How long have you been into distance biking?
Long-distance motorbiking started three years ago, when I was in engineering college. I’d always been interested in travel, but a fun bike trip to Goa got me addicted to long-distance motorbiking. After a few places in south India, in 2005, I joined a Royal Enfield expedition to Ladakh. In fact, that’s where I met Hemanth, who was to be my companion for the North-East trip.
But why the North-East on a bike?
The entrance to the centuries-old Tawang monastery in Arunachal Pradesh (Photo by: Nitin Bhat)
The North-East had always been on my agenda, mainly because it is so unexplored. And, I believe two-wheelers are the best way to explore any region. They give you a sense of freedom—so much so that we didn’t even consider any other mode of transport when we were fixing up our plans in December-January.
Did you have any help while planning the trip?
Special thanks go out to Captain Karthik of Assam Rifles. A classmate of Hemanth’s, he had done a biking trip through the region earlier and had first-hand information on the terrain and the routes. That came in very handy while planning our trip, more so because the militancy problem makes it inadvisable to be out on the roads there after 6pm. So, we had our hotel accommodations in place two weeks before we left Bangalore.
What were the bikes you were using?
Computer engineer Nitin Bhat, 24, spent a month criss-crossing the North-East with his pal Hemanth GC, 26, on motorbike. The experience made this tourist a traveller
Both of us were riding Royal Enfield bikes: I was on a Machismo 500, which I bought last year, while Hemanth rode an Electra. Being responsible riders, we were equipped with riding shoes, knee guards, good quality jackets and proper full-face helmets. Also, to carry our luggage for a month, we used Cramster saddlebags, which were very convenient. We also carried a few basic spare parts. The bikes were serviced properly before we loaded them on to the Guwahati Express.
So, the biking started in Assam?
Yes. But because of the way the roads are laid out, we had to enter Assam seven times—once to get from one point in Arunachal to another point in Arunachal! On the first leg, we rode along the lower bank of the Brahmaputra and through the famed tea estates. We also spent a full day at Kaziranga on the way. The elephants and rhinos were a bonus.
Bhat admires the view near Along, Arunachal Pradesh (Photo by: Nitin Bhat)
Meghalaya. We had allotted just a day for this state and, in retrospect, I really wish we could have spent two-three days here. We went to Shillong, of course, which was beautiful: The roads are well maintained, the people are warm and friendly and their traffic sense is really commendable. Because our time was limited, we couldn’t go anywhere else but Cherrapunji, one of the wettest places on earth. We were literally driving on clouds on the way to Cherrapunji—the road is a biker’s paradise.