A Motorcyclist’s Perspective

At the start of a long trip, a little nervousness along with excitement sets in my mind. I didn’t know if I would make it. I had a motorcycle, my life partner and a combined will of both of us, to explore. Seeing a country from the seat of a motorcycle gives me a perspective that cannot be achieved in any other way; I feel every up and every down on my way.Sometimes I am hindered by the wind, sometimes pushed along. Being vulnerable makes me appreciate the kindness of strangers and fellow riders.

My friends gave good wishes for the trip and I left my apartment; soon the enormity of the trip that I had undertaken sank in.

It felt incredible to be on my motorcycle after a long break. My senses prickled with all the new sights and smells of a culture so different from the place I belong. I began my journey along the silk route, which was used by early traders who carried salt and sugar on their shoulders. This route has something latent in it. Every person who takes this route has something on his shoulders, whether an army officer having the responsibility of keeping the territory safe or a rider like me having the responsibility to ride safe every moment and to offer help to every passerby in every way possible. This route sets in a sense of responsibility for the reasons known only to the travellers themselves.

I rode on an average 200 kilometers a day on a tough terrain and slept inside the roadside shelters which never allowed me to get disconnected from the outside. Other than visible thin wooden walls ,everything from outside felt similar inside as well. From windchill to low oxygen levels- everything stayed with me through out that stretch of the route. On that remote highway, I had the most encounters with other riders, with whom I had an unsaid connect ,displayed through the small thumbs up gesture while passing by. Bikers have a strange connect with each other because they all know the amount of sacrifices they had made to be at that place, in that moment.

The combination of strong winds, high altitude and rough roads creates obstacles in the travel and slows me down to make sure I pass through, watching the spectacular beauty of that region. There were times when no one crossed me for many hours and I felt like going through a no man’s land. This uninterrupted solitude is very relieving. Solitude doesn’t sets us apart from other people; quite the opposite: it unites us because we have this tremendous privilege of being able to communicate with each other through the little windows of our senses.

Some places are so remote and enchanting that they are not known to the travellers at large and have no name. I felt that not everything has to be shared on the map, and location tagged. Its good to keep things sort of a little secret.

After 3000 kilometers and 15 days on road I finally made it back home.I was glad to finish it and I knew I would be happy about it a bit later. Once I started to look back at that beautiful journey, that beautiful memory; those were the best days, the best time of my life. They have given me so much; so many friendships ,so many experiences, so many beautiful things that I have seen. It brought me to the next level in my life, because I believe life is a series of events and one thing leads to another, and for me that probably started the day I sat on my motorcycle 13 years ago.

At that time I had no roadmap to follow at all. I probably wouldn’t have developed this perception about life without this motorcycle journey. It taught me that I enjoyed living outside and more connected with nature.

I think everything is connected. If you do something scary or adventurous today, you will get creative, and tomorrow you will be inspired, you will find solutions and you move on from there.If you do nothing today, tomorrow will be exactly the same.