My first solo motorcycle ride

Ride to Tipu Sultan Fort, Palakkad

Date – 28^th October, 2018

Time – 7:20am

Today’s ride to Tipu Sultan Fort, Palakkad was one which I took as a challenge to ride long distances and experience the pleasure out of it. However, the learning from this short ride has filled me with immense respect for all the motorcycle rides and specially the vloggers such as Debasish Ghosh, Mumbaikar Nikhil, Murtaza Junaid, Aartis Life, Wroom with Kiran and Sachin, Lifestealer Ajinkya, Ridergirl Vishakha, Rosie Gabrielle, Alex Chacon and Biker Niladri who do it on a regular basis.

The trip was originally scheduled on a Saturday as a test for my new MT Mugello helmet and also for motovlogging using my Nokia 1 phone. I wanted to keep my Sunday free to do household chores. However, it was not meant to be. Due to work commitments, the trip had to be postponed to the next day i.e. Sunday. However, I was not very sure if to do it as I was not ready with the setup and all. Finally I decided to take it easy and make it a blog instead of a vlog out of it. I had been writing blogs a lot in the past but had not done so lately. I took out my MT Mugello helmet, my biking brotherhood gloves and my bandana. I decided to take an extra set of clothes just in case along with ample amount of water… abt 1.5 litres. Jeans are a must while riding on highways in case proper riding pants are not available. Further, as I did not have a riding jacket, I opted for a full sleeve unbuttoned shirt to wear over a tshirt to prevent sun tan. I had taken some cotton and boroline for first aid. I took a selfie stick as well to take pictures.

I slept at around midnight with an alarm to wake up at 5:30am, hoping to be on the roads by 6:15am which is the time for sunrise here in this season. However, due to anxiety I could not sleep well. I woke up after some time, had some water, used some medicine for my clogged nose and slept back. The alarm rang on time but I was still not sure if to get up or not. I said to myself….. its not a big ride….. just around 50km or 1hr10min. It’s just like my daily commute with respect to time back in Mumbai while coming from office to home in the evening. Finally I was able to convince myself to wake up by 6:10am. That meant I was behind the schedule I had planned for. An hour later, I was all set with helmet, gloves, etc. I applied some sunscreen as well. Thankfully I had got the petrol filled and tyres checked beforehand on Friday itself. One thing which bothered me was that I was not carrying a proper first aid kit which is very essential for longer rides.

I was able to finally hit the road at 7:20am. The distance one way was 52km and the expected time was 1hr 10min approximately ignoring breaks. I decided to use Google Maps while going and Waze while coming to test the pros and cons of both apps for riding. My strategy was not to take a break midway and have my breakfast at Palakkad itself before heading back. I had fixed my main cellphone on the phone holder attached to my bike. This gave me a clear picture of which ways I should take. One advice would be to see the map beforehand in case the map shows any errors and you know the remedies. I kept my backup phone in the pocket. Originally I had planned to use it for motovlogging by attaching it to the helmet but I was not too sure about that. I decided better I just take pics with it from time to time.

The roads were quite empty. The highway was about 15km from my home. Till then I had to take various turns and manoeuvre my bike to the right direction. This part was easier than expected. I stopped to adjust the screen backlight to compensate for the daylight reflecting from it. I kept my pace in the 50-60kmph range to let myself adjust to the conditions. I had to be careful of other vehicles making u-turn or people/animals crossing the road. Thankfully, the highway came soon.

The highway riding experience is completely different from riding on any other road. You instantly get that rush to drive faster specially if the roads are nice. However, sanity prevailed and I decided to drive around the 70kmph mark. At the first flyover, I misjudged the route and took the service lane as I thought there may be restrictions of bike on the road. I corrected my error at the next chance possible and got back to the highway. When riding on highway, many specs of dust and insects keep coming. As you ride at such high speed, they may get deflected from the helmet which makes a pop sound. I crossed the state border and went into Kerala somewhere during the ride. I could not find any signboard indicating this. I had hoped to take a picture with it. This 30km stretch was sort of monotonous with the exception of the Toll gate. Thankfully no tolls are to be paid by bikes. I got down from the bike, flexed my arms a bit and took a few pictures at the gate.

Next stop was at the Palakkad Fort. I reached the fort at 8:20am approx. The fort was quite nice. I parked my bike and further took a few pics using my selfie stick. Parking charges were there but as I had reached quite early, I did not have to pay anything. The park opens at 8am and is open till 6pm. There is nothing much to be done at the fort except that it seemed to be a nice picnic spot to spend the day with family under the shade of a tree. It was quite sunny and bright. I remembered to hydrate myself at regular intervals. Thankfully I had enough water. I took a round over the fort and saw the scenery all around. There was some puja going on inside a temple in the fort.

After being there for about half an hour, I decided to head back. I did not pick up my bike and went straight to a breakfast place which I had found out on Zomato called Devikripa Restaurant. It was about 100m from the parking area. The food was good. I had masala dosa and filter coffee. The water was typical kerala style which I sipped a bit but could not quench my thirst fully. I freshened up and decided to head back to my bike for my ride back.

The ride back was easier than the morning ride. My speed on an average was 80-85kmph and I was feeling much more confident. I was using Waze app this time to test it out. I stopped at the toll gate once again to take pics of myself with the mighty mountains which looked so majestic.

Moreover, I realized that my new helmet was so much better as compared to the old one. It reduced the ambient sound, kept my head steady, had a good snug fit, had D rings which I liked the most and the visor was so clear, it felt as if it did not exist. However, sometimes when I was breathing hard, it was fogging up which should not be the case as it came with a pinlock visor which is antifog. I had to adjust my phone once more as the sunlight had increased and it was difficult to see the screen. More insects were hitting my helmet making the pop sound. I was worried about any possible damage. I also found a small rock maybe which might have been blown up from another vehicle. This hit my body and I felt the impact. It reminded me the importance of wearing a good quality CE2 riding jacket when driving on highways. Possibly next time when I get a chance, I might buy the gear. I also missed a tankbag which I could not order as it was out of stock. A tankbag for small ride takes away the need to use a backpack to carry your things. Although I had just a gym bag, it was not very comfortable.

After completing half the distance, I realized that my right mirror had gone loose and I had to adjust it. I had to do it couple of times. Thankfully it stayed that way after that. Once I entered the city I got caught in some massive traffic just 3-4km from home. The roads were too crowded and it seemed Waze was taking me through the worst traffic possible in the city. I had left from Palakkad around 10:20 when the expected time shown was 11:10. However, I reached home finally at 11:38pm. A total of 104km had been driven even before midday. I felt happy.

There were a lot of learnings from the ride which I would like to inculcate in my future rides if possible and would advise other riders to take care of as well:

1) Always wear proper gears including helmet, gloves and jacket. Each of them are very important for safety. Specially when riding on highways above the speed of 80kmph.

2) Always carry a proper first aid kit

3) Keep people informed about your whereabouts constantly if going on a solo ride

4) Charge all devices charged and keep things ready the night before

5) Have enough water during the ride and take ample stops whenever necessary

6) Take special care of heavy vehicles on the highways

7) Enjoy the ride instead of focusing on things like distance remaining and time consumed

Other than this, be sure to get your bike checked before undertaking any major ride. If possible, keep a toolkit with yourself just in case.

Looking forward to more rides in future to other places creating better riding experiences and more enjoyments...