By Raphae Halim
The annual Rally for Eco:Logical Initiation of Vital Environments (RE:LIVE) was held from Pune, Mumbai, and Ahmednagar converging onto Nashik.
We covered a distance of 181 Km from Mumbai to Nashik. For a total of ~362 all electric Km for the round trip.
We covered a distance of 181 Km from Mumbai to Nashik. For a total of ~362 all electric Km for the round trip.
Our car goes 100 Km (there are 120 Km, & 140 Km models too!) to a charge, so this means having to re-charge on the route. We made this possible not just for ourselves but for every Electric Vehicle (EV) owner who wants to travel this route from now on. We build community charge points especially in beautiful places so we can enjoy the wait not just rush all the time. (URL: http://www.pluginindia.com/charging.html).
WP00 - Starting Point
Location: Santacruz (East).
Distance from home: 0 Km.
State of charge (SOC) at start: 100%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 5:33 am.
Reason for halt: Starting point for Farah, Raphae, & T2PO (blue). Home.
Description: Farah, Raphae, & T2PO work for PluginIndia.com to help promote Electric Mobility in India. They believe that life can be clean, green, and responsible. They are on this mission to transform themselves. Thus their own world will change. Sharing their joy with others just makes them happier.
Distance from home: 0 Km.
State of charge (SOC) at start: 100%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 5:33 am.
Reason for halt: Starting point for Farah, Raphae, & T2PO (blue). Home.
Description: Farah, Raphae, & T2PO work for PluginIndia.com to help promote Electric Mobility in India. They believe that life can be clean, green, and responsible. They are on this mission to transform themselves. Thus their own world will change. Sharing their joy with others just makes them happier.
WP01 - First Charge Point
Location: Thane.
Distance from home: 24 Km.
SOC on arrival: 73%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 8:44 am.
Reason for halt: Charge T2PO (blue), Pick up Amit, & Zero (Green).
Description: Amit is CGO of "Green.whynot?". His work shows in every area of his home and life as well. From products he uses, to his idea of work-life balance. We are happy to associate with such “crazy” people.
Distance from home: 24 Km.
SOC on arrival: 73%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 8:44 am.
Reason for halt: Charge T2PO (blue), Pick up Amit, & Zero (Green).
Description: Amit is CGO of "Green.whynot?". His work shows in every area of his home and life as well. From products he uses, to his idea of work-life balance. We are happy to associate with such “crazy” people.
WP02 - We Meet Someone New
Location: Ghodbunder Road, Thane.
Distance from home: 32 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 92%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 9:13 am.
Reason for halt: Pick up Abhishek, Little-E (Silver), & Dr. Manendra Sahu (Professor of African Studies at Mumbai University).
Description: Abhishek is a self-employed, freelance, copy editor; young and enthusiastic he keeps the group always forward bound. Dr. Sahu read about us in the papers (URL: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/Charging-up-the-EV-market/article16974637.ece) and wanted to associate with such “crazy” people. So he actually took the day off to join us from Mumbai to Nashik. That was a really cool thing to do! :-)
Distance from home: 32 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 92%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 9:13 am.
Reason for halt: Pick up Abhishek, Little-E (Silver), & Dr. Manendra Sahu (Professor of African Studies at Mumbai University).
Description: Abhishek is a self-employed, freelance, copy editor; young and enthusiastic he keeps the group always forward bound. Dr. Sahu read about us in the papers (URL: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/Charging-up-the-EV-market/article16974637.ece) and wanted to associate with such “crazy” people. So he actually took the day off to join us from Mumbai to Nashik. That was a really cool thing to do! :-)
WP03 - Joining Forces
Location: Manas Mandir Road, Asangaon.
Distance from home: 81 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 52%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 10:55 am.
Reason for halt: Pick up Vijay, Rashmi, Geet, & The Alchemist (Red).
Description: Mr. Vijay Isee & family joined us for their first long drive in their new car. They started from Kalyan and reached Asangaon early… They charged at our backup charge point at Rangoli Plastics Pvt. Ltd.
Distance from home: 81 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 52%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 10:55 am.
Reason for halt: Pick up Vijay, Rashmi, Geet, & The Alchemist (Red).
Description: Mr. Vijay Isee & family joined us for their first long drive in their new car. They started from Kalyan and reached Asangaon early… They charged at our backup charge point at Rangoli Plastics Pvt. Ltd.
WP04 - Mumbai Team Assembles at Cibo Escape
Location: Cibo Escape, Shahapur.
