The bike and
the long road ahead. It has excited men for ages. History has been marked by men travelling down
long roads to reach new places, thus changing the path of history. Recently a
Goan youth, Cedric Rodrigues.Covered a distance of 2845 kms as he fulfilled one
of his life’s ambitions by travelling solo on his TVS Max 100 2 stroke bike
from Goa to Kanyakumari. This is literally like a bike from another generation.
A fourteen-year bike, with a top speed of 95 kms an hour, it transported Cedric
safely across the over two thousand km journey with any problems.
This has been a life long ambition of Cedric who is employed as
GM Sales and Service, Mahindra trucks and buses. It was met with amusement,
derision and fear by his close loved ones who feared for his well-being. His
trusted bike has been a partner in some of his craziest drives across the
state. He has visited each and every nook and cranny of the state, the dirt
tracks of Dandeli, krishnapur, Mahableshwar and Mumbai which he visited in 2007
whilst travelling along the coastal route, he travelled non-stop and reached
the same day. Remember all this on a two-stroke bike.
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The nine-day journey commenced on March 14th. It would be a
journey across 1100 km one way and he intended to do it in three phases ie
three days. The second day of his journey was interesting because like the date
15-03-2019, it was the same number as his bike registration. The first day at
night he reached Kasargod. He spent the night at a hotel and commenced his
journey the next day in Kerala. He intended to visit Alleppy but was not able
to. He found the roads very narrow and driving was an adventure. However, what
surprised him was the courteous nature of the drivers on the road. He witnessed
some crazy driving but no fights. The second night he ended up in Ernakulam and
met a biker friend. It meant he partook of some fantastic beef curry and then
drove around town with his friend. On the morning of the third day, he had
planned to reach Kanyakumari before sunset. He travelled through Alappuzha,
Kollam, Trivandrum visited Kovalam beach and then he suffered a minor
emergency. His tire went flat just half an hour away from Kanya Kumari. Thank
fully a shop that repaired tires was present and the problem was sorted in
time.
Like many popular
places in the country, the beaches of Kanyakumari are packed in the evening as
they wait to watch the sun set. It is journey worth undergoing at least once in
your life. It was also a very emotional moment for Cedric for whom it was the
fulfilment of one of his ambitions. He said “I recorded myself and I surprised
myself at how emotional I was”. He stayed for another night and then drove to
Rameswaram to see for himself the Pamban bridge which is a miracle built over
the sea. It connects Rameswaram to the Indian mainland. Built in 1914, it was
India’s first sea bridge and Cedric said “It is a very humbling experience to
see water all around you and to realise how insignificant you are”. He visited
Dhanushkodi and the drove down to the cultural Tamil heartland of Madurai. He
met with a friend from his days in TVS and had some excellent mutton curry. The
following day he visited the Meenakshi temple which is famous for the hall of a
thousand pillars. His trip to Bangalore was dictated by the traffic and he
spent two hours with his hand on the clutch. From Bangalore to Hubli it was a
case of covering 200 kms on roads that were wide and he smiled and said he was
able to reach his top speed of 95 kms. He reached Goa a day later to the
considerable relief of his wife with whom he was in contact every day. Over 9
days, his bike consumed 70 litres of petrol to cover 2845 kms.
As
one gradually wound down the interview, one was tempted to ask as to what lay
ahead. He grinned and said his friend had asked him if he was interested in
travelling from Khardungla to Kanya Kumari. He said his wife was not very
pleased to hear of this and there was a strong possibility it would not be
possible to do it on this bike. The company was keen on shutting down
production. He said it was possible to do anything if one dreamed and planned
for it. He hoped other Goans would do something similar and reach new heights.
This resident of Aquem , Margao does dream big
