Hugging the western coast all the way to Goa!

The coastal route to Goa epitomizes something I strictly endorse- Its all about the journey, not the destination! While there are other convenient, quicker and shorter routes to get to Goa, the coastal route or the Samudriya Mahamarg (MSH4) as it is called, is the least taken! I had heard a lot about the beauty of this stretch all the way upto Goa but you've got to do it yourself to believe it. It was Republic Day time and taking one day off meant I would get 4 full days to ride! So I decided why not ride to Goa hugging the coast all the way!

Route Map from Pune to Goa and back via the Western Coast

I planned the ride in such a way that I could explore every beach on the way, have the room to halt for photographs as many times as I wanted to and still reach my destination by sunset. And boy, you get stunning landscapes, magnificent forts and lighthouses, lush green forests, virgin beaches and loads of remote villages which make every km covered on this ride worthwhile. Add to this the 5 ferry crossings wherein you have to load your bike into a ferry which transports you to the other side. The downside- you need to have the patience to ride through extremely horrible roads full of gravel, potholes and speed breakers on the first day of your journey! But who cares about the roads when you are riding a machine which is apt for such kind of terrain. The western coast is where the real adventure awaits you. 

I started my ride from Pune early in the morning and planned to reach Mandawa beach, the northernmost beach, as quickly as I could because that's where the real ride would begin! The ride plan for day 1 was:-

Pune- Revas- Mandawa- Kihim- Alibag- Revdanda- Korlai- Kashid- Nandgaon- Murud Janjira- Rajapuri- Agardanda- Ferry to Dighi- Adgaon- Diveagar- Aaravi- Shrivardhan- Harihareshwar- Bhagamandala- Ferry to Bankot- Velas- Kelshi- Anjarle

Just outside Mandawa Jetty

  

Kihim Beach

   

Stunning view just before Agardanda

  

Diveagar Beach

Enroute Anjarle Beach

I had the good fortune of meeting a fellow Versys Rider at his bungalow in Alibag- Mr. Ajit who called me when immediately when I posted a pic of Mandawa beach on the Versys Riders whatsapp forum. Even at the age of 57 years, he still rides both his machines on a regular basis and the passion for motorcycling was very evident when we started conversing. 

The roads throughout, especially from Alibag to Revdanda and from Harihareshwar to Kelshi were a nightmare to ride on. From Kelshi to Anjarle, the roads were still okayish, but nevertheless I finally managed to reach Anjarle by 6:30 pm and found a nice cottage facing the beach. The best part- my bike was parked outside my room! For those who do not know, I get paranoid and will probably not go to a place where there is no parking for my bike! 

The plan for day 2 was:-

Anjarle- Harnai- Karde- Ladgarh- Kolthare- Dabhol- Ferry to Dhopve- Guhagar- Palshet- Velneshwar- Hedavi- Naravan- Ferry to Jaigad- Ganpatipule- Aare Waare- Ratnagiri- Bhatye- Pawas- Jaitapur- Madban- Kunkeshwar- Mithbav- Chivla- Malvan Dandi- Tarkarli- Devbag

Anjarle Beach

Stunning view somewhere between Harnai and Karde

  

After enduring nightmarish roads on day 1, on day 2, the only bad patch was from Anjarle to Harnai and post Dapoli, the roads were in very good condition, barring a few minor patches which still seemed heavenly when compared with the previous day.  

From Ganapatipule onwards starts the most breathtaking stretch of the ride. The incredible view of Aarrey Warrey beach compensated for everything I had endured on the first day- it is by far the most stunning beach I have ever seen.

                       

The entire stretch is one of the most virgin beach stretches in the country probably. Add to it the white sand and groves and together, the beach and the greenery make for a heavenly view from the top. Every turn potentially took my breath away as the virgin landscapes revealed themselves! 

I reached Tarkarli in time to catch the sunset and found myself a stunning beach facing room at the MTDC resort. 