Distance from home: 87.8 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 46%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 11:17 am.
Reason for halt: Charging cars. Gather for traditional organic breakfast.
Description: 3 cars charging, 1 fully charged. L to R: Abhishek with Little-E (Silver), Raphae, & Farah with T2PO (Blue), Amit, & Dr. Manendra Sahu with Zero (Green), Geet, Vijay, & Rashmi with The Alchemist (Red). The intrepid adventurers.
Distance from home: 87.8 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 46%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 11:17 am.
Reason for halt: Charging cars. Gather for traditional organic breakfast.
Description: 3 cars charging, 1 fully charged. L to R: Abhishek with Little-E (Silver), Raphae, & Farah with T2PO (Blue), Amit, & Dr. Manendra Sahu with Zero (Green), Geet, Vijay, & Rashmi with The Alchemist (Red). The intrepid adventurers.
WP05 - Lunch & Alternate Modes Of Transport
Location: Hotel GreenLand, Talegaon.
Distance from home: 136 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 23%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 4:35 pm.
Reason for halt: Charge cars after steep ghats. Lunch.
Description: We charged all 4 cars together here. But the wiring was faulty and got burned. So we had to head back to our backup point at Igatpuri. 2 cars had just enough (~39%) to head into Nashik and proceeded. We can also see another alternative mode of transport to the left. :-)
Distance from home: 136 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 23%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 4:35 pm.
Reason for halt: Charge cars after steep ghats. Lunch.
Description: We charged all 4 cars together here. But the wiring was faulty and got burned. So we had to head back to our backup point at Igatpuri. 2 cars had just enough (~39%) to head into Nashik and proceeded. We can also see another alternative mode of transport to the left. :-)
WP06 - Disaster Recovery Via BackUp Charge Point
Location: Manas Lifestyle Resort, Igatpuri.
Distance from home: 139 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 31%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 4:43 pm.
Reason for halt: Backup charging point.
Description: We charged 2 cars here. Originally we were 4 cars and only 2 could charge here, so we went to GreenLand. However, this is a beautiful place to charge. With 50% SOC we felt confident we would reach Nashik and left.
Distance from home: 139 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 31%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 4:43 pm.
Reason for halt: Backup charging point.
Description: We charged 2 cars here. Originally we were 4 cars and only 2 could charge here, so we went to GreenLand. However, this is a beautiful place to charge. With 50% SOC we felt confident we would reach Nashik and left.
WP07 - We Reach Nashik
Location: Jitendra Motors Workshop, Nashik.
Distance from home: 181 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 13%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 7:06 pm.
Reason for halt: Destination reached! :-)
Description: Mr. Sandeep Borse greeting each of the rally participants with a rose and a small token of his appreciation. All the participants from 4 cities (Pune, Ahmednagar, Mumbai, & Nashik) converged here. It was a Sunday and the workshop was closed, so our EVs got place of pride in the service bays and charged to full in glory!
Distance from home: 181 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 13%.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 7:06 pm.
Reason for halt: Destination reached! :-)
Description: Mr. Sandeep Borse greeting each of the rally participants with a rose and a small token of his appreciation. All the participants from 4 cities (Pune, Ahmednagar, Mumbai, & Nashik) converged here. It was a Sunday and the workshop was closed, so our EVs got place of pride in the service bays and charged to full in glory!
WP08 - Pune gang and Spero e-Bikes at Nashik
Location: Hi5 Hotel, next to Jitendra Motors Workshop, Nashik.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 7:19 pm.
Reason for halt: Destination reached! :-)
Description: The Spero Electric Cycles that rode a remarkable 203 Km from Pune to Nashik in two days. A couple of YouTube Vloggers also joined us. They call themselves Still22 (URL: http://www.still22.com/). Check out the superb pics they took:
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 7:19 pm.
Reason for halt: Destination reached! :-)
Description: The Spero Electric Cycles that rode a remarkable 203 Km from Pune to Nashik in two days. A couple of YouTube Vloggers also joined us. They call themselves Still22 (URL: http://www.still22.com/). Check out the superb pics they took:
WP09 - PluginIndia, Green.whynot?, & Spero Teams
Location: Hi5 Hotel, next to Jitendra Motors Workshop, Nashik.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 7:31 pm.
Reason for halt: Destination reached! :-)
Description: The Mumbai and Spero teams. A joyful reunion. We’ve been meeting Mr. Mohtilal (standing between Amit and Raphae) often as he travels the country in search of worthy markets.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 7:31 pm.
