Come Sunday morning just as daylight is breaking, a group of ten easy riders calling themselves The Red Liners, get together to ride on Mysore Road in Bangalore. Forget late nights at any pub or disco. Forget binge drinking or binge eating on a Saturday night. These guys jump into bed way before the witching hour, to get up fresh on a Sunday morning for their weekly 'high'. Their 'babes' are sleek super bikes, which cost anything between 6 to 12 lakh. Don't gasp! And their leathers or 'protective gear' — set of helmet, boots, gloves and suit — all cost upwards of a lakh! But what’s money before passion, do you say!
Mazhar the suave leader of the pack has a CBR 1000 RR Honda 2008 Fireblade which is black and pearl white in colour. "I imported it from Japan," he says, " but soon Honda will be launching the same model in India for Rs 11.5 lakhs ex- showroom in Bangalore."

Mazhar began drag racing in 2004 which had been organised by BP. For the uninitiated, drag racing is a sport in which cars or motorcycles race down a track with a set distance as fast as possible. While usually thought of as an American and Canadian pastime, drag racing has gained great fans in India in the recent years. At any given time there are over 325 drag strips operating world-wide.

Expensive addiction
It was in 2006 that Mazhar got into the regular racing circuit and was privileged to ride on the Grand Prix circuit in Shanghai, "which is the fastest track in the world." Mazhar has three sets of protective gear bought in Singapore which are made from both cow and kangaroo hide. "Kangaroo hide is softer and more flexible," he reveals, " and I buy my boots, gloves, helmet and spares from Singapore as well. The anti-glare, anti-fog lens is built into the helmet to protect my eyes. Cow hide is less expensive and I do have one set made with that."

Mazhar's first superbike was a VFR 800cc Honda 1999 and it was silver in colour. His second bike was a YZF Yamaha 100cc Thunderace. The CBR 1000 RR Honda 2008 is his third bike.

"I got my first super bike when I was 17 as a gift from my Dad," reveals Vikram Vijayaraghavan. Since then he developed his love for riding and racing. Donning red leathers with his blue Honda CBR 1000 RR 2008 Fireblade, Vikram says this is his third bike since he started riding. "Every ride is a different experience for me. I need to get a new set of tyres every weekend 'cause they get worn out with my riding on the track." New tyres are brought in from Malaysia or Singapore and obviously, this is an expensive addiction!

For Prithvi Rao, who began riding four years ago, the whole exercise makes sense because "it is a buddy sport where we bond as a team. I watched a friend called Dinesh Reddy ride and that was how I got drawn into the sport. For me riding a super bike is much more than just racing every Sunday morning to Mysore to have breakfast and back! I also make very sure that I get a good night's sleep on Saturday night to wake up fresh for Sunday morning." They ride at super speeds either to the Coffee Day in Maddur or to the Metropole in Mysore for breakfast.

Prithvi has a red and black Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade 2006. "The fact that these bikes are super bikes makes handling them a dream on open roads and the highlight of my week is riding on a Sunday morning. I never ride my bike in the city. Anyway it's impossible to do that."

Buddy sport
"I guess it's a guy thing," says Vivek Daglur when asked about this addiction to the adrenaline rush. "I have always been crazy about bikes and used to rally race for Suzuki and Yamaha. "We start out at 6:45 am, stop for breakfast for about 45 minutes and are back by 9:15," he says laughingly. "It took me seven years to save and buy my first bike and now we are all mature enough to handle the enormous amounts of speed with caution. For me personally the ride is a tremendous stress buster."

Ramana Reddy races on a BMW R 1200 GS. "We guys work hard the whole week so this is a great stress buster for us all. It's just the stray cattle or farm tractors which come out without warning on the road, which are dangerous, otherwise the whole ride is very safe."

  Have they met with accidents and hurt themselves riding at such high speeds? "I have broken three bones in my leg, my collar bone and a couple of ribs over these years," says Mazhar. So obviously it’s not a sport for the faint hearted. Crashes and the accompanying pain are all part of the craze for speed. Arlen Ness protective gear bought in Singapore is favoured by the riders. They also use Shoie helmets and Alpine Star boots. Vivek buys his gear from Cramster in Bangalore. Vikram bought his from the US.

All riders never ride or race without complete protective gear which can cost upwards of a lakh. The helmets have built in protective visors with anti glare and fog lens to keep their eyes safe.

 Do their families worry about their safety when they ride at those high speeds? "Sure, my wife just sits down and prays," he says, "and maybe that is what has kept me safe all these years. She did come once with me on the bike to experience what drove me and was terrified out of her wits. She just asked me to stop and hailed an auto-rickshaw and to teach me a lesson, refused to even acknowledge that she knew me. The auto-rickshaw guy nearly thrashed me, thinking I was eve-teasing her!" narrates Mazhar laughing.

Everyone has their own personal tales to tell but the one binding force between them is the thrill of speed which they all find a great stress buster in their otherwise harried week.