motorcycle travellers meet india 2013

8/12/2019 Motorcycle Travellers Meet India 2013

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JAMMIN GLOBAL

RIDING THEWORLD

STRAIGHT ANDLEFT

RIDING THEN,RIDING NOW

WOMANRIDER

GETTINGREADY TO

LIVE ON A BIKE

Jay Kannaiyan

Bharadwaj Dayala

Avinash Thadani

Navroze Contractor

Sangeetha Jairam

ASCENDINGHEAVENON A YEZDIWg. Cdr. RSR Murty

Jay Kannaiyan


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Letters

MTM Vision

Partners & Allies

Straight and Left - Avinash Thadani

Riding the World - Bharadwaj DayalaCambodia Tomb Rider - Indimotard

Ascending Heaven on a Yezdi - Wing Comm. R S R Murthy

Jammin Global - Jay Kannaiyan

Riding now, Riding then - Navroze Contractor

Two Days can change a life - Rohan Ganachari

Travelling With a Purpose Asim and Ashish

Filling the Essential Gap Malvikaa Solanki

From Airplanes to Bikes Prajwal Shivaprakash

The Invincible Visa Man - Bharadwaj Dayala

How a Chicken Curry Shrinks the World Jay Kannaiyan

Trailing Che with Avinash Thadani

Woman Rider - Sangeetha Jairam

Riding with the Veteran Navroze Contractor

Why Bike? Kedarnath

India Bike Week

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2013 SPONSORS


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To the Team at MTM,

Congratulations on your recent motorcycletravellers meeting, and thanks very much foryour kind words - it's great to hear that yourevent was inspired by the HUBB and that you'dlike to collaborate with us.

When we first started travelling around theworld on our motorcycle in 1987, we had asticker on the bike which simply saidHorizontes sin Limite, or Horizons withoutlimits. It was in Spanish because we wereheading south from Canada towards Centraland South America, and we wanted to expressour philosophy of travel and life in a simple way.

Over the years that we travelled and connectedwith people from all over, we've met a greatmany people, motorcyclists and non, all ofwhom have renewed and strengthened our faithin mankind. We have found that people aremuch the same everywhere you go, we all havemuch the same hopes and dreams, we all enjoy

meeting others, and our curiosity about theworld is only matched by our interest in thepeople we meet along the way.

Mark Twain said it well: Travel is fatal toprejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness...Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men andthings cannot be acquired by vegetating in onelittle corner of the earth all ones lifetime.

Since its beginnings as a site in 1997, we arei m m e n s e l y p l e a s e d a t h o wHorizonsUnlimited.com has grown andexpanded to become a central HUBB fortravellers to connect and share their experiencesof the people and places of the world. People

regularly tell us the site has changed their lives,inspiring them to travel, helping them to plantheir trips and once they're on the road, byconnecting them with like-minded peoplethroughout the world via the 759 HorizonsUnlimited Communities in 114 countries(including 10 HU Communities in India!).

The inspirational talks, workshops anddemonstrations that are a part of a HorizonsUnlimited Travellers Meeting are an excitingintroduction, guide and first step on the road lesstravelled. Just as important is the opportunity to sittogether with strangers, whether from around the

corner or the other side of the world and share yourideas and experiences without judgement. This yearwe will be organizing 18 such events - in Asia, SouthAmerica, Australia, Europe and North America.

Next year, we'd love to include India in that list!We're not a big multinational though, there's justSusan and I. We can't do it without help from folkslike yourselves, who appreciate our efforts and wantto help us continue to build a global community oftravellers by connecting their national groups withinternational travellers.

We look forward to working with you, the Team atMTM to make it happen!

Grant & Susan Johnson

www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Inspiring, Informing and ConnectingTravellers since 1997

HORIZONS UNLIMITEDLetter to Motorcycle Travellers Meet

LETTERS

02 | motorcycle travellers meet | vol 1


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Dear MTM India Team,

On behalf of The Ted Simon Foundation, I'd like to offer our hearty congratulations

to everyone involved with the first Motorcycle Travellers' Meet in India.

I've no doubt the event will be a great success and a source of inspiration for all

those harboring dreams of adventure motorcycle travel.

The Foundation has enjoyed collaborating with you as event partners. Thank you for

your support and for helping to spread the word about our work and how people

can get involved as Jupiter's Travellers or Jupiter's Companions.

Thanks most of all for inviting Jupiter's Traveller, Jay Kannaiyan, to be a speaker at

MTM India. Jay has a wonderful story and exhibits an attitude and approach to

adventure travel that everyone would do well to learn from.

I wish you every success for future events and very much hope to be able to attend

in person next time.

Best wishes from Ted and the Foundation team.

Yours sincerely

Iain Harper

Executive Director

LETTERS

JUPITERS TRAVELSLetter to Motorcycle Travellers Meet

25750EastLane,Covelo,California95428,U.S.A.jupiterstravellers.org



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2013

Connect.Share.Learn andInspire.Stories and journeys of travellers who havecrossed the boundaries of comfort and the knownhave always inspired us. Being among suchtravellers and achievers is valuable to realise ourdormant dreams of the road. With utmost joy werevel in the company of such travellers and give

ourselves hope to the dreams of getting out thereinto the unknown. In ways, search for our ownfreedom.

MTM India is an effort to bring together all suchstories, journeys and inspiration. To connect withtravellers who have had the courage to start, totake that first step towards exploration and get outthere following their compass.

The vision is to connect travellers, globalcommunities and organizations who believe in thiscommon goal.

MTM 2013 was a much anticipated and hugelysuccessful event. It was the coming together of acurious bunch of motorcycle travellers. Thespeakers' list boasted of the likes of JayKannaiyan, Bharadwaj Dayala, Avinash Thadani,and Navroze Contractor. Their enthusiasm andparticipation made the event a success of a level

that was never before.MTM 2013 was a small-scale event that attracted

a serious bunch of motorcycle travellers that

made space for personal interactions and an

intimate experience. The success of the event is

attributed to our partners, allies, speakers,

volunteers and the participants. We hope to carry

the tempo forward by bringing together more

such travellers, communities and organisations to

achieve the vision.

We gratefully thank our event partners Ted

Simon Foundation and Horizons Unlimited and

our allies who supported the event. We look

forward to creating a platform to connect more

stories, journeys and inspiration in the coming

years.

This journal is a collection of the stories that was

shared at MTM 2013. Hope you enjoy reading it

and hope it inspires you as much as it has inspired

us.

See you on the road some place..

Santosh

MTM Team

VISION



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PARTNERS

& ALLIESWe thank our partners and allies for the supportand for believing in MTM. We look forward to moresuch partners and allies being a part of MTM in thefuture. Please write to [email protected] tobecome partners and allies.

We look forward to a positive association.

myntra.com

horizonsunlimited.com | jupiterstravellers.orggetoffurass.com | muc-off.combmcairfilters.com | motorchronicles.in | classic-bike-india.com

viaterra.in | indimotard.com | indusrider.comtravellersmeet.in | ridetillidie.com


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You don't have to be aSalman Khan to ride the world.It may help you attract nice girlsbut there is the menace of mengetting attracted too.

I am going to ride my motorcycle through all of SouthAmerica. I anticipate a great adventure. I do not knowthe language or the destination. I'll do it Old School, andfigure things out on the road. If the Spanish could do it inthe 18th century, so can an Indian in the 21st.

Anybody who has achieved what he set out to canunderstand what I felt when I finally got my bike, abeautiful KTM 640 Adventure, from the bondedwarehouse in Bogota Colombia.

The plan was simple: head south to Colombia, Ecuador,Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and experienceeverything I could in South America.

Day 2, as I was crossing the Andes, I took the worst fall ofmy trip. Just day 2, the bike on top of me for 30 minutes,blood oozing through my pants, and confidence oozingout of me. Not the best start. The next day I made a dealwith my bike, I promised I would take her home with me,as long as she got me to the airport she did.

The police warned me against going deep into theColombian forests. I didn't listen. Two days through dirt

tracks, and I finally saw them. The FARC (RevolutionaryArmy of Colombia bad people) they had their AK 47sand did not look happy.

I prayed and rode away as fast as I could. The rest ofColombia was amazing: a lonely desert, dancing citiesand beautiful churches built along solid rock canyons.Next up, Ecuador. I had a college buddy in Quito, andspent a week with him. His mother was like mine, she fedme till I dropped, and his dad got enough booze in me tomanage the high 2,500-meter altitude.

I rode along the Pacific Ocean, on a lonely, twisty roadcalled 'Routa Del Sol'. It literally means 'The Route of theSun' but for me, I thought of it as the route of my soul.Think about it, the blue Pacific Ocean, the wind in yourface; scented with the freshness of salt and adventure,and you on a motorcycle, no idea where you're going tostop for the night, but probably some place exciting.This is how I felt for almost four months.

