When I think
about all the crazy mile munching I have done on my motorcycle, the Saddle Sore
1000 takes the top spot hands down. Before I jump into the details of my
successful completion, let me just briefly describe what this ride is all about;
for completeness, even though all of this information is readily available
everywhere.
Iron Butt
Association or IBA as it is globally referred to as, is a group of motorcycling
enthusiasts who promote safe and long distance riding. With the popular slogan “The
world is our playground”, they also certify a host of long distance endurance
rides across the globe. Unfortunately, since speed limits on national highways
in India are restricted to 80 kmph for motorcycles, the only ride that is
certified for Indian riders is the Saddle Sore 1000. The Saddle Sore 1000 is
basically completing 1000 miles or 1610 km in less than 24 hours- 24 hours is the
maximum time and not riding time, whether you do it in 1 hour or 24 hours is
your headache!
There are
five steps to earning a Saddle Sore certification:
1. Choose a safe route
2. Get a start witness
3. Collect and track receipts
4. Get an end witness
5. Copy and
submit your documentation
Since safety
is the primary concern, no pre-registration of the ride is needed which gives
the rider added flexibility to decide on any given day whether the combination
of weather, motorcycle and most importantly, attitude, are ready for such a big
ride.
In my case
it was slightly different. I very well knew that my motorcycle was capable of
achieving this but was I capable enough? From past riding experience, I knew
that I could cover about 950-1000 km in a single day. The challenge was would I
survive the next 600 odd kms because after a certain distance covered at a
stretch, the fatigue sets in. Moreover, on my regular rides, I always have the
option of halting for the night if I feel tired or sleepy. This was a
completely different proposition. To put things into perspective, to complete
this successfully, I knew I had to maintain an average speed of just 60 kmph.
Seems pretty easy right! The flip side- doing that for 24 hours on the trot!
I started
browsing the IBA website and articles of other riders who had successfully
completed it in India. With the kind of certificate-hungry people in India, no
doubt that a lot of them had faked their rides to acquire certificates which resulted
in the IBA making guidelines for India extremely stringent. The downside of
this was I came across with so many riders who have completed the Saddle Sore
3-4 times but are still waiting for their certificates to arrive. Many of them
are frustrated, because they claim that IBA folks never ever respond to any of
their emails. I decided I would personally get in touch with the association
and sent out a mail to Michael Kneebone, the founder of IBA, and still the
ultimate authority in the IBA! Going by what everyone had said, I never
expected a reply to my email but I was pleasantly surprised when I got a response.
I had clearly mentioned that because of super strict guidelines, honest riders
are getting affected and this would in fact devalue the prestige of that
certificate. I also mentioned to him that people are actually frustrated and
angry with the way IBA is delaying processing the Saddle Sore rides. Michael
was extremely supportive and told his side of the story as well. Certain Indian
people (unfortunately cheats cannot be called motorcyclists!) tried to fool the
IBA to such an extent that the motorcycle at the start and end of the ride were
different. He explained that people out there in the IBA are accomplished
riders themselves and not that foolish to not recognize when someone is faking their
ride experience. He convinced me it’s not about the certificate but about the riding
experience and to be honest I was quite happy I decided to directly communicate
with him instead of relying on different stories on the internet. Michael even
asked me to add him to my Facebook friend list so that he could personally
track my ride. Another thing he asked me to do because he wouldn’t have the
time to track me constantly because of the time zone differences – get in touch
with another fellow rider who has been certified by the IBA to track my ride.
This was hitting the jackpot because I already had a very accomplished rider in
my riding group- Ashutosh Mahadik who had successfully completed the Saddle Sore
on his Royal Enfield 6 years back in 2010. I did not hesitate to ask him for
the favor and he readily obliged, even giving me a lot of sound advice and
things to do and follow during the ride.
After my interactions
with these people, I decided that there was no better way to test my endurance,
to test if my body and mind were up for it. As insane as it sounded, I decided
to take a shot at it! Got my motorcycle thoroughly checked and was totally set
on that front much before the ride. On the luggage front, I carried a tank bag
which contained my motorcycle documents, chain clean, chain lube, electral
packs, 2 litre hydration pack, helmet cleaner, hand towel, cotton tshirt, wireless
charger, extra pair of gloves, hand sanitizer and a Hi-Viz reflective patch. Note that I did not carry a tyre inflator or a puncture kit because one- less luggage and two- this highway has provisions for all such emergencies throughout!
