Surviving the Rann of Kutch - Epilogue to an expedition
Surviving the Rann of Kutch -Epilogue to an expedition
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As I have mentioned earlier, usually when I ride, I write. In fact, I ride so that I have something to write. But since this time, we had 30 people altogether riding into the Rann of Kutch, I am sure there will be a lot of writeups on the ride (some of them repetitive :-)). So I decided to do something different. I am making a list of all the tidbits I gathered during the ride -- all the learnings I had during this ride. This is not a travelog. It is more of an info-base. Hope that it is as useful and enriching as the ride itself.
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- The Rann of Kutch is in 2 parts - Greater Rann and Little Rann. Greater Rann is 8,500 sq km and Little Rann is 5,500 sq km.
- The Greater Rann is more towards northwest, closer to border towards Pakistan. The border is guarded by BSF in most parts. This Rann is also filled with loose sand, like the Sahara. For these and various reasons, it is less accessible by motorbikes.
- The Little Rann is roughly between Amdavad and Gadhidham (Kandla Port). It has hard soil in most places and during most parts of the year. It also has sporadic habitats. It is therefore accessible, and a pleasure in that, too.
- The Rann is actually a sea-bed that is dried up. In monsoons, most parts of the Rann get filled with sea water. In the summer, the water receeds, the soil hardens and thus bikes can travel through it. Please note that the Rann (even the Little Rann) is inaccessible in the rains, since the soil is damp. A good time for the Rann is Jan-Feb. Summers are crazy here.
- The Little Rann can be entered through various sides. You could start from Amdavad and travel to places like Zainabad or Dhangadhra, from where you leave the state highways and enter the smaller villages. For there on, you can enter the Rann. This is the southeast side of the Little Rann.
- The northwest side of the Rann opens at villages like Adesar, which then lead to state highways. The closest junction is Samarkhyali, where you reach the Amdavad-Gandhidham 4-lane express highway.
- For the 60kph Anniv Ride, the Rann was entered through the Dhangadhra side. Amdavad to Dhangadhra is about 120km (I may be wrong here, since my Odo in not the most reliable instrument). There on, we leave the state highway, and go to a small village called Tiker (another 60km). At Tiker, we leave the tar road and enter the rann. We camp 5km from Tikar for the first night.
- The early parts of the Rann have salt mines and quarries. You can see salt trucks all along and there is some semblance of a road. There is also some vegetation. About 15km inside, there are no more roads, only dirt tracks.
- Here on, for about 30km of stretch, there is absolutely nothing around you. I have a set of pictures taken as a panoramic view from one single place covering all 360 degrees. All you see in this entire series of pictures is the yellow sand and blue sky. It is like being lost in the sea of yellow sand.
- The total distance from tar road to tar road is about 45-50km.
- The soil in these parts of the Rann is dry and hard, and you can ride at good speeds. However, it is strongly discouraged to ride fast. The soil is flat and ridable in most parts, but then it is also uneven in some small patches. Even if there is a bit of dampness in a small patch, you can loose complete control of your vehicle.
- The dampness of the soil can be judged by the color of sand. There are three varieties of sand - black, yellow and white. Black is hard soil, with hard uneven surface. In these patches, it is advisable to follow the dirt tracks already made, since they are smooth. If you ride the black patches, your ride is likely to get bumpy.
- The whitish patches are very tricky. They look white cause of salt, which means that the surface is coated with white salt. This further means that all the sunlight is reflected from the surface itself and the warmth does not reach below. So there is damp mud under the surface. And the salt gets crushed under weight. What this all means for a rider is that these patches are slippery, and also if you stop anywhere on these, your tyres are likely to sink in the mud. Now if you try to give throttle and pull the bike out, the mud gets stuck to the tyres, gets pushed into the mud-guards and thus jams the wheels. If you raise the throttle more, and push into lower gears, there is a danger of burning your clutch plates. This is exactly what happened to some of our bikes.
- N.B. Thunderbirds beware, you have your foot brake lever to your right, under the tailpipe. Because of this, the lever is much lower than other Bullets. Thus it scrapes through the mud in these patches, and pulls a lot of damp mud out. This gets stuck to the lower portions of the chassis and increases the danger of getting caught in the mud.
- The other problem with white patches is following the tracks. If any other vehicle has already gone through this patch, the mud has already got churned and become damp. There is a greater possibility of skidding and/or getting stuck.
