Royal Enfield’s Tour of Rajasthan 2011 Registrations Open : BikeAdvice

Royal Enfield’s Tour of Rajasthan 2011 Registrations Open

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 10:09 AM PDT

Original Source: Royal Enfield's Tour of Rajasthan 2011 Registrations Open from BikeAdvice.in

Royal Enfield is a brand that most of the hardcore bikers prefer and crave for. For them, if its a motorcycle it has to be nothing other than the Royal Enfield. This brand became more famous in the Indian soil amidst the biker community by organizing few of the planned TRIPS across few of the best places in the country.

Keeping in line with the tradition of promoting leisure and adventure motorcycling culture across the country, Royal Enfield brings the Tour of Rajasthan 2011, a 'trip' of adventure riding across the sands of the Thar desert and some of the best Tarmac in the country. For sure, riding a RE motorcycle along the desert trail would indeed be great fun and an awesome experience as well.

The Tour of Rajasthan is 10 day ride that will take the riders through the largest state in the Republic of India, which is Rajasthan. On the riding front, Rajasthan has the most spectacularly laid stretches of Road and there is no dearth of Off-road and sand tracks either. Although, Rajasthan is primarily known as the desert state it has its fair share of hills and the Aravali mountain range which makes this state a best choice for organizing the trip.

The Tour of Rajasthan will begin from Jaipur, which is the pink city, then traversing through Mahansar, Bikaner, the sand dunes of Jamba, Jaisalmer, Sam, Jodhpur, Kumbalgarh, Ajmer/Pushkar and finally converging back to Jaipur. The ride will be carried on all kinds of terrain ranging from brilliant tarmac, gravel, off-road and sand.

What you see below is the brief itinerary of the entire trip.

DAY	DATE 2011	START	END	DISTANCE KM

0 SAT	8th October	Scrutiny and briefing
1 SUN	9th October	Jaipur	Mahansar	220kms
2 MON	10th October	Mahansar	Bikaner	195kms
3 TUE	11th October	Bikaner	Jamba	170kms
4 WED	12th October	Jamba	Jaisalmer	220kms
5 THU	13th October	Jaisalmer	Sam	310kms
6 FRI	14th October	Sam	Jodhpur	300kms
7 SAT	15th October	REST DAY
8 SUN	16th October	Jodhpur	Kumbalgarh	300kms
9 MON	17th October	Kumbalgarh	Ajmer	275kms
10 TUE	18th October	Ajmer	Jaipur	220kms

Most people travel from Jaisalmer to Sam via the direct route which is a mere 40kms, but in this ride a detour to the famous Tanot Mata Temple will be taken. This is the Temple on the Border Security Force (BSF) post in Tanot and legend has it that during the 1971 Indo-Pak war all shells that were dropped in the Temple never really exploded. From there on the ride will be proceeded along the Border route of Tanot – Longewala where the famous 1971 war was fought. The Riders on the Tour of Rajasthan 2009 and 2010 had the opportunity of seeing the captured Pakistani tank from the war in person at the post in Longewala. Another highlight of the ride is the Bullet Baba Temple, a temple dedicated to the Royal Enfield Bullet itself. This is right on the National Highway to Jodhpur and has Hoards of people at all times.

The Registrations of the Royal Enfield Tour of Rajasthan 2011 have opened. This will be on first come first serve basis and the registration cost is INR 16,000. Riders who are interesting in participating will have to keep in mind that the maximum number of Registered Riders for the Tour will be 30.

Accommodation on twin sharing, bed and breakfast basis will be provided to every rider throughout the trip. There will also be a camping on the sand dunes in Jamba and Jodhpur and staying in a heritage castle in Mahansar- just some more attractions on the Tour. Please note that pillions are not allowed on this ride and each rider will have to bring his own bike- the primary eligibility criteria is that you need to be owner of Royal Enfield Motorcycle. The cost of Petrol and other meals will be borne by each rider. However in camps and smaller towns, dinner will also be taken care of. A small team of Mechanics with some basic spares will provide service support on the tour. A team doctor will be with the riders for the duration of the ride as well.

That sounds great and to remind you again, the registration is limited to the first 30 riders only. So all those readers who are interested hurry up!

Regards,
M.Naren.
Author – BikeAdvice.in

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Melroy Alphonso Featured in IronButt Magazine

Posted: 30 Aug 2011 11:39 PM PDT

Original Source: Melroy Alphonso Featured in IronButt Magazine from BikeAdvice.in

Earlier we had featured Melroy Alphonso on your BikeAdvice for completing the SaddleSore 1600KM ride on his Yamaha FZ16. Melroy has now been featured in America’s IronButt magazine and in doing so he became the first Indian biker to be featured in their magazine.

SaddleSore 1000 in India

Motorcycling has always been a passion for me and I love to travel to far off distances and get away from the hustle of city traffic. I find riding through villages and the countryside to be therapeutic, relaxing and soothing. I feel it also helps me become one with nature. I used to ride only a few hundred kilometers but as time progressed, I graduated to riding longer distances that covered many different states in India.

While surfing the Internet one day, I came across the Iron Butt Association. I thought about how fun it would be to up the ante and attempt a SaddleSore 1000. At first it was only a dream, but overcoming the many difficulties made the challenge more appealing. On paper it seemed so easy, calculating what it would require to complete this challenge by maintaining an average speed of 66 km per hour. I thought riding a 153cc Yamaha FZ16 on Indian roads would be the toughest part to overcome.

This was my third SaddleSore attempt. My first unsuccessful attempt was to Karnantaka state (Belgaum) and back. My second unsuccessful attempt was to Madhya Pradesh (Indore) and back. Since I needed to ride 1610 km, I felt riding to Eklingji (Rajasthan) and back, a distance of 1650 km, seemed like a good route.

After making all the necessary arrangements, I topped up my fuel tank at 7:52 am on November 23rd, took a petrol receipt as proof for documentation, and my SaddleSore ride began.

I started by taking the Western Express Highway in Sion (Mumbai) that connects to the Golden Quadrilateral. This route took me across to Gujurat and Rajasthan. The journey on the Golden Quadrilateral is much better than riding on the national highways; it is a four-lane high- way, which makes it easier to overtake slower vehicles and allowed me to maintain a consistent average speed.

The Yamaha FZ16, known outside India as a Yamaha Byson, was fun and the extra wide 140mm tire provided fantastic grip and stability. The only stops I made were to refuel. I enterd Rajasthan and finally reached Eklingji at 7:26 pm. I was glad to have made it half – now I just had to made it back to Mumbai in one piece.

The roads in India can be dangerous at night, especially the bright lights from oncoming cars and trucks that can easily blind you. Insects were also a problem and I had to regularly clean my face shield as well as my headlights to maintain maximum visibility.

When I reached Surat (Gujurat) at 3:40am, I was very tired and did not know if I would make it back to Mumbai. My odometer showed. I had covered only 1363 kms. Continuing on, I eventually reached Mumbai and made it to the Western Express Highway as my 24-hour clock quickly ran out. After a frantic search, I found a petrol station only to discover that the credit card machine was broke. At 7:50 am on November 24th, I it! I had completed 1650 kms right in the nick of time – 23 hours and 56 minutes. Perseverance finally paid off for me.

Melroy Alphonso was the sixth rider to complete this grueling ride in India where, by western standards, traffic is so congested it's often mind numbing. His ride on a 153cc single- cylinder Indian-made Yamaha got him appointed to the Not Right Riders list! - IronButt Magazine

- Melroy Alphonso

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Wednesday, August 31, 2011