Peru was nothing short of pure magic. I ended upspending a month there, riding through 5,000meterhigh snow-capped peaks, and even spending five dayson a boat through the Amazon jungle, with nothing but a

hammock to lie on. I was rained upon, hailed upon andsnowed upon. To my right was a glacier and around methe Andes.

Next up Lama, small villages where they had never seen

a tourist and two days of no human contactat all. I kept telling myself, this was not aholiday for me to check out the sights, butan adventure for the sights to check me out,and to see if I was worthy to cross.

At the Amazon I decided to take the most

local barge down the Amazon for five days.All I had was a hammock, and chickens onthe boat to eat. Cuzco, then Machu Picchu.This is a must-see for all, there is magicthere, and you have to sit and feel it tounderstand it. I found a rock, sat down forthree hours, admiring this beautiful place.

I have been a fan of Che Guevara for about10 years now, and I had to see where he waskilled in Bolivia. In SantCruze Bolivia, all mypossessions were stolen, including mypassport. These things happen, and you justhave to keep moving. With a great network

of family and friends, I was back on my feet inthree weeks. Seeing the place where Chewas killed somehow completed a journey inme.

STRAIGHT

AND LEFT

12 | motorcycle traveler meet 2013

avinash thadani

Through South America on a bike



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> STRAIGHT AND LEFTavinash thadani

My fianc Pritha met me in Bolivia and we hit the Salt Flats ofBolivia. The ride there was the toughest on the trip. We wokethe next morning and saw a white expanse in front of us. Noroads, no signs, nothing, just salt as far as the eye could see.

We spent two days on the salt flats, camping under somerocks. It took us five hours to get to Argentina. Once in, weheaded for the Dakar rally. Seeing those bikes and cars flyingthrough the desert gave me confidence, and inspiration totake part some day.

In the city of Tango, it's just spectacular, am going to dancewith her, drink with her, and eat with her. Buenos Aires, I got toyou after 11,500 kms on my motorcycle, but we arrived just as Iwanted to: free, open and the wind in our faces.

Pritha left for India, and I moved on. I was sad and tired at thispoint, and did not feel like battling Patagonia, which has a lot ofwind, penguins, elephant seals and sea lions.

For 10 years I have sat through lectures, tutorials, interviews,meetings, seminars, conferences and much more, all the timewondering in the back of my mind what it would feel like to dothis trip and reach the end of the world.

I had ridden 15,000 km, consumed 650 litres of petrol and beenthrough six countries. I got to the end, saw a bench, sat downand lit a cigar a friend had given me. All I could think about wasabout when I would go around the world on my motorcycle. Iplanted the Indian flag at the end of the road and took a picture.

Avinash rode 15,000kms in 4months while covering 6 countries

starting from Miami, USA toUshuaia, Argentina

Worth mentioning - Got tosee and experience thebirth place and death

place of Che.



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> RIDING THE WORLDbharadwaj dayala

tough rides and tough guys. But do we have a choice?Bullet 500cc is the most powerful bike we have; therest are far behind. For a world tour you don't needthose monstrous BMW GS1200s. I would prefer aBMW F800GS or Suzuki Vstrom 650 and if I want tooffer rides to beautiful girls, I would go for theirresistible Goldwing. But that's wishful thinking. I lovethe Enfield. I owned two Bullets and I went around

India on one. Enfield didn't care to upgrade itsmanufacturing quality for decades. The result was anexcellent bike which was not as reliable as the newJapanese bikes. Simply put, I believed Karizma wouldgive me less trouble than a Bullet. If you take a brandnew Bullet and Karizma and ride until you break down,you will know what I mean.

So you need a reliable bike unless you intend to open a

mechanic shop when you return. You should be able to

fix things but that's it. You can do a world tour on a

bicycle so chose the bike that suits your riding style

and comfort, know how to fix general problems and

carry the spares. Nothing else!

'You don't have to be a Salman Khan to ride the world. It may help youattract nice girls but there is the menace of men getting attracted too. 'Fitness

You don't have to be a Salman Khan to ride the world.

It may help you attract nice girls but there is the

menace of men getting attracted too. Your spine is

going to take the maximum stress so better be slim

and flexible.

You must be very fit in any case, both mentally and

physically. If you are travelling alone, it is stressful.

If you are travelling with a partner it is doubly stressful.

You may ask: I love riding all day man, so why is it so

difficult?

Riding is a small part of the world tour. You have to

take care of the planning, logistics, funds,

communications, paper work, permits, insurances,

transfers, shipments, repairs and other such

arrangements. Once you leave the country, there islittle your friends or family can do. So it is solely YOU

who have to do everything. And everything means a

LOT.

The day begins with finding breakfast. In North

American motels, however large they are, you won't

find anything to eat and no one to tell where you can

find something to eat. When you do find something to

eat, it will be digested by the time you are done

packing, on the bike (my bike was a mini Walmart),

check the bike for fitness, get dressed, look into the

maps, and note down major points and places of

interest.

If you take a motorway, your antenna is always up and

scanning for dangers because you look like a tiny rat

running to escape between six lanes of huge

cats (cars) and roaring lions (mega trucks)

zipping at high speeds ready to toss you all

around. Don't expect to stick to the road

shoulder like a good boy riding slow all the time.

You need to keep changing lanes constantly,reading the road signs and exit points. The mere

push you experience from a speeding truck is

unnerving. Imagine riding such a heavily loaded,

unbalanced street bike and changing lanes at

120kmph between those monsters.

Even the thought of a puncture at this stage is

chilling. This acute alertness is very stressful.

Imagine 10-12 hours of this every day.

Now you think that's enough and want to get

into the comfort of some cheap hostel. Unless

you have planned in advance and know theexact location of a hostel, it's difficult to find it. If

you miss one exit, you may have to ride 50km to

return to the same exit. And if you are looking

for a place without reservation, then give or take

50km before your find one with vacancy.

Usually these places are in small streets and on

the 5th or 6th floor. It's tough to decide if you

want to leave the bike with all the stuff on the

pavement while you go and enquire. And what

you will find is not going to be cheap anyway.

Even if you plan every stop, you will miss them

almost half the time due to various reasons. You

unpack and carry all your baggage to your

room on the 5th floor (nobody will ever lift even

a small pouch for you). You need to cover and

lock the bike properly so that it will not be taken

09 | motorcycle traveller meets | vol 1


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> RIDING THE WORLDbharadwaj dayala

Bharadwaj is the first Indian to travel solo around the worldon an Indian-made motorcylce, 18 months, 5 continents and16 countries spanning 47,000kms.

away while you are asleep. Sometimes you don't getparking space and you may have to leave the bike onthe road side which will give you jitters all night. Bynow all the muscles in your body will be stiff. After arefreshing shower you feel damn hungry because you

had only light meals during the day (eatheartily during the day and you might sleep while

riding). And you might have to walk miles to find food

- not what you like, but just any kind of food.

Sometimes if you are lucky you will find it nearby or

you may not find any at all. If you enter a cozy

restaurant, your next day's allowance will be spent on a

meal. You go to sleep like a log and soon it's another

day. Trust me, you will not even remember to

check your mails or update your blog.

BUT IT IS FUN. To ride in a new country, go to a new

place, meet new people, eat new food - everything is

fun and you will be happy. I enjoyed my rideimmensely and in all probability I will do it again!

Psychological fitness:

Though you are always surrounded by people, you will

feel lonely. Everybody you see will try to talk to you

but you don't know what they are saying and you can't

talk back. You will become an expert at sign language.

You will not be talking to anyone about half of your

journey. Loneliness cannot be explained, only

experienced. You will experience real loneliness

when you are camping in a desert with no one

around for a hundred miles. You cannot avoid it;

you have to cope with it. Nevertheless it will

have an effect on your mind all the time.Some day the inevitable travel sickness will put

you down and you won't feel like doing

anything at all. Even on a journey like this where

you are seeing something new every day,

sometimes you lose interest in the best of the

places or things and you don't want to go out of

your room. That's okay; you just need to sit

indoors for a few days and it will be alright.

Take care that you don't indulge in too much

alcohol or grass or dope or whatever. This is a

potential danger as every day you are in a

beautiful touristy area where entertainment is all

around. Watch yourself because no one is goingto tell you to stop.

Finally when you come back you will take a long

time to settle into the routine of your regular life.

You will probably be depressed for a while. Just

be cool and soon you will be normal. Have a

great ride.



