Solo rides that shook me: Scary moments that changed my riding mindset

Suddenly, I felt a bang on my back, and then someone started hitting me on my helmet with a bag.

BHPian psb300r recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hi everyone! I just wanted to vent some of my riding experiences over the past two months.

I ride a CB300R—usually using it to travel from Chennai to my hometown and back, which totals around 700 km, and occasionally to Pondicherry. I'm a fairly new rider; I've been riding bikes for around three years, and I’ve been riding my CB300R for 11 months now, having covered around 8500 km on it—mostly on highways.

I usually ride defensively, keeping speeds between 60 to 100 kmph, and when the roads are clear, I sometimes push it up to 130 kmph for a few seconds.

Now, let me tell you about three encounters I had—two major and one minor—during the last two months.

Encounter 1: Mistaken Identity

This was on Feb 15. I started from Chennai early in the morning on my way to my hometown. It was a beautiful start. On the way, I passed a few riders—one on a BMW and another on a Dominar. I waved at them, they waved back. The climate was misty, and they guided me through it for a short distance. At a toll, they stopped—I bid them farewell and continued.

After around 300 km, I reached Attur-Kallakurichi, where I had to enter a village road for a few kilometers to reach the state highway that would take me home. Here’s where Google Maps messed up—it led me through a very narrow route. At one point, I messed up a left turn while looking at the map and almost hit a biker. It was my mistake. The biker gave me some looks, I apologized, and continued.

A few kilometers later, I was on the state highway, entering and exiting small towns. I maintained a speed of 60 to 80 kmph on the highway, and inside the towns, I was riding very slowly.

Then I got a call from my mother. I connected via Bluetooth and was informing her of my whereabouts while riding slowly at 10 kmph on the side of the road. Suddenly, a guy on a bike came in front of me and braked, blocking my path. He asked me where I was coming from. I said, "Chennai." Then he asked, "What bike is it? KTM?" I replied, "No, it’s a Honda." He then said, "Wait a minute," and started calling someone.

I was confused and asked what was happening. Keep in mind, my mom was still on the line and could hear everything. I asked again what was going on, and he explained that some guy on a red Duke was speeding and didn’t stop when they tried to signal him. He then asked the person on the phone whether it was a KTM or a Honda. Fortunately, the guy said KTM.

It felt like my entire life came back at that moment.

The man let me go. Throughout the conversation, he was polite, but I was scared witless—it was a very new experience for me. After I left, my mom, who was still on the line, was also very scared, and my mood was completely spoiled for the rest of the ride. I felt conflicted, wondering if I had done something wrong. Maybe they mistook my bike for some KTM, and it being a Honda saved me. I couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened if I had been riding a KTM. Or maybe they mistook me for someone else altogether, since I was fully geared up.

From that day on, I’ve been very scared to even enter small towns with my gear, and I always prefer to stick to the highways now.

Encounter 2: A U-Turn Gone Wrong

This was on March 22. I had planned a short ride—around 50 km from Chennai to a restaurant called Hotel Guru near Mamallapuram. The ride was good. I left home at 2 PM, reached there by 3 PM, and had a nice meal. I was in a good mood and decided to do another 50 km towards Pondicherry, and return once I hit 100 km.

At 100 km, I decided to turn back and stopped on the left side of the road to take a U-turn. Let me clarify—this road was under construction and was a single lane with both directions of traffic using the same space. In hindsight, I should’ve gone a few more kilometers and taken a proper U-turn at a proper divider. That was my first mistake.

I was patiently waiting for the vehicles to clear so I could take the U-turn. The oncoming traffic was just two bikes around 200 meters away. I felt confident enough to turn, and I did—leaving enough space for the oncoming bikes to pass without disturbing them.

Suddenly, the bike behind me started honking hard. As they passed, the pillion rider started throwing slurs at me. My next mistake: I went ahead to apologize. As I approached them, the guy started throwing slurs at my family. Something in me snapped—I showed my offensive finger (I kindly request others not to ever do this and always remain calm), and then zoomed ahead.

As I was entering a traffic-heavy stretch of the highway, I slowed down. Suddenly, I felt a bang on my back. Thanks to my riding gear with back protection, it didn’t hurt. Then someone started hitting my helmet with a bag—it was the same guys. They were yelling and asking me to stop. I was nearly at a stop when they started hitting me again.

That’s when I realized: if I came to a complete stop, I don’t know what would have transpired. These guys seemed very dangerous, possibly intoxicated. As their bike came to a stop, I took off with all the adrenaline I had. I started doing dangerous manoeuvres, just to put as much distance as possible between us (again, I kindly request not to do this). I kept looking in my mirrors constantly, fearing they’d catch up. Luckily, they were on a Splendor, so they couldn’t. I only felt relieved after crossing 50 km.

When I reached home, I contemplated the whole incident. Since then, every time I ride, there’s a constant fear of messing up. It ruined my perspective on solo rides, and for a few moments, I even considered not doing long rides anymore.

This entire incident could have been avoided if I had just taken a proper U-turn and remained calm, even when provoked.

Encounter 3: A Morning Fender Bender

This is very minor compared to the above two. It was just a usual morning. I was riding to my office, which is only 2 km away. I was moving slowly in first gear in narrow traffic, with vehicles coming from all directions.

I had to take a right turn, and as I was manoeuvring slowly, an auto suddenly cut in front of me. I had to brake hard at 10 kmph, and a car behind hit me. It wasn’t a big hit—no damage to the bike or me.

Even though it was the car’s fault, I said sorry and left, as I didn’t want to spoil my morning mood. I had learned from my previous encounters that it’s better to avoid conflicts.

Reflections:

After these encounters, I often doubt myself. I carry a guilt that I might be giving riding gear and the entire riding community a bad name because of my mistakes. Even when trying to ride responsibly, hiccups happen.

I would love to hear advice from seasoned riders—what they make sure of before starting a ride, and what they do during the ride to avoid incidents like these and have a pleasant ride.

Thank you all for listening to this rant.

Ending this with a picture of a twin I found in the office.

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