View from the room at MTDC Resort, Tarkarli-Devbag

I decided against staying in Goa on the third day and decided to head to Pune directly without cutting short my ride plan. Therefore, the plan for day 3 was:- 

Tarkarli- Bhogwe- Shriramwadi- Mobar- Sagareshwar- Shiroda- Vengurla- Terekhol- Ferry to Querim- Arambol- Mandrem- Morjim- Pernem- Amboli- Pune 

Catching the sunrise on MSH4 after exiting Tarkarli

  

View from sunset point just before Vengurla

The last ferry from Maharashtra to enter Goa!

  

Querim Beach, Goa on the opposite side

Amboli Ghats enroute Pune

Entering Goa from Maharashtra in a ferry is a different feeling altogether. Finally, I was in familiar territory. Here again, in Mandrem, I had the privilege to meet another Versys rider, Mr. Melroy D' Souza, who hosted me for breakfast and rode with me on NH17 till Patradevi. Post breakfast, I headed back to Pune via the quickest route- NH4 via Amboli ghats. 

At the end of the three day ride, I had logged about 1200 kms, travelling on one of the most beautiful, untouched roads for over 2 days through places I would term nothing less than paradise. 

Why I love traveling solo?

Before I start sharing my travel experiences, I feel it would be only fair to answer some questions that I am asked frequently- "Why do you travel alone? What fun do you derive in riding so far all by yourself? Wouldn't having a group help you enjoy your travel more?" 

Well, it is true that when it was my first time, it did feel daunting and terrifying. I asked myself many a times if I was up for it and there was this constant fear of whether I would survive as a solo rider. Loneliness is a scary feeling but when you spend more time with yourself, you start maintaining focus and get to know more about your limits and capabilities. The whole idea is to push yourself outside your comfort zone. Traveling alone offers the perfect opportunity to introspect and reflect on your life. It gives you a chance to learn about yourself in ways you cannot imagine. You are never really alone in the actual sense because you inevitably find someone to share your experience with- probably another crazy rider or enthusiastic children and locals who are keen on knowing why have you come all the way on a motorcycle to visit their town!

Over-enthusiastic locals trying to figure out who has come to their town!

Local school kids excited that someone stopped by to click their pictures

When you travel alone, you get to do exactly what you want and when you want. If you feel like waking up at 4 am to see the sunrise, nobody is going to ask you why! If you want to just relax for an entire day in your hotel room, you have complete freedom to do that as well. Nobody is going to tell you to do something you do not want to do. You can decide for yourself if you want to keep going or take a detour if you see a small road going somewhere which eventually leads to something like this-

 

Or this

Or this

You can stop as many times as you want to click pictures if you come across some breathtaking views. Like this

 Or this

Or this

All the initial apprehensions about having a travel partner by your side disappear when you realize that you can equally enjoy, if not more, a meal all by yourself or spending the night all by yourself. There have been times when I have felt helpless, but times like these, you have nobody to turn to but yourself. It is also in such situations that I have realized that there is a lot of kindness in the world and there are people going out of the way to help me out. 

To be honest, embarking on my first journey with only my motorcycle and luggage as companions was one of the best decisions I ever took. I come back feeling more confident about myself and obviously a happier person. There is nothing more rewarding than the experiences I have acquired while travelling solo. I am still as excited to explore a new place as I was when I started riding because in a country such as India, every place has something unique to offer that is totally different than what you are routinely accustomed to. 

Travelling all by myself has made me humble. None of my personal and professional accomplishments carry any value when I am on the road. Only the experiences I have acquired over time and the manner in which I react and adapt to circumstances will help me when I am out there. After a successful ride, it reminds me that I set my mind to something and succeeded. Planning and executing complicated travel plans solo is proof that I am more capable than I ever expected myself to be. 

As a solo motorcycle rider, I have learnt that traveling solo is easier than you think and rewarding in a way that few experiences in life can match. Sometimes, all you need is a little bit of perspective to value and appreciate the things and people around us- like your friends, your family, your colleagues, the small things we take for granted! 

