Prologue:
Its always tricky to start a travelogue. I mean where do we start right? I think this enormous confusion is mainly due to the fact that behind every long trip or a bike ride theres a series of events that act as a catalyst to make that ride happen. And unless you understand those events you dont understand why you would do something as stupid and idiotic as going on a 6500 kms bike ride with just you, your wife and your bike to keep company.
All those who have tried and done such trips successfully must be thinking Whats the big deal. We did it, you did it and a lot of people have done it. But can you remember the time before you left on such a ride and the thousands of things going on in your mind from good things to things that could go wrong?
Anyway .So lets meet the catalysts to these events.
First and foremost: ME :P Cant do without you being rightly motovated to do something like this.
Second catalyst: My Wife Sayali Responsible for persistent threats to my life if I ever did a Ladakh trip/ bike ride without her again. J Especially after seeing the photos of my previous ride. I am relieved to say that I am safe now and out of danger. :P
Third and not the least: The Triumph Bonneville who I so fondly call Stealth for its ability to not let bystanders have a clue that its a nearly 900 cc monster on wheels. Well more on that later .
Fourth and very important: My parents and all other friends who got to know of my plans fairly late. I am not to blame for that. We did plan it late with confirmation coming from my side almost just a week before we actually left.
There were no plans to ride to Leh this year. A few friends were supposed to go, a few jokingly asked if I wanted to come along and I respectfully denied saying its not on the cards for this year.
But what we did try a while back was to do a conventional Leh trip through a travel agency. We literally searched through the various travel options/agencies but were utterly disappointed at the amount of cost that was involved in a 6 nights trip. A 6 nights trip with no stay at Pangong Tso or Nubra valley would go to about 60-70k INR per person. If you try to lower them you compromise on the time spent at some of the most awesome places on this planet. We tried all permutations and combinations like reaching Leh on our own, staying at not a three star hotel etc. but that did not make a considerable difference.
So coming back . Me and Sayali had just done a 600 kms ride to Karwar and back which made us pretty confident that we could do 600 kms at least in a day. So this crazy idea floated one morning in my head. What if we go to Leh on the Bonneville? I asked Sayali jokingly and she said thats a great idea and laughed all the same. But that was enough for me to start thinking seriously
I started to think about the bike.. Again.. 1000 things and ideas and concerns come into mind.. Heart says its possible mind says its risky
First things first.. Asked Ashwin from Triumph if he thought that the Bonnie could handle a Leh trip.. He did not have to think twice to say easily any given day. After all he had done the same trip on a Jawa. Bonneville was even better
On a level of 10 my enthusiasm and commitment to this ride had just been shot to 5 from Null.
Then comes the big question.. Leaves I had quite a lot in the kitty left and could avail them if my boss would approve. I floated this idea the next very day judging the overall mood in the department and surprisingly my boss agreed to it almost instantly. Only condition I had is to take care of all pending tasks and train others to do them in my absence. Challenge Accepted :D
Ashwin and another triumph owner were also interested in the ride and I was relieved that we had some company on such a huge ride. Unfortunately they were unable to join due to official engagement/health reasons..
So it was just me and Sayali and the Bonneville.. Initial notion was to fly Sayali till Delhi from where she would join me on my bike till Leh and do the same on the way back. I had no intention of transporting my bike after my last experience wherein there was a huge dent on the fuel tank of Pulsar, all thanks to the railway guys. Sorry but the Bonneville was far too precious to even think about that
The days were decided, route fixed, destinations known and then Sayali drops a bomb on me saying she does not feel right to let me go all alone to Delhi and that she would come with me on bike right from Pune itself. Having mixed thoughts I said thats ok and we started planning in that direction. The routes and stops changed. We decided we would do 600-700 kms daily/6-8 hrs of ride daily with no rides in the dark. By this time the commitment to the ride was 10/10.
The ride:
The day: 19th July
Time: 4.15 am.
Todays destination: Hotel Sarvottam, Baska-Halol Highway, Gujarat, 591 kms.
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Cost of the room: Rs. 1500/- A safe and great parking place. A full-fledged restaurant just a few meters from the Hotel (owned by them). We liked the food from the restaurant more than the hotels in-house food.
It was me, Sayali and my parents readying up mounting the luggage on the bike checking if we had everything that was needed at around 4.15 am. Within 15 minutes we had all the luggage strapped on and were off .
