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-   -   Biking is not for me - Realisation after a 200 km ride (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/292666-biking-not-me-realisation-after-200-km-ride.html)

I had recently been pondering getting a big bike in the 400cc+ bracket, but I wasn’t sure if I would actually enjoy it. I’ve used smaller bikes for shorter distances and wanted to upgrade. After seeing many bikers talk highly about their serial riding experiences, I decided to try it out.

Instead of directly buying a bike, I thought of renting one for a day to experience it and see if I was cut out for it. I got the new Royal Enfield Himalayan. Great bike — I loved how it surges ahead whenever I want. I did a Mumbai to Lonavala and back trip. Rode through some very scenic routes and twisties, but mostly along the highway.

I had a lot of fun in the first half of the journey when the weather was very pleasant. But during the second half of the day, on the return journey, things started going south.

I mostly commute by car and have done the Mumbai–Lonavala route countless times in all sorts of weather and traffic conditions. But never has the journey felt as unbearable as it did today. The comfort of a car is simply unmatched. You can cover miles very efficiently in a car.

Being exposed to dust, smoke, and scorching heat made the ride extremely uncomfortable. I’ve done 800 km in a day in my car, but I’ve never felt as tired as I did after just 200 km on this bike.

This made me conclude that biking is not for me. I’ll stick to driving my car. I get why bikers like it — it’s really fun when the roads and weather are impeccable. But that’s just 10% of the use case. For the remaining 90%, I think I’ll suffer on a bike.

Maybe I’ll do short trips on rented bikes in good weather, but that’s it for now.

Good you tried with a rented bike and realised that biking is not for you. Biking is hard. Period. These vloggers make it aspirational but the reality is, if you are not passionate enough, or in reasonable shape, anything more than 2 hrs on the saddle will become pain. Then add heat, rain, dust etc etc.

Most middle aged men, buy motorcycles as a cure to their mid life crisis but end up selling them in 2-3 years with super low mileages. And it's just not in India but is a global phenomenon.

So don't worry if biking is not for you. There is no FOMO about it.

Same day return Mumbai-Lonavala-Mumbai during the months of March April May is never a good idea for anyone let alone for a person who isn't used to riding a lot.

The fun ends after 11 am unless the roads are great which they aren't. Mumbai's Humidity and dust simply spoils the joy.

Fellow Mumbaikars would agree that this is the reason why most middle aged riders prefer breakfast rides on Sundays from Mumbai to Hotel Ahura towards Daman. Approx 100 KM one way trip (+/- 10 kms depending on where you live in Mumbai) but a straight line. The road quality was good, can maintain 100 kmph constantly so the wind blast cools you down even if the temperature is high. But that route is currently undergoing maintenance. So the journey isn't as smooth.

I suggest you try it next time you feel like giving it another go. Else, it's fine. Don't worry. You are not missing out on a lot now that you have experienced it once.

Every time I see a nice bike I wonder and hark back to my younger days. I do not consider myself a good biker or rider. Always preferred cars and Jeeps. Any Day.

I only had a commuter bike for a short time in my first work pursuit. But that became subsumed by the world of cars.

Saying that, I do find myself strangely drawn to a few e-bikes like the Enfield Flying Flea and that new Ultraviolette and all.

However, each time I find my mind straying in that direction I am reminded of Clint Eastwood’s immortal words in ‘Where Eagles Dare’ in the character of Lieutenant Schaeffer, when Richard Burton in character as Major Smith asks him ‘you ride horses in Montana’?’. Pat comes Eastwoods rejoinder, ‘I fall off them, everywhere.’ Clearly a humorous dig at Clint's Spaghetti Westerns. These words appeared in the Alistair Maclean book AND the film.

Anyway, I digress. Fact is, I too, have had more than a fair number of brushes with ‘Terra Firma’, all too often, when on a bike.

And in today’s crowded streets and unruly traffic I don't think I ll ever have the required ‘guts’ to ride a bike again, much as I would love one of those ‘Flying Fleas’.

