Rent a Bullet and head for the Himalayas

Ahmedabad: Thundering up and down the steep, winding roads of the Himalayas on a motorbike, challenging the adventurous paths and greeting Mother Nature, the wind and the snow! It's a dream come true for many.
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If a long motorcycle trip to the Himalayas is what you have been longing for, and the absence of a suitable motor cycle been stopping you, your wait is now over.

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Combining his passion for bikes and his knowledge of business management, a city-based graduate of the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L), Kaustubh Mishra, has started his own business venture of organising road trips on Bullets. Mishra is even renting Bullets (a type of Royal Enfield bikes) to participants who do not own one.
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While such motorcycle tour operators are present in cities like Delhi and in south India, Mishra's company, called 'The White Collar,' is the first and the only one of its kind in Gujarat, he says.With such road trips to the mountains limited to participation of only 350cc or 500cc Bullets, with the trips lasting for 14 days, Mishra has fixed the cost of hiring a Bullet at Rs10,000. The total cost of participation with one's own motorcycle costs between Rs35,000 to Rs80,000, depending on the type of food and accommodation chosen by the rider.

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Mishra explains, "Many people dream of taking a motorcycle on a road trip to places like the Himalayas. But a lot of them do not own one with a suitable engine. By renting the Bullets to them, I am bridging the gap." He said, "Now, they do not have to buy a motorcycle for just an annual trip and park it at home for the rest of the year."

These group road trips are accompanied by physicians, tour guides, and skilled mechanics, who specialise in repairing Bullets.

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Narrating how he started his venture, the IIM-L graduate who left his cushy job with a package of Rs14 lakh to pursue his passion said, "I have always been in love with motorcycles and was known for it during my days in IIM-L. Later on, while conducting a corporate training assignment, I started wondering if I could combine management and motorcycles." 

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The company, which started its first motorcycle tours in the summer of 2009, is once again gearing up for trips to Ladakh this year. Speaking about the previous excursions, Mishra said, "We made three trips to Ladakh last year and all were a success."

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Talking about the types of participants that he gets, Mishra said, "While people of all ages participate in these trips, foreign tourists too join in, as well as riders from Delhi and Mumbai in good numbers." 

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While there were five participants from Gujarat last year, Mishra is looking forward to include at least three times the number this year. "I will be organizing a road trip to destinations in Gujarat which will have at least 15 participants from the state," he says.