Hyderabad: The arrival of monsoon is always a cause for celebration. And for the community of bikers it’s a new lease of life, as the monsoons usually mark the start of the riding season. With the Independence Day holiday ensuring a long weekend, it’s time for the rumbling machines to take off again. And interestingly, the favourite destination happens to be the neighbouring state of Karnataka.
Recently back from the annual ‘Wet Wet Wet’ ride to Dandeli, Karnataka the group’s head, Jack Jigg, explains, “Riding season is generally from the onset of monsoons to Feb-March depending on which part of the country you live in. Since long distances, in excess of 100 km, is covered in these rides per day, the dip in temperature with the monsoons is appreciated.”
Elaborating on the trouble with riding in summers, he adds, “Riding in the heat obviously leads to discomfort for the riders.”
There are other troubles such as the engines over-heating, tire blowouts, etc.” Another member of the group, Dilip Angaria from the city, will be making the most of the weather and the weekend. Under his travel company, Thunder Trails, he will be riding to Hampi with a group of bikers. Explaining the challenges that come with riding in the rains, he says, “You will have to ride much slower.
And you need to waterproof yourself and the gear. When we travel under the Thunder Trails banner, we have a tour captain who oversees the trip, route planning is done in advance and we also have back-up vehicles.” “The criteria is simple, we just need someone who is comfortable and confident with the bike and we take care of the rest; even with no highway experience,” Dilip adds.
So why is Karnataka the favourite destination? Jack explains, “Karnataka is located centrally to our other chapters. So coming here means, each chapter will ride between 600-800 km.” Jaiveer Rao, a biker of the Jawa Club, is also riding to Hampi, where he will hold the first ever all-India Jawa and Yezdi Ride. This ride, again to Hampi, also comes with a purpose.
“Hampi is the destination because it is pretty much the centre point to India. And we have bikers coming from Trivandrum, Nagpur, Mumbai, Nashik, Pune, Bengaluru and 19 of us are going from the Hyderabad chapter. We will also be taking an oath on bike safety there which follows the world campaign at the meet,” says Jaiveer.
