Genesis of travelling on a bicycle

Loading my thoughts….

Now looking back it is mindboggling how art can have a lasting impact on an individual. For example, Van Gogh’s Starry Night is inspired by Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

And my pursuit of travelling by bike also started from just one image.

Seedling: When I was growing up, I had the privilege of being inspired by someone truly remarkable—Bala, a super cool dude who later became my mentor. He embodied everything I admired: style, an entrepreneurial spirit, grace, and a love for adventure. I was around 14 or 15 when I came across his photos of motorbike tours on Facebook. One particular image captivated me, not sure if it was the sense of unprecedented freedom, tranquility, peace, and adventure. I was floored! From that moment on, I made a decision—I was going to tour the world on a motorbike.

(Un)Fortunate:

I held onto the dream, and would often exclaim it to my family, and friends around me. My family called me a madman for thinking something like this. Given my Kashmiri, and middle-class background, growing up in an overprotective family was imperative. My parents curated an environment that would protect me from every harm and ensured I had the best of opportunities to excel. Needless to say, they wanted me to score well. Often described as a sharp child with a lack of motivation, my parents decided to motivate me to score well in the class 12th exams by offering me a bike as a reward if I score more than 80-85%. Mind you, my parents ensured I get the best education even if it meant giving away personal comforts. I only realize it now. So yea, with the bike in mind, and a hazy dream to get admission into a good college. I worked relatively hard at the end of my 12th exams to score well. As luck or hard work would have it, I ended up scoring 94-95%, way more than anyone would have imagined. The dream of getting a motorbike, and travelling the world felt within my reach. I vividly remember selecting a custom-made LS2 helmet to match the bike's color scheme and securing the necessary loan documents. However, my parents unexpectedly changed their minds, concerned about the risks associated with biking and my adventurous nature. Despite their well-meaning intentions, it shattered my reality. The upbringing or the undying love (hehe) got in the way. My parents tried to pacify me by buying an SUV for themselves dad that I could also use. The pain of not having a bike was numbed by the airconditioned travel of the car in the scorching 45C heat of Delhi. Now looking back, I would also say it came in pretty handy on dates. 😛 Rekindling (cycling):

During my Bachelors, I met Sanket, who is now my best friend. I also call him the CORE REFLECTOR. We define Core Reflector as someone who sees the real you and empowers you to listen to yourself and make the decision. He is still doing that. Shout out to my homie Sanket. Symbolically Sanket also means direction/hint. You will briefly understand why this name makes sense.

Sanket a man of many passions also developed a passion for biking out of the blue, and decided to buy an MTB. Focus Whistler 29. Even though as a child I enjoyed biking, but I was never head over heels for biking. I guess the majority of the children in South Asia grow out of it as they turn 12-13 years old. But one day, I rode his bike. While driving the bike, I could feel the freedom that I had as a child when I used to bike. It was quite fast and nimble too! Unknowingly, it ignited the inner child in me. I believe as we turn older we are fighting the world to preserve our inner child. I am still trying to do that. So yea, using a well-made bike opened my view to a biking experience. Mind you the bike cost roughly costing 40k, double the average salary in India, so buying the bike for such an amount was unfathomable. That day I decided to get a bike for myself too. As Sanket’s kindness would have it, he decided to gift me the old bike that he no longer was using. A Huffy DS 9 or something. Suddenly, I found myself biking around my neighborhood, reveling in the freedom and joy it brought me.

Synchronicity: Symbolically, as life would have it. BB (Bala, my inspiration) was hiring for a quality analyst role at his KPO that catered to Australian clients. He approached me and explained the work, and I immediately took on the responsibility. He ensured I grew professionally, and also ignored a few blunders I committed while working. That's where I understood leading with love. I also became friends with his peers, Anuj and Shariq, who I happen to be still in touch with today. Great people. So yea, I used to get paid 10k/month. I did the following job for almost a year and saved every possible penny I could. Roughly after a year, I ended up buying my first bike for 40-45k in 2016. My family was perplexed as to why I would buy a bike so costly because you could literally afford a basic motorbike for this cost. They were still against the fact of me biking because Delhi is not at all a bike-friendly city. Anyway during the winters I used to bike roughly 35 km a side to my university in Delhi traffic because it was so much fun. Sanket also accompanied me a couple of times. Naturally, then I used to exclaim to family and friends that one day I am going to travel from Manali to Ladakh on my bicycle, if not a motorbike. Obviously, people used to call me a madman, now looking back I would say they were partly correct. It is the world’s highest road with an average elevation of 4000m.

Bridge:

Sanket and I decided to experience the Himalayas. Traveling with a person/friend is a great litmus test to know if your relationship with them would thrive. During the drive in the winding passes of the Himalayas, we experienced everything; conflicts, euphoria, disappointments, fear, anger, and comfort. Not surprisingly, our bond got stronger and deeper. (I really do love my homie). We drove around the Himalayas, experienced its conundrum; a hostile environment with welcoming and loving people. While coming back from Rohtang pass, I decided to bike down from the pass. I knew them and there, I will tour this road someday on my own bike.

We came out stronger together.

Culmination:

Finally in 2017, after completing my graduation with distinction and failing to get admission into a top business school, ISB. I decided to travel from Manali to Ladakh. Obviously, my parents did not allow me to go alone. Quite logical, as I had no prior experience of camping, serving in the wild, and also biking at such altitudes. No matter how against they were of the idea, my parents offered me to travel with a group of people. Luckily, I found an adventure company, Bikat Adventures, that arranged such tours, but they charged an exorbitant sum of 35k. For the following amount, one could easily have a weeklong vacation in Dubai or Thailand. I had also partly exhausted my savings. My parents stepped up and offered to pay for the trip so that I could live my lifelong dream. They were against it, however, they supported me throughout.

Experience:

A week before the trip I got my cycle serviced, and while I was coming back. I had a terrible fall. I was trying to corner a turn like a MotoGP biker, and I had a terrible fall. I very badly bruised my hand, arm, knee, and leg. Aah, what timing and luck right? Even though I was in excruciating pain I decided not to cancel my trip. I guess the bad luck of getting hurt before the events still persists!

This trip would have been my first solo trip. I was not even aware that I am travelling solo. Quite a feeling. I took a bus from Delhi to Manali with my bike on it. I met the other fellow bikers embarking on this expedition led by a support crew, and adventure guides. An eccentric bunch of individuals seeking something of their own in these remote mountains. Bhagwan Ji an Everest summiteer, Sudesh Bhai an Indian Airforce high-ranking officer, Aamod an IIM graduate looking for something, and Jaison based out of Canada looking for a kick. For the next few days, we gelled up as a family and conquered every pass on the way to achieving our individual Nirvana. Not sure if they found theirs, but I got a taste of mine! :)