Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Mumbai Breakfast Run

So you like breakfast, you like to ride your bike and you live in and around Mumbai then boy, are you in luck as we have put together the first ever Mumbai Breakfast Run. The idea is to get together, ride out, eat breakfast (we prefer pranthas) chat with other bikers, swap stories over a garam chai and head back homewards to be back latest by lunch time.

There will be more Helmet Stories Breakfast Runs so if you would like to be a part of one here is how to go about it. We have a Facebook Group and well you can always come to the blog to catch up on information on the next ride.

So December 4th, 2011 (this sunday) is going to be the first breakfast run to Lonavala. We all catch up at 6:00am on Palm Beach Road just after the first signal after the Vashi turn-off and from there we take off.

Some important things that we all got to keep in mind:
  • Please note that we do not allow members to consume alcohol or other intoxicants during the ride.
  • Please carry your tools and other necessary equipment along with bike registration, insurance etc
  • Please be nice to other road users.
  • Make sure you have fuelled up before you show up at the rendezvous point.
  • Please wear a helmet and any other safety gear you feel comfortable in. Pillions will require a helmet too
  • Please make sure your vehicle’s tyres are in decent condition – we don’t want you slipping anywhere and bring a pillion only if you think your vehicle is capable enough.
  • Please ride safely at all times and obey all road rules. No burn-outs, no anti-social crap and no macho bullshit. The last thing we want is angry cops/general public/local residents on our case.
  • Your participation on the ride is entirely your choice, and by attending you are agreeing that Vir (a.k.a. Helmet Stories) will accept no responsibility (legal, financial, medical, or otherwise) if you damage yourself, your bike or anybody/anything else.
  • If you see a fellow rider in trouble, please stop and help. It's what bikers do. If there are any injuries (suspected or otherwise) call an ambulance immediately and hang around until it arrives. Better to be safe than sorry. Do not let an injured fellow rider back on the bike until you are completely sure they're OK and not in shock.
Other than that let's ride and have fun guys. For all of you who can't make it, wait for the pictures and videos to come up. See you Sunday.



Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Field bashing

Most of last week we all followed the Helmet Stories crew as they rode to Rider Mania in Goa.
I know I sat and waited for each and every post and it drove me nuts that I was so far away and not a part of that brilliant ride. So today I took out the 500cc and went bashing around in a field outside Chandigarh and I must say I feel a wee bit better.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Rider Mania 2011, poolside

Rider Mania 2011, nuts

Rider Mania 2011, Hot Chilly

Rider Mania 2011, Road Rage Customs

Rider Mania 2011, custom bike Black Widow by Javeen

Rider Mania 2011, 500cc finals

Kenneth of Shimoga Bulls turns it on. Leading Chotu Baljit by 20 metres, a huge lead

Rider Mania 2011, 350cc finals start

Rider Mania 2011, 350cc heat 3

Helmet Stories rider Ouseph 'Ricochet' Chacko leads by a country mile

Rider Mania 2011, 350cc heat 1

Manish helps a rider back on after a spill

Rider Mania 2011, dirt race practice

Junaid in action on his practice lap

Rider Mania 2011, dirt track spectators

The Helmet Stories corporate stand

Rider Mania 2011, our man Ouseph!

Rider Mania 2011, dirt track scrutiny

Rohan Pimpley getting his bike ready

Rider Mania 2011, for Vir, again

Had a ham roesti for you, Vir

Rider Mania 2011, breakfast at Lila Cafe

Not the choriz-pau but equally good

Friday, November 18, 2011

Rider Mania 2011, Capella pool

Rider Mania 2011, Capella, Goa

Rider Mania 2011, Terekhol ferry

The final ferry of our ride at Terekhol on the Keri river

Rider Mania 2011, sign

Sigh...

Rider Mania 2011, Terekhol Fort

In Goa!

Rider Mania 2011, plateau

Rider Mania 2011, breakfast

Poha, the breakfast of champions... In Maharashtra at least. Tomorrow chorizo and pau in Goa!

Rider Mania 2011, sleepy Stray Bullets

Not a very impressive lot, are we?

Rider Mania 2011, garbage

The last two days have revealed how beautiful the largely undiscovered Maharashtra coastline is. Unfortunately wherever the sweaty mass of humanity descends, the rape begins. Tarkarli is no exception and this beautiful beach is littered with plastic and empty booze bottles.

Rider Mania 2011, Tarkarli Beach

Rider Mania 2011, camels on the beach

Camels??!!

Rider Mania 2011, Tarkarli

And then there were six... Jamshed and Varad joined up with The Stray Bullets late last evening at Tarkarli. We are about three hours ride away from Goa. The guys are still sleeping so an early start is not an option!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Rider Mania 2011, for Vir

Rider Mania 2011, break

Beautiful estuaries and spanking new bridges spanning them. This one is just past Jaitapur and as we stand we can hear soft strains of Hindi music from the distant village

Rider Mania 2011, Debu's luggage

Is he moving house?

Rider Mania 2011, Pavas

Rider Mania 2011, distance?

So what's the distance from Ratnagiri to Tarkarli via the coast? Managed to avoid NH17 since Vadkal Naka and hope to do so all the way to Goa. These back roads are too awesome!

Rider Mania 2011, coastal ride

Slow ride today but with views like this, no one is complaining

Rider Mania 2011, Ganpatiphule

Rider Mania 2011, Helmet Stories

What an epic ride we've had so far and we still halfway through!

Rider Mania 2011, Helmet Stories bikes

Both Helmet Stories bikes are doing well. The blue one - Sheila - is a 600cc stroked cast iron while the brown one -Patraangbali - is based on a stock Machismo 500, albeit with 'S' cams, an improved TCI ignition and higher engine compression

Rider Mania 2011, Taushal tea shop

Sanket runs the chai shop at the ferry point. Next ferry is 45 minutes later so enough time to lay back and sit in the shade of a palm grove. An unplanned stop that makes riding the backroads such a fabulous experience