Disclaimer: I have tried to recreate the events, locales, and conversations from my memories of them. The below-expressed views, opinions or analogies are personal and may not be in line with the widespread conceptions.
Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth – Mike Tyson
I had a dream to ride across India for a year. But as they say, a dream is just a dream until you convert it to a goal. And we all need a plan in order to achieve that goal, however bad the plan is! My plan was simple – 1. Get a motorcycle; 2. Ride 😀
I know, that’s not even a plan (You can’t blame me; I was just a college kid). But at that point, that was my plan. I had to get a motorcycle first and for that, I needed money (and who has got the money in college, I am not talking about Bill Gates’ sons here). So the plan just went in a hibernate mode. I never discussed it with anyone. Then I got a job, it was not a lucrative one but enough for 3 meals a day. And I am not one of those guys who keep track of every penny I spend. But I worked hard and saved enough to book the motorcycle. I still remember that day; it was 25th December 2013. I got my motorcycle after a waiting period of 6 months. And that was it, I had accomplished – Step 1 – I had a Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 350 between my legs.
If you go by my plan, half of my job was done and the second half was just to Ride. Sounds cool and simple huh, just like buying a packet of bread from the baker! Was it that simple, hell no. I was literally broke after buying my Bullet; I had no money what so ever to survive for a year long ride. And no one is gonna provide me leave for a year, that means I had to quit my job. I did what every guy who is broke does – switch on the realistic mode. I decided to look deeper into the second half of my horrifying plan and I realized that I can’t afford to lose my job (my parents would book me into a mental asylum if I do that). So I had to cut short the duration from a year to a month. And where I was working, if I had asked for a week’s leave to my manager he would look at me as if I had asked for his kidney. The only way to get a month’s leave was to find a company where I could work out my plan. I struggled for few months and I finally found a job in a suitable company where my plan was pragmatic. I started planning for the leaves as soon as I completed my probation in my new company; I also dropped a word to my boss regarding my dream. He was all thrilled too until I spoke about the leave plan. Anyway, I convinced him to initiate the discussion on the leaves with our US counterparts.
In the interim, I told my roommate about my plan and being a rider himself, he was all fascinated and we decided to team up for the ride. We created a group in Whatsapp where we started adding fellow riders who we thought might be interested in joining us for our grand expedition. I planned the budget and organized the itinerary for our ride. (It was not as horrifying as my previous plan, you can check out the itinerary and the checklist at the end of this post). It had enough details for us to put things together.
Everyone was pumped up and excited at first. As the days pass by, people started backing out one after the other. Meanwhile, after few discussions with my boss, my leaves were finally approved. At one point, I thought I would be riding solo. But a week after, my roommate’s leaves were approved too. So that confirmed that I won’t be the only one on the ride.
We were a few weeks away from our dream trip. And we had to prepare a checklist so that we don’t miss on essential things (apart from the motorcycle and the riding gear). There were quite a few things on my mind, I wanted time to prep up the man and the machine for the job, but time was the only thing I was lacking.
I serviced my Bullet 2 days before we started our ride (yeah, I know, my plan was a mess. I wanted to do it a couple of weeks before but you know things never go according to the plan).
And the day had finally arrived. There was some issue with my motorcycle’s chain link lock too, which I resolved, first thing in the morning on Day Zero (Friday, July 29th, 2016). Since we had a plan to camp at few places, I got a tent from one my friends. As I was leaving office, my buddies at work came to wish me luck (I don’t know why they were acting as if it was my last day on earth).
I reached home by evening. I dragged out everything which belonged to me, pulled out the checklist and started packing. I was done by 12:30 AM. There were just a couple of hours to go. My friend asked if I was actually ready to ride for the next 30 days, and I said “Only mentally” – and mind is the only thing that matters.
When I was all set, I lied on my bed and my gut whispered –IT’S HAPPENING.