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14/42

Fried Tarantulas!A rollercoaster ride through Cambodia onindiMotard's Tomb Rider tour

As we strolled into the parking lot of our tourhotel, bug-eyed Honda Baja250s stared us inthe face as our fellow Tomb Riders milledabout. The air reeked with excitement and un-burnt fuel as everybody was firing up theirmachines and figuring out the controls. Ourfirst stop was Kep, an isolated and un-exploited French coastal town in the southernpart of the country. We rode deep into the

hinterland where we shared dirt roads withcyclists, pedestrians and kids at play whilecows played chicken with us as we rode by. It'sa place of stilt bamboo houses and torn fishingnets hammocks for furniture where a squaremeal consists of rice and a broth of any kind ofanimal or insect that. This is it, I thought. This isCambodia. With Kep checked off the map, wewent around the great Tonle Sap lake to SiemReap. The stop at the eerie gates of ChoeungEk, an orchard that the Khmer Rouge used tosystematically execute 17000 victims was a bitto stomach. The stop at Stoung, a small townknown for its deep-friend delicacies -tarantulas and crickets left us wondering about

food and culture. The visit to the Angkor ruinswas the perfect photo stop with an outing onNational Road 66 which was the highlight.

Route 66 turns off deep into the forest wheretarmac fades to sand and the bustling touristsgive way to a creepy jungle silence. The path wastreacherous and we were warned about riding offitmine fields dotted both sides. Encounteringthe Beng Mealea temple after dusk was magical asthe sight of the temple wrapped in a beam ofmoon-light merged with the silence. And all itreally takes to get you there is a motorcycle. Twowheels can really move the soul.

indiMotard Adventures runs a professionalmotorcycle touring outfit here in India with a fleetof brand new Royal Enfield Classic 500s & KTM

200 Dukes With your food, stay, back up serviceand medical aid taken care of, all you have to do is

show up with your helmet and you're ready torumble. While tours to Cambodia and Sri Lankahappen once a year, tours around India happen ona more regular basis along with organizing acustom tour for your and your friends.We start off the year with another edition of TombRider in March 2014 and follow that up with

summer in the Himalayas in August 2014.

To find out more visit www.indimotard.comor call +91-9980829440

JOSHUA CRASTO runs JCMOTO (www.jcmoto.in)

: Custom Motorcycle Builds to perfection!

CAMBODIA TOMBRIDER TOUR 2010

joshua crasto/anand dharmaraj

12 | motorcycle travellers meet | vol 1Advertorial


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ASCENDINGHEAVENON A YEZDI

Wg. Cdr.RSR Murty

Like all Air Force Stations, Saharanpur too has historicalsignificance. This was the base that was part of IPKFoperations and had at the time conducted some daringrescue operations. The one that comes to mind is anoperation involving the rescue of victims stranded in cablecars in Dehradun. Saharanpur AFS had a principal purpose toprovide cover to the entire range of what is now Uttarakhand.From rescuing stranded avalanche study teams to routereconnaissance and carting people deeper into strategiclocations, Saharanpur AFS had its work cut out.

The call from the hills began as soon as I was posted to 30Wing. The Air Force Adventure Foundation was preparing its

agenda for adventure activities for the year. Seizing theopportunity, I quickly put in a proposal for the first ever(mixed) motorcycle expedition to Badrinath. This proposalwas endorsed by the equally enthusiastic Station CommanderGp. Capt. RPS Dhillon. A pilot himself, he wanted his stationofficers to master the hills from the ground as much as theycould from the air. At this juncture, it's important to highlightthe other reasons for this expedition. Every year these hillscontribute a mighty chunk of manpower for selection into theIAF rank and file; our parallel intent was to tap into the youthof these hills and disseminate information about the IAF. TheIndian Army meanwhile had another task for us: mark outneatly on a map the bad patches along this route and help

reconstruct them with the help of Border Roads Organisation.And thus was set the multipurpose goal for this motorcycleexpedition.

With consent from Delhi Headquarters, I wasted no time informing a team that would take on the hills with their 'two-wheeled darlings', as they were called at the time. Theformidable team consisted of Flt. Lt. RSR Murty (expeditionleader), Plt. Offr Moses, Flt. Lt. Mukul Ekka, Flt. Lt. BS Yadav,Fg. Offr Pankan and the dashing (Late) Fg. Offr ChanderSingh. Preparations began at a frenetic pace. I accompaniedan air maintenance sortie (routine trip) to the valley for a roadrecce; a route was penned down back in the office and thefinalized route had us brimming with excitement. We flagged

off from NH7 to NH 58; NH 58 covering Rurkee, Haridwar,PipalKothi, Tehri, Chamoli, GovindGhat, Gaucher andBadrinath. A total of about 350km one way.

Our 'two wheeled darlings' comprised ofthree Yezdis, two Royal Enfields and oneHero Honda. All our vehicles were given to acompany called Check C for servicing, andtheir magnanimity was much appreciatedbecause they responded on time! For othersupplies like food and shelter we were, atmost stops, taken care of by some armyunit or other. But of course no faujiexpedition, trek, sortie or journey iscomplete without kick-starting it withparathas and aloo-sabzi from the mess!

The roads were narrow, slippery, and, attimes, we were driving on icy bridges of 10to 12 feet in length as the roads would bewashed out by the streams flowing downthe hillside. But that was hardly our biggestchallenge. Road erosion gives way to waterpuddles, which turns into ice overnightowing to the low temperatures makingmanoeuvring harder as the altitudeincreased. As we proceeded beyondGovind Ghat, we were literally gliding overthe icy layers of glassy roads, using bothlegs as rudders to avoid fatal skids from

those heights. There were no motorcyclerepair shops after we crossed the plains.Most of our fears were laid to rest as wemoved along. The team could traverse theentire stretch on the hills without any majorbreakdown.

Explorers, travellers, bikers, adventurers,crazy officers possessed with Air Force'smotto 'Touch the Skies with Glory'. I'm notquite sure which category we belonged to.To sum up the journey, I can only quoteThoreau: What lies behind us and whatlies ahead of are tiny matters compared to

what lives within us.

In the early summer of April 1986, I wasposted to Air Force Station (AFS) 30Wing from Air Force Station Madh Island,Bombay. Located in the interiors of UttarPradesh, the AFS is surrounded bymango orchards in a small village calledSorana which is sandwiched betweentwo major towns, Saharanpur andJagadhri.



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JAMMINGLOBAL

jay kannaiyan

You've seen that photo of a guy and hismotorcycle set against some magnificentbackdrop, like the Himalayas or the Andes. Andnow you want to do that. So what exactly does ittake? There are two ways to approach this -either you just pick up your bike keys, turn on theengine and ride without bothering to plan, or youspend time planning your travel so that you'll bea bit more comfortable and assured of tackling

any hurdles that come your way by carrying theappropriate gear. I've tried both ways and eachhas its own charms and problems.

The first method is for free-birds: those that don'teven plan tonight's dinner, let alone what gearthey should carry or where exactly they want togo. There's definitely a beauty in beingspontaneous and leaving it up to fate to directyour front wheel's direction. However, I wouldadvise that the second method is the wiseroption since there are dangers that can bemitigated with a bit of planning.

Planning is for travellers who want to delve a bitdeeper into their experiences by choosing thebest places to slow down on their journey andensure that they actually get to where they'd liketo go. The first thing to consider is what kind ofroads you expect to encounter in and aroundyour destination. If the roads are going to bepaved and flowing black ribbons of asphalt, anykind of motorcycle from a Scooty to a Harley willdo. However, if you anticipate rough roads andhave a desire to go off the beaten path, a moreoff-road oriented motorcycle will be the rightchoice. The features to look for in this kind of bikeare long suspensions to absorb the bumps, adurable frame to withstand vibration and a largefront wheel to easily climb over rocks and out of

potholes. To ride safely in off-road conditions, therider must be able to stand comfortably on thefoot-pegs and have control of the levers on thehandlebar. This means that the bike should have aslim fuel tank instead of a fat, round one that wouldobstruct the knees when standing and a straighterhandlebar than what would feature on a cruiserbike.

In India, the most affordable off-road bike is theHero Impulse, though unfortunately it is out ofproduction. Its off-road frame is perfect fortravelling although its 150cc engine leaves mostbikers yearning for more grunt especially whenclimbing up steep slopes. Many a traveller havedone successful trips through the Himalayas on theImpulse, showing that a more suitable chassis canoutweigh deficiency in power. The other obviouschoice for a touring motorcycle in India is the RoyalEnfield Bullet. The Bullet can definitely tackle all therough terrain thrown at it but unfortunately thiscomes at a price in terms of weakened suspension

and an outdated heavy frame. In the hands of acustom builder however, a very worthy off-roadercan be built based on the Bullet.