I guess I am one of those persons who, having arrived huffing and puffing, at that point of middle age being alluded to, is also experiencing a kind of epiphany - bathed in the clear Golden Dawn of realisation, to the accompaniment of a ‘Fanfare of Trumpets’ .

Not for me these Two Wheels. Nuff Said.

This thread couldn't have come at a better time.

I've been toying with the idea of learning to ride a geared bike. Long road trips is on the mind.

I've been riding only automatic scooters since 2010 and my DL is also for the same.

Office late, I got this urge to learn geared bike, and even planned to buy Honda SP160 as my first bike.

I will keep the thoughts in this thread in mind. I plan to learn on my neighbour's old and rarely used Splendor. Will then apply for the licence, then give a think about buying a new bike.

After reading the few posts above, seems it will be better idea to buy a used bike first.

BTW, I am 44 y.o.

I would say, don't give up so soon. Motorcycling for long distances is an acquired skill. With every single ride you do, it gets better. I still remember my first long ride 10 years ago and it was torture because I didn't consider the heat and traffic on a sunday afternoon. Your body will get used to it and as your skill levels go up, it becomes second nature. And please plan out trips with more care. It makes the experience a whole lot better.

That said, if you can't deal with the heat, humidity and elements, it's probably not for you. Or at least stay away from the motorcycle in Indian summers.

Off topic but could you please share where you got your rental Himalayan 450 from in Mumbai?

Thanks

Glad to know people are trying to enter into the riding culture. At least you didn't buy a bike and keep it in the garage to gather dust.

As for the issues while riding, as everyone here has already said, it takes time to get comfortable with long distance travels in a motorcycle. I used to struggle to cross 100kms in my first motorcycle (CBR 150R).

As time went on I figured out the perfect intervals to make a quick refreshment stop, drive in a relaxed manner and also maybe developed a strong backside. After that munching miles were super easy, even did a 500km two stop ride on the same CBR once, no issues.

Nowadays I am happy travelling any distance. During sunny days you take more rest stops, or leave early and reach back early to avoid the sun. Otherwise it indeed is super tiring.

I would never be able to compare driving a car with driving a bike. Both I feel, are apples and oranges. For me driving a car with good handling through the twisties is an incredible experience, so is the wind in my face when driving a motorcycle.

If you can, try driving a motorcycle more, with friends makes it an entirely different vibe too.

Thanks for asking this. I too wanted to rent a bike for 4 days but from Pune.
If anyone is aware of a good rental services in Pune, please let me know.

b16h22 stole my words! I concur with the same - on the bike fitness is acquired, as the words say, on-the-bike. no amount of gymming or exercising can make you accustomed to the riding triangle. Ride a couple of times more and you will find your element/zone/type. My reboot into riding was a 80 km run - 40 km to the breakfast point and back post the first wave of the pandemic after having been away from recreational motorcycling for 2 years at that point, only work commutes of 50-60 km per day due to a stiff lower back and knee injury. If you were to ask me then if I would ride a sportbike like mine, I would have laughed out loud.

Nice pic. Where did you click this? Also, this bike is in great condition so do tell us where you rented it from. Seems to have regular plates though.
I've been thinking of renting a bike but most of the available ones seem to be battered and bruised.

SerArthurDayne, your post reminded me of the very first "excursion" I took just after barely learning to ride on roads- I'm using the word 'excursion' loosely here, as it could not have been more than 10km. It was technically just a "shortcut" that I wanted to take, to get to the office.

To paint a picture of the context, I was only 19 years old. I knew nothing about Motorcycles; didn't really even want to buy one; but had to as we stayed in a bit of a remote gated apartments with the nearest shop for anything being a km or two away. So the family wanted to buy me a Scooter/Motorcycle to take care of errands better. And as luck would have it, quite a sweet deal on a used FZ fell on my lap. Few weeks after familiarising myself with a bike- doing 8s around pillars on the parking spaces in the apartment complex- I was confident enough to commute on it to the office.