To be continued – Day 1: The Bandh (Click here)
P.S. I wanted to write this on the same day of the events, but me being me, it never happened. But it’s always better to be late than never 😀
You can also find below the itinerary and the checklist which I prepared, it might be helpful, you never know
Itinerary:
S.No | Date | Day | KM | Time | Route | Places to visit |
1 | 30-Jul | Sat | 560 | 9:14 | Bangalore – Goa | |
2 | 31-Jul | Sun | 449 | 9:15 | Goa – Malvan – Ratnagiri – Mahabaleshwar | |
3 | 1-Aug | Mon | 325 | 7:32 | Mahabaleshwar – Pune – Khandala – Matheran – Bombay | Pune – lavasa Bombay – gateway of india; marine drive |
4 | 2-Aug | Tue | 418 | 6:45 | Bombay -Surat – Vadodara | Bombay – haji ali dargah; bandra worli sea link; Vadodara – Sursagar Lake (optional) |
5 | 3-Aug | Wed | 514 | 7:52 | Vadodara – Kutch (Camping) | Vadodara – Lakshmi Vilas Palace; Kutch – Rann of Kutch |
6 | 4-Aug | Thu | 502 | 8:09 | Kutch – Mount Abu | Guru Shikar |
7 | 5-Aug | Fri | 350 | 6:15 | Mount Abu – Udaipur – Haldighati – Pali – Jodhpur | Udaipur – Lake Pichola, Kumbhalgarh fort |
8 | 6-Aug | Sat | Jodhpur (Servicing) | Jodhpur – Mehrangarh Fort | ||
9 | 7-Aug | Sun | 286 | 4:30 | Jodhpur – Jaisalmer (Camping) | Jaisalmer – Sam sand dune |
10 | 8-Aug | Mon | 478 | 7:45 | Jaisalmer – Suratgarh | |
11 | 9-Aug | Tue | 348 | 6:18 | Suratgarh – Amritsar | Punjab – Wagah, Golden Temple |
12 | 10-Aug | Wed | 203 | 4:10 | Amritsar – Dalhousie | Dalhousie – Shivkul |
13 | 11-Aug | Thu | 305 | 9:00 | Dalhousie – Killar – Kishtwar | Killar – Kishtwar |
14 | 12-Aug | Fri | 209 | 3:35 | Kishtwar – Srinagar (Bike Tuning) | Srinagar – Dal Lake |
15 | 13-Aug | Sat | 8:00 | Srinagar – Sonamarg – Zozi La – Drass – Kargil | Drass – War Memorial, Drass Valley Kargil – Drang Drung Glacier |
|
16 | 14-Aug | Sun | 8:00 | Kargil – Lamayuru – Leh | Cover Mulbekh Maitrey, Lamayuru Moanstery, Lunar Landscapes Gurudwara Pather Sahib, Magnetic Hills, Confluence at Nimmu |
|
17 | 15-Aug | Mon | 6:00 | Leh – Khardung La – Diskit – Hunder | Hunder (Camp) – Lahaul Valley Nubra Valley Khardung La Diskit has monasteries with tallest lord Buddha statue and Hunder has sand dunes and bacterian camel safari |
|
18 | 16-Aug | Tue | 8:00 | Hunder / Diskit – Sumur – Panamik – Sumur – Khardung La – Leh | Sumur – famous monastery to check out Panamik – hot water springs |
|
19 | 17-Aug | Wed | 6:00 | Leh – Hemis Monastery – Pangong Tso Lake | Thicksey Pangong Tso (Spangmik or Lukung) |
|
20 | 18-Aug | Thu | 6:00 | Pangong Tso Lake – Thicksey Monastery – Shey Palace – Leh | Hemis Shey |
|
21 | 19-Aug | Fri | Leh | Leh – Shanti stupa, Leh Palace, Moon Land | ||
22 | 20-Aug | Sat | 8:00 | Leh – Tso Moriri via Chumathang | Karzok Monastery | |
23 | 21-Aug | Sun | 11:00 | Tso Moriri – Tso Kar – Debring (Manali – Leh Highway starts) – Moore Plains – Pang – Sarchu | ||
24 | 22-Aug | Mon | 11:00 | Sarchu – Baralacha La – Keylong – Rohtang Pass – Manali | Suraj Tal, Deepak Tal | |
25 | 23-Aug | Tue | 538 | 10:40 | Manali – Delhi | Solang Valley |
26 | 24-Aug | Wed | Delhi (Servicing) | Delhi – India Gate, Red fort, Qutb Minar, Lotus temple, Chandni Chowk | ||
27 | 25-Aug | Thu | 464 | 7:44 | Delhi – Jhansi | |
28 | 26-Aug | Fri | 594 | 8:11 | Jhansi – Nagpur | |
29 | 27-Aug | Sat | 501 | 7:25 | Nagpur – Hyderabad | |
30 | 28-Aug | Sun | 575 | 7:53 | Hyderabad – Bangalore |
Checklist:
Essentials:
- Spare Keys
- All Documents – Driving License, Registration Certificate, Photo ID (Passport), Insurance, Emission test
- Bungee cords, Jerry can, Plastic Bags (to safeguard your belongings from rain)
- Toolkit – Hammer, Spanner (Size: 10 and 25), Adjustable Spanner, Screwdriver, Scissors, Plier, Tire Lever 2 Nos, Foot pump, Valve-pin-driver
- Spare parts – Spark plug, Clutch Cable, Accelerator Cable, Tire tubes
Tip: Leave a secondary clutch cable for your convenience
Travel Kit:
- Itinerary Printout (at least 2)
- Download Offline Map / Map Print Out (at least 2)
- Liquid Cash
- At least two Copies of Photo IDs for all members
- Mobile and power bank
- Mobile Charger
- Earphones
- Pen and a small Diary
- Bag locks
- Torch
- Small Scissor or Swiss Knife
- Watch
- Sunglasses
- Multi-Plug ports
- Water bottle
- Cigarette Lighter
- Plastic Bags
Cloths:
- Clothes as per the schedule
- Lower – Denim + lower thermal + track pant + rain suit pant
- Upper – T-shirts + upper thermal + rain suit top
- Scarf/muffler for protecting your throat and neck
- Flip-flop
- Crocks
- Hands – Woolen gloves + leather riding gloves
- Feet – Normal socks + Woolen socks + shoes
Eateries:
- Bread
- Biscuits or Chocolate
Toiletries:
- Tooth Brush
- Tooth Paste
- Soap / Sanitizer
- Towel
- Handkerchiefs
- Tissue Papers
- Face wash
- Moisturizing / Cold Cream
- Sunscreen SPF 45 or higher
- Lip Balm
First Aid:
- Glucose / ORS
- AMS tablet – Diamox – Acute Mountain Sickness
- Pain Relief Spray
- Betadine – Antiseptic cream
- Combiflaim or Flexon – Pain Killers
- Crocin or Paracetamol –Fever
- Avomine –Dizziness, Motion Sickness, and Vomiting
- Digene – Indigestion
- Entroquinol – Diarrhea