Once the vehicle for the journey is sorted, the nexttask is to accessorise the pilot. Feeling the wind andleaning in and out of corners, the rider is in store fora liberating experience, but it would be foolish notto respect the dangers that come from riding amotorcycle. Even a simple accident at 10 kph cancause great damage. To mitigate the dangers ofthe crash that all riders face, get some high qualitysafety gear. The helmet should fit comfortably andnot move around at high speed. The gloves andboots should protect your wrists and ankles whilenot restricting your dexterity. The jacket and pantsshould have the armour to protect the major joints.

12 | motorcycle traveler meet 201314 | motorcycle travellers meet | vol 1


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> JAMMIN GLOBALjay kannaiyan

The next major consideration is what to pack.You and your motorcycle are going on this

journey. You are going to be living on this bikefor the duration of your trip so you should see itas your home. Depending on how far away fromcivilization you want to go will determine whatkind of things you will need to carry. If you'll bein populated areas and have towns to sleep inevery night, your gear might consist of a few

pairs of clothes and perhaps some photographygear. However, if you want to head far awayfrom anything resembling a town, you mustcarry your own shelter and food. A lightweighttent with a thin sleeping bag and sleeping matcan make for a comfortable night's rest. I like totravel with a thin, inflatable 3/4 length mattressthat lifts me just a centimetre or two off theground to provide a flat surface to sleep on. I getgreat joy from cooking my own meals whiletravelling to remote places, and a camping stovelike the MSR Dragonfly is sufficient to cook sometasty meals.

Every seasoned rider learns to be careful aboutcarrying tools and spares for the bike. Equipyourself with basic skills, like fixing a flat tyre,removing and inspecting a spark plug, changingthe engine oil, adjusting drive chain tension, etc.While it's good to take tips from seasonedtravellers on various aspects of a long journey, itall boils down to what you want out of your

journey. The greatest teacher is your ownexperience, so learn from each journey and soonyou will be an expert in planning for longdistance motorcycle travelling.

Happy Riding!

Jay spent 3 years and 3 monthson the road covering 33 countrieswhile riding 103,200 kms.

He started from Chicago andended his journey in New Delhi.By then, he had cooked 56chicken curries along the way!



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RIDING THEN,RIDING NOW


navroze contractor

Riding Then

I did my first 500-kilometer ride in 1963, but as apillion on my brother's brand new BSA Gold Star350. Since then I have ridden thousands ofkilometres on my own bikes, starting from a Vespascooter to 1000-cc bikes. Then, a 38BHP bike wasnearing a super bike status. Bikes were differentthen. They were small, simple and came only inblack and chrome, with a dash of silver as paintoptions. Rear suspension had spring adjusters -front had none. All gears were on the 'other' side,and one up three down, except the Europeanbikes. Even the BMWs came in just black withwhite lining. There were no luggage designed for

bikes and no bungee chords to tie down stuff.Jackets were leather, black or brown. If you hadvisited England, you could be wearing a cottonwaxed Belfast jacket. There were hardly any ridinggloves. Boots were either military/camping wearor thin riding boots. Helmets were half, know aspudding bowls. Goggles were a must and Mark-9was the craze. You bought a bike and improvisedon it depending on your use. No company offeredanything but road bikes, the exception being theBSA Gold Star and Norton International, whichcame with rear set footrests and clip on bars,that's all.

Roads were narrow, but not bad. Traffic wasminimal and roadside assistance almost zero.Punctures were the biggest nemesis; you weresupposed to fix everything else yourself. Lightingwas extremely unreliable. Tire choice was skinnyribs for front, blocks for rear, all in one size. Doing aspeed of 100kmph was a big deal. 160kmph, youwere a hero. At roadside stops there were nocrowds, the bikes were too simple and riderslooked like any one else. Routes were selectedaccording to eating-places on the way. Startingafter dinner and riding through the night wascommon. Hot sun, chilly winters or pouring rain

didn't matter, it was the only vehicle a real riderhad. Getting groceries, going to work or touring,and occasional racing, all was done with the samebike. And most important, there were NO speedbreakers anywhere in India! Oh, and one morething. No one took photographs! Maybe in a three-day ride one picture would be clicked. On my rideto UK I didn't take a single picture of me and myGold Star 500! I did take pictures, but not ofmyself. Cameras were too big and heavy to carry,plus one didn't go to pose, one went to ride.Motorcycles were cheap and motorcycling wascheaper. There was never any mass group touring.

There was never a need of a GPS, just asksomeone on the roadside and you'd know exactlywhere you were.



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Riding Now

In 50 years everything has turned upside down.Manufacturers caught on and now make a modelfor every use one can ever imagine. Accessoriescompanies have kept ahead and manufactureeverything that you need. I say they are merelytoys for men. Motorcycles are not cheap now andmotorcycling is even more expensive. Roadsideassistance remains as before, zero. Today's riderswant to take a picture even before they start a

journey, stop for tea, take a leak, eat and spendendless hours posing with their machines.Amongst millions who ride, and a few thousandwho ride big expensive bikes; only a handful reallyuse them as they are meant to be. In my horizon, itmay be small, but it should be fearless. I don'tknow 15 people who ride beyond their comfortzone. The brotherhood syndrome has taken oversolo touring. We see even a hundred bikers at atime on highways. What is the fun, I have no idea.Touring was to see different places, meet differentpeople, eat different food and smell fresh air.Today we see each other's backsides, we smellpetrol fumes and go on posing with our'brotherhood'. Brotherhood is a part belonging,part fear of a breakdown, part mistrust of ourmachine and part fear of taking on 'the uncertain

world that lay ahead' of a ride.

Two things have remained the same. Though wehave better roads, faster and more comfortablebikes, better protective gear, but the time takenfrom point A to point B remains the same! Tolls,speed breakers and long stops posing for thecamera are partly responsible. Partly it is the lackof stamina, fear of the weather, extreme lack ofconcentration time, fiddling with gear are thehuman factors affecting our riding time today.

The second aspect that has remained the same inIndia, are the common dreaded questions. Howmuch does it cost? What is the average it gives?

I am not running down any time period. I enjoynew bikes myself. I have new gear. But like before,I ride long, use and trust the technology as it ismeant to be. And I really admire and respect thosefew who have shown the courage anddetermination to venture out into the world soloor just with very few.

> RIDING THEN, RIDING NOWnavroze contractor



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TWO DAYS

CANCHANGEA LIFE!

Notes from theMotorcyle Travellers MeetIndia 2013rohan ganachari


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I often trawl on Facebook, blogsand motorcycling forums on adaily basis call it my dose of

adventure if you will. The onlineworld is filled with stories on theroad, riding details, tips and heapsof information. But on 18th July2013, I noticed somethingdifferent. The MotorcycleTravellers Meet, a first of its kindhappening in India was to takeplace on 27th& 28th of July, nearBangalore. Without sparinganother second, I enrolled myself.

Much to my surprise, I had to answer a series ofquestions, wait an entire day for the confirmationmail and finally, the payment details. This ensuredthat only those who were truly passionate couldattend the meet.

The route to the campsite was splendid! The NH

04 let Godwin Monis and I red-line our machines

to 3-digit speeds upto 50kms from Bangalore

city. Then from Dabbaspete, there was a detour

into the undulating countryside. The sights &sounds of a village are quite a respite for us city

dwellers and we thoroughly enjoyed the off-road

adventure experience before we reached Camp

Shristi. Nestled between a rocky hill-scape, the

camp was brilliantly green and set the tone for the

adventure, which was yet to unfold.

Soon after breakfast we moved to the

presentation area where the events of the day

were to take place. Mr.Anand & Mr.Prashanth from

Indimotard convened the bike maintenance

workshop that took care of small doubts, cleared

misconceptions and further reinforced ourknowledge on the basics. They also stressed on

being geared at all times, even if it meant to

sacrifice comfort occasionally; something that is

often ignored by riders.

Bharadwaj Dayala (The 1st Indian to ride round the

world) flagged off the talks. His story was awe-

inspiring, from the very beginning! The

determination, optimism and the perseverance he

showed on his 18-month journey around the world

avinash thadani> TWO DAYS CAN CHANGE A LIFE

rohan ganachari



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is truly commendable. After quickrefreshments, it was Avinash Thadani, whorelated his adventure of South America. Hisremarkable willpower to quit his decade old

job in New York and cover the entire Che

Guevara trail on his KTM 640 has certainlygiven me a new goal to look forward to. Thepost lunch session was what I had beenwaiting for - Jay Kannaiyan's ride to Indiathrough South America and Africa. The manwho lived on the road with his motorcycle for3 long years, covering 33 countries on his103,200kms voyage is a true inspiration!Listening to his experience and the hurdles hefaced along the way made me realize, thehuman spirit is unbeatable!