Reason for halt: Destination reached! :-)
Description: The Mumbai and Spero teams. A joyful reunion. We’ve been meeting Mr. Mohtilal (standing between Amit and Raphae) often as he travels the country in search of worthy markets.
WP10 - EV owners from India - Pune, Mumbai, Ahmadnagar, Nashik, Coimbatore and Gurgaon
Location: Hi5 Hotel, next to Jitendra Motors Workshop, Nashik.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 8:28 pm.
Reason for halt: Meet fellow EV owners.
Description: The entire RE:LIVE 2017 gang! Wow what a rush. EV owners from around India gathered in one place. So many ideas to swap and stories to tell. We head off to “Express Inn” for a buffet dinner.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 8:28 pm.
Reason for halt: Meet fellow EV owners.
Description: The entire RE:LIVE 2017 gang! Wow what a rush. EV owners from around India gathered in one place. So many ideas to swap and stories to tell. We head off to “Express Inn” for a buffet dinner.
WP11 - Dinner with the Katore Family in Nashik at Express Inn
Location: Express Inn, Nashik.
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 11:09 pm.
Reason for halt: Re-Charge ourselves!
Description: L to R: Daughter, Wife, JyotirAditya, Mr. Rajendra Katore, Farah, Vijay, Shushant, Kamlesh. We enjoyed a buffet dinner thanks to Mr. Katore. This is the first time we met him. Just goes to show that EV enthusiasts are a different breed.
We were covered by mainstream media again this time in the Times Of India, Pune.
(URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/electric-vehicles-rally-for-green-mobility/articleshow/56382366.cms)
Date & Time: 7th Jan 2017, 11:09 pm.
Reason for halt: Re-Charge ourselves!
Description: L to R: Daughter, Wife, JyotirAditya, Mr. Rajendra Katore, Farah, Vijay, Shushant, Kamlesh. We enjoyed a buffet dinner thanks to Mr. Katore. This is the first time we met him. Just goes to show that EV enthusiasts are a different breed.
We were covered by mainstream media again this time in the Times Of India, Pune.
(URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/electric-vehicles-rally-for-green-mobility/articleshow/56382366.cms)
WP12 - Way Back, A Relaxing Evening At Cibo and back to Mumbai
Location: Cibo Escape, Shahpur.
Distance from home: 270.6 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 46%
Date & Time: 8th Jan 2017, 12:30 pm.
Reason for halt: Way back charge point.
Description: On the return journey we are descending from 700 m above sea level and the cars are regenerating energy as they do. So we don’t need to charge so often. Also we’ve figured out the strength of the charging points and we are not charging 2 cars to a point any more. ;-)
A group of Sophia College, Mumbai’s design students were doing an Art Of Living workshop next door and they were interested in ecology and holistic living. So we gave them a talk about sustainability and RE:LIVE 2017. Capt. Sanjay throws in some info. about ancient techniques of farming that could be used to completely get rid of pesticide & vermicide usage, & how to grow trees with a high rate of success.
The students thought these were demo cars. When we told them they are production cars, their interest knew no bounds. They surrounded the cars and got every bit of information they could wrangle out of us. It was such a satisfying experience to meet people keen to know about and use EVs.
We loved sleeping in the clean environment and eating the fresh food. Sleeping on the handmade cot, and sipping the ginger flavoured tea!
We return home with incredible memories again!
Distance from home: 270.6 Km.
SOC on Arrival: 46%
Date & Time: 8th Jan 2017, 12:30 pm.
Reason for halt: Way back charge point.
Description: On the return journey we are descending from 700 m above sea level and the cars are regenerating energy as they do. So we don’t need to charge so often. Also we’ve figured out the strength of the charging points and we are not charging 2 cars to a point any more. ;-)
A group of Sophia College, Mumbai’s design students were doing an Art Of Living workshop next door and they were interested in ecology and holistic living. So we gave them a talk about sustainability and RE:LIVE 2017. Capt. Sanjay throws in some info. about ancient techniques of farming that could be used to completely get rid of pesticide & vermicide usage, & how to grow trees with a high rate of success.
The students thought these were demo cars. When we told them they are production cars, their interest knew no bounds. They surrounded the cars and got every bit of information they could wrangle out of us. It was such a satisfying experience to meet people keen to know about and use EVs.
We loved sleeping in the clean environment and eating the fresh food. Sleeping on the handmade cot, and sipping the ginger flavoured tea!
We return home with incredible memories again!