- The only way of surviving the white patches is by not getting into them at all. Try to find an de-tour, however long it may seem, and in wrong direction. Try to keep your bike on yellow/brown patches. If you get into a white patch, keep yourself in the first gear, keep the momentum and keep giving slow throttle continuously. Keep pushing with your legs if needed. Whatever happens, do not stop midway.
- The only ridable patches are the yellowish brown ones. The mud formations are brittle here and are easily broken by the tyres. The ride is thus smooth. The soil is otherwise hard and there is no fear of getting stuck.
- The route from Tikar to Adesar has 3 white patches. Out of these, 2 are avoidable altogether by taking 90 degree turns and taking a detour that can add about 3 to 4 km to the journey. This detour will keep you on yellow sands. One patch is too wide to be avoided, and this is where 60kph faced the breakdowns. It is advisable that the white patches are crossed one by one. Also keep the momentum when you do that.
- If other bikes are getting stuck, first get your bike out of the patch. This may sound self-centered, but you cannot help someone if you yourself are in the danger of getting stuck. First make sure you are not in trouble, get your bike out of the bad patch, and then run back to help the others. Some of our bikes got stuck, since we stopped our bikes to get down and help the other person, while our own bikes started sinking behind.
- No pillion riding in white patches please. There is no surer way of a fall and misery.
- There are a couple of hillocks on the way that need crossing. These are near Varnu, where you will find an old temple as well. This was our camping site on the second night. It is essential that you maintain lower speeds near the hills, since the sand here is loose and thus there is a danger of skidding.
- The hillocks also have a variety of crystals, some could be semi-precious stones. It may be worthwhile to spend some time looking at the stones here. There is a mine of semi-precious stones somewhere in the Rann, but is held by the Army and is not accessible to civilians.
- Directions: Follow the North if lost. Especially if it is night, just follow the North Star.
- Working knowledge of Gujarati is helpful, as the local have a hard time conversing in Hindi or anything else.
- Tents are a must. Although there are no mosquitos, you do find some reptilian friends occasionally in the Rann. So tents and of course, sleeping bags, are part of survival kit.
- Carry spare food and water for at least one time of supper. The Rann is a cunning lady. You never know how much time she will keep you waiting. What took us three days one way, was covered in only 4.5 hours flat the next time.
- All in all, the mantra seems to be 'DON'T PANIC' as Douglas Adams says. Keep your mind, body and soul in harmony with the desert and the machine, and you will not only survive the Rann, but will venerate it.
Ride on,
Shreekant
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As I have mentioned earlier, usually when I ride, I write. In fact, I ride so that I have something to write. But since this time, we had 30 people altogether riding into the Rann of Kutch, I am sure there will be a lot of writeups on the ride (some of them repetitive :-)). So I decided to do something different. I am making a list of all the tidbits I gathered during the ride -- all the learnings I had during this ride. This is not a travelog. It is more of an info-base. Hope that it is as useful and enriching as the ride itself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
- The Rann of Kutch is in 2 parts - Greater Rann and Little Rann. Greater Rann is 8,500 sq km and Little Rann is 5,500 sq km.
- The Greater Rann is more towards northwest, closer to border towards Pakistan. The border is guarded by BSF in most parts. This Rann is also filled with loose sand, like the Sahara. For these and various reasons, it is less accessible by motorbikes.
- The Little Rann is roughly between Amdavad and Gadhidham (Kandla Port). It has hard soil in most places and during most parts of the year. It also has sporadic habitats. It is therefore accessible, and a pleasure in that, too.
- The Rann is actually a sea-bed that is dried up. In monsoons, most parts of the Rann get filled with sea water. In the summer, the water receeds, the soil hardens and thus bikes can travel through it. Please note that the Rann (even the Little Rann) is inaccessible in the rains, since the soil is damp. A good time for the Rann is Jan-Feb. Summers are crazy here.
- The Little Rann can be entered through various sides. You could start from Amdavad and travel to places like Zainabad or Dhangadhra, from where you leave the state highways and enter the smaller villages. For there on, you can enter the Rann. This is the southeast side of the Little Rann.
- The northwest side of the Rann opens at villages like Adesar, which then lead to state highways. The closest junction is Samarkhyali, where you reach the Amdavad-Gandhidham 4-lane express highway.
- For the 60kph Anniv Ride, the Rann was entered through the Dhangadhra side. Amdavad to Dhangadhra is about 120km (I may be wrong here, since my Odo in not the most reliable instrument). There on, we leave the state highway, and go to a small village called Tiker (another 60km). At Tiker, we leave the tar road and enter the rann. We camp 5km from Tikar for the first night.