A 2-hour film from 'Horizons Unlimited'

detailed the necessary preparation,

precautions, documents, formalities andprocedures required for a ride round the

world. Just comes to show that it's no easy

task but with the right body, mind, skill and

motorcycle, it's surely an achievable dream!

Finally, the much awaited dinner, chilled

beverages and hot chicken BBQ along with

the rain set a picture perfect moment.

The next day MTM had organized a small trek

over a hill, something rare for us riders who are more

used to munching miles than meters! Even before

touchdown hot South-Indian delicacies were ready.

Filling ourselves to the brim, we were all set for more

inspiring stories. The camp was brilliantly green andset the tone for the adventure, which was yet to

unfold.

Wing Commander RSR Murthy shares his experience

of being part of the 1st Indian Air Force team to ride

into the interiors of Uttarakhand. Kishore described

the near impossible transition that took him from

being a commuter to a tourer on a 6 month Sub-

Continental trip. Ashish and Asim, covered India riding

for a cause, to spread the message of conservation of

our majestic yet endangered national animal, the

Tiger! Emphasizing to be humble in front of Mother

Nature.

Prajwal talked about how he had the burning desire to

travel despite being on a shoestring budget while

studying in USA. He discovered a small but trusty

organization where native riders would lend their

motorcycles to passionate backpackers. Taking full

advantage, he travelled across the country on a

borrowed motorcycle! Kedar told us of his struggle to

> TWO DAYS CAN CHANGE A LIFErohan ganachari



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convince his family and employer about his passionto ride and finally after a go-ahead from them he issetting off on a 40000kms ride in August 2013.Navroze, a true veteran, had made history by beingthe 1st Indian to travel across continents, to England

in the 70s. A man with innumerable tales, he amusedus all with just a couple of his magnificent travels. Iwas surprised to see him still rocket through, on theBMW GS 650F! Ultimately, Malvikaa pushing alllimits who learnt to ride at the age of 38! She was theonly woman speaker at MTM.

It's an awesome feeling to know that we were all

being treated with the same respect, regardless of

the fact that some people had travelled far greater

than others. All the stories were so absorbing and

inspiring that it was over before we knew it. Post

MTM, I'm a new person: motivated to dream big,

patient in planning and determined to do my ownworld tour someday.

ROHAN V GANACHARI, 19 Years

IV SEM BBA (Aviation Management)

Aptech Aviation Academy

Bangalore

> TWO DAYS CAN CHANGE A LIFErohan ganachari



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Ashish and Asim

TRAVELLING

WITH APURPOSE

topic of conservation and realised theimportance of anti-poaching activities and thefinancial significance of promoting these areasas tourism spots. As luck would have it, thewonderful beast also bestowed them withmany sightings. On asking which was the mostmemorable Tiger Reserve through the journey,pat came the reply Ranthambore.

Twenty seven punctures and a few more

breakdowns later, their bikes still lay testimonyto their love for the tigers and motorcycletouring. Plastered with 'Save the Tiger' stickers,the tiger paw mark and other paraphernalia, thebike garners great interest with the passerbys.This gives them an audience of willing listeners- A great ploy to spread the message! It alsogives other riders to make their miles count.Associate with an integral issue of your choiceand raise awareness. Because when you aresitting on that bike, taking the challenges of theroad head on, there will be listeners.

What lay ahead was a daunting journey, notonly where the kilometres and riding & fixingexpertise was concerned, but the buy in offamily, friends, funding and making the tripworth it. Asim and Ashish started out their

journey of 14000kms, covering almost 3/4th ofthe vast country, riding to the national parksand tiger reserves of the country. Fifteen states,thirty-four cities and seven tiger reserves later,the duo had to take a small break back in

Bangalore, after which Asim covered threemore reserves on his own, notching the numberupto ten!

Having interacted with wildlife experts on theissue, before riding out, they were able tospread a precise message on saving the tiger.Locals were intrigued by the bright bikes(BAJAJ PULSAR 150 (2003)&YAMAHA RX-100(1987)) and listened with rapt attention. Notonly was this journey a one-way conversation.In turn they learnt how the communities livingclose to the jungle were equally engaged in the

Sprightly and purposeful, theyoungest speaker at MTM jumpedup to take his spot to tell us abouthis journey within India. What wasunique? The fact that the then 19year old and his senior accomplice

of 29 years had traversed throughIndia, but with a purpose! A youngAshish shared his story with MTMto bring home a strong message.

While adrenalin pumping trips toLeh and around have been part ofitineraries, how about adding touchof conscious travels to the rides? Itwas planning for one such trip withAsim of Bangalore Motoring Club,that the duo decided to take up awidespread issue, close to their

hearts. Tigers!

MTM Article 22 | motorcycle travellers meet | vol 1


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This November, she rides to Rajasthan insearch of more solutions. Her story steerstowards an obvious discussion of genderinfluence and safety for women on the road,as she pulls in the other women riders ofMTM into the discussion. Like Malvikaa,many feel that the gender limitation (or thelack of it) is self-imposed. Women areactually in a very good position to bikewhere help on the road is required. Thereare people always willing to help a lady indistress. There are a few things that youneed to keep in mind for your own safety,

like riding in the day, booking a hotel roomahead so you are not roaming in anunknown town in the dark and such. Butthese are tips that would apply to any othertravellers and men too. The world isbecoming more accommodating and thegender gap is slowly but surely beingbridged. Malvikaa leaves us with thispositive thought to end the MotorcycleTraveller's Meet.

The absence of women riders is a strong presence in thebiking landscape of the country and it's the few peoplelike Malvikaa that fill this gap; without wanting to provea point, without any aggression or need to peg thispassion to shatter a gender stereotype. She just loves toride. This wasn't a long harboured dream or whimsicalmoment that she was inclined to the wheels, she justwanted to do something new. At the age of 38! It's beenfour years since, and Malvikaa has been riding - solo!

Surprising herself right from learning how to ride andthen taking off to beautiful destinations, with noexpectations! Her story is an inspiring one! Malvikaa hasbeen riding to places like Pondicherry, Maharashtra,Coorg and more, learning about watershedmanagement. She is on the look out for eco consciousefforts that encourage low impact living, in order tosimplify life and live in harmony with nature. A not forprofit establishment, Swayyam, has been created tomeet this goal. And the bike enables her to travel toremote places in the country to study this inclusiveapproach. Malvikaa has been travelling to learn fromtraditional practices of building homes with mud andutilizing water to redesign living itself. She truly believesthat human beings are a small fragment of the entirematrix and sensitizing people to this point is veryimportant.

FILLING THEMalvikaa SolankiESSENTIAL GAP

MTM Article23 | motorcycle travellers meet | vol 1


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Riding on a borrowed bike

For many, this sounds blasphemous. Sharing bikes isalmost never heard of for serious riders. But Prajwalwas determined and chanced upon bikeswap.org, apan world organization that connects riders fromdifferent countries, so they can borrow bikes if theyare travelling to a particular country in lieu of giving

their own to visitors to their country. Based on amassive amount of trust, Bikeswap does fairly well. Ithas 33 members across the world and is slowlygrowing to be the couch surfing like community of thebiking world.

Partner in Crime

His partner in crime is the small stuffed Panda thatgoes everywhere with him. Slowly we see pics of thePanda in different landscapes he is Prajwal'stravelling mascot, a companion if you will. His modelagainst the beautiful landscapes, wherever Prajwal

goes. We see him first in front of the Utah mountainand then all along the presentation to various places.

On the road with a minimal budget

Prajwal took us through the basic questions onegrapples with before setting out. Travelling alone orwith a group is the first one. A propagator of solotravels, he believes that we put ourselves in morevulnerable situations when travelling by ourselves. Weare open to new cultures, make the effort ofunderstanding a language and are thrown outside our

comfort zone. Couch surfing was a great method forhim to see new places on a budget and also get toknow some fantastic locals. Of course, good cooking

A small stuffed Panda leans against the projector asPrajwal adjusts the mic and fumbles with the presentationon the laptop. Coming from an airplane-designer, italready promises to be an interesting talk. Prajwal breakshis ride down for us in simple terms and methods. Heexplains how he rode through different parts of the US andEurope in easy ways that enabled him to see some of themost exclusive parts of these regions! For him, the drivingforce was nature, the lure of seeing exquisite sights andvisiting those unreal looking places that Google threw upin searches. His chalked out what his enablers were and

got right to visiting these destinations.

On a bike! On a borrowed bike!

