My First Long Motorcycle Ride

Why I chose to do a long  ride

I am really not a fan of motorcycles until I bought one. I liked to travel far and to new places. I soon figured out the advantages that a motorcycle has for helping me travel. Having brought the first motorcycle of my life, I've always wanted to go somewhere far away, being out of comfort, and to experience what it is actually like. So in this article, I'll share my experience on my first long ride, where I went, and how much distance I covered.

To my Hometown

My hometown being Thindivanam, which is 112 km from chennai, I haven't visited it since my childhood. So I decided to start my riding journey from here. I don't know the place I have been to nor the way to reach there in thindivanam. Some of my friends were from Thindivanam. It was completely new for me. I only know the village name of which was told by my mother. It was at Pongal festival, I am just switching channels on a Tv, knowing that the same movies and shows being telecasted every time. Instead of wasting my time, I told my mom, packed my camera, tripod and then started.

Experiencing the Highway cruise

I started my ride around 6 AM in morning. I entered my destination as Thindivanam. I reached Tambaram and after about 30 mins, cruising my way to chengalpattu.  The whole journey is done on the highway. I was afraid of doing a solo ride on the highway for the first time. It was very hard to overtake a big vehicle like a bus or truck. It was not like the local streets anymore. I have to wait for any cars behind me and have to overtake after them. I have to maintain some constant speed equal to the cars passing by if I am in the fast lane. I soon learned about highway cruises in my further rides. After fighting with some heavy traffic on the way, I reached chengalpattu. 

Time for some snapshots near chengalpattu lake

While touring, I witnessed a beautiful lake to my left with a magnificent mountain backdrop. Every new rider will have a problem of whether to stop here or to continue. I have made that mistake several times, and now my heart doesn't want to ride until I witness that beautiful lake. There was a railway track nearby and trains were just passing by. I took my camera and took some shots of a train passing nearby. While I was taking some snaps, just another train passed near me resulting in a thrilling experience. After that, I took some snaps of fishermen fishing in the lake with that beautiful mountain in the background.

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Mountains of Chengalpattu

Chengalpattu is surrounded by beautiful mountains. Whether you are coming to Chennai or going to other districts in the south, you will go through these mountains. Whenever you are traveling through chengalpattu in the early mornings, I will recommend you to take a break near those mountains and experience some foggy chill ambiance near them.

A river with no water

I continued my ride through these mountains and came by a river, only with sand left. It is the PALAR river. It lies between chengalpattu and mathuranthakam. From my memories through my childhood, I river is deserted whenever I pass across it. I haven't seen any water flow till now. People living near that area will always be excited than any other if water flow is there. But a friend of mine witnessed that water flow. The river was deserted almost all the time and, some lucky people will get to witness the water flow which happens rarely. The beauty of that river cross-bridge is those small low-lying mountains near the river bank. It will be like those rivers near the western ghats, supported by mountains on both sides.

Light drizzle

After passing Melmaruvathur, I was about to reach thindivanam. The road seems to be wet. A light drizzle started to happen. I was feared of my bag having a camera and no raincoat to cover me. I was not prepared for a rain ride. The drizzle continued for 20 mins and later it stopped. Since my bag is water-resistant to some extent, it protected my gear.

Breakfast in Hometown

When I entered the center of my hometown, NOSTALGIA  started to attack me. I am soon surrounded by childhood memories of that place. My stomach has no relation to this effect and started screaming since it was about 10 am. Having nostalgia, I had my breakfast in a hotel near the bus stand, where I was once in my childhood.

Speaking to strangers (locals)

Having finished my breakfast, I searched in the Google maps for the village to set the route map. I was left with " No results found on google maps". I spoke to some people, near the market and they also don't know about the village.  With some guessing to what they have told me, I continued further. Finally, one man told me the way to reach the village. I turned off the google maps and continued my ride. After some time, I was afraid that I was lost or I was on the wrong route. I came up with an old man who is calmly sitting near a provisional store, near an empty highway. I asked him about the village. He was the one who clearly explained to me the exact way and how to reach it. The character of the old man was in my mind the whole ride.

Reaching the village of my childhood

Finally, I reached the village after confirming the name of the village on the green signboard. It was almost 30 km from the main town. NOSTALGIA  attacked me severely than before. I correlated my childhood memories with the actual place and everything was really different. The bus stop, the terrain, houses were entirely different from my memory. I entered the village and started to explore. Being new to the place, I was in the spotlight to some of the peoples in the village. Since the population of the village being low, everyone knows about what's happening and they can easily figure out new peoples. I came across a paddy field, stopped the motorcycle, and started relaxing there. An old lady passing nearby asked about me. I explained the reason for my visit and she explained some facts about the village.

Letting my Nostalgia fade

Having Nostalgia rolling inside my head, I started to explore furthermore. I was not even afraid of what would happen to me in that new place. I felt good and happy exploring new places and talking to new persons and hearing their stories. But everything would not go according to the plan every time. Seeing new terrains, grasslands, and being present there made that NOSTALGIA fade away.  I saw some tree plantations with green paddy fields nearby and started to sync with the vibe out there. I took my time there, feeling the aroma of the paddy fields, taking some snaps, listening to music, feeling proud and good of me taking this first long journey.

On my way home

Where ever I go, the place was already wet. I don't know but the rain seems to not disturb me that day. I took my time there and it was finally time to start to home. It would take 2 hours to reach home and it was past 1 pm. I started my way to the Thindivanam using the same way I came. I had my lunch there and started in Chennai.

Reaching the top

On the way home, I witnessed a  continuous mountain stretch. It was in Melmaruvathur and it is called Vajragiri hills. I daydreamed of reaching the top. There was a Hindu temple on the top side and a church cross on another side. Feeling excited, I dropped my motorcycle out of balance. Fortunately, my engine guard took the damage leaving my motorcycle, Blue Knight 🔹 unharmed.  I decided to go to the top where the church cross is since it has people. The mountain top was called Mazhai Malai Madha Shrine. I spent some time there reaching the top, seeing clouds passing by the mountains, small lands, and objects surrounding down. 

Chasing the train

It was about 4 pm and I have to get home since I have an office the next day. I told goodbye to the place started. Once I was slowly touring in chengalpattu, I saw a train passing beside me. It was an absolute goosebump moment. I am filled with excitement and increased my throttle to catch up on the train. Later I fought with some traffic in perangulathur and Tambaram and made my way home.

So what's the takeaway

During my first long ride as a beginner, I made some mistakes and learned more. Here are the things to be aware of before you start a long ride.

• The most important thing to consider is to buy a Safety riding jacket, in case of any falls or accidents.
• Though unplanned travel can be an exciting and new experience, make sure to plan and make proper research of the destination
• Don't always rely on google maps
• Start small rides 
• Prepare for the rain
• Invest in proper riding gears
• Locals are your best guides, but not every time.
• Know the difference between touring and racing.

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