3 December 2016 was the day I felt would be
perfect to ride because it was a Saturday. I could be back from my ride and get
a full day’s rest on Sunday and get back to work on Monday. The route that was
decided was Pune to Bangalore via NH4 and head back as soon as the trip meter
showed 805 km. I decided to start my ride at 3 am in the morning on this day
because I had this belief that with efficient time management, I could be back
in time for dinner! The previous day i.e. on Friday, I slept for a good 4-5
hours before my ride because I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch up with sleep probably
for the next 24 hours. And this turned out to be the wisest decision I took
because this sleep was so so critical that never during my entire saddle sore
ride did I feel sleepy. Yes, I did feel bored during my return journey but that
was because I was returning back on the same route. A fellow Versys rider, Aakash Devthale, was
there to flag me off at 2.30 am at the Shell Fuel Station in Warje, Pune. There
were a set of formalities to be completed at the start point of the ride and to
start my ride my ride at the intended time meant I had to be present early at
the fuel station. It was 2:50 am when my tank was full, all start point
formalities complete, trip meter set to zero and I was all set for the ride. We
chatted for a while, clicked a few pictures and finally when the clock hit 3, I
started off my ride.
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| Trip Meter set to 0. Tank Full. Formalities Done. All Set. |
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| Photograph with the fuel station attendants before the start of my ride |
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| With a fellow versys rider, Aakash who was there to flag me off! |
Since I was conscious of the fact that I had to ride for about 4 hours in absolute darkness and my motorcycle could go 300-350 km non stop on a full tank, I decided that my first fuel halt would be the first fuel station I see open after covering 250+ kms. Mid way, I also stopped for a snap because this was the moment where I completed 20000 kms on my motorcycle. More about the ride details through photographs:-
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| Completion of 20000 kms enroute the Saddle Sore ride |
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| On such kind of roads, just open the throttle! |
Finally, I reached Bangalore at 12.45 pm and completed the formalities required at the turn-around point.
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| First Leg successfully completed- Lunch halt at Bangalore |
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| With another V belonging to a rider friend- Pradosh, in Bangalore |
I decided that since I had completed the first leg of my ride in less than 9 hours, I was way ahead time and halting for a good 1 hour wouldn’t do me any harm. I called a fellow Versys rider based in Bangalore and we met for lunch on the highway! Finally, when it was 2-2.15 pm, I decided that I had gotten enough rest and enough energy to start the return journey home.
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| Captured somehwere near Chitradurga during the return leg |
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| These roads were such a bliss to ride on! |
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| I expected hot weather, but it did drizzle for some time midway |
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| One of the best road I have ridden on ever- Tumkur to Chitradurga |
Finally, it was 10.45 pm when I reached my starting point again and what a feeling it was! 1610 km covered in under 20 hours, average speed of just over 80 kmph, zero fatigue, total excitement and joy all because of the insanely amazing motorcycle- the Versys! Nowhere enroute was there any issue with the bike, not even minor ones. I realized my fitness levels did indeed keep up with my motorcycle and honestly, I was quite surprised that I managed to do it so easily!
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Ride End Formalities
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| Pune Bangalore and back. 1610 kms in less than a day. Done. |
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| Saddle Sore Successfully Completed |
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| Snapshot of the log sheet maintained during the ride |
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| Screenshot of the app- Life360 I used to track my ride |
The strategy I followed was ensuring that my fuel halts coincided with my 10 mins rest/snacks/chain clean-lube halts. This meant if I stopped once for fuel, I would hydrate myself, check my tyre pressure, check the condition of my chain and have biscuits/snacks if required all in that halt itself. Because of this, I used to take halts once every 250 odd kms and ensured I was always way ahead of time. Prior to my ride, I had anticipated fatigue kicking in during my return leg and hence decided that I would cover maximum distance when I was feeling fresh. However, the fatigue never kicked in probably because of the excitement and the sleep I managed to get before my ride.
As
obvious as it sounds, motorcycling inherently carries a lot of risk and riding for 1610
kms non-stop increases the risk factor substantially. Hence, it is imperative
that anyone who attempts such a challenge understand the risks and minimize the
possibility of an accident by practicing safe motorcycling habits. In a country
such as ours where people have such amazing traffic and road sense, it’s better
to be safe than sorry! And no one, not even the most experienced long distance
rider can safely fight off fatigue beyond a certain point. If you feel tired, the only option is to
stop and rest because ignoring these symptoms can be fatal. If you are tired,
having a bad day, or facing other hurdles that are impacting your riding
skills, please stop and rest so that you may live to enjoy motorcycling on another
day!