- The early parts of the Rann have salt mines and quarries. You can see salt trucks all along and there is some semblance of a road. There is also some vegetation. About 15km inside, there are no more roads, only dirt tracks.
- Here on, for about 30km of stretch, there is absolutely nothing around you. I have a set of pictures taken as a panoramic view from one single place covering all 360 degrees. All you see in this entire series of pictures is the yellow sand and blue sky. It is like being lost in the sea of yellow sand.
- The total distance from tar road to tar road is about 45-50km.
- The soil in these parts of the Rann is dry and hard, and you can ride at good speeds. However, it is strongly discouraged to ride fast. The soil is flat and ridable in most parts, but then it is also uneven in some small patches. Even if there is a bit of dampness in a small patch, you can loose complete control of your vehicle.
- The dampness of the soil can be judged by the color of sand. There are three varieties of sand - black, yellow and white. Black is hard soil, with hard uneven surface. In these patches, it is advisable to follow the dirt tracks already made, since they are smooth. If you ride the black patches, your ride is likely to get bumpy.
- The whitish patches are very tricky. They look white cause of salt, which means that the surface is coated with white salt. This further means that all the sunlight is reflected from the surface itself and the warmth does not reach below. So there is damp mud under the surface. And the salt gets crushed under weight. What this all means for a rider is that these patches are slippery, and also if you stop anywhere on these, your tyres are likely to sink in the mud. Now if you try to give throttle and pull the bike out, the mud gets stuck to the tyres, gets pushed into the mud-guards and thus jams the wheels. If you raise the throttle more, and push into lower gears, there is a danger of burning your clutch plates. This is exactly what happened to some of our bikes.
- N.B. Thunderbirds beware, you have your foot brake lever to your right, under the tailpipe. Because of this, the lever is much lower than other Bullets. Thus it scrapes through the mud in these patches, and pulls a lot of damp mud out. This gets stuck to the lower portions of the chassis and increases the danger of getting caught in the mud.
- The other problem with white patches is following the tracks. If any other vehicle has already gone through this patch, the mud has already got churned and become damp. There is a greater possibility of skidding and/or getting stuck.
- The only way of surviving the white patches is by not getting into them at all. Try to find an de-tour, however long it may seem, and in wrong direction. Try to keep your bike on yellow/brown patches. If you get into a white patch, keep yourself in the first gear, keep the momentum and keep giving slow throttle continuously. Keep pushing with your legs if needed. Whatever happens, do not stop midway.
- The only ridable patches are the yellowish brown ones. The mud formations are brittle here and are easily broken by the tyres. The ride is thus smooth. The soil is otherwise hard and there is no fear of getting stuck.
- The route from Tikar to Adesar has 3 white patches. Out of these, 2 are avoidable altogether by taking 90 degree turns and taking a detour that can add about 3 to 4 km to the journey. This detour will keep you on yellow sands. One patch is too wide to be avoided, and this is where 60kph faced the breakdowns. It is advisable that the white patches are crossed one by one. Also keep the momentum when you do that.
- If other bikes are getting stuck, first get your bike out of the patch. This may sound self-centered, but you cannot help someone if you yourself are in the danger of getting stuck. First make sure you are not in trouble, get your bike out of the bad patch, and then run back to help the others. Some of our bikes got stuck, since we stopped our bikes to get down and help the other person, while our own bikes started sinking behind.
- No pillion riding in white patches please. There is no surer way of a fall and misery.
- There are a couple of hillocks on the way that need crossing. These are near Varnu, where you will find an old temple as well. This was our camping site on the second night. It is essential that you maintain lower speeds near the hills, since the sand here is loose and thus there is a danger of skidding.
- The hillocks also have a variety of crystals, some could be semi-precious stones. It may be worthwhile to spend some time looking at the stones here. There is a mine of semi-precious stones somewhere in the Rann, but is held by the Army and is not accessible to civilians.
- Directions: Follow the North if lost. Especially if it is night, just follow the North Star.
- Working knowledge of Gujarati is helpful, as the local have a hard time conversing in Hindi or anything else.
- Tents are a must. Although there are no mosquitos, you do find some reptilian friends occasionally in the Rann. So tents and of course, sleeping bags, are part of survival kit.
- Carry spare food and water for at least one time of supper. The Rann is a cunning lady. You never know how much time she will keep you waiting. What took us three days one way, was covered in only 4.5 hours flat the next time.
- All in all, the mantra seems to be 'DON'T PANIC' as Douglas Adams says. Keep your mind, body and soul in harmony with the desert and the machine, and you will not only survive the Rann, but will venerate it.
Ride on,
Shreekant
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