Stuart’s GoldWing Blog

The Open Road

The husband and wife team who operate Road Veda, offering both off-the-shelf and bespoke motorcycle tours in India, contacted me with information about their venture.  The tours combine tourism with motorcycling adventure under skilled supervision and with suitable backup.

All the tours start and end in Bangalore, which is easily accessible by direct, low cost  flights from UK with British Airways and other airlines.  Bangladore is now a large and modern city (it is a State Capital) but it’s origins are at least 1,000 years ago, so it combines, from a tourist viewpoint, ancient and very modern.  In recent times has become a hub for English-speaking Call Centres – so there will be no difficulty communicating when you get there either.

You fly out there, Road Veda supplies a suitable bike (a modern, off-road Enfield Bullet) teach you how to ride safely on Indian roads and then lead you on a tour which could be the adventure of a lifetime.

Tours can be as short as one day or last a couple of weeks, according to your appetite and budget.  A ten day tour can cost less than £1,000 per person, excluding flights but including bike, accommodation, food, guide, back up car etc.  There is a special offer for Wingers too (see below) so if you and a few friends fancy a bit of adventure before the nexct UK biking season, read on…….

The following information was provided by Venetia Ansell, who was born in UK but now lives in India with her husband Gautam, who is an experienced rider.  Venetia organises things and Gautam leads the Tours.

Introducing Road Veda

Gautam and Ventia at their Wedding

Just to give you a bit of background…  I met my husband on his Royal Enfield Bullet seven years ago in Bombay.  We did many bike trips around India over the next five years and I quickly realised what a fantastic way this was to see the country – you have access to places most tourists don’t even realise exist and from the open road you see India just as it is.  I moved from the UK to India in 2007 and we got married – riding off
for our honeymoon from the reception on the Bullet.

We wanted to introduce more people to the joys of riding Bullets down the roads of Karnataka, lined with Gulmohar trees, the coastal lanes of Goa and the steep zig zags of Himachal Pradesh.

So we set up Road Veda, starting off initially with short rides aimed at those already based in India, and then more recently the longer tours for those coming from further afield.  After many years of pillion riding, I now ride too – though rather more slowly and sedately than the boys.

Lots of uncrowded tarmac

A Selection of Tours

Road Veda operates motorbike tours right across South India. Our shortest tour, the sunrise ride, is just one day; our long trips extend to two weeks.

Shorter trips include rides to Galibore fishing camp, Chitradurga Fort,
the Nilgiri Hills and the Western Coast.

Three of the longer tours offered for 2009 were:

Beaching It – A ride up India’s Malabar Coast to the Bullet’s spiritual home, Goa. (Two weeks)

Head north-west into the coffee-scented air of Chikmaglur and the lush
Muthodi forest.  Watch the sunset from the cliff at Agumbe, so high you can
see the ocean 60km away, before descending the ghats to the coast and your
own private beach at Kundapur.  Enjoy sunsets over the Arabian Sea as we
putter along the edge of Karnataka taking in a temple or three at the
sacred town of Gokarna until we hit southern Goa whose palm-arched roads
were made for Enfields.

Unusual spectators

Goa lives on her many beaches – swim, ride, party or just loll on the white sand watching life, and the odd cow, go by.  Next is Hampi, the strange boulder oasis in the middle of the country which once ruled India, littered with vast untended ruins. And finally the monkey man at Chitradurga before the return to Bangalore.

Cricket and Kalaripayattu – Faded colonial glory, South Indian style (Ten Days)

Soak in a bit of Indian history in Mysore and Srirangapatnam en route to
Coorg, whose pale-skinned people claim descent from Alexander the Great, where we have the run of a private coffee estate. Cross the border into Kerala and the thick Wayanad forest and cleanse both body and soul in the Papanashini (‘Sin-destroying’) river at Tholpetty or just enjoy the view before we cut across to the coast and Thalassery, home of cricket and the Indian circus.

Not all tarmac!

After some traditional Keralan theatre and dance we amble south for the
backwaters and houseboats.  Next we head to one of Kerala’s famous old
British hill stations laced with tiny tea estate roads before crossing
into Tamil Nadu and the blue hills of the Nilgiris at Kotagiri. Hill roads
and hairpin turns flanked by jungle, paddy fields and the odd village
bring us gently back to reality and Bangalore.

Of Gods and Poet Kings – Karnataka’s forests, temples and kingdoms (Ten Days)

Admire the 60 foot high statue of Gomateshwara, god of the Jains, as we
ride into Shravanabelagola and try to imagine what it looks like when
ritually bathed in milk and saffron every 12 years.  Next we ride to Kukke Subrahmanya in the Western ghats, a teeming mass of nature painted more shades of green than you’d think existed.  Kukke is where you go to rid yourself of the snake curse. Pilgrims throng the tiny town but beyond the temple lies miles of virgin jungle rolling up and down steep hills,
perfect for long undisturbed treks.

Sureal vistas

We cross the ghats to reach the coast and head north for Kundapur, and park ourselves on the beachfront for a bit of R & R and perhaps some lazy kayaking. A ride inland brings us to the boulder-strewn, paddy-green ancient kingdom of Hampi for some serious heritage.  Down to the stone fortress at Chitradurga and an underground temple before we clip back to Bangalore.

Custom Rides

Road Veda will also design and organise custom-built rides for any group of 8 or more.

Ancient and modern

Safety and Backup

Road Veda provides the bikes, helmets and all related equipment, as well
as a mechanic who travels with the group.

A lead rider and a four wheel drive support car accompany each tour.  The support car has room for one non-rider and clients’ luggage.  We carry medical supplies and a trained first aider.

We ride in small groups, normally about five bikes or so and at a good but steady pace of about 60 to 70 kmph allowing us time to soak in the beauty on either side of us.

Our bikes are 350cc Royal Enfield Bullets; each is slightly different and has its own distinctive character.

Special Offer for Wingers: If you mention this Blog Article when you make a booking for five or more persons before the end of January 2010 (even if your Tour starts after that) you will all receive a 15% discount on the list prices!

For further information please visit Road Veda’s Website.  If you don’t find what you want straight away contact them by email and ask questions; Venetia is very good at responding to emails.