The first recce for the SJOBA Thunderbolt Rally 2011 started in the wee hours of a would-be bright and sunny sunday. Two promising vehicles and a combination of young and not so young ex-Johnians tested some rugged and un-tested routes in the sub-Himalayan ranges. After completeing a fair amount of stages, complete with a draft of the road-book and gps tracks, the team reached Koti Resorts for the night, full of dust and exhausted.
Next morning started early too, sans the Monday morning blues. All pepped up and not willing to have such an early breakfast, the team vroomed off from Koti resorts onto the unknown tracks, having planned a mid-day brunch. As fate would have it, one of the most interesting stages was un-doable because of a landslide so, turning back, the team headed off towards another stage. A quick lunch was followed by more offroading. Due to shortage of time in hand, the team split into two and headed in different directions, finally meeting on the highway in the late hours of the evening.
After lots of on the spot planning and brainstorming, the seniors in the team decided on a probable route for the rally. After two days of work, fun and bone-rattling rides, a very satisfied team returned to Chandigarh, counting down the days till the next recce.
