Royal Enfield REUNION 2012 achieves record attendance

I’ve repeatedly read about them covering the length and breadth of the country and turning many heads over thousands of miles with their resonating thumps. Royal Enfield over the years has won hearts in every nook and corner of the nation owning to its constantly expanding touring events that attracts hundreds of Bulleeters all through the calendar year. Taking full advantage of the country’s vivid landscapes and incongruent geography the Chennai-based firm’s unparalleled portfolio of interstate touring events today sees their motorcycles on longest highways, the narrowest city streets and the roughest mountain trails from North to South, East to West.

All of that fascination and glory that one imagines when aboard a Bullet turned into a sudden reality for me when I was invited to attend the Royal Enfield REUNION that was held at Ooty from the 17-19th of August this year. It was time to experience the real deal and harness a deeper understanding of what makes the Bullet way of life so very special.

My journey began at Coimbatore, roughly under 100kms from the scenic hill station. Courtesy Royal Enfield I was offered a shimmering red Bullet Classic 350 that had covered over 6,000 kms prior to the start of my outing. Being a rather inexperienced Bullet rider I was surprised to see how quickly I got settled onto the saddle and just a few kilometers down the dusty Coimbatore back roads to Mettupalyam I was excited, entertained and immensely satisfied at finally experiencing that feeling of wafting down the long road on a Bullet just like in all those countless Enfield trails I read about.

Up the Blue Mountains

Our first halt was at the base of the Nilgiris at the outskirts of Mettupalyam where our initial group of four riders was joined by several other local Bulleteers who were headed in the same direction. After a quick cup of tea and hot chilli pakodas we were riding up the narrow ghats where incoming traffic was unsettlingly dense taking into consideration the total width of the serpentine road that lay before us. 

Climbing up the ghats on the Bullet Classic was an entirely different experience for me but grew increasingly enjoyable as the road went on. Canopy covered mountain roads, wind chills, the unnerving patter of rain and the aroma of tea leaves in the air told me we were closer to our destination and at this point my thoughts turned soulful with flakes of gratefulness for where I was and what I was doing.

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A Royal Enfield Welcome

I reached Ooty in the later part of the evening on Friday and after a couple of enquiries was able to locate the resort that was the rendezvous point for the event. Fernhill Sterling, the location for this unique gathering of Bulleteers was incidentally the very same resort where I had stayed on my first visit to Ooty almost a decade back. The familiarity of my surroundings only heightened my satisfaction of being there and it was time to enjoy a welcome rock show by Galeej Gurus before the start of proceedings the next morning.

It didn’t take me long to realize the actual scale of the Reunion as I shared a parking space with countless Royal Enfield motorcycles belonging to as many as 297 Bulleteers who had ridden down all major cities in the souther region starting from Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Madurai, Cochin, Mysore, Shimoga, Udipi, Kottayam and Calicut.

Saturday was an action packed day for all the participants who went head to head in a series of individual and group competitions. The first contest was ‘Assembly Wars’ in which participants had to first dismantle, then reassemble and finally ride their motorcycle over a short distance. This competition was followed by ‘Carry Your Bike’ which required a team of 4 to lift a Royal Enfield Motorcycle and then carry it for 30 metres. 

Finally the crowd favourite was the Slow Race in which riders were asked to take the longest time to complete the track without putting his/her leg down or going out of the lane. After the team events it was time for the individual events which started off with arm wrestling followed by a beer guzzling competition that had the loudest crowd cheers of all.

A word from Boss and the Riders 

At the event, Dr. Venki Padmanabhan, CEO Royal Enfield said “The hills are alive with the sound of the Royal Enfields. It’s just uplifting to see the fun, friendship and mirth that we have been able to drum up at the REUNION. This is what we live for!”

A married couple attending the event, Pavan Biddappa (Senior Software Engineer, Accenture) and his wife Bollamma Machaiah (Development Manager, Oracle) had ridden down to Ooty for the Renuion all the way from Bangalore with a group of 22 riders. 

On asking Pavan about his experience of being at the Reunion he said, “I have attended several Royal Enfield events over the years and being here at the Reunion only makes my heart thump louder. It is always a great feeling attending such events and meeting enthusiasts like us.”

As one of the few female bikers at the event, Bolloma said, “It doesn’t feel any different being here. I am no pro Bulleteer but thoroughly enjoy riding one and continue to grow familiar with the special riding culture that is today so unique to Royal Enfield today.”

Kotagiri – A biker’s delight

With a wrap up on things late on Saturday night it was time to relax before the ride back to Coimbatore. Better visibility and bright sunshine the next morning made riding the Classic 350 around town a far more gratifying experience. We rode up a rather narrow and unpaved uphill road to reach Doddabetta, the highest point of the Niligiris.  On a lower gear the Classic despite its additional kerb weight climbed effortlessly offering adequate stability on the move.

Having scaled the highest point of the region, we were ready for our return journey albeit from a slightly different route. Instead of parading down the congested NH181 we opted to make a back door exit via Kotagiri on SH 15 which apart from attracting lesser thoroughfare offers the most panoramic views of the Nilgiri region, some of which we couldn’t help but take a brief halt to soak in and eventually photograph.

After climbing down the ghats it wasn’t long before we entered Mettupalyam, and took our first major halt at a ride in restaurant, where we enjoyed some authentic keralite cuisine with gently swaying palm trees for company and our motorcycles parked right beside us. Our last 38km stretch to Coimbatore was a breeze on the Bullet and it had now once again begun picking up pace on the straight roads passing through Mettupalyam. We finally reached Coimbatore later that evening and sadly it was time for me to return my thumping companion back to the Royal Enfield dealership before boarding my flight back to Pune.

Recapitulating on the journey, there are two very certain ground realities that I was made familiar with over my two day 200km ride to Ooty and back on a Bullet. The first is that there is an inherently strong motoring culture in the South, which extends much beyond the traditional Bulleteer, and second that no matter how alien you maybe to the technicalities of riding a heavy duty Royal Enfield motorcycle, it’s only after you get on one and ride down the open road that you will understand what makes them the most preferred touring class of motorcycles especially in a culture and class contrasting country like India.