Initially, I used to take the common and only route which comprises your typical busy main road that is full of school buses and share autos, and a short stint in the busiest of all highways. Coming from a rural background, even moderate city traffic there, when I happened to leave early from home, was intolerable to me. So I soon got a bit ambitious, and decided to take on a "shortcut". The office was basically on the other side of a tiny hill and a couple of lakes, from where I stayed. While the main road and highway gets counter-clockwise around this to the office, this "shortcut" circumvents the hill clockwise and in between both the lakes to get there. It should come across as no surprise that nobody actually uses these seasonally barely paths as shortcut. But I've seen locals riding their Splendors, Shines, XL100s etc. on a similar area herding livestock, through a window from the apartment; and I could see such paths on Google's satellite map, and got convinced that there indeed is a shortcut. So, I decided to proceed with it anyway.

I was smart enough to not try this on the way to the office. I picked a last week day for this 'excursion', when I happened to check-in and check-out early. After a couple of turns in on this "shortcut", I realised that navigation was far from accurate on the area, and in a few zones there were no paths where GMaps suggested me to turn. Perhaps somewhen on a sunny day some guy rode through what by then was just a puddle of water (yes, I wasn't smart enough to not try this after rains); but the Map had remembered the traffic through this zone that it must've picked up from their phone. Reluctant to 'chicken out' so soon, I just rode through the most accessed-looking path, that is the closest towards the direction of my home. There was enough sunlight, so I thought I could always make it back, as long as I remembered the turns I took in order. The path got progressively harder to ride through, and somewhere soon after, I underestimated the depth of a muddy puddle I had to ride through, and of course, dropped the bike in it. Worse yet, the bike wasn't starting on self after lifting it up, and the bike had no kicker.

After what must've been at least 40 minutes of muscling the bike out of the mud, I tried my luck starting it again. I suppose, I had spent all my luck on acquiring the bike, the bike simply wouldn't start, and I had no practical know-how whatsoever to even go about fixing it. Sun was setting, and I had at least 5km more to make it home. I decided to push the bike with whatever stamina I had left, for as far as I could, leave the bike somewhere identifiable, walk to the main road, get on a share auto and return with a mechanic. About half-an-hour into pushing the bike, I reached what appeared to be a temporary stay-place for construction workers- you must've seen the asbestos sheds the workers set-up to stay for the time being. Some North Indian guy from there, saw me pushing the bike and thankfully decided to help me out. Neither of us could understand what the other was saying, but he understood the situation after me doing my best at miming. He tried a few things before he removed the spark plug, rubbed it on a stone, put it back again, after which the bike started as if it were running fine this whole time. One of the first moments I realised the value of know-how and scrappiness. After miming him the most grateful thanks I've ever said to a person, I left for home stinking in sweat and with mud & dirt all over my clothes. It was quite the warm welcome I received back home.

After a shower, resting my back on the sofa, I remember thinking 'I'm never doing this again'. But looking at the locals from that window, with their bare minimum machines, doing it right and making a living out of it, got the better of me. I started looking into this, and officially got introduced to the world of dirt riding. It was only after this, that I actually understood Motorcycles like the Himalayan 411, which up until then was just a new bike with a different design to me. I've since done many such excursions- including that very same "shortcut"- with varying degrees of pleasure or fulfillment. I don't recall ever having a perfect ride on a bike. In almost every ride, I have suffered at least one of these: excruciating traffic, unbearable weather, unrideable crosswinds, out-of-nowhere sunburns, unfortunate accidents, inconvenience due to improper planning, etc. But these no longer mattered, as I've long begun seeing Motorcycles as mere tools, that enable exploring the environment, by simply fully exposing the rider to it. I may enjoy sitting inside a box, but I know for sure it's no match to this level of exposure.

