03 Dec 2023  |   05:48am IST

A celebration of brotherhood

Bikers will travel in groups or individually as they traverse long distances to come to Goa to attend the India Bike week

Ajit John

T

hey come from all over the place. To meet their brothers in arms. Riders who love their bikes, love the sense of freedom and the wind in their hair. Thousands of bikers will be riding down to Goa over the next weekend to be part of the India Bike Week. They come from Karnataka, from the north East and Mumbai to name just a few. For the riders from Mumbai who are all part of a group that owns Triumph bikes it is a journey they are all looking forward to with great expectation.

For Ryan Pimenta who owns a Triumph Tiger, it is the feeling of independence which one feels on the bike while going at the pace of your choice and time. A rider for 12 years now, this will be his second visit to the India Bike week having attended it in 2019. He says the group will leave on Dec 6th around 5 o’clock in the morning and hope to reach Goa by 7 or 8 in the evening. The group has booked rooms half an hour away from Vagator. The ride he said would be an experience with him looking out for his wingman and vice versa. They would stop every 100 kms because there would be someone who would be making a journey of this distance for the first time. The route to Goa he said was being decided by people in the group. He said at the place where the bike week was taking place it would be about seeing different people of a similar mind-set, sharing riding experiences, watching new products being launched and generally taking in the vibe of Goa. It would, he said, be a great trip for everyone involved.

Shonn D’souza a resident of the Goan enclave in Mumbai, Orlem in Malad, the trip to Goa will be another trip among the many he has done on his Triumph Bonneville T120. A rider since 2017, the bike was a gift from his wife. He said he loved travelling and had gone to several places. He said he just loved the feeling whilst on his bike. Shonn said, “It is a different feeling, I cannot describe the feeling. There is a sense of joy and happiness that I feel when I am on the bike. I went to Delhi for the MotoGP, it was a special trip. Love the wind in my hair. This trip to Goa will be interesting because there will be 8 riders this time, the most I have ever gone out with.”

There are all kinds of riders. Jonathan Thyagarajan is an aviator. Based in Chennai, he is currently in Mumbai. He has done a few trips like from Mumbai to Bengaluru, Gujarat and more specifically Rajkot. From the stress of piloting an aircraft to the sheer joy and freedom of riding a bike. He said it would cool one’s mind and nerves after a hectic day. It was, he said, a fantastic getaway. He said riding a bike with a like-minded was a great feeling. He said, “Bikers are large hearted people and they always work as a team when going long distances. One also meets all kinds of women. Once when I drove to Delhi, there was a woman, the only one in the group who was a bodybuilder. There was even a general who rode a Triumph. It is always interesting”.

There is always a veteran in each and every group and that role is taken by the very experienced Myrin D’Mello. He has travelled 75,000 km on a T100 Bonneville since 2014. He has travelled to Nepal and Bhutan on that bike and has attended the Bike Week on seven occasions. He says he cannot imagine his life without that bike. He has travelled to Jhansi and Velankanni to attend mass. And yes last year he broke both his arms in an accident. He said his wife had a lot to say about his love affair with his bike. He said he was looking forward to riding to Goa with the group. He said,” We will look after each other, we are a family. We will have to factor all the situations we may experience and ride.”

The general feeling was that it was one of leaving one’s worries behind while on the bike. Of being in sync with nature as one raced through the roads that crisscrossed the landscape. Of brotherhood as the team travelled together to destinations across the country. The bikers will have more stories to tell as they drive down to Goa, partake in the gathering and then return later to the various towns and cities of the country.