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Record on wheels
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Two bikers who rode across the length of the country in record time reveal what drove them
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Dare devils Karanbir Singh and Pankaj Trivedi who set a new Limca record
Journeys are often the stuff of poems and legends. The more intrepid, the better. Recently two bikers proved that impossible is nothing. They travelled the length of the country in merely five days.
“I love riding and I just love adventure and outdoor life,” is how Karanbir Singh explains his love for riding. Lucky contestants of Complete Gulf Overdrive Endurance Xtreme Challenge 2008, Karanbir Singh and Pankaj Trivedi not only rode their way to victory but also got their name etched in the Limca Book of World Records. Apart from biking, Karanbir also writes for Overdrive, a car and bike magazine.
Organised for motorbike lovers, the event was sponsored by Gulf Oil Corporation and Overdrive. The event was flagged off on 27th May at Kanyakumari and culminated on 1st June at Leh. The difficult task of covering3,874kms from Kanyakumari to Khardungla was incredibly completed in merely five days, five hours and 45minutes by riders Karanbir and Pankaj. The new record beat the existing one by nearly two days. Asked about the experience, Karanbir says, “It was a very exciting and wonderful experience. Biking and adventure always make a very exciting combination for me. Everything changes in 20 kms. The culture, the diversity, the language all kept changing as we rode on.” He also recounts some of difficulties they experienced. “The weather conditions were very harsh. At some places it was 40 degrees Celsius and at some, minus 10 degrees Celsius. Sometimes we rode on for several hours together without any sleep or rest. The task was very challenging, yet very exciting,” he says.
Pankaj adds, “I love adventure. I remained optimistic about winning this battle.” He adds, “ We traversed nine states and 22 cities. It wasn’t always pleasing. But it offered immense diversity in terms of not just road networks, but the people, their culture and food.”
They stopped for a total of 15hours in the entire journey, mainly for sleep. Pankaj says, “Our strategy was simple. We couldn’t and didn’t ride at an extraordinary speed but at a good speed so that we were shielded from extra vibrations to remain in total control. We didn’t easily get tired.”
The contestants were riding Hero Honda Karizma bikes and Karanbir willingly says that the bike proved to be advantageous to him under the extreme conditions. “The bikes were awesome. Hero Honda Karizmas are the most reliable bikes in India. The vibrations are very little and the sitting position and the power is fabulous.” Talking about plans, he says, “I would love to travel across the border, probably to Africa or some other place, most definitely on a bike again.”
SANA AHMAD AND ISHITA AGARWAL
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