Thrown Into the Deep-End - Part 3

I woke up naturally around 6 am to the sounds of animals and the nearby river. Through my tent, I could sense movement and grazing. After an arduous first day of riding, I slept well and woke up feeling rested. Opening the tent revealed a breathtaking view of the valley where we were camped. Although we heard the river the night before, we couldn’t see it in the darkness. It was literally within a stone’s throw (more like a casual toss) of our tents. The grass on the valley floor was a healthy, bright green surrounded by beautiful rolling hills bathed in soft, flowing clouds. The scene was out of a postcard in every direction. The camp itself had a few small wooden structures built in harmony with nature. All your standard farm animals were there free to roam and graze happily in this paradise.

Of our group, I was the first to wake. I walked over to the river and rinsed my face with the refreshingly cold water. In the outhouse bathroom, there was a poster with a familiar saying. “Fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.” At this moment, everything felt right. I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I have always questioned societal norms and traditions, but not for the sake of lashing out or a forced rebelliousness. Just because things have been done a certain way for years and generations, it doesn’t mean we don’t stop and think about how it came to be that way and whether it is the best way forward. The lure of comfort, convenience and comparison to others has led to the modern disease of our “developed world” – consumerism. For the last few years, I have started actively practicing a form of minimalism. After a few iterations of shedding things that I don’t actually need or actively use, I have felt a mental weight being lifted every time.

The others started to stir and slowly emerge from their tents. Soon, we were all served delicious breakfast. Although we all wanted to stay longer in the valley, our hosts reminded us that we still had quite a journey to get to our destination, and that we would stop here again on our return. So we geared up and headed out of the valley. The conditions had improved. Just having the ability to see where we were going, and enjoy the surrounding beauty, was a big morale boost. There were still muddy patches, but less than the night before and avoidable this time around. The first half of the day’s riding was a mix of on and off-road riding in good weather. However, the second half of the day was a different story.

Although the overall distance was less than the first day, the roads were getting windier and the terrain was getting rougher. With everyone having varying degrees of riding experience, we were riding in a recommended order. We all navigated the terrain slightly differently. The rider ahead of me had a passenger as well. I kept catching up in the wrong spots. Of course, instead of getting frustrated, I should have just backed off and given them more room. It was the worst in slushy mud sections because you needed to keep up your momentum, or the front tire would just slide and fold. We came up on a bend where there was also a crest. Coming over the crest, we saw that a truck was approaching from the other side. Each of us chose different lines through. I lost momentum and balance avoiding other riders and trying not to lose the front. Unfortunately, I had chosen an inside line that had a ditch to the left. The bike started to tip to the left and I had no footing. At this point, instinct kicked in and I knew I had to bail. I jumped off and away from the bike over the ditch and landed like a frog on the mud bank. Thankfully, the bike didn’t land on me and fell in the muddy ditch, so there was no damage done to it. The only thing hurt or broken was my pride. Naturally, the incident brought my confidence down a notch for some time.

We carried on and made a stop in a little while. As we were approaching a major mountain pass, our hosts informed us that the weather through the pass was highly unpredictable and rain was possible. The others started putting on rain gear. So far on the ride, we had not been through any significant rain. Between that one historical data point and me being lazy, I chose not to put on rain gear. I mean, I would have had to dig it out from the bottom portion of my bag, which itself was buried under other luggage in the support Gypsy. Well, that turned out to be a stupid mistake. Within minutes, it was raining and as we approached the pass, it was getting colder. Pretty soon, it got to the point where I was thinking about my phone, passport, papers, and money getting wet. Then, my feet and hands started getting wet. And then somehow (in)conveniently, it felt like a small crater had formed between the seat and my pants, so I basically just had my family jewels sitting in a small puddle of cold water. Perfect. I just resorted to the fact that this would just be one of those moments that I had to grit my way through. Still, some part of me was glad this had happened, because it was a good lesson on what not to do in the future.

With connections all through the area, our hosts made a stop at a small house that had a coal stove in the middle of the living room. We all huddled around to thaw out a bit and I tried to dry some of my things. We were served some quick noodles and butter tea. This tea was made with real yak butter! It tasted good and hit the spot. As we sat there trying to unfreeze, we were reminded that it wasn’t even winter yet. One of our hosts told us a story about when he and a buddy decided to ride up here in winter with snow on the ground. They were completely unprepared for the conditions and the lady at this very house had essentially saved their lives by bringing them in to warm up around the stove and drink yak butter tea. We waited a bit for the rain to ease up, but with the light fading, we were once again ushered to get moving. Since I was already wet, I skipped the rain pants, but opted for a rain jacket to help with warmth.