Prajwal ShivaprakashfromAIRPLANES

TO BIKES

skills always help! All he did was dreambig and money was suddenly not anissue. Affordable insurance, a borrowedbike, no customs, no international license,a vegan pillion rider for part of the

journey who took care of the food and adesire to travel to unknown places iswhat he gathered up and set out.Prajwal's story was an inspiration tothose who want to ride to see exoticlocations of the world and harboured

doubts that they will ever be able to do it.After seeing this, all doubts werehopefully dispelled.



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28/42

The one thing that sticks in one's mind from Jay'stalk is the video of the Bolivian salt flats in Salar deUyuni, whizzing past the bike; kilometers of it, not

changing in topography even once. While sittingand watching this on film is intriguing, Jay tells thatit is a haunting experience. You can close your eyesand ride for minutes and when you open them,nothing changes. There is still an eery whitenessaround you. This and hundreds of more bizarre butbeautiful moments come rushing back to him as hetells us about shrinking the world into one 'ridable'place.

It was March 5, 2010, when sanDRina, Jay's Suzuki

DR650 purred out of Chicago and into San

Francisco, entering the first border into Mexico.

That is when it really hit him. He had gotten rid of allhis belongings at Chicago, a cushy job, a possible

Green Card and was riding back to India from the

US, covering as many nations as he could. Of

course, this wasn't just a flippant whim that he was

catering to. This was a well thought out dream; the

one backed with plenty of research on living on the

road, whetting cooking skills (especially the

quintessential Indian chicken curry) and the tricks of

how to stretch the dollar in a day. The idea was to

ignore the treaded routes and go through the

places that were relatively untraversed. For a richer

cultural exchange, the best way would be to stay

with local families through couch surfing in

exchange for the 'home-made' chicken curry dished

out with a tinge of Indian spices and his mum's

recipe.

Jay planned the trip largely in Southern Hemisphere

(South America and Africa), touching Colombia,

Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina and the massive

Patagonia that all of us have read about. He recalls

the time in Egypt, when he was the only tourist in

the Pyramids, a rare experience. This was just

months after the revolution and he had reached the

country after riding through Hamburg and being

denied entry into Morocco. After Egypt, it was

the White Saharan Desert that lured Jay- he

reminisces on how camping by himself in the

middle of nowhere was one of the mostoutrageous yet sublime experiences. The

landscape is ludicrously beautiful, the kind that

makes you feel humble and one with nature.

Jay's staid and calm demeanor lights up when

he talks about the 900 km off-road route from

Southern Ethiopia into Kenya along Lake

Turkana. This was after staying in Sudan in a

fishermen's colony for five days, feeling the

safest that he had in many other seemingly

invulnerable countries. After Kenya, Jay swerved

around East Africa into Mozambique and then

Zambia, where he grew up. After a nostalgic

stop, it was the desert of Namibia and then the

final flight into India, while sanDRina was

shipped in. On a personal front, this grand

homecoming and the months that preceded it,

was also a time to reflect on what it would mean

to be back in India after he had stayed out since

he was two years old.

He stresses that big rides are mostly not the

result of one earth shattering epiphany: these

are dreams nursed for long, reasons and life

circumstances that come together to make ithappen. Jay has mustered more than 100000

kms in his journey across the borders over three

years and is now planning to get on an Enfield, a

favourite in India, and possibly shrink the

peninsula. Amongst many, the most important

lesson he left us with is Know how to make

your chicken curry well and you will be able to

exchange it for a comfy bed, possibly extra fuel

and resilient friendships for years to come.

To know more about Jay's trip, please visit

www.jamminglobal.com

jaykannaiyan

For a richer cultural exchange, the best way would be tostay with local families through couch surfing in exchangefor the 'home-made' chicken curry dished out with a tingeof Indian spices and his mum's recipe.

how a

CHICKENCURRY SHRINKS THE WORLD



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30/42

TRAILING CHEwith Avinash Thadani

The news that he is riding allthe way from Mumbai on hisKTM 640 has already made

an impression in the mindsof the MTM participants.

The eagerness to hear his story is palpable. Andthen heaves in the massive bright orange KTM640; muddy from the ride, with more than afoot of clearance and a legacy of a great trip.On it, is Avinash Thadani lean, bearded,restless, constantly bobbing and swaying andalways ready with a humorous retort. His

disarming and friendly demeanor is almostinfectious. It's the post lunch session of Day 1 at

MTM and we are ready to get transported backto 1967! The year when Argentinerevolutionary, Che Guevara, was executed.

When one harbours a dream for ten years, its

realization is stronger, more satisfying and sinks in

with more impact. That's what happened withAvinash. Inspired by the movie, Motorcycle Diaries,

which is based on the1952 expedition done by Che

Guevara and Alberto Granado on a Norton 500,

Avinash had decided to do the same trail one day

and reaffirmed the intent with a map of the same in

his room, for a decade. It swathed many walls of

rooms through his graduation years and then when

he was working in the US; bits of plaster sticking to its

back testify this till date. The map served as a

constant reminder of the dream.

Of course, Che's ride through South America took

him through the most desolate places of the region

and transformed his views on justice, political

anarchy and socialism. For Avinash, it chalked out the

way to have a deeper understanding of himself and

explore the alluring world of Che. He was headed for

the end of the World, the tip of South America in

Tierra Del Fuego Ushuaia Patagonia Argentina;

15,000 kms through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru,

Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Brazil over four months.

Equipped with a smattering of Spanish and plenty of

fortitude (which admittedly weakened sometimes),

Avinash started in Bogota with expected excitement.

An early crash on Day 2 which ended being trappedunder the heavy bike for what seemed like hours,

ducking from bullets fired by the AK 47s of the

FARC, riding through the thick wild jungles of

Colombia and the thrill of not knowing where he

might be sleeping that night set the tone of the trip.

He rode on the daunting terrain of the Andes, slept in

local homes, camped under the stars and stocked up

on a lifetime of moments to remember on this trip.

The most memorable of them was the ride on The

Routa Del Sol or Route of the Sun. This is the road

that skirts the blue waters of the Pacific winding

southwards along the edge of the country. Also, thewooden raft ride across the Amazon, done by Che

and Granada, was one that Avinash wanted to

replicate. Trying to have the closest possible

experience, he hopped onto the most local boat

available to cross the mighty Amazon. It was called

'Henry V'. Of course, the boat was far from the royal

grandeur of its namesake.

Though nauseatingly cramped with rows of clothhammocks, chickens, muddy coloured water, whichhe survived for five days, it gave him a story that hecan talk about for ages. The only consolation; Che

would have possibly suffered the same hardships onhis 'Mambo Tango' raft or possibly much more. On



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the same trail, the air thinning altitude of MachuPicchu peak in Peru is not what made himlightheaded and dreamy it's the sheer wonder ofencountering one of the greatest architectural findsof the 20th century, that left Avinash mesmerized.

Of all the countries, it was Bolivia that had Avinash

hooked. The poorest of all South American nations -

intriguing, mysterious and reeking of absolute raw

beauty. It was here that the trip actually felt like a

pilgrimage. After a debilitating time of dealing with

his lost passport, money and all other belongings, itwas just one thing that made the whole trip worth it

the village of La Higuers. Packed in a cab with two

large Bolivian men on a constant dose of coca leaves,

he rumbled past dark Bolivian jungles into the

unassuming village, with hardly any inhabitants. A

small museum has been built on the same place

where Che Guevara was executed. A silent emotional

admiration swept over Avinash and he was finally

able to soak the whole journey in a mix of relief and

> TRAILING CHEavinash thadani

awe flowed down his cheeks in the form of tears.

He also made his way to Che's grave in Villa

Grande and then finally to the town of Alta

Garcia, where Che was born as Ernesto. It's

unique encounters like this one that make

traveling worth it: Avinash was lucky to meet an

old man who knew Che Guevara as a kid.

Naturally, coming from a contemporary of the

man himself, the stories that he related about

Che in his childhood were goose bumps worthy.

The final leg of trailing Che ended at the tip ofSouth America, in Tierra Del Fuego Ushuaia

Patagonia Argentina. After four months of an

exhaustive and exhausting trip, Avinash's love

for riding was only fueled by the success of these

15000 kms in a land of wonder and history. He is

back in India and is working on his next dream:

after this, nothing seems too hard.

