Riders on the storm

Motorcycle riding along Kerala’s high ranges is truly an unforgettable experience — high roads, magnificent scenery, and the food isn’t too bad either. Having a dual-sports bike and being a part of Impulse Riders Kochi were the reasons I took up this adventure. Twenty of us riders started our two-day-long trip from Kochi to Mankulam, Munnar. Our schedule was as follows: Day one was to get to Mankulam before sunset and Day two was to go mountain hiking and enjoy the scenery.

Day one was superb and went by just as we planned. But the second day gave us a unique experience. Our local guide said there is a tribal village with a few families living there and the path to the village would be extremely tough and challenging. As always, we accepted the challenge to get there.

When we started, it was a comfortable trail but it slowly started getting tough. Our minds had to be focussed every second on that slice of the road directly ahead or we risked losing control of the bike and falling. The way our motorcycles were designed, they were equipped to handle off-road conditions.

Soon, the monsoons hit the path and made the trip difficult. We even had falls that damaged the motorcycles and injured the bikers. But a fall is just a wakeup call to pay closer attention. And we were able to walk away from each fall, restart our machines and count it as a blessing.

There was usually something we had never seen before at each mile we crossed, and this trip was not a disappointment on any count.

When we stopped at the village, there were some people around us with bewildered eyes. It was the first time they were seeing so many bikes and people in their area. They offered us cups of tea and let us pose with them for photos. We reciprocated by letting them sit on our bikes and try on our helmets.

The view from the top was so breathtaking and we completely enjoyed the scenery. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. So we said a warm goodbye to the villagers and returned to Kochi.