[Jaggu]

King Richard was an inspiration to many of the adventure tourers from India, he had done multiple expeditions from Bangalore and covered continents of Asia, Europe, America, and Australia on his Tiger 800. Recently he had upgraded to BMW GS and was planning to do an Africa expedition. Very humble and down to earth person who used to share regular updates with many of our whatsapp riding groups sharing his amazing journeys and some very interesting stories.

Unfortunately, he met with a road accident yesterday at the border of Rajasthan where he was on a ride with a few of his friends. It is believed that a wild camel cut across suddenly resulting in King's untimely demise. Makes you realise how fragile our life is.

May his soul Rest in peace and almight give strength to his family to tide over these difficult times.

Regret the untimely demise of Mr.King Richard, a fellow member of Bangalore Tigers group and a dear friend to many.

King Richard’s feats were an inspiration to many. He had ridden across the world on his motorcycle.

Apart from riding and driving extensively in India, King Richard had ridden to the UK from Bangalore covering 23,500 kms in 2018. In 2019, he had covered North America, South America and Australia. Overall in this World Ride he had covered 37 Countries in 5 Continents, 65,000 Km.

He was eager to ride in Africa this year or the next as per his plans and dreams.

Source: Bangalore Tiger group Facebook page

King Richard Srinivasan gave himself the best birthday gift he could ask for. The biking enthusiast completed his cross-country biking expedition just a day short of D-Day, which had him whizzing past three continents and 15 countries on his 250 kg Triumph Tiger. “I wanted to cover North America, South America and Australia this time,” says the 45-year-old businessman, who travelled through USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Chile and Australia, among other countries, over five months.

The journey began in USA in August last year, with Srinivasan being accompanied by his friend Vijay Narayan till Peru, after which the duo returned to India mid-October. After a two-month break, the Bengalurean embarked on a solo expedition to South America and Australia. “I usually rode for eight hours but when I had to cross a country’s borders, I only got 3-4 hours of riding time since the rest was spent on paperwork,” he explains, adding that the trip was self-funded. Ask him about his favourite country and he mentions Chile, gushing about the “ultra HD colours” of the region. But the most challenging ride was at Ushuaia, Argentina, which is often nicknamed the “End of the World.” With strong winds pushing you, lack of control over speed can cause a rider to “fly away,” explains Srinivasan, adding, “The wind can topple a lorry.”

This, however, was not his first international trip, since he took a 72-day trip from Bengaluru to London in 2018. The journey is coloured with many stories, of difficulty in getting fuel in China and riding on two-day old snow in Kyrgyzstan to acts of kindness in Russia, where a woman offered him a meal though he didn’t have the local currency. “The most loving people were in Uzbekistan, where everyone would greet you with warmth,” he recalls.

While the urge to whisk away on his bike is strong, planning is hardly spontaneous for Srinivasan, who runs a machine-manufacturing factory. “I planned for two years for the London trip and a year for the recent one,” he says. The time is spent researching bike mechanics and the regulations to be followed in each country. Srinivasan is already plotting his next escape – the last continent left for him to ride. “I can’t ride a bike through Antarctica so I want to try Africa next year. It’s just a matter of convincing my wife,” he laughs.

No speed bump too big
Srinivasan’s journey gave him a bag full of stories, but none as gripping as travelling through the 2019 Ecuadorian protests. “We carried signs saying we are two Indian riders on a motorbike trip and are trying to reach Peru. We often saw people rushing towards us with sticks and they would stop after reading that,” he recalls. “There are many moments when you wonder why you are doing what you are doing. When you look back, you feel nothing but glad to have overcome yet another challenge.”

Source



Few articles on these rides.

http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.co...y/64845961.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/64835111.cms

BLR to UK journey video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDlz01lFHPk

[Yusha]

Extremely sad news. May his soul rest in peace. My deepest condolences to his family and friends and hope God gives them strength and fortitude to overcome the loss of their loved one.

[AtheK]

Though I did not know him, but this comes as really sad news. May he RIP and his memories live on within his friends and families.

[srishiva]

Marvellous person. You can only dream about riding endless on a motorbike through countries. He lived all that dream. Inspirational and RIP. He would have had so much to reminisce about in his daily life.

[pcpranav]

Today morning I got this news in our biking groups - I was totally shocked, not ready to believe this to be true. How can this happen ?!

