There are many of you who have dreams of riding your bike (whatever make) to really far off places. That dream, is a great one to have, but more satisfying is the feeling of having achieved that dream. And that my friends, is not an easy task. You might have heard of people who wake up one fine day to the feeling of “i want to ride off today” and do it succesfully too.. but they are few, and lucky. The ones who make it back after a great trip with memories that will last a lifetime, are the ones who plan. I want every rider out there to go do their big trips and come back feeling accomplished and ready to take on life the way I have.. So I thought why not share my experiences with you.
That led me into writing a series of posts on how to plan and execute the perfect motorcycle road trip in India, complete with Picking Riding buddies, Route planning, bike preparation and a bit of budgeting advice.. so read on and of course.. add to it with your feedback
Chapter 1: Riding Buddies
The most important part of your trip preparation, the weightage to this factor keeps growing as the length of the trip increases. For a weekend trip, you could probably hit the road with people you have no clue about, but on a lifetime trip like, say Leh, or an all india trip, you cant afford to go wrong on the people you pick.
Why? because riding buddies are like workmates. You could be best friends with them when you are at a pub, or hanging out together, but on the road, you need people who work well with you, rather than be fun around you. It is more of a professional relationship than a friendship, that you need from your riding partners. And one of the most important facts to remember when you are setting up a touring team is that…..
 |
a motorcycle tourer, is a rider who is also a real traveller..
Let me give you some quick checks to identify the right riding partner(s) if you already dont have one
a. Enthusiasm : Watch if he/she enthusiastic about the trip as much as you are. Is he/she reading up and doing the research or expecting to follow the rest. Is he/she putting in extra effort to make sure that the bike is getting ready? is he/she organizing meetups etc. On a really long trip that will expose you to conditions that can sometimes be boring, an enthusiastic team mate is a necessity. One that will keep oneself and the others going
b. Contribution : Enthusiasm is easy to show, but effort to contribute is not. So if there is contribution from this person in the form of time, ideas etc, he/she is going to be good on the road with you. Ask your riding mates to share work. See how he/she takes up work and whether the work is being finished too. You need people who can complete tasks that are being taken up. incomplete tasks on a bike trip leads to only one thing, disaster..
c. Team spirit: When riding as a group, there should be a structure. A defenite leader, a treasurer, a mech expert etc. these roles should be defined and respected (not in the yes sir way, but ln a bunch of buddies playing a sport way..) Watch if due respect is given to the roles that one is given to play. I have noticed that people who you have executed succesful non-riding projects with, usually manage to get it right on the road too.
d. Knowledge: On lonely stretches of road, with no mechanic in sight, knowing what to do can save your ass from getting frozen/sun burnt/dehydrated etc. So see if this guy knows his way out of stuff that goes wrong. one who knows to deal with his own bike in case of trouble is a true asset to a riding team. He will not only take care of his, but also yours
e. Balls: On the road, your riding partner is the one who will watch your back, and you their. On a long ride, you will come across situations that demand quick thinking and action and there could be dangerous situations too. You will be safe with a bunch who are ready to face unexpected situations without panic or worse, plain talk and no work. Keep off the guy who talks too much about things he can do. He will choose to talk even in situations where work is
required..
 |
| From Delhi-Leh 2 |
How do I check?
Easiest way, is to organize a quick short weekend ride someplace. Sitting around a table and meeting is fun and will let you know about the other person well, but the true test of whether you want to be on road with them for long trips can only be analyzed when you go on one..
There is one fundamental check that you need to do before you do the rest, whether you like them or not.. if your gut says no, it is most likely that they will fail one of the above. Anyone with a good head on the shoulder is an asset to a riding team. Avoid the road raging, I’m the fastest type of guys like plague. They belong on the racng track and not on the tour. The tourer is of a different make altogether..
Parting word: Don’t travel with people who you cant like, you will not enjoy the ride. And having the right bunch of people around you, makes all the difference between a nice bike trip and a great bike trip!!
Ride On...
Cleaning your Royal Enfield
An exhaustive article about cleaning and maintaining your royal enfield !!
EFI Made Easy
Everything you need to know to take care of the system on your new EFI Royal Enfield in one short article.
Aweesome Read !!
Posted on 11:26:00 PM
Post a Comment