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Riding over 3500 km from Hyderabad to the Northeast on my Himalayan

8th February 2023, 16:11 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

One of my friends was on his Interceptor & two other friends were coming in a Thar.

BHPian bblost recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

"Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul and then walks grinning on the funeral." - Khalil Gibran

My last good ride was back in 2020 to Nepal during the Before-Covid era. Since then life had returned to normal but it was still not the same.

Life went on. It dragged itself on its elbows and knees, trying to turn corners but just managing to cut corners.

The roads were calling. I needed the free air from the mountains.

Every time I started my Himalayan to commute, the pain returned knowing this was not what this bike was made for.

The offices had reopened. The cubicles had turned into a prison and the drudgery of everyday life slowly chipped away at the bare straps of sanity.

There is only one remedy and that is life on an open road. Where nothing matters except the open sky.

A plan was set for January 2023. No one knew this would be the coldest month in decades. But in hindsight, it of course had to be so…

The ride plan for January 2023

14: Hyderabad (TS) to Srikakulam (AP)
15: Srikakulam (AP) to Kharagpur (WB)
16: Kharagpur (WB) to Malda (WB)
17: Malda (WB) to Gangtok (SK)
18: Nathu La (SK)
19: Gangtok (SK) to Kalimpong (WB)
20: Kalimpong (WB) to Barpeta (AS)
21: Barpera (AS) to Umtyngar (ML)
22: Dawki (ML)
23: Shillong (ML)
24: Shillong (ML) to Kaziranga Eco Camp (AS)
25: Kaziranga
The Return

14-January-2023: Hyderabad (TS) to Srikakulam (AP)

The day before the ride is always a difficult one. I had to leave at around 3:00 AM from my home and catch up with my friend somewhere near the start of the Vijayawada highway.

He came in on his Interceptor. We took off towards Vijayawada. Here we would catch up with our two friends, who were coming in from Kochi in a Thar.

We stopped for a quick breakfast at a roadside bandi in Vijayawada. The advantage of such stalls is that we don't have to worry about the bikes and the luggage.

Location sharing on our mobiles helped in easily coordinating the catch up with Thar guys.

The Thar was also going to serve as our luggage carrier. This was a huge relief as we no longer needed to worry about loading and unloading with the bungee cords.

We reached Vizag and got stuck in the festive crowds in the middle of a traffic jam.

The roads started deteriorating and we were between a combination of bad roads and no roads. The Himalayan is a capable bike on bad roads. But our higher speeds resulted in a small clip breaking apart and the windshield started rattling.

Luckily the road suddenly changed into a wide four lane and we could make up for the lost time.

Finally, by around 8 PM, we reached Srikakulam and found a decent hotel (Sri Ram Lodge). Since we had the Thar, safe parking was of prime importance.

The dinner at this hotel was tasty but spicy. The spice extracted its price the next day when my stomach got messed up.