To know more about Avinash's trip, please visit

www.facebook.com/straightandleft



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Sangeetha Jairam

WOMAN RIDERRiding through India is not without itschallenges. People are overcome by curiosity todiscover a woman riding alone. On rides hometo Coorg alone, I have been asked strangequestions like This bike runs on diesel? when Iam on the BMW f650!). While riding in Ladakh, Ihave been asked by foreigners You are anIndian? Really? But in spite of being a womanrider, I have not had any negative experience onthe highway. People by and large are always

helpful, more often too shocked to react whenthey see a woman on a motorcycle. Peoplesreactions are based on our attitude. Help andkindness sometimes comes from the strangestquarters. And the charm of a motorcycle neverfails to enamor.

My first big adventure was my ride to Bhutanwith Sherry, Monisha and Abhijit. Our adventurebegan in Siliguri, West Bengal. We rode intoBhutan through Phuntshoeling and exited intoAssam at Samdrup Jhonkar. I was on a BajajPulsar 180. Since it was my first big ride, theexperience was simply unforgettable. Bhutanwas unique, and there were many firsts for us all there were no ATMs in Bhutan and no creditcards accepted in those days. So all the moneywe had to carry in cash, and that too, only insmaller denominations, as that was what wasaccepted. We learnt the hard way about theimportance of having puncture kits handy.Towns are huge distances apart and gettinghelp was tricky! But, as I always say, bikers areblessed at every step there was help at hand.

For instance, on our last day, before our permitsexpired, we were faced with a massive rock fall.

The GREF, after hours of work to clear the rock,all but managed to get a crack across. Once itgot dark, and the workers decided to call it a

Growing up on a coffee plantationwas indeed a blessing andsomething I look back at withgratitude. My dad was a farmer byprofession, but a biker, wandererand traveller at heart. He was myhero. My inspiration. Not onlybecause he was my dad but also

because of the way he lived his life.After completing his studies in theUS and returning home, he wasbackpacking through Europe,when he decided to buy a bike andride back to India. This was 1965.He bought a BMW R/25 (singlecylinder, shaft driven) and set outfor his journey. Listening to hisstories as a little girl and beingaround a motorcycle was normal

family time.When I finished high school and was home for theholidays, dad taught me how to ride. It was on histreasured BMW that I learnt the nitty-gritties. Bothmy brother and I enjoyed riding motorcycles, andbeing the youngest in the long line of cousins, wealways had motorcycles to steal from older cousinsand ride around Coorg. Being a woman on amotorcycle has its fair share of stares and glares.There were people who encouraged me and therewere those who told me you are a lady,motorcycles are for boys. It can be a little daunting

as there is no dearth of mindless intimidation ascompared to the occasional encouragement. Onelearns to adapt, be cautious and have fun!



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through the mountain passes! But if one hasridden in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh, it isreally no surprise. While on the road abroad,one gets to meet travellers from all over theworld, doing what lots of us wish we could do ride a motorcycle to see the world.

So to all women riders, grab your helmets andride out. There is the world out there that isgetting smaller every day. With every ride welearn how to travel lighter, teaching us less ismore. And of course it does help to have somebasic knowledge of motorcycles and itsmaintenance.

As Mark Twain said - "Twenty years from nowyou will be more disappointed by the thingsthat you didn't do than by the ones you did do.So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from thesafe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.Explore. Dream. Discover.

day, we realized we were stuck! But, the lorry driversand cleaners, seeing us (the only people on bikes),decided visitors must not be inconvenienced andextended their hospitality by carrying ourmotorcycles over the rock! And we were on our wayhome.

Riding abroad does feel different, as people thereare probably more accustomed to women ridingmotorcycles. I have done some rides in Cambodia,Sri Lanka and Central Asia. Though being an Indianwoman does bring on surprise on their faces.

Another memorable ride I did was riding 4000+kilometers through the Pamir Highway. This waspart of the old Silk Route in Central Asia. The ridebegan in Almaty, Kazakhstan. We went throughKyrgyzstan and Tajikistan all the way down to theAfghanistan border. It was fascinating to be in partsof the world that was so deeply connected withIndia historically and yet so distant. The experiencewas totally exhilarating. I was riding a Suzuki 650. Ithelped being on a bigger motorcycle as distancescovered were large and there were places so remotethat sometimes I felt I was the only person on earth!Like all mountainous terrains, there were no roads

> WOMAN RIDERsangeetha jairam



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RIDING WITHTHE VETERAN

Navroze Contractor

From cleaning his brother's BSA Goldstar in 1956,Navroze straight away graduated to riding pillionwith him for 1000 kms from Ahmedabad to theAjanta Ellora caves. Little did his brother knowthat the young Navroze would take off for a spin

with the bike one morning. And little did Navrozeknow that he would come back to a very surprised(but proud) older brother, with the fact that heactually managed to ride. Years of sneaking upand riding out the bike had proved to be worth thetrouble!

Of all his intriguing stories, the one that he did

from Ahmedabad to London has to be the most

fascinating. It was 1977 and the journey was made

to restore his BSA Goldstar by the only expert in

the world, Eddie Dow, who happened to be in

England. Borders were more porous in those days

and getting a visa to cross Pakistan, which was thebiggest problem and had to be crossed in 24

hours, was fairly easy. Getting past the rest of the

countries was a breeze. Afghanistan was far from

ominous, except for the roads. Finally in Tehran,

when the roads turned smooth is when the

journey picked speed. But something else was

lurking as one of the most memorable encounters

on the journey. The one in which Navroze had to

negotiate with an Irani overlord for his wife, in lieu

for a white stallion that was offered to him.

Through freezing cold lands, being accomplices to

hunting parties and through unimaginable

He took us to an erawhen pudding bowlhelmets were in rageand petrol for Rs 1.25per liter!

The oldest rider in the coterie-the onewith maximum stories, funniestanecdotes and the best advice for theyoungsters! The MTM quorum would

have been incomplete withouttraversing into the sixties with NavrozeContractor! He had us at ....riding forthe last 57 years and there was silencein the entire room - only ruptured byuproarious laughter on the punch lines.

topographies, the adventure lasted for 23 days

and $1000. Despite the bizarre challenges, the

ride was absolutely worth it. In England, Navroze

was also given the 'Ride It, Don't Hide It' award for

riding a classic vintage bike, which are usually

kept under the wraps by owners.

Another big ride that Navroze did, was the Bharat

Parikrama; a ride to circumnavigate the periphery

of India. It was 18000 plus kilometers with two

others, never more than 50km away from any

border along the edge of India. Between the three

riders, there were only nine falls in the entire

stretch. Not having fallen once in the entire ride,

Navroze crashed just 50km before Bangalore but

still made a bloody appearance at the press

conference. For someone with such enthusiasm

and fortitude, it was hard to stay away.

A keen solo traveller, Navroze still takes off with

riding clubs of various countries, when he is out

shooting documentaries. Comparing riding in

those days and now he touched upon expense,

the need for latest gear, viability of travelling

across borders and the fact how riding in groups

of hundreds can be dangerous and weighty on

the landscape. Pitching tents by the road is almost

impossible in the country! Leaving us inspired

with a bit from his Bharat Parikrama video, we

were sure that he was the biggest 'iron butt' of the

meet.



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Kedar realize one doesn't need 27 years to

follow a dream! It's not the formal education

and the rigmarole of school, college, jobs is

what makes one achieve great things. If youwant to ride all you need is to know a little

about your bike and Hindi to travel in India.

An Ujjain based Baba, a cyclist touring the

world and many more he met on the road put

things in perspective for Kedar. To follow

your passion, you just need to take the first

step.

Why Bike? For Kedar, it gives him the

flexibility, the thrill of traveling to untraversed

places and meeting new people. When this

journal comes out, he will already be on a

Europe tour on his Thunderbird! This toodidn't come easily it almost cost him his job

but he was ready to take the risk. He went to

the topmost person of his company to

explain why he needed a long leave of 4

months and the mania behind riding across

to Europe. Kedar already had his resignation

letter ready in anticipation of the leave not

being granted. It was a short interaction with

his Dy. Managing Director, not enough to

explain the gravity and importance of this

trip. He was dismissed from the office

without assurance.

As you read this, Kedar will be riding around

Europe, with a 4 month paid leave and

financial aid of Rs 2 Lakhs from his office.

Kedar is currently on hisEurope tour ridingacrossTehran - Turkey - Bulgaria -Romania - Hungary - Austria -Czech Republic - Germany -Hannover - France - Spain -

Italy - Greece - Turkey -Tehran.

He is travelling on his Indian-made Royal Enfield 350ccThunderbird. The tour startedin September 2013 and is

slated to finish by February2014.

Kedar will share his journey atMTM 2014.

More details of MTM 2014 on page38.

When Kedar was 14, his father

bought a Bajaj Kawasaki 4S.

