IBC rides to BOBMC Rider Mania 2018

BOBMC which stands for BROTHERHOOD OF BULLETEERS MOTORCYCLING CONSORTIUM is a Not for profit association. As per the website of BOBMC, it has been formed in 2004, as a common platform to bring together all the Enfield riders and Clubs across India. It has more than 120 clubs with 5,000+ motorcycle enthusiasts. BOBMC is a consortium registered as a Society under (ACT) formed with a motive to promote motorcycle travelling culture among like-minded biking enthusiasts. India’s largest community owned Royal Enfield bikers conclave with 120+ Bullet clubs from across India, representing over 5,000+ members, come together under the umbrella of BOBMC.

“BOBMC Rider Mania” is an annual biker gathering held in a different locations across India every year. Since Jan 2003, BOBMC successfully initiated & held 15 Rider Mania’s Events. The last year Rider Mania, i.e. in the year 2017, 1700 bikers took part in the event. Every year, BOBMC decides to give this responsibility to some biking club which has been associated / affiliated with BOBMC. Rider Mania 2017 was organized at Kundapura, Karnataka by Southern Squadron biking club. 

BOBMC Rider Mania 2018, organized by Inddie Thumpers, Mumbai biking club, has been given a unique name "MahaRm". Well as the name suggest the event has been 'Maha' and has taken place at Bhor which is a place in the out skirts of Pune, 'Maharashtra'. The event took place on 27 and 28 January 2018 with about 2,000 participants coming from all parts of the country. Event was registered event with pre booking required. The registrations started on 6 December 2017 at 14:00 Hours. It was not a surprise to see that within a short span of 30 minutes all slots of tickets were sold out by the organizers. Well I now believe that booking a tatkal ticket sounds easy now! This clearly shows the passion and enthusiasm of bikers across the country. As the name is clear, the event participation was restricted to Royal Enfield bikes only. Event had different themes and it revolved around biking spirit with Mumbai flavour. The venue was carefully chosen at out skirts of city of Pune at a place called Bhor at Manntra Resort. The resort was large catering to every need of the participants. Venue had taken all necessary safety and precautions, and since it was situated outside the city of Pune at about 30 kms away, there were no issues of traffic / other problems. Event had excellent arrangements of music, fun, DJ, stalls, biking competitions, maintenance of bike, etc. A unique concept of 24x7 meals was arranged by the organizers this year which was appreciated by many bikers. All time tea and coffee with a seperate special paid counter was also available at the event. 

A large stage area was built where music and DJ console was present. Event witnessed some great music with outstanding & renowned DJ Amit, DJ Priyesh, DJ Black Jack & DJ Akbar Sami. A splendid rockband performance was also there at the venue by CCC. Indeed the sight of stage and large participation of bikers from across the country made the event successful. 

Event had different type of competitions to name a few Beer Guzzling, Chug-O-War, dirt racing, etc. Special highlight of the event was Dirt racing track which was flagged off by renowned Mr. Narain Karthikeyan. A dedicated racing track which was challenging to complete was built for dirt racing. The participant of dirt racing track had to undergo various stringent norms of bike pre-check. Only those who met the standards of safety and bike specifications were allowed to participate in dirt racing event. Prize distribution was done by Mr. Narain Karthikeyan at the end of event. Venue Layout was nicely planned and had all amenities and facilities such as swimming pool, cottages, parking area, dinning area, stage area, etc.

Indore Bulleteers Club (IBC) established in the year 2012, took part this year also in this mega biking event 'MahaRm' 2018. IBC team members who took part in this event were Anuj Jindal (Club Moderator), Hemant Verma, Roopak Jain, Anjali Joshi, Rohan Joshi, Neha Sonwalkar, Navin Malviya, Anurag Maheshwari, Pallavi Maheshwari, Mohit Bhatia, Samihan Mandloi, Rohitansh Mandloi, Shivi Kharia, Prashant Jain, Isha Jain, Aashish Thakur, Buhranuddin Dewaswala, Richa Sen, Sanjay Khadge, Prince Makkad, Amit Awasthi. Kids Anushka Jain, Kavya Jain and Soham Sonwalkar also joined this event with their parents. IBC team took Safari and Thar cars also along with Royal Enfield bikes. 

