First Bangalore Bolero Club Meet - The Birth

Trying to negotiate the deep slush with low - 4WD the rear wheels start spinning as they lose traction. The rear windscreen is getting splashed with slush making rearward vision impossible. If I keep doing this I am going to be stuck for good, I lift my foot off the acclerator and then I hear this beeping sound, first faint and then getting louder, shit what's that?? Poof,I open my eyes, damn that's the alarm on my cell. Oh god, sunday morning 6:30?? what am I doing awake at this time. Oh yeah today is the Bolero Meet, quick out of bed and into the shower, in 15 mins I am in the parking lot. Downcast sky and a perfect sunday morning, I should be crazy to do this.

I look at my Bolero, dirty from the inside and outside. Hmm......needs a shower too, if i do it myself will take me an hour, "WATCHMAN, Gadi dhona hai". "WATCHMAN??". The bugger's dissappeared, probably not there the whole night. Ok hell, i will need to take her without the wash today. Start the motor, run it for 2 mins and drive onto airport road.

Nice clear road with the sun rays starting to get through, an odd cab with sleepy eyed employees speed past. Onto the Richmond road flyover, I am missing something, "CELLPHONE!!". Damn turn around and drive all the way home. One missed call - Shiva.

Call him - Hey dude, sorry man. I had left my cell at home.

Shiva - No problems man, we are here already.

We, who?

Shiva - Myself, Girish and Thomas.

Oh, great, what about Hemanth??

Shiva - He wont be making it.

Oh ok. I am on my way. Where to? Southend Circle?

Shiva - Yes.

Ok. Will give you a call once I am there.

Shiva - Ok.

Reach someplace close to Southend circle, dont know where. Call Shiva and let him know my coordinates. "We will get there". Great.

Waiting for a couple of minutes, I see these two Black Bolero Sportz coming out of a side road. What with beautiful looking alloy wheels and the tires oh so nicely peeping out of the wheel arches, What a sight!! A wave from the first Bolero and I know these are the guys.

I take my own jeep and we park the three Bolero's in a line. Three Black Bolero's together is a a sight to be seen. Get introduced to the folks.

Girish - The know all, this guy has serious knowledge about his wheels. What is the PCD, the rim size, what engine's the various Bolero models had been running. Impressive. He should be posting more on the forum.

Thomas - This guy loves his "Jeep" is in love with the Bolero. Has nice decals all over, makes you think this guy should be driving a proper 4WD. Loves the outdoors and has the perfect vehicle for it.

Shiva - The baby around, all of 20 years and a sparkle in his eyes when you say the magic word "Bolero". Spends more time on the jeep then probably his girlfriend. Dude you need to build those muscles though, they go well with your jeep.

Great guys and huge knowledge and energy, it was truly fun to interact with you'll.

Now to the Wheels.

Shiva's - This one's a 06 Bolero Sportz with the DI Turbo engine. Very well maintained with a lot of TLC. The most striking part of the Jeep are the wheels. Beautiful 15" Plati alloys shod with 215 Bridgestones, probabaly the best combination on a Bolero. Only issue though is that the wheel arches do not cover the tyres. But hell it makes the Bolero look good. It would be a nightmare in the rains, but to me it looked just Great. This guy takes real care of his wheels, one look at the engine bay and you know he polishes the turbo inlets too!!.

Thomas - Another Black Sportz but a 04 model. Extremely well maintained with nice looking Aura alloys. This Jeep speaks through its decals. It says JEEP on the grill and proudly on the Spare wheel cover. It has a very cool looking antenna attached to the hood, it actually works and is used by his brother during rally events held in the South. This baby has seen the recent K1000 Rally and was used by his brother for Rally duty. The most interesting part of this Jeep were the tyres, Michelin one's run for about 40K kms and beleive it or not look brand new. I was amazed when he said 40K they looked more like 5K (Honest!!). Perfect recommendation for guys looking to change their tyres.

Abhijeet - This one's a 04 GLX model. Extremely dirty, with dust inside and the outside of the Bolero, need to give it a real good wash. The other guys were saddened to see it in such a state. Totally stock and no extras at all, even the seat covers are original with the original wheel caps still on them....LOL. The most uninteresting of the lot but just hold on you guys my baby is going to get meaner soon.

Overall a great way to spend a Sunday, it was time well spent. A big thanks to Shiva for making this happen, he is the one who coordinated it perfectly after i did the temporary dissappearing act - sorry guys. Girish, you need to get your Bolero in the next time, from what i heard and seen(orkut pics) - its one beautiful machine. Thomas - Thanks for the directions on the way home. I was admiring your jeep all the way back. Oh and the real good part, the awesome breakfast. Nice idli-wada dipped in Sambhar followed by a nice cup of tea in the old and charming part of Bangalore.Till the next time. Keep scaring those autorickshaws.