As a kid, he was allowed to clean it, start it, run it for 2

mins, but not take it out ever! He was relegated to an

old cycle, which was his trusted mode of transportation

until engineering. Finally, during engineering is when he

slowly graduated from his cycle to a motorcycle, that

too not his own. Sometimes on friends' bikes, but never

really rode out anywhere out of the city. He became an

avid trekker after he got his first job and spent all

holidays traveling still not on a bike.

Finally, the day came when his father approved of him

buying a bike and then there was no looking back. A

big trip was planned and he was ready to take in what

the roads had to offer. He started from Hampi, moving

along to Hubli, Pune, Indore, Gwalior, Mathura, Delhi,

Ambala, Amritsar, Pathankot, Jammu, Mansar,

Udhampur, Srinagar, Sonmarg, Kargil, Lamayuru, Leh,

Pang, Upshi, Keylong, Manali, back into Delhi, Jhansi,

Nagpur, lost his way into Panchmarhi, went ahead to

Hyderabad and then finally landed back in Hampi. A

total of 8300 km on the road!

But the thrill of the kilometers clocked isn't what Kedar

got back with him. It was something else. It was the

memory of people who he met and who touched his

heart. Their stories that contributed to changing him, is

what he values most from this mammoth ride. The

most unforgettable of the incidents is when he met

Mukesh, the boat boy. All of 14, he takes tourists across

the river but dreams of being a very good swimmer. At

the age of 12 he saw a boat collapse into the Narmada

and people dying, while everyone waited for the rescue

team. Since that day he decided to be a part of the

rescue team at the river -and that was his only dream. It

was profound encounters such as these that made

Kedarnath

WHY BIKE



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MTM Speakers @ IBW:

Eliza Massey:The coolest grandma! In October of 2012,

she started her solo round-the-world trip on a BMW

F650 GS. After riding and photographing her waythrough South America and Africa, she is currentlyriding around India.

Dan Popescu: First SOLO motorcycle traveller in theworld to ride the famous ROAD of BONES in Siberia(Winter) - the COLDEST REGION on Earth! The name ofthe Expedition was Wolf Ticket 2012.

Pankaj Trivedi: Filmmaker and traveller. He has beenliving life on the road exploring stories of personalfreedom and off late in search of half stories; ofobstacles, sacrifices and challenges in the unheard ofplaces. In the process showcasing these stories to the

world to bring about change.

Lorraine Chittock: is a photojournalist whos been onthe move since an early age, currently living in Chile withher dogs. Shes the author of photo books: Cats of Cairo,Shadows in the Sand and Los Mutts Latin AmericanDogs.

Along with the new speakers Jay Kannaiyan andBharadwaj Dayala will be presenting their stories at theBig Trip Cinema Stage

T o k n o w m o r e a b o u t t h e s p e a k e r s

www.motorcycle.travellersmeet.in

MTM@IBW Schedule

India Bike Week is one of the largestcongregations of bikes, bikers and music inIndia. The second edition (2014) of the bikeweek is hosting MTM talks and workshops. Weare setting up a large tent that will showcasesome of the 2013 talks/interviews, speakers,travellers and an easygoing atmosphere forvisitors to connect with world travellers.

Our theme at the tent is Dreams toRealisations Travel Inspiration! Engaging theMotorcycle traveller to achieve their dreams oflong distance journeys.

Schedule :

Day 1 Big Trip Cinema: 2 - 3 PM - IndiMotard

Bike Breakdown 101 by Anand Dharamraj

MTM Tent: 3:30pm to 4:30pm - Bike cleaningand protection on Tours - in association withMuc-Off (Our Care Partner).

MTM Tent: Open for one on one; How todocument your journey - a session of usingGoPro cameras and basic editing guidelines.Lead by Arvind Prabhakar

MTM Tent: 5:00 6:30pm; Panel discussion Challenges to Start- get on a long distancetrip. Panel; Ted Simon, Jay Kannaiyan, LorraineChittock, Eliza Massey and Bharadwaj Dayala

6:30pm - Panel discussion followed by MTMJournal launch

Day 2 MTM Tent 11:30 12:30 Pankaj Trivedi Filmmaker and traveller.

MTM Tent 12:30 -1:30 pm - Dan Popescu firstSOLO motor biker in the world to ride thefamous ROAD of BONES in freezing Siberia

Big Trip Cinema - 2.30 - 3.30 PM - MTM Sessionwith Eliza Massey

4.30 - 6 PM - MTM Session with Bharadwaj

Dayala7 - 8 PM - Jammin' thru the Global South withJay Kannaiyan

Filler on both days :

1. Videos of interviews Bharadwaj Dayala, jayKannaiyan and Avinash Thadani

2. Talk videos from MTM 2013 Kedar, NavrozeContractor, Prajwal, Wg CDr RSR Murthy,Ashish and Asim

3. Dream Planner one on one interaction

4. One on one interaction with speakers

5. Meet up with allies



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Connect.Share.Learn andInspire.MTM Version 2 : April 11 - 14 / 2014

Camp Shristi (60kms from Bangalore)

Image Courtesy : Jay Kannaiyan( Jammin Thru the Global South )


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MTM India is not possible without the support ofits partners and allies. The meet is a melting pointof stories, journeys, ideas and experiments; ofdreams and inspirations from the road and faraway places.

We are grateful to the support we have receivedfrom individuals who have volunteered to makethis a reality. We hope to grow MTM into aninteractive platform for motorcycling travel inIndia, with support from motorcycling

communities around the world.

MTM 2014 edition is planned for April 11/12/13/14.The three-night three-day event is an indulgingexperience with camping in a forested landscape,evening bonfires and barbecues and otherengaging programs. You will get to meet like-minded travellers to interact with and make newfriends who love motorcycle travel as much asyou. (Each participant application is carefullyevaluated to bring together a right mix of people)

Location 60kms off Bangalore CampsiteCapacity 100 participants + speakersDuration Three nights and Three days

Speaker confirmations till Jan1 ,2014:1. Petra and Anders Stridfeldt Two bikes OneWorld They are currently on a world tour.2.Dan Popescu First solo motorcycle traveller inthe world to ride the famous ROAD of BONES inSiberia.3. Navroze Contractor Five decades ofmotorcycle in India and abroad.4. Kavita Pooviah and Abhijit Rao Motorcycletravelling couple.5. Sangeeta Jairam Motorcycle traveller / Yogainstructor.6. Kedarnath Currently on Europe tour on his

Royal Enfield (thunder bird).7. Pankaj Trivedi Half Stories Film Maker /Traveller.

Workshops/discussions lead byexperienced travellers:1. Maintenance workshops for breakdowns.2. Tire changing workshop.3. Bike cleaning and maintenance on tour.4. Preparation of the motorcycle and self.5. Ride skills for the trails.6. Photography skills.7. Video documentation using GoPro.8. Blogging your journey a quick guide.

9. Better understanding to deal with Visas /Carnet / Shipping.10. Panel discussion How to achieve yourdream.

Petra and Anders Stridfeldt - "The Swedish coupleAnders and Petra started a around the world tourfrom Manchester, England, in May 2013. They lefttheir jobs as Project Manager and Photographer, soldtheir house and most of their belongings to be able

to ride around the world on two BMW F800GS. Sofar they have done 26 000 km through Europe,Russia, Mongolia, China, Laos, Cambodia andThailand. Next on the tour is Nepal and after thatthey will come to India and join the MTM meeting fora presentation in April. After India the plan is to ridethrough South America up to Alaska and then fromSouth Africa up to Europe. The trip will take abouttwo years, but it can be longer depending what turnsup."

Registrations for the meet will open on January 31stRegister here www.motorcycle.travellersmeet.in /registration

If you would like to present your journey or suggestspeakers or lead a workshop at MTM 2014 pleasesend a note with your background and brief [email protected]

S p o n s o r / A d v e r t i s e : C o n t a c [email protected] - we are looking for long-term associations that would benefit the community

For volunteering and contributing to the idea Weneed help in video documentation, graphic / webdesigners, social media experts and similar skilledvolunteers to enhance the quality of the event.Please mail [email protected]

MTM journal will have a Traveller's section in the 2ndedition and a quarterly e-newsletter if you wouldlike to contribute your motorcycle travel /information articles, route guides, pictures, yourevent info, and any other relevant contributions plsmail [email protected]

We would like to thank Roadster a Myntra originalbrand for supporting the 2013 meet.

Our website www.motorcycle.travellersmeet.inYoutube channel - http://tiny.cc/MTMutubeFacebook - www.facebook.com/motorcycletmTwitter www.twitter.com/MTMIndia

Photographer - Vaibhav Mehta.Documentation - Supriya Sehgal and Dev Sukumar.Journal Design - Ranjan (www.storythis.in)



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motorcycle travellers meet india 2013

Documents