[V.Narayan]

https://www.madornomad.com/the-first...und-the-world/
A most interesting article I stumbled upon that might interest all of you. Don't miss the hassle they went through to get Passport. This is a perfect example of the license Raj mentality of the 1950s to 1984. In my career I witnessed the tail end which was bad enough. Earlier in the 1970s it was at its absolute peak.

It was a Sunday morning in 1969 Jamshedpur, India. I was sipping tea with friends when the idea of riding round the world on a motorcycle came up. At the time, motorcycle travel was so unheard of that we might as well have been talking about riding to the moon.

Even though I had no idea what was involved in a trip like this, I just couldn’t shake the idea. I believed we could do it and started researching anyway. When we all met up again I showed them my findings and when they realised I was serious, three friends stepped forward to say they were in. And that was it – from a crazy idea over tea we now had a four man team and were going be the first Indians to ride round the world. We’d just have to figure everything else out on the way…

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

https://www.madornomad.com/the-first...und-the-world/
A most interesting article I stumbled upon that might interest all of you.

Wonderful wonderful log, thank you for sharing this. I remember reading a similar detailed log of a couple of guys who kayaked the entire stretch of Brahmaputra back in the 60s or 70s and it was very different than how it would be if someone attempted it today.

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing, V.Narayan! Moving your post out to the Motorcycle section.

[BoneCollector]

This travelogue is a monumental one. When you start reading, it's like you are on a journey with them. And Mr. Subhash Sharma has written all this after such a long time speaks how much that trip is etched in his memory. Superb one.

[scorpian]

EPIC EPIC EPIC!!!!

What a wonderful journey. I would say life well lived compared to all others busy in rat race all their lives.

Reminds me of the first time i rode early morning at 4.00am from goa to pune on my karizma with no GPS maps etc.Just riding and exploring the road as it comes.

Such a wonderful read this has been,thanks for sharing.

[am1m]

My god, what an epic! And love the matter-of-fact description, "we just did this, we just rode here, we just fixed that". (Nowadays even a small breakfast ride of a 100km on modern, reliable bikes is made out, or rather vlogged like it's some great adventure!)

And these guys did it back then, hats off to them! There must be so many stories like this, just that they aren't recorded.

[V.Narayan]

This story came to me through the Telco (now Tata Motors) ex-employee network. My career started there in the early 1980s and I kept thinking that one or more of the other three might still have been employed by the company at the time. The internet and instant telecommunication worldwide is the greatest technological change between then and now. Getting data, communicating one-to-one in real time, seeking and receiving advice or help were infinitely more difficult - only at that time that was the normal. Just to share an example in India trunk calls and hours of waiting endlessly were the norm. STD had come but was scathingly expensive and not always reliable. At Telco we had a hot line between Jamshedpur + Pune and Bombay House. That was considered a super boon & the 9th wonder of the world - imagine. My boss's boss had access to that line. I thought my status as a flunkey went up because of that - such was the ignorance and innocence of youth. Today each of us has a megaphone to broadcast our views, prejudices and what we ate this morning to the whole world!!!! - not sure that's a boon. How these 4 riders managed beats me. They certainly had a guardian angel looking over them. God bless all four and their families. I dropped a line to Sharma, the author. Subhash Sharma was the original brain & enthusiast behind this journey. Only he and one more are alive now.


https://www.royalenfields.com/2016/0...-by-royal.html
A shorter write up for those who find the link in the first post too long.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

A most interesting article I stumbled upon that might interest all of you

If you may kindly permit me to add some more (very) interesting stories to hear pls Mr. Sanjay Dani & Group from India to London - https://vimeo.com/channels/919562/131191113

[RedTerrano]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

In my opinion, this is what differentiates a trip from an adventure.
Sadly, as much as I want to, I cannot read all the juicy details right now, so have bookmarked it for tonight. I am sure it is going to be an epic read.

Thank you so much Shri Narayan Sir for sharing this.

[Red Liner]

Manmohan Singh’s uncle had an automobile engine repair work shop and agreed to help us rebuild the bikes on the condition that we all had to do the work ourselves under his supervision. His reasoning was very simple; he wanted us to learn as much as possible about our motorcycles so that during our trip we could fix them ourselves.

Bravo! Magnifique! Magnifico! Excelente! Supert!

Hah! I just had to write that in as many languages I knew - considering this a round the world trip report!

[Rahulkool]

What a riveting story !

Things like this makes you feel alive just by reading stuff on the internet. I felt it was too short and small article. Mr Subhash should write a whole book on it and i be will in line to buy it. Absolutely fantastic !

Remind me of how the times have changed, in this case for worst. To do this in the 70s you must be from another planet. My parent used to live in Jamshedpur those days, i was not even born . I frankly can not comprehend that how they must have come up with this idea and then to actually cross all obstacles to pull it off. I guess being naive helps in this case, because of internet we have learnt too many things to even imagine a trip like this.

Loved the luggage carriers on the bikes, so simple yet so functional. I am going send this to anyone bashing old bullets from now on .

[shancz]

Thanks for the info, top level

Marvellous and astounding especially because I didn't know that it occured 140kms from my current location while I was in awe of The Motorcycle Diaries. This trip is above that by miles.

We really need to overhaul our education and information systems and sources. Amazing stories like these need to be brought into mainstream attention.

Feel grateful that we're past the raj.

[Amil]

Wonderful and heartwarming story! Very motivating. I would feel a sense of accomplishment even if I manage to travel through India on a motorcycle. These guys have been way ahead and a long time ago! Gotta be a world record in there somewhere. I'm really motivated to go on a long road trip now thanks to this. Thanks for sharing this here!!

[amods]

Now that's what I call a real wanderer(s)/travel enthusiast and a real travelogue. The sheer idea and the courage to take it on given the unknowns, is what made men back then.
The license plates on those bikes(BR-X) make me proud somewhere.

Thank you for sharing with us. Read it in one sitting.

[Sting]

I have always been in awe of Ted Simon’s motorcycles travels across the world, captured wonderfully through his book Jupiter’s Travel.

It is a shame our own heroes (Bharadwaj Dayala is the other name that strikes my mind) have not received such wide acclaim. I am embarrassed to say I had not even heard their names till I came across this thread. What a gutsy and inspirational adventure and 50 years ago no less!

Thank you for sharing Mr. Narayan.

Cheers
Sting