We finally reached our destination, the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama. The wonderful hotel staff took our wet clothes to be dried and we were provided with heaters to thaw out once more. Although this story is titled “Thrown Into the Deep End” to illustrate learning through adversity, I want to assure you the hospitality provide by the tour hosts and staff was incredibly warm and they genuinely cared that we were having a good time. I enjoyed every second of it. After experiencing so much in just two days of riding, we all felt such a sense of accomplishment. As amazing as it was exploring the destination over the next few days, the journey there was unforgettable. No doubt everyone there was on their own unique journey, but I’m happy to have made friends halfway around the world who shared the experience. I certainly found my off-the-beaten path motorcycle adventure and can’t wait to do it every year! Join me on the next one.

LETS GO MOTO!

Thrown Into the Deep-End - Part 2

The aim was to leave by 7am. All of us were ready and geared up on time, which was quite an achievement personally as I’m sure it was for some others. Not surprising though, when it is something you are excited about and have been looking forward to doing. The same thing would happen when I had to wake up early on race days, to be ready for technical inspection and the first practice of the day. I wanted to take advantage of every waking moment. I find it fascinating that we usually attach the outcomes of an event, a situation or a day to outside influences. In fact, the majority of our thoughts, actions and behavioral responses on a daily, weekly or longer basis are primarily guided by our state of mind.

Our first day of actual riding was also the longest in terms of distance to be covered. So, that meant time was of the essence. However, that formula usually seems to invite Murphy’s Law. When we greeted our bikes in the morning, I noticed visually that one of them had low tire-pressure (the bike I was assigned). While this was being handled, we loaded up our luggage onto the back of the Gypsy and played ‘hurry up and wait’. Once that was taken care of, we rode to the first petrol pump (gas station) to fill up the tanks. They were out of petrol. Same thing happened at the next one, and then we found some on the third attempt. Although it may not seem like a big deal (because it wasn’t), the hosts were well aware of the consequences of our delayed start. We were blissfully unaware, which meant anxiety was low, which would turn out to be a blessing and a necessity to tackle the day’s adventure. When we finally took off, we were straight into our next challenge – navigating Indian city traffic.

There’s no other way to put it… it’s a shit show! It’s grueling enough in an air-conditioned car, with the constant stop-and-go and avoidance maneuvers. Now put yourself on a motorcycle, crawling along in the heat wearing protective clothing, and your ears ringing with the incessant honking. It can be overwhelming to put it mildly. To put it graphically, your blood pressure takes a spike, you want to kill everyone, and you question your decision to do this in the first place. But then, IF at that moment you become aware of your state of mind, then CHOOSE to have perspective and change your outlook on the situation, something incredible happens. Dr. Wayne Dyer once famously said,


“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change”.

Through the chaos of that traffic, a pattern emerges. The honks are a form of communication that fills in the gaps created by visual blind-spots. All of a sudden, you are like a toy boat in a stream going with the flow. You’ve decided to spare everyone’s life. Now, I am in no way trying to justify the traffic, its environmental effects and the bombardment of our senses. That needs to be addressed for sure. But at the same time, facing that adversity builds confidence. You come out of it feeling that if you can ride in Indian city traffic, you can ride anywhere.

Eventually, the road mercifully opened up as we got onto a highway heading out of town. We stopped along the way for chai, delicious dhaba (rest stop) food, and petrol. Our hosts were understandable keen on moving along as we had a lot of distance to cover to make it to our campsite before dark. That was now out of the question.

All of a sudden, everything was lush and green and free of commercialization. The roads started winding around. Although I had riding experience racing sportbikes, and a little bit of practice on dirt, I had never done such a long day on just about every imaginable terrain. Apart from snow/ice, desert sand and rock gardens which are all much more advanced off-road terrain, we got tarmac (asphalt), gravel, silt, dirt, landslide rocks, bumpy, broken-up, potholed, and we cannot forget the mud. We encountered sun, drizzle, clouds, heavy fog, warm and cold all in one day. Riding there was nothing short of epic! My immediate thoughts were that the aforementioned permits and protections are absolutely essential to protect that part of the world.

