Techies’ day out: The Golden Sands Tour – West Coast to Rajasthan

Three Trivandrum-based IT professionals are on a 16-day motorcycle trip to Rajasthan 

TechnoparkToday>>”Ma, I want to become a motorcycle ‘driver’ when I grow up, and ‘drive’ all the way till grandpa’s house and back,” a starry-eyed little Midhun would chirp, while staring at bikes zooming past them on the road, while he was still a toddler. He was fascinated with motorcycles, and would stop whatever he was doing abruptly, to train his ears on a distant ‘vroom’. While growing up, his favorite pastime was guessing the model of motorcycles by their ‘thump’, without even looking at them. And his mom fondly recalls that he was bang on, every time! He collected and read every story about classic motorbikes, riders and long rides.

The passion grew with him. All through high school at St Thomas, and graduation from Lourdes Matha Engineering College, Trivandrum, he was quenching his thirst for knowledge about mobikes and their mechanism, watching road movies with friends, reading bikers’ travelogues, and befriending similarly inclined groups in the city. He waited till he got his first job to buy his own bike – a Hero Honda CBZ. He used to do the rounds of the Kowdiar-Vellayambalam stretch, or sit in the Kowdiar Park with friends, and ogle at the superbikes on parade there, till ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ happened!

“I must have watched that movie more than 50 times. Still do. That was when I began seriously thinking cruising across the country on the bike – tasting the local food, mingling with the local crowd, wind on my hair, and a tune playing on my lips, with only the long, winding road stretching out before me. The travel bug bit me, and it bit hard,” enthuses Midhun.

By that time, he had focused his interest on the “King of the Road – the Royal Enfield”. “My dad used to own one, and I always had this awe and respect for that vehicle. I enrolled in the RE ‘Bull Community’ and keenly followed the various adventure trips undertaken by its members. Smitten by the ‘Bull’, I saved up for almost a year to buy myself a spanking new silver-colored Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 cruiser,” he remembers.

According to him, he spent a mini-fortune on customizing the bike and making it fit for his small road trips with friends. Along with his college mates, Smijith B and Aneesh VK, who shared his thirst for the roads and biking, he revved up his passion for that ‘dream long trip’. Smaller rides to Kasargode (covering entire Kerala), and Goa (through the Konkan route) happened in the meantime, but all the while, the trio was dreaming about a pan-India trip. The stories of Smijith and Aneesh are strikingly similar with that of Midhun, and perhaps that’s why these birds ‘flocked together’ as soon as they met in college. Both, like Midhun, belong to Trivandrum and did their schooling and graduation here. All three started their love affairs with bikes early in their high school days. Both chose Royal Enfield Classic 350 over their first bikes, and have decided never to part their ways with them.

While cracking code, fixing bugs and resolving project issues at their own offices, Midhun (working with Speridian Technologies), Smijith (QBurst) and Aneesh (Trivand Technologies), let their hearts wander along the ‘roads less travelled’. Not before long, they decided to brave pressures from families, dodge project deadlines and make their ultimate dream come true. This time, they had decided to hit the jackpot – ‘The Golden Sands Tour – West Coast to Rajasthan’ was the ambitious plan. Leaving Trivandrum on Friday, November 24, they would ride all the way to the golden sands of Rajasthan, traversing Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. After touring the major spots of Rajasthan for a few days, they will be back to Trivandrum through Goa, the Konkan Coast, and Malabar. A whopping 7000 km in 16 days!

“Condescending managers, supportive family members and encouraging friends helped us all through as we chalked out our trip plan, budgets and necessary arrangements. We have been saving up for this trip ever since our Goa tour last year. We’ve bought the necessary gear for travel and camping, spent some on hotel bookings and bike modification, and kept the rest for the road. We have planned every possible detail, and are leaving the rest to the Almighty,” says a thrilled Smijith.

“Speridian has a liberal HR policy, which encourages employees to find balance between their work lives and their interests outside office. My colleagues and management were quite supportive when I put this plan forward. Over a brief period of time, we worked out a project delivery schedule, which wouldn’t affect my trip plans, and my colleagues will gladly fill in for contingencies. IT is not all about slogging 24X7, late hours and minimal fun, you see!” Midhun chimes in. “If it weren’t for our friends and benevolent managers in our offices, our dream would’ve never materialized,” adds Aneesh.

“They say that only a biker knows why a dog sticks his head out of a car window! This could be the trip of our lives, and we’re looking forward to hit the road, see unseen lands and meet new people, and expect the unexpected in every turn of the road. We’re carrying a bundle of our earlier experiences, which we’re sure will come in handy this time,” Aneesh raves.

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.”

― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Bon Voyage, Dudes!

Biju Chandran