Day 1.... Journey begins !

The residents of BTM layout were amazed to see a two wheeler mech working overnight till the wee hours of the next morning. Little did they know the driving force behind him was none other than our troop leader Mr.Aseem.

This was the scenario at Track Wheels a day before the ride started. Last minute checks, tweaking and tuning all the extra fittings on Aseem's Coffee Queen and Aashish's pulsar. It was 0330 hrs on ride day (5-June-08) and we were just 4 hours away from the flag off when the bikes received the "Thumbs UP" approval from Aseem & his team at Track-wheels. It was all but natural that our K2K riders were tensed and exhilarated at the same time as they decided to take a quick nap before heading to Bannerghatta national park for an official flag off !

Just a few hours of sleep and the phones start ringing again at 0700 hrs.This time, it was the media who were after Aseem and Aashish. Both the guys woke up with heavy eyes and reached Bannerghatta at around 0730 hrs where they were greeted by the National park chief ranger and his team. A photo session followed and at that moment, Aashish's family too landed there to
witness the event. Customary pooja were carried out by Aashish's family members and good luck wishes were bestowed upon both of them. At 1000 hrs, the riders stopped at the campus of Honeywell Technologies on Bannerghatta road. Aseem's sister, Ms. Hajira Nousheen working for Honeywell technologies had informed the company employees about the forth coming ride and they were all eagerly awaiting their chance to talk to the duo ! We wish to thank Ms. Hajira Nousheen for her thoughtful approach in conveying to Honeywell Technologies employees - the message and importance attached to this trip. Couple of Honeywell Technologies employees pitched in and did their bit by promising to give away cash which would help fund the trip expenses. We wish to thank each and everyone at Honeywell Technologies, who've supported our cause ! With that, it was time to move on. The riders next moved to Airlines hotel on Lavelle road, Bangalore. They were pretty hungry by this time as they had skipped breakfast.

Airlines Hotel...
At 1300 hrs, the duo and team had reached Airlines Hotel, Lavelle road, Bangalore. Here, rest of the riders from team BMC greeted Aseem and Aashish. Very soon, a large audience gathered around the hotel and gazed in awe at the fully kitted up expedition bikes ! Aseem and Aashish spent the next half hour addressing the gathering about their all India trip and the message they were carrying. Then, we all settled down for a good lunch session and chatted for a while. Last minute suggestions, advice flowed in. Aseem's family were the first to reach Airlines hotel followed by Aashish's family aswell. Both their respecitive families had one-on-one chat with both the riders and again wished them good luck as this would be their last chance to talk to them in person before the duo start their 45 day long journey. It was all but natural that some of the family members broke down in tears as they blessed and wished both the riders a safe journey. Then came along a big group of friends of both Aseem and Aashish's ! Elated buddies surprised Aashish by gifting him a brand new set of Cramster riding boots and jackets and wished both the riders - Happy miles ahead...

We had a bit of a surprise in store for Aseem as it was his birthday on (6-June-08)... A b'day cake was brought out and the gathering cheered and wished as Aseem cut the cake. Both Aseem and Aashish were on cloud 9 at that moment ! Never did they expect such a wonderful gathering to flag them off on their epic journey !

Happy and elated, we had a quick photo session with the riders, their families and friends.

Here, we meet Mr. Rajeev Kumar (Google Key Words : Rajeev Agastya Bangalore) a entrepreneur & lead India finalist from Bangalore ! We had a quick chat with Mr. Rajeev as he wished both the riders good luck. Mr. Rajeev was very impressed with the message our team was carrying along and he . June 5th was World Environment day as well as the Start off date for our K2K ride !

We got a call from Mr. Prasanna who had arranged a press meet at Press Club, Bangalore. Both the riders packed their stuff and headed there and to our surprise, a huuuuuge crowd of media personnel had gathered to chat with the K2K riders !!! The onslaught began - question after question flowed in and ofcourse the press cameramen clicked pics endlessly. At the same time, there was a huge gathering outside the club compound waiting to see what was happening inside. It was time for our riders to pack up.... Both of them were already tired and it was 1700 hrs already. So, we promptly headed to Abijit's (BMC Core member) cribb so that our riders could unwind, freshen up and take rest for a while before they hitting the road again !

2100 hrs, Abijit's mom had prepared good food and all of us hogged as if there was no tomorrow :) ... Though the duo riders knew eating such good food in abundance would make them more drowsy (especially because they had planned to reach Hyderabad overnight), they couldn't resist the good food !

So, all said and done, it was time for our K2K riders to leave home and head on one of the biggest journies of their lives. It was 2200 hrs now and last minute checks were done on both the bikes. Other riders from BMC team decide to accompany the duo up untill Bangalore International Airport (BIA) and flag them off one last time. Enroute, we stopped at a cafe coffee day to grab a cuppa cafe and fag. 0000 hrs, all of us wished Aseem a very happy birthday (it was his b'day on 6th June)... At 0030 hrs, we reached BIA and we let the duo finally carry on with their K2K journey. This was the beginning of their 10,000+ kms ride that they had dreampt up for such a long time.

With drowsy eyes, both of them gave the "thumbs up" and rode along the NH-7 (bellary road) towards Hyderbad !

It was time for the rest of us to head back home...