After experiencing so much in one day, the last stretch was the most challenging. We had been riding for hours. It was dark, rainy, foggy, and the smaller road to the campsite that broke-off from the main road was still slushy mud from the recently-ended rainy season. Having not had the greatest experiences riding in mud so far in my life, I would not have looked forward to riding in it on a foggy and rainy night. But, I didn’t have time to look forward to it or not, because we were in it. All I could do was take the lead and drop right behind the Gypsy in one of its tire tracks. The last thing I wanted to do was fall down in mud so close to our destination. Of the little bit of dirt training I had done, I remembered all the good habits taught by an amazing instructor, and they worked!

We got to the campsite, and were welcomed with a shot of Ara (local millet-based liquor). We unloaded our bags, went on a successful search in a remote village area for rum, and partied into the night. We got to know our hosts better. They are very passionate about maintaining the quality of life there. They are also very good about making sure their clients have an enjoyable experience. We got some local insights on the different areas of this complex region. It had been a great day! Because it was dark, we had no idea what the surrounding area looked like during the daytime, and boy, were we in for a jaw-dropping surprise!

To be concluded… in “Thrown Into the Deep End – Part 3”.

Thrown Into the Deep-End - Part 1

Journeying into a seldom-seen corner of the world on a type of bike you’ve never ridden, on terrain of which you have no information, and having no real experience of spending extended hours of seat-time on a motorcycle for multiple days. This was my plunge into the deep-end of the world of adventure touring on a motorcycle.

That common saying “being thrown into the deep-end” has a very literal example for me. When I was a kid, I was thrown into the deep-end of a swimming pool at the YMCA. That was the first exercise of my very first swim lesson. I can imagine my parents were probably having immediate buyer’s remorse at this point. However, it was the best thing that could have happened. That was the best way for me to learn. I picked up swimming quickly. And that method has continued to work for me to this day in various parts of my life.

This particular trip was also to lay the foundation for the establishment of Lets Go Moto. Rather than going on one of the more tried-and-true “adventure” tours in the world, I wanted this trip to be somewhere off-the-beaten path (pun intended).

India’s northeast region is not as well-known by riders, or most people for that matter. People don’t really pay attention to that area (or even know that it is a part of India) which hangs out on the right side of the country. It’s nestled between Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet [China], Myanmar, and Bangladesh. The northeast is comprised of ‘7 sisters and 1 brother’, referring to the states of the region. Rather than getting into the history, just know that relative to its size geographically, it is an immensely complex region. Influenced by not only all those bordering countries, but also by a multitude of tribes each with distinct traditions, languages, and religions. It is also blessed with stunning natural beauty which, apart from the cities, is relatively untouched in a country that has such a high population density. I started with an 8-day tour from Guwahati.

Guwahati is the gateway to the northeast. It is the hub where you fly into from major Indian cities. Historically, access further into the remote areas of each state has been difficult, if not impassable or unsafe at times. Now there are major arterial roads between the larger cities (although not always in good condition). Further from those cities, things are still rough and unfinished. And these are the major reasons why the northeast region has managed to retain large areas of natural beauty. Although commercialization will continue to encroach further, there are policies and measures taking place to fight it off as long as possible to maintain the beauty and culture.

An example of such is the necessity for outsiders (i.e. Indians that are not residents of the specific states) to get a permit to enter certain areas. That goes a step further for foreigners who need an additional permit. Although it is a bit of a hassle, it is helping control the influx of tourists at a manageable level. This process was handled for us by our tour hosts and will be done as well for the upcoming Lets Go Moto tours in the northeast. An aspect of its tours that Lets Go Moto looks to ensure is to practice and promote responsible tourism. This includes minimizing our footprint, reducing waste, and supporting local businesses, entrepreneurs, and artisans.

Day 1 was spent getting settled into the hotel and meeting our hosts and the other riders. My roommate for this tour had ridden his own bike in from Kolkata – a Royal Enfield Bullet. This has essentially been India’s favorite and most revered bike for quite some time. There are a lot of references on the history of “the oldest global motorcycle brand in continuous production” and the Bullet model specifically having “the longest production run of any motorcycle in history”, so I won’t get into it here. Being a standard cruiser bike with roots back to 1932, it is not meant to tackle “adventurous” terrain, but that hasn’t stopped a LOT of Indians to ride them to very remote and now iconic destinations in the entire Himalayan region.

