal goes "Green". The whole public turned towards this Roar. They were amazed to see 24 Lions Roaring at a same time. We three joined the group and proceeded towards Moolaikadi junction were our Mechanic Sekar joined with us. Sachi and Srini did the head count and finally there was 28bikes and 32 people. Along with our group, press people too joined with there 100cc bikes who are about to pubish a article about us in the magazine called "Motor Vikitan" !
We halted near Redhills junction to decide on the best route and also made plans for breakfast. Later, we decided to take the Ponneri route which is supposed to be the shortest one. And also enquired about hotels. Public said there is one hotel in Ponneri. But somewhat the riders forgot completely about the hotel and all of us crossed Ponneri and reached Pazhaverkadu. At one point some of us missed the group, and went to other direction of the lake. Later we found that the other riders have gathered near Light house. So we all moved towards Light house. We managed to park our 28bikes. Soon we were surrounded by boatmen and they were keen in taking us for a boat ride. Baskar had a long bargaining session with the boatmen for a reasonable rate. The boatmen started from Rs.800 per boat for 10 people and Basker from Rs.300. Finally, Baskar with help of his witty skills, he mesmerised the boatmen to settle with Rs.450 per boat to carry 15 people. So now we have 2 boats to carry 25 people. Sachi, Kananan sir, Elango, Jai and some more riders stayed in the shore. They were caretakers of our bikes, since there is no proper authorised parking.
Well, it was almost 11.00am and all the riders felt very hungry. And all moved towards the market to find some hotels. My God, there was no hotels. At last we saw one Biriyani shop, and some of Non-vegies moved there. Being myself a converted Veggie and other Veggi riders we didnt find any Iddli shops. So we settled with some biscuits, Lemon juice and Bananas. Now we got some energy and moved towards the shore for Boat ride.
Me and Srini went in two separate boats so that we can take better snaps. Along with me Sathish too carried his 12x camera, which produced wonderful output. Jigav ( Venki ) carried some kingfisher beers and side dishes for which we all welcomed him with applause.
The boat left the shore around 11.45am. It was very Hot...the ride looked very long. Those who had beer it doesn't felt so. We didn't find any birds intially. Boatmen said we can see them in other side of the lake. The boat reached one of the Island were we saw nothing but the other side of Sea. Quite neat place. We took some interesting snaps with our group and left for another Island. This place was crowded with lots of tourist. Every were it was haunted with plastic bags and paper plates. Something sad to see. Hope one day our people will learn to keep these places clean. The time showed 12.15am and we were very hungry and looked for any shops around in that Island. We saw a Aaya ( old lady) who was preparing some fishes and omelet's. We moved towards her direction with our hungry stomach. "Sorry dear" the gas is over, this is what she said to us.
It was around 12.30am we all left this Island, riding back towards the lighthouse. This time the boatmen took different route. This route was interesting because we were able to witness many birds, for which we have actually turned for.
I have very bad knowledge about birds, though I loved to watch them. So I cant write their names here. Srini was able to capture some good snaps of these birds. The beer effect was down for my felo riders, and now its time for all of us get some entertainment from Jigav'Venki'. Yogibrother was making lots of fun activities, especially asking the Boatmen to make "8" and some flips in the middle of the lake. Some of the riders were screaming when Jai was trying to stand while riding, which made the boat to loose the balance. It was quite funny. The ride went for 1hour. Almost by 1.30 we were back to shore.
Now its time for us to leave Pulicat. All the riders were ready with their bikes and roared out from Pulicat. Meanwhile myself and Srini moved towards the Famous "Dutch Cemetery" to take some snaps. This place amazed me with its skeleton sculpture arts. There was no proper guide to explain about this Dutch place. Something to look into history books.
We riders moved towards Sholavarum Race tracks from Redhills juction, for a photo shoot. This is one of the famous place for its bike and Car races. Its Sunday, and we all saw so many bike stunts happening there. Its really a hair raising scene. By 4.30pm, we all dispersed from Sholavarum to our home saying bye to each of them.

As I reached home, after taking a shower
first thing I asked my wife is, "make me some Dosa " :) !!

Friends this was my wonderful experience in Pulicat ride. Only thing I like to advise is to carry your food pack. Improve your bargaining skills if you want to go for a boat ride. keep asking the boatmen were are the birds. This place is quite good. I heard that there is another longer route to reach Pulicat which is quite more interesting.
From Lucas -Paadi junction it is around 50km if you take Ponneri route.

Visit : http://picasaweb.google.com/vikee007/Pulicat_Lake_Feb15_2009#
keep travelling !!

Cheers.
Rider from Roaring Riders