As it is rightly said, as long as you make the most of your solo travel, your stories will be epic accounts you ll never get tired of telling! 

One Life To Travel!

Its never too late to start writing about travel. A lot of people frequently asked me, "You travel so much yet why is it that you don't you have a blog of your own!" Probably, all this while I felt I couldn't do justice to an initiative of this kind. During my recent ride to Rajasthan, this hit me somewhere in the back of my mind. What if 10 years down the line, I want to revisit and recollect small details of all the beautiful places I traveled in the past. I actively use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to post photographs of all my rides because for me, these platforms are a one-stop repository to refresh my memories of a place I have explored in the past. However, little details such as anecdotes, hospitality of the locals, riding conditions etc cannot be recollected only by looking at photographs. Basically, photographs do not tell the entire story. This is therefore a humble and basic attempt to capture the essence of all my motorcycle rides across the length and breadth of my incredible country!

So what is that inspires me to travel so much all alone and blow shitloads of hard-earned money on each ride? Its the fascination to seek positive experiences and discover all the goodness out there- the diverse and rich culture, the beauty of each city/town/village, the opportunity to meet people who share a common passion and want to explore and ride to discover something new at each place. I enjoy taking these trips because even today, riding to a new place excites me. Most of the happiness that persists in my life stems from exploring places on my motorcycle. 

I am a firm believer in the fact that everyone deserves to be happy and this happiness comes in the form of different things for different people. Everything boils down to finding that spark, that positive state of mind and then pursuing it without letting it go. Certain circumstances demonstrated to me the benefits of accepting and spreading that positivity in whichever form possible; wherever I go. Motorcycling has put me in touch with all the good things life has to offer. In the end, it doesn't matter how much money you earn, it doesn't matter whether you are enjoying comfortably inside a lavish hotel room at the end of a long ride or completely soaked and stuck at a small restaurant; but the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that you feel at the end of every successful ride is the  kind of happiness I am talking about here.

Motorcycling started as a simple hobby for me when I was pursuing my engineering in Goa- simply because motorcycles were cheap to rent out and you got the freedom to explore places as per your own will. I had never imagined that one day this would become such an integral part of my life. When I secured a job in Pune, the first thing I bought with my salary was a motorcycle - the Yamaha FZ. Initially, I used to do a lot of local rides- Mumbai, Panchgani, Lavasa, Aamby valley, Lonavla, Malshej, Tamhini, Kolad, Mahad, Varandha, Pawna, Bhor etc. Finally when I felt that I had the experience to try a slightly longer ride, I rode from Pune to Goa which was my first ride in excess of 400 kms! 

This hobby developed into my passion post an incredible experience of a lifetime when I was shortlisted as one of the 20 riders for Yamaha's Mission 10000 kms - a 37 day road trip on the Yamaha FZ FI V2.0 from Delhi to Chennai through the eastern coast of India spanning lots of cities and towns enroute. Luckily for me, I am based out of Pune. Lucky owing to the fact that if you consider a 200 kms radius, there are infinitely many places where you can ride to every weekend. So every saturday or sunday is a day to relax by taking out my motorcycle and ride peacefully. I am extremely blessed to have a fantastic bunch of riding buddies out here in Pune with whom I ride on weekends.

A year and half later after my first motorcycle, I felt the need for a bigger, powerful machine and in came the Kawasaki Versys 650. I still have my earlier motorcycles and ride them as well, because for me, there are a lot of memories associated with every motorcycle. But once the Versys has entered my life, there has been no looking back. Proof of this is the fact that in just about 10 months, my odo reads 25,500 kms! 

In subsequent posts, I will try my best to present snapshots and insights into my motorcycling experiences- be it local breakfast rides or longer rides. As I read somewhere, I hope to inspire you to live a life you love and settle for nothing less than extraordinary. Till then, work hard, ride far and keep smiling!