Oh and yes we could ready up so quickly because we had already done a trial run, a day before of mounting all the luggage and sitting on the bike after that. Its always a good idea to do that because unless you actually get onto the bike you can never figure out what tweaks you need to make to make the ride a comfortable and a safe one.
And off we go .
A few pictures en-route:
My Bike completely painted in the shades of grey and brown with mud.. And we have just reached the outskirts of Mumbai.
![]()
We encountered heavy rain at Lonavala. Very low visibility. My mind was alternating between giving orders to my left hand to wipe off the helmet visor and engaging the clutch And soon my waterproof gloves were not enough to clear off the visor But then I noticed something on my gloves which I had bought the day before.. It had a wiper on the thumb.
:D Just fold your thumb and slide it across your helmet visor and swoosh visor is cleared of all the smudge and water.
![]()
With a little patience and a few breaks we were finally into Gujarat. There was no sign of the rain stopping anytime soon and so we just pushed on
The rain keeps you and the bike engine cool and in reality makes it a much comfortable ride than riding on a hot sunny day. (This of course we realized after we had ridden through the sunny towns of Rajasthan)
![]()
First day being the start is always a bit tiring. You are getting accustomed to the ride, so is the pillion and the bike..
Though my Bonneville inherits the capability to do 180-190kmph I made it a point to cruise at 120-130kmph and not stress myself as well as the engine too much. But sometimes the road gets too monotonous and boring and the only way to wake up the almost asleep mind is to do a quick speed run for a few kms and then get back to the easy going cruise mode. Always works like a charm. :D
A bit about the bikes performance.
2. The luggage adjustment worked for the most part. But the backpack on Sayalis back was proving to be a little trouble. She had to alternate between carrying it on her back and keeping it in her lap every now and then. We knew we had quite a bit of luggage and that wasnt going to get any easier. We decided we would keep going and find a way to ease that out when we reach the Hotel.
![]()
And my bike had crossed 5000 kms on the ODO in the third month of its running. Yay!
![]()
We reached the Hotel Sarvottan at Halol-Baska Highway, Gujarat at around 3.30 pm doing 591 kms. Being tired we ate and straight away went to sleep.
Its always tricky to start a travelogue. I mean where do we start right? I think this enormous confusion is mainly due to the fact that behind every long trip or a bike ride theres a series of events that act as a catalyst to make that ride happen. And unless you understand those events you dont understand why you would do something as stupid and idiotic as going on a 6500 kms bike ride with just you, your wife and your bike to keep company.
All those who have tried and done such trips successfully must be thinking Whats the big deal. We did it, you did it and a lot of people have done it. But can you remember the time before you left on such a ride and the thousands of things going on in your mind from good things to things that could go wrong?
Anyway .So lets meet the catalysts to these events.
First and foremost: ME :P Cant do without you being rightly motovated to do something like this.
Second catalyst: My Wife Sayali Responsible for persistent threats to my life if I ever did a Ladakh trip/ bike ride without her again. J Especially after seeing the photos of my previous ride. I am relieved to say that I am safe now and out of danger. :P
Third and not the least: The Triumph Bonneville who I so fondly call Stealth for its ability to not let bystanders have a clue that its a nearly 900 cc monster on wheels. Well more on that later .
Fourth and very important: My parents and all other friends who got to know of my plans fairly late. I am not to blame for that. We did plan it late with confirmation coming from my side almost just a week before we actually left.
There were no plans to ride to Leh this year. A few friends were supposed to go, a few jokingly asked if I wanted to come along and I respectfully denied saying its not on the cards for this year.
But what we did try a while back was to do a conventional Leh trip through a travel agency. We literally searched through the various travel options/agencies but were utterly disappointed at the amount of cost that was involved in a 6 nights trip. A 6 nights trip with no stay at Pangong Tso or Nubra valley would go to about 60-70k INR per person. If you try to lower them you compromise on the time spent at some of the most awesome places on this planet. We tried all permutations and combinations like reaching Leh on our own, staying at not a three star hotel etc. but that did not make a considerable difference.
