The Sporty Explorer

When one door closes, another one opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.  -  Alexander Graham Bell The Ride Begins Day 2: Tirupati to Vijayawada Distance: 410 KM Start: 8AM End: 8PM Road Quality: Mostly 4/6lane highway in very good condition. Duration: Typically takes around 7.5 hours riding + breaks Did you see that start time? Day-2 started at 8AM. That’s quite late to start a long ride. Usually we, motorcyclists prefer to start the day early. A start time of around 5am makes it easier to cover longer distances. The dawn and early morning weather remain cool. You don’t find regular traffic on the road and the ride becomes smooth and fast, spending the entire saddle time enjoying the ride and nature. Away from the busy city life, when you get to see the sun rising from the wide-open roads, you get lost in your own thoughts. Anyway, I was late. The stay was not comfortable enough t...

Even though road condition is very good, riding in rain has more risk than dry rides. On top of that, if its evening or night the risk multiplies. If you must ride during rain, you should always be well equipped with gears for rain. The whole idea is to keep yourself as much dry as possible during the ride. You already know what happens if you soak yourself in water if you are not the Aquaman . And that won’t be good for continuing the ride for next 2-3 days. Here are the checks that I have during my ride Motorcycle Tyre change your stock tyre to rain tyres/ wet grip tyres. There are quite a few options in India though fewer compared to the international market. For obvious reason, the motorcycle industry in India is more focused on commuter segment. Luggage If you have saddle bags your luggage must have rain covers. It’s advised to set it up when you start. Sometimes you may not get time to safeguard your luggage when the rain hits you. If your motorcycle is equipped with side...

There are times when you may feel irresolute before starting something new. There is nothing bad in having confusion. In fact, it’s good in my opinion. It encourages you to research more and empowers you to take a decision.  -ME The Riding DNA I am sure my love for motorcycles is inherited. And my skills as well, I guess. It’s the same riding DNA.   I remember the way my father used to teach me “from how to release the clutch, to how to accelerate with control”. He used to be a skilled traffic cutter as well as a highway rider, a tourer of 90s. Back then, when people around him used to avoid riding, he used to prefer taking his motorcycle out on the highway for 100s of km. And I remember him telling the time he took to reach a destination and how he had surpassed his old records and how he over took the various challenges on the road while riding. The last few days, during my ride, he was always in my mind. For every move that I made on the motorcycle, may it be leaning ...