It's quite something to
be offered an opportunity to leave everything behind for well over a month, pick up a motorcycle and ride across a country as beautiful and as varied as
India.
And it was this
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which transformed me from a mere biker to one who loves going places on his motorcycle. Over the course of my journey, I encountered every sort
of eventuality that a ride like this is expected to throw- smooth highways,
beautiful mountain roads, broken tarmac, off-road sections, adverse weather,
fatigue everything. And overcoming these obstacles together helped each one of
us to not only become toughened motorcyclists by the end of our journey, but to
also form bonds amongst each other that will surely last a lifetime; the sort
of bond that, in my opinion, can only be formed between individuals who've shared such an
epic journey together.
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| My fellow riders who would be my family for over a month during the ride! |
Mission 10000 km - The idea
India is a vast and wide
country, offering a huge variety of cultures and landscapes to be explored by
those willing to make that journey. And there are many ways to make that
journey, but none of them compares to exploring the country on a motorcycle.
That was the aim behind Mission 10000 km – the discovery of India on an FZ FI.
Yamaha and Zeegnition came together to create an experience of a lifetime for
20 of us lucky bikers; hailing from all across the country and foster our
spirit of discovery and exploration.
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That's the welcome we used to get at each and every Yamaha showroom! |
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At the Flag off in New Delhi |
Starting at the country’s capital, New
Delhi, on 14th September 2014, we 20
riders, divided into two teams, namely the East Side Eagles and the Wild West
Falcons, rode to Chennai along two separate routes, one from the east and one
from the west, covering well over 10000 km between ourselves. Since I had never
been to the eastern part of our country, I had decided to opt for the eastern
route.
Mission 10000 km was an
effort to reach out to the new generation of motorcyclists and promote the
concept of "Touring on two wheels."
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The machine for the ride! |
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How did it suddenly happen to me? The Selection Process-
I was driving from
Mumbai to Pune in August 2014 when I luckily happened to hear about this
concept on a radio station. As soon as I heard the two words Travel and
Motorcycle, I decided to explore more on this once I got back home. And never
did I imagine that this would turn my life around and develop into a lifelong
passion.
Interested participants had to upload a 1 minute video on the Mission 10000 km website about themselves and why they wanted to be a part of this travel show. Of the 15,000 entries received over a span of 15 days, a little over 2000 entries were selected on the basis of the video submissions. Out of these, over 200 potential participants were called for personal interviews in their respective cities- the motive of which was to check how comfortable one is in front of the camera; primarily because this show was going to be shot and recorded and telecast on television. These interviews helped narrow the field down to a total of 100 participants. This is when things got interesting. These 100 video entries were put up on the Mission 10000 km website where visitors got to vote for their favorite contestants.
It was these votes that finally decided who the final 20 participants would be. Finally, when the list of 20 shortlisted riders across India was announced, I felt ecstatic, because this meant 37 days of endless travel across different towns and cities and exploring the beauty of different states on a motorcycle along with other riders who shared the same passion.
Interested participants had to upload a 1 minute video on the Mission 10000 km website about themselves and why they wanted to be a part of this travel show. Of the 15,000 entries received over a span of 15 days, a little over 2000 entries were selected on the basis of the video submissions. Out of these, over 200 potential participants were called for personal interviews in their respective cities- the motive of which was to check how comfortable one is in front of the camera; primarily because this show was going to be shot and recorded and telecast on television. These interviews helped narrow the field down to a total of 100 participants. This is when things got interesting. These 100 video entries were put up on the Mission 10000 km website where visitors got to vote for their favorite contestants.
It was these votes that finally decided who the final 20 participants would be. Finally, when the list of 20 shortlisted riders across India was announced, I felt ecstatic, because this meant 37 days of endless travel across different towns and cities and exploring the beauty of different states on a motorcycle along with other riders who shared the same passion.
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Delhi To Chennai- The Eastern Way-
Day
|
Starting
From
|
End
Location
|
1
|
New Delhi
|
Bareilly
|
2
|
Bareilly
|
Agra
|
3
|
Rest
Day
|
|
4
|
Agra
|
Etawah
|
5
|
Etawah
|
Kanpur
|
6
|
Kanpur
|
Allahabad
|
7
|
Rest
Day
|
|
8
|
Allahabad
|
Varanasi
|
9
|
Varanasi
|
Gaya
|
10
|
Rest
Day
|
|
11
|
Gaya
|
Patna
|
12
|
Patna
|
Bhagalpur
|
13
|
Bhagalpur
|
Behrampore
|
14
|
Behrampore
|
Kolkata
|
15
|
Rest
Day
|
|
16
|
Kolkata
|
Jamshedpur
|
17
|
Rest
Day
|
|
18
|
Jamshedpur
|
Ranchi
|
19
|
Ranchi
|
Rourkela
|
20
|
Rourkela
|
Angul
|
21
|
Angul
|
Bhubaneshwar
|
22
|
Bhubaneshwar
|
Puri
|
23
|
Puri
|
Brahmapur
|
24
|
Brahmapur
|
Srikakulam
|
25
|
Srikakulam
|
Visakhapatnam
|
26
|
Rest
Day
|
|
27
|
Rest
Day
|
|
28
|
Visakhapatnam
|
Rajahmundry
|
29
|
Rajahmundry
|
Guntur
|
30
|
Guntur
|
Hyderabad
|
31
|
Rest
Day
|
|
32
|
Hyderabad
|
Kurnool
|
33
|
Kurnool
|
Anantapur
|
34
|
Anantapur
|
Horsely Hills
|
35
|
Horsely Hills
|
Chennai
|
After spending a couple
of days in Delhi, laying my hands on the motorcycle I'd be riding across the
country for the next 35 days and going through grueling safety briefings and
thorough medical tests, all of us 20 riders gathered on the premises of the National
stadium near India Gate.
The flag off ceremony was the last bit of rest we got before taking on to the road for over a month. It was also the last time all 20 of us were together before reaching Chennai, as we were split into two teams of 10 each covering the journey over vastly different routes!
The flag off ceremony was the last bit of rest we got before taking on to the road for over a month. It was also the last time all 20 of us were together before reaching Chennai, as we were split into two teams of 10 each covering the journey over vastly different routes!
And thus began one epic
journey....
PS: Extracts and images have been taken from the Mission 10000 km coffee table book that was published