So coming back . Me and Sayali had just done a 600 kms ride to Karwar and back which made us pretty confident that we could do 600 kms at least in a day. So this crazy idea floated one morning in my head. What if we go to Leh on the Bonneville? I asked Sayali jokingly and she said thats a great idea and laughed all the same. But that was enough for me to start thinking seriously
I started to think about the bike.. Again.. 1000 things and ideas and concerns come into mind.. Heart says its possible mind says its risky
First things first.. Asked Ashwin from Triumph if he thought that the Bonnie could handle a Leh trip.. He did not have to think twice to say easily any given day. After all he had done the same trip on a Jawa. Bonneville was even better
On a level of 10 my enthusiasm and commitment to this ride had just been shot to 5 from Null.
Then comes the big question.. Leaves I had quite a lot in the kitty left and could avail them if my boss would approve. I floated this idea the next very day judging the overall mood in the department and surprisingly my boss agreed to it almost instantly. Only condition I had is to take care of all pending tasks and train others to do them in my absence. Challenge Accepted :D
Ashwin and another triumph owner were also interested in the ride and I was relieved that we had some company on such a huge ride. Unfortunately they were unable to join due to official engagement/health reasons..
So it was just me and Sayali and the Bonneville.. Initial notion was to fly Sayali till Delhi from where she would join me on my bike till Leh and do the same on the way back. I had no intention of transporting my bike after my last experience wherein there was a huge dent on the fuel tank of Pulsar, all thanks to the railway guys. Sorry but the Bonneville was far too precious to even think about that
The days were decided, route fixed, destinations known and then Sayali drops a bomb on me saying she does not feel right to let me go all alone to Delhi and that she would come with me on bike right from Pune itself. Having mixed thoughts I said thats ok and we started planning in that direction. The routes and stops changed. We decided we would do 600-700 kms daily/6-8 hrs of ride daily with no rides in the dark. By this time the commitment to the ride was 10/10.
The ride:
The day: 19th July
Time: 4.15 am.
Todays destination: Hotel Sarvottam, Baska-Halol Highway, Gujarat, 591 kms.
Cost of the room: Rs. 1500/- A safe and great parking place. A full-fledged restaurant just a few meters from the Hotel (owned by them). We liked the food from the restaurant more than the hotels in-house food.
It was me, Sayali and my parents readying up mounting the luggage on the bike checking if we had everything that was needed at around 4.15 am. Within 15 minutes we had all the luggage strapped on and were off .
Oh and yes we could ready up so quickly because we had already done a trial run, a day before of mounting all the luggage and sitting on the bike after that. Its always a good idea to do that because unless you actually get onto the bike you can never figure out what tweaks you need to make to make the ride a comfortable and a safe one.
And off we go .
A few pictures en-route:
My Bike completely painted in the shades of grey and brown with mud.. And we have just reached the outskirts of Mumbai.
We encountered heavy rain at Lonavala. Very low visibility. My mind was alternating between giving orders to my left hand to wipe off the helmet visor and engaging the clutch And soon my waterproof gloves were not enough to clear off the visor But then I noticed something on my gloves which I had bought the day before.. It had a wiper on the thumb.
:D Just fold your thumb and slide it across your helmet visor and swoosh visor is cleared of all the smudge and water.
With a little patience and a few breaks we were finally into Gujarat. There was no sign of the rain stopping anytime soon and so we just pushed on
The rain keeps you and the bike engine cool and in reality makes it a much comfortable ride than riding on a hot sunny day. (This of course we realized after we had ridden through the sunny towns of Rajasthan)
First day being the start is always a bit tiring. You are getting accustomed to the ride, so is the pillion and the bike..
Though my Bonneville inherits the capability to do 180-190kmph I made it a point to cruise at 120-130kmph and not stress myself as well as the engine too much. But sometimes the road gets too monotonous and boring and the only way to wake up the almost asleep mind is to do a quick speed run for a few kms and then get back to the easy going cruise mode. Always works like a charm. :D
A bit about the bikes performance.
- The tyres held on nicely through wet and dry surfaces alike. I love the Metzelers. Instils confidence and thats half the battle won.
2. The luggage adjustment worked for the most part. But the backpack on Sayalis back was proving to be a little trouble. She had to alternate between carrying it on her back and keeping it in her lap every now and then. We knew we had quite a bit of luggage and that wasnt going to get any easier. We decided we would keep going and find a way to ease that out when we reach the Hotel.
And my bike had crossed 5000 kms on the ODO in the third month of its running. Yay!
We reached the Hotel Sarvottan at Halol-Baska Highway, Gujarat at around 3.30 pm doing 591 kms. Being tired we ate and straight away went to sleep.