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!