Yashodhara Bangera
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Feb 25: This youth has undertaken 'East India Express' global tour spanning 13 countries on a two-wheeler. He is undaunted by the need to get acquainted with the local climatic conditions, lifestyle of the people, legal requirements etc. Having already covered this truncated tour of about 9,700 km, he is getting a sense of elation at having successfully completed this ambitious feat, which he has undertaken by utilizing leave.
This is the success story of Sushanth Shetty from Mangaluru, who is presently employed in England. For this tour, he had made advance preparations for only six months. He also got his tour sponsored by companies like Suzuki, Race Dynamic, Bridgestone, Garmen and NMT.
He began his journey on October 25, 2014 from London. Although his plan was to cover a distance of 12,000 km by Suzuki Hayabusa motor bike, he had to cut short the distance to 9,700 km as Pakistan denied him the visa. He covered England, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Algeria, Turkey, Iran, UAE, and India. As he could not get permission to travel through Pakistan, he had to travel to India directly from Dubai. His motor bike costing Rs 20 lac, which bears registration number of London, should not be washed as per the terms put forth by the sponsoring companies. A draft sketch prepared by him helped him to complete the tour without any hitches.
Sushanth, 28, who covered 13 countries in four months, had come for a show in Goa on February 20. On Tuesday, he visited all the three ghats, Agumbe, Kudremukh, and Charmadi, on his motor bike.
At Moodbidri, he was extended a warm welcome on behalf of Tribhuvan Automotive Club, Bedra Adventurs Club, and JCI Tribhuvan Moodbidri. President of Tribhuvan Automotive Club, Kuldeep M Bedra of Chowtara Aramane, Adventures president, Akshay, JCI president, Dheerendra Jain, and other office bearers were present.
On this occasion, Sushanth gave details of his experience during the global tour. He said he could reach a speed of 290 km per hour in Germany as there are no speed restrictions there, faced problems in Iran for want of that country's currency, underwent pestering at the hands of an immigration officer in Iran for a bribe of Rs 10,000, all of which dampened his spirits a little.
However, the fact that the motor bike withstood the grueling trip without posing any problems was the high point of the tour, he confessed.
Sushanth said his parents were initially hesitant about his plan of world tour, but were now happy that the trip ended successfully, bringing him many laurels in the bargain.