The rest of us were on Royal Enfield’s newer and aptly named Himalayan. It is a dual-purpose, adventure touring motorcycle that was developed from the ground up, without sharing really anything with the rest of the Royal Enfield lineup. Now if you remember me saying,…

“Journeying into a seldom-seen corner of the world on a type of bike you’ve never ridden, on terrain of which you have no information, and having no real experience of spending extended hours of seat-time on a motorcycle for multiple days. This was my plunge into the deep-end of the world of adventure touring on a motorcycle.”

…then I’m telling you now that the Himalayan was the perfect bike for the journey ahead.

The Royal Enfield Himalayan is built for the rough roads that you will encounter in the rural bits of India and is perfectly suited to the Himalayan mountain region. At 411cc, this bike wasn’t meant to break performance records. It was meant to be affordable and cater to riders of all skill levels. The Himalayan is built to be durable, get the job done and put a smile on your face. Designed from the ground up by Royal Enfield, I think they have done a clever job. Seating position is where it should be, and the location of the foot controls allow for comfortable stand-up riding. A big front wheel makes navigating tougher terrain forgiving. Aesthetically, the retro-classic design is a very welcome departure from the crazy shapes and design elements on other adventure bikes.

Apart from my roomie on his Bullet and me on a Himalayan, there were two other rented Himalayans, each with a rider and passenger. From the Mumbai area were a guy and a gal, and from the southwestern state of Kerala were a couple of guys who would take turns being rider and passenger. Leading the ride was our ride captain on a Himalayan and following behind us was the modified 4X4 Maruti Gypsy support vehicle driven by our tour operator. The Gypsy is a cool little off-road beast that became popular with Indian law enforcement, the military, national parks, and also has a cult civilian following. Our luggage would be strapped to the back of the Gypsy.

Our amazing co-hosts both grew up in the northeast, each with an in-depth knowledge of the region, and are proud to share the richness of their culture. I hope you all get to meet them soon on an upcoming Lets Go Moto adventure. We ended Day 1 with a pre-ride briefing by them, over a delicious dinner of veggies, rice, daal (lentils), and roti (Indian bread). Apart from discussing logistics of timing and breaks along the way, they were trying to give us an idea of what to expect on the road conditions. Also, the weather is tricky to predict in the mountains. However, nothing can fully prepare you and none of us really knew what lay ahead of us. But that is the point of an adventure, isn’t it?

More on that grueling first day of riding will be continued in “Thrown Into the Deep-End - Part 2”.

Welcome to Lets Go Moto!

Hi friend! Lets Go Moto is a lifestyle brand for all motorcycle riders. It has been created to represent that eager feeling you get throwing your leg over a motorcycle in anticipation of a ride. 

A ride to anywhere.

A ride to nowhere.

A ride to get somewhere.

A ride to get away from somewhere.

A ride just to ride.

Lets Go Moto embodies the excitement we all share in a common passion. At the same time, it symbolizes the calmness we all achieve through a common meditation. It represents that choice riders constantly make to be fiercely independent. Regardless of experience, profession, age, gender, and the endless labels and categories that separate us, which our collective consciousness has created over generations, riders are able to look past it all and come together, ironically, because of a rebellious spirit. We all yearn for freedom from outside influences that shape our vision of what it means to be human in the short period of time we have in this perceived reality…

Whew! Now, it’s not all seriousness and existential contemplation… ‘Hey pal, we just wanna have a good time, go for a ride with our buddies, and laugh till our sides hurt telling tall tales about our shenanigans and adventures!’ Well, it’s definitely that too! Whether it’s a short cruise, a track weekend, or a long off-road expedition, there’s nothing better than sharing the energy with like-minded people that enjoy riding as much as you do.

Lets Go Moto aims to mindfully explore the planet, learn about other cultures first-hand, and give back in exchange for what we take. An aspect of its tours that Lets Go Moto looks to ensure is to practice and promote responsible tourism. This includes minimizing our footprint, reducing waste, and supporting local businesses, entrepreneurs, and artisans. As the brand grows, this philosophy will carry over to other areas of operation as well.

So, welcome to Lets Go Moto. We hope you enjoy your stay, invite your friends, and share the stoke!

Let’s go find the limits of our minds, bodies, and machines.

Let’s go create our own stories.

Let’s go have some fun.

Let’s go for a ride.

Let’s go send it.

LETS GO MOTO