- D-Cold Total / Vicks Action 500 – Cold
- Cotton and Dressing Bandage
- Eye Tone for soothing eyes
- Nasivion for blocked and dry nose
- Ongoing Regular Medicines, if any
This literally sounds like Ernestro Che Guevera’s ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ 😀
I’ll be coming back to check out the rest of the series but I have a question in the meantime, did you name your bike? Che Guevera’s was La Poderosa, if I am not wrong!
Keep exploring! Cheers
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Haha, I have just plagiarist the name 😀 and it may not be as great as “The Motorcycle Diaries” but I am sure its quite interesting (This is where I gloat)
And ofcourse I have named my bull and you gotta find out yourself but I will give you a hint! 😉
https://thejaidev.wordpress.com/2016/09/06/the-ride/
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On it! 😀
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Helloooooooo JD
It was splendid.What an organisation of the plan,you nailed it!!!
May I wish you happy journey for forth coming trips
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Thanks a lot, Shanthi 😊
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☺☺☺
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Hey, JD!
Nice to read your articles again! Witty as usual…had me chuckling at every paragraph!
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Thanks a lot, Ananya 🙂
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You’re most welcome!!😃
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How was your college fest?
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Which one of ’em…?😅
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There was some fest in Christ a couple of weeks back right!
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Yea… There were many, actually. I can find our and let you know, if you want. 😃
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Haha 🙏 cool
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😂😂😂
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It could also be one of the three campuses…😅😅
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Oh! My bad 😂 I had no idea
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😁
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Love love love this trip!
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Thanks a lot 🙂
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This is simply awesome and borderline crazy too. I am an aspiring rider. Just bought by electra 350. Btw.. What is the rear tyre you’re using? I’m planning to go for an alteration. Mrf 110 90 19. The bike comes with lean 3.15 19 tyres.
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Thanks a lot, brother. I am using 3.50 x 19 Ceat. It’s working out well for me.
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Cool. I’m oscillating between 3.5 19 and mrf 110 90 19. I hope no major changes are done when you’re going for a 3.5 19.
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No changes at all. It’s plug and play 😀
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An escapade, a life time memory !
Your post has built in me a thrill to do something of this sort someday. Hats off JD ! Man, I am proud of you.
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Thanks a lot, brother 😀
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Bro… Awesome…
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Thanks brother 🙂
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Impressive…… great going. I always admire people who have the courage to follow their passion against all odds👍
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Thank you, Radhika 🙂
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Welcome JD!
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Oh how I LOVE this post …today of all days …I have just been thinking of my own god damn stalled plan …and no am not telling what it is …it might not come off …or I might jinx it or something:D:D:D …but your post has made me think not to write it off altogether …at least as something to aim for ….cheers JD an impressive itinery ..30 posts in 30 days too?
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Thanks a lot, Fijay 😀 And yeah, I am planning to write 30 posts in the next 30 days
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That is an ambitious itinerary! Quite an interesting first phase. Waiting to read more 🙂
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Yeah 😀 30 posts in 30 days, that’s my plan 😛
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Here is my plan (and adventure????)
https://whoopiebrain.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/moose-trails-and-polar-rails/
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damn! that was some adventure 😀
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Yes, and my kids will never let me forget it.
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🙂
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