Being an avid biker since 10th grade, riding has been the only thing that keeps the soul alive & life enriching every time.

Once I stumbled upon the IronButt association, my brother ignited the spark in me to go for it. At first we both had planned a trip together, however due to unavoidable circumstances my brother opted out.  Finally I decided to go for it & called it “The Mind Game” The IRONBUTT saddle-sore; it’s a ride which requires ONE man, ONE bike & One day to cover 1000 miles. This ride was not any ordinary ride under the sun. It needed the Ride & the Rider to be prepared for all battles & obstacles that come in the way for the next 24 hours.

I took nearly 18 months to plan out the ride, choose a route, get the BIKE in top condition, prepare myself physically & emotionally for the BIG day & finally the BIG day arrived.

THE RIDE – BANGALORE – PUNE – BANGALORE – YAMAHA R15

Part A: The Start

Started the ride at Nelamangala with two friends witnessing the start of my ride & it was the start of a beautiful journey for me.  07.30 pm on the watch & I started off. It was me & my Bike who were going to face everything for the next 24 hours to achieve this feat. The only thing running in my mind was – Yes we can!!!!! The first stop was Davangere after a breathtaking ride of 260 kms. The feeling was so refreshing & I have no words to explain how I felt just after my first stop. I took nearly 4 hrs to cover this & it was the only longest point to point destination that I had in the entire ride. A quick break & I was out back on the road & post 2 hrs was the second stop at Dharwad & which was a quick ride under 2 hours. Finally I decided not to stop very often & checked the GPS to see the next big city which was Kholapur – 180 odd kms away. The bike still revving at his best & the energy all full in me. Pumped up by a red bull, I started off once again & reached Kholapur in 2 hrs & it was a crazy night ride with only buses to overtake on the road!!!!

FINALLY THE CLOCK STRUCK 07.40 AM & I was at PUNE. I stopped the bike under a HP petrol pump. It was a heart filled break. Realizing that I had covered my first half successfully with no troubles & under 11 hours just built the confidence more…..

Part B: The Ride Back

This part of the ride was the most difficult one because my body was completely stressed out & dehydrated badly, every 30kms use to stop the bike & pour water on my head & removed the helmet to kick the cool, it was blistering heat & I couldn’t take it anymore.

Weird songs & voices playing at the back of my head & that’s when I realized that I had been riding since 15hrs without any large break….I stopped the bike immediately & just dropped down on the road…. the heat was terrible like I never expected; I took 20 mins to calm myself & finally hit the road once again… It was now 300kms in 4hrs 30mins & it was possible….

I rode like never before and finally stopped at TUMKUR after my last stop at Chitradurga & it was heaven to see the signboard showing 75kms to Bangalore & I still had 2 hours more to cover that… Riding in traffic as I was nearing Nelamangala, was another problem & finally it was 06.50pm & I reached the same fuel stop where the ride began, The odometer showed 1627 covered & it was within 24 hours….I knew I had done it & it was the joy that has kicked me till date…..

Ride details:

Name:IBA SADDLE SORE 1000MILES
Route: Bangalore – Pune – Bangalore
Kms covered: 1627 kms
Time: 22hrs 37 mins
Bike: Yamaha R15 V2
Date: 05/Apr/2013 – 06/Apr/2013
Rider: Sandy