It so happened : just last week I got call from one of the colleague from our Versys group - few of them were on a big trip - South to North. These days Im staying in Vadodara (Im actually based in Mumbai), and so I asked them for a small meetup near highway itself. When they shared enroute pics, I noticed King Richard was also accompanying our other colleagues.

I met the group on 09-Jan afternoon - few of our Versys colleagues and Richard on his lovely BMW R1250GS. Infact, the last RTW bike trip Richard did along with one of our Versys colleague. I was feeling very privileged to meet these guru guys. We had some gujju snacks, some chit-chat, some pics, and off they went ahead. In that short interaction, I found Richard a very matured, composed, and down to earth guy.

some pictures I could share :


1) Vijay doc 2) King Richard 3) Vijay (he did the latest RTW with Richard) 4) Stephen 5) Myself (Pranav)


When we were parting, I couldn't resist to take pic of Richard's bike

After meeting them, I proudly shared these pics in our groups.

And today this news came - it was surely unbelievable, and took time to settle in my head. The accompanying colleagues were totally shocked - later I will speak to them for better understanding of situation.

May Richard's soul rest in peace, and may God give strength & courage to his family and friends.

[Shabz47]

He was a blessed and experienced rider. He was planning for africa ride, but fate had another plan. YOU WILL BE ALWAYS AN INSPIRATION FOR UPCOMING RIDERS LIKE US. REST IN PEACE BROTHER..

[quickfox11]

RIP Sir!

Very sad news indeed. I remember his UK trip was widely shared in the like-minded social-media groups and gave quite an inspiration to a lot of us. Today I came to know more about him, realizing what a legend he will always be!

On a parallel note, I have always wondered, for bikers what kind of safety might be enough. Modern bikes with so many electronics and safely measures, riding gears combined with so many years of extensive riding experience, and your first major (or even slips and slides) accident might be your last :(

I know it depends on a lot of things and situations, but the moment my bike hits triple digits, the thought that even a small hinderance on my path may send me away tumbling and the safety gears won't even matter can't be completely shaken off.

But I guess that's the thrill we seek..

[surjaonwheelz]

Sad to hear such a loss. May his soul rest in peace.

OT:
Two new gen safety equipment seen on racers are airbag vests and neck-braces. Both are very expensive. We're many years away from regulations such as making usage of airbags compulsory (for a certain power/cc bike category).

Both MotoGP & Dakar racers use airbags but none use neck-brace! MotoGP has a much committed and short span race duration. But I don't know why Rally Riders don't use a neck brace, as they are literally thrown off the bike in any way possible (there's no high side, low side here)?

No safety gear can assure your life's guarantee. I would like to request long distance riders to consider these equipments now. It's upto us to start considering them and hope the demand makes them affordable in the future.

Godspeed,
/surjaonwheelz

[TS09SRITOG]

Sad news indeed, lost one of the best riders. May his soul rest in peace.

[GTO]

Jaggu shared this TOI article on King Richard elsewhere. Team-BHP quoted in its 2nd-last para.

R.I.P. brother.

[Invincible8789]

Deeply saddened by the untimely death of the king! Greatly inspired from his expeditions. Your will be remembered sir

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

OT:
Both MotoGP & Dakar racers use airbags but none use neck-brace! MotoGP has a much committed and short span race duration. But I don't know why Rally Riders don't use a neck brace, as they are literally thrown off the bike in any way possible (there's no high side, low side here)?

Got the answer from an expert, "Neck braces and airbags have overlapping functions. You don't need the brace with an airbag."

Logical, as the airbag will inflate and save from the whiplash effect.

/surjaonwheelz

[marcussantiago]

Sad news.

But we can take heart knowing that he died doing what he loved the most. And what an amazing life he lived. He did what so most of us hope to, or even plan to but never get around to actually doing.

A wise man once said, "You only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough." I think we can all agree that King Richard exemplified this idea.

RIP, and our thoughts with his family and loved ones in this time of grief.

[Nilesh5417]

He truly was an inspiration - most people only dream of things. He worked at living his dreams like a true King! I've only read about his trips but it always amazed me how he moved from one to another. Many do it once in a lifetime but he just kept planning and riding more.

That dialogue from the move Anand - zindagi lambi nahi badi honi chahiye. RIP King!

[moralfibre]

Extremely saddened by this news. Was following King Richard and his escapades across the globe closely. The biking community will miss him dearly.