Beat the Heat Thumper’s Ride to Shrivardhan
BY Shane Fernandes
Planning a solo ride is not as challenging as planning a group ride for a group of 40, there is a freedom in choice of catering to one’s needs that wont ever be found when you plan a trip for a group of 10 let lane 40. But that’s the story we are about to explore.
Planning and executing for a club ride for Inddie Thumpers is both an Art & Science, So hopefully by the end of this note, there are some definitive takeaways on how to plan a group ride.
Location – Location – Location:
the first thing one must have is a clear location – with a club like Inddie Thumper whose members literally ride the length and breadth of the country, we sure have location fatigue – (we don’t like going to the same places repeatedly).
Since it was 10 years since Tattu and me joined the club – we decided to revisit the place where we had our agni-parish (first club ride) at Shrivardhan- a small sleepy coastal village around 280 km from Mumbai – a perfect breezy location where in one can soak in the sun without getting sunburnt.
Being a summer ride – there was no expectation of having more than 10-12 riders who would join the April ride – especially since the club ride the month before
Ride Planning:
involved us identifying and floating the ride poster and details almost 15-20 days in advance, which allowed club riders to check and add their names and also allowed us coordinators to plan the commercials for food and the stay. What started out as 10-12 rider count – quickly mushroomed into a 35-40 members ride count, testing limit of both the resort capacity and ride coordination.
The resort capacity to fit 35+ members who all want AC proved challenging as not all rooms of the resort have AC, somethings had to give- No one is stopped from coming from a ride either -it is an unspoken rule, we all adjust – and that’s what we did, some shifted from AC to Non AC
The Journey:
ride day journey is actually the simplest aspect of the ride. As a seasoned group of riders, I have never had any issues with ride coordination. With no breakdowns- the ride journey commenced with a gathering at 6.15 am and ride out in subsequent batches of 15 riders with a 30 mins difference- it helped manage breakfast – as group 1 found a restaurant and informed the owner of a second batch arrival.
With no breakdown and everyone vehicle in top conditions—club riding time comes down to 5-6 hours for a distance of 280 kms, we landed at Shrivardhan around lunch time.
The party:
Tattus recommendation for lunch in the heart of Shrivardhan turned out to be a gem of a find. Had a hearty fish thali a must if you are non vegetarian and you are in the Konkan belt.
We know how to party- Inddie Thumpers style – after a brief nap, a cool beer and sea bath, photo operation on the beach. We turned in for our evening party.
The drinks flowed, the music played, the NGFF went on, and we partied till 2 in the night before turning in for the night.
Ohh!! and Tattu and me had a cake cutting ceremony – for completing 10 years in the club btw.
The journey back felt a little heavier in the heart as if a part of me was left back at Shrivardhan.
As I pen this note down- I still look back at the nostalgic memories of the past 10 years- my growth as individual and the growth of the club