Female rider Anjali Joshi, also called as 'Bullet Girl' successfully completed her entire ride of almost 1800 Kms. With more and more female riders coming to such national level events, now female riding community is getting developed in India also. 

The IBC team departed from Indore on 26 January 2018, morning 5:00 AM from Indore and finally halted at a beautiful Sandhan Valley in Maharashtra. Sandhan valley is a beautiful carved valley in magnificent Sayhadri mountain range, which is part of Western Ghats in Maharashtra. Surrounded with mighty and jaw-dropping mountains of Ratangad and Kalsubai, the valley stands at the height of 4255 ft high above sea level, which is the perfect spot for trekking and other adventure activities. Valley does not have any network connectivity and is situated in a cut off location from the Highway. It can be reached from Igatpuri near Nashik. Route taken was Indore - Dhamnod - Sendhwa - Dhule - Malegaon - Nashik - Bhandardara - Sandhan Valley (NH-3 till Nashik) comprising of 510 Kms. Every 100 Kms a break was taken by the riding team for snacks / food / water and of course rest. Throughout the way backup car Safari and Thar were doing follow up and providing necessary support. 

IBC team had carried tents, sleeping bags along to stay in this valley at the core of nature's lap. Indeed it was a great experience altogether to stay in the tent. With good food arrangements and bon fire done in the night, everyone had a gala time with nice music. It was a unique adventure and experience for the first timers and also for kids who could experience how to stay in a tent at such place. The valley is situated about 30 Kms in the interior of jungle from the NH-3 Highway near Igatpuri. With great memories and a picture besides the lake, IBC team left to MahaRm on 27 January 2018 morning at around 10:30 AM. Route taken was Sandhan Valley - Bhandardara - Rajur - Kotul - Alephata - Narayangaon - Pune - Bhor (a total of 262 Kms).  

The IBC team arrived at about 8:00 PM at Bhor, near Pune, Maharashtra at the venue Manntra Resorts. After witnessing a warm welcome from the organizers and completing the registration process, the team members settled at the resort. A kit was given to each member by the organizers Inddie Thumpers as part of registration process. The kit had a smart bag, sticker, magnet with event logo, wrist band, bandana, etc. On 27 January 2018, IBC team took part and witnessed a great musical night with great musical performances by renonwned DJs.

Next day 28 January 2018, whole day was filled with various biking events and competitions. IBC team also enjoyed at swimming pool. Later in the evening again it was a musical night filled with some of the finest songs played by renowned DJs. The energetic and charismatic environment of witnessing more than 1,500 bikers under one roof, well technically speaking it was open sky, has been a life time memory for many bikers. Biking events of such huge scale gives a common platform and common space to share ideas with each other. It is indeed a great platform for many riders to make new friends and join hands with each other. Bikers are known for brotherhood and as the name BOBMC suggests it is a unified team of bikers. Many IBC members exchanged goodies and made new friends for life. 

A good riding club is known for togetherness, brotherhood, helping each other, taking care of fellow riders, and most importantly for never leaving a man behind. IBC has blend of all essential ingredients to mark its identity as a good riding club. I could fortunately witness riding with senior riders who have a great experience in riding at the Highway. During the ride, we witnessed ghats, off roads, highway roads, and some part of the return journey we witnessed night riding also. The last man, also known as the 'Tail' is a essential rider of the group and in IBC this responsibility was given to Mohit Bhatia and Roopak Jain. During the entire ride, both took care of all riders and ensured the tag line and motto of 'No man left behind'. Mohit Bhatia took care of the entire riders and also helped a vehicle breakdown at Pune of Ashish Thakur. 

On our return journey on 29 January 2018, we departed from the venue at around 11:00 AM. While returning the route taken was Bhor - Shirur - Loni - Shirdi - Kopargaon - Manmad - Malegaon - Dhule (a total of 400 Kms).  As it was too late, night halt at highway hotel at Dhule was taken by the IBC team. Next day i.e. on 30 January 2018, IBC team departed at early morning 6:00 AM to Indore covering 260 Kms via route NH-3 Dhule - Sendhwa - Dhamnod - Indore. 

IBC team gathered at Rau circle greeting each other at around 12:00 noon and signed off to respective home with smiles.