The big ADVs like the Triumph Tiger 900 and the Honda Africa Twins were the first to start the race day. I was numbered first in my class. The winners were announced by adding up the total time of all five laps. The competitor with the least time, takes the trophy home.
Now with a good amount of practice on day 1 on this capable Himalayan, I was ready to start my laps. A short prayer later, I was off, with good amount of throttle.
I had decided to go a bit slower in the first lap, because I wanted to gauge the way people ride and also get used to the track. The strategy worked quite well as I was able to know the right entry and exit points. Once the first lap ended, I amped up my pace and started taking the neatly designed trails one by one. Soon I was able to overtake the first bike which turned out to be a big ADV. By the time lap two ended, I had overtaken 2 big ADVs and was now being blocked by ADVs from other classes. So it become a bit difficult to overtake. But thanks to Himalayan’s good mid-range, I managed to squeeze in at fast turns and at places, where other bikes were facing ground clearance issue.

By lap 3, I had set up a good pace and was planning to go a bit aggressive on the fourth lap. Wrong call! I fell twice, blame the slush that was created by multiple bikes. I lost traction both times and lost some time while lifting the Himalayan and also while starting it up. Nevertheless, with a spirited mind, I continued my ride on those slippery and tough rails. Just before I started my last lap, I had another fall, and this one seemed to be bad as I bent the gear lever. Due to this, I wasn’t able to change gears or stand up and ride. So the last five mins, I was riding in second gear and was on the saddle throughout. I was overtaken by a few Impulses and Xpulses, but luckily, no one from my class passed me. So that was a good sign. But I was sure that I lost a lot of time and the timing wouldn’t have been what I wanted.
But leaving all that aside, I had lots of fun on the trails. This was my first ever competition and I just wanted to ride and have fun.
And I’m happy to share that even with so many falls, I won the BigRock Trail Attack 2020 Media class.