So to me, Motorcycling is always a case of 'picking ones own poison'- making measured risks for meaningful rewards. It brings a part of stupid fun at a fraction of the cost of equivalent cars. A quick google-fu tells me the H450 can roughly be as fast as an Audi A6 in 0-100kph (~7s). Who in their right mind would choose to do it on two wheels, without airbags, impact beams, quad-channel ABS and all sorts of Traction Control systems, etc.? Other than the obvious answer of 'someone who can't afford to buy/rent the Audi', it is simply that someone who also enjoys the exposure; the hardships it brings along with the fun. It may sound counter-intuitive, but it is very much a part of what makes the experience mean a lot more. We all have our preferences, but I think most would agree that the difference is best felt in Hill Stations. Curvy mountain roads, hairpin bends, enjoyable weather conditions are best enjoyed on a Motorcycle where you can lean both into the corner and the chill breeze against you. So typically, this makes the potentially uneventful highways- with all its dust, smoke and heat- worth it. And if/when you make it back home, the experience is all the more pleasing or fulfilling, as you took a risk and reaped the rewards; without the sense of which, any trip to-and-fro is just a long damn commute.

All this is to say, I don't think you'd know if Motorcycling is not for you after a ride. You'll probably know if you never want to ride again in a long while; if you never go to a place in a car, and feel 'riding a Motorcycle here would be fun'; if you never miss being as exposed on a Motorcycle when in a car; or in any other way you found riding this Himalayan pleasing, which you find missing in a car.

I think you tried to do too much on day 1 and at the wrong time of the year. Distance a little too much and the time of the year would not have helped you at all.

This is not to sound preachy,but, do a 100 km one way and get back before 11. You won't be tired at all. Extend in increments and that way your bum gets used to the seat and all your other muscles get tuned.

Riding is strictly about repetition as are most, if, not all things in life. Do give it a couple of shots, and if it still does not work out, no worries. Atleast you would have tried. I started riding a 650 cc two years back at the age of 53.

Cheers and all the best.

I've been having similar thoughts, after 10-12 two wheelers, 3lakh+km and almost 50K of touring. We have a good group of friends who all go on trips together on our bikes and have travelled all over South India. On our latest trip to the Nilgiris, we started talking about doing it on a 4 wheeler, we have multiple cars in the group that can carry 4-5 people in comfort.

It's not so much the danger, that is well known and an ever present danger. The main factor is the hassle of biking, gearing up in weather that is uncomfortable. We are all in our late 40s and 50s and a crash probably means the end of our riding days, so are sticklers for fully gearing up.

I'm sure everyone who has ridden from Bangalore goes through the same cycle of emotions, you are on a high when you leave, by the time you touch Salem and have breakfast, tiredness and sleep begins to kick in and when you hit Madurai, you start to question why you're doing it.

But then the joy of being on two wheels, in an area like the Nilgiris or in the stretch between Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari is something indescribable. You have to experience it to understand.

What we have decided is that we will add a couple of car based trips to our trip calendar (typically 5-6 a year).

Don't give up yet.
A few suggestions from my experience:-

1. Find your ride. Maybe mile-munching on a motorcycle is not your style. I love motorcycles, but not a fan of the highway miles. Maybe simple roads or no roads might be your nirvana.
   
2. Try riding with friends. I would avoid those club rides with endless rules about how to ride who to follow and all that. Just a few of your friends who are into motorcycles. Motorcycling might be your pathway to new friendships too.
   
3. Go for a skills course or a new experience—for example, Royal Enfield Slide School and other experiences at Big Rock Dirt Park.
   
4. Go for a guided trail/enduro ride with a group. Plenty of groups provide such rides throughout India.
   
5. Try trials motorcycle riding.
   
6. Definitely try other motorcycles with bigger capacities and various other engine configurations. You could be a parallel twin, a Vtwin, or an inline engine person. Maybe a boxer, try it. You might love it.
   
7. This you might already know. If I do highway miles, I prefer riding from early morning till noon and then after 4-5 pm. I usually avoid riding between noon and evening as it's tiring, boring, and hot.

Bonus: have you seen the documentary "RIDING SOLO TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD" by Gaurav Jani?