Photographs by India Bike Week
I utterly dislike repetition. Especially when I’m writing, unless it’s a meaningful callback. And since I asked my fellow riders on the trip to contribute to this story, there are going to be a lot of echoing thoughts ringing through the next few pages. It’s a good thing I don’t mind repetition when it comes to rides down the Konkan coast, then. What follows are only some of the meandering thoughts that came in and went out of my helmet on the ride. And the words of people I was more than happy to ride with. Nothing more, nothing less.
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I bought my KTM 390 Adventure in February 2020 with the sole purpose of riding it around India as much as I could. And here the bike was in Mumbai, standing next to Elspeth Beard who rode around the world on an old BMW a long time ago. By the time this ride to Goa and back was done, my KTM’s odometer just managed to scrape past the 13,000-km mark on its digital screen. And when Beard was riding in India for the very first time, I was all of one year old. Also, her book about her travels, Lone Rider, has been sitting on my bookshelf for years, still unread. Time is indeed a very relative muddle.
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Changing my helmet visor may as well be an act that changes my mindset. However, no number of visor changes can prepare me for a ride down the Konkan coast. It’s familiar, but never the same. Especially when I have a diverse bunch of people from my own country and others riding along with me. That’s probably why I stayed right at the end of our seven-rider rider-train (I’m not one for group rides, really). Except for a few enthusiastic kilometres once in a while. But I did learn that I am capable of restraint. Was it the company that had nothing to prove? Why can’t all rides be like this, all about just riding and being rather than confirming pointless points?
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I’ve always believed that women can be good motorcycle riders. And this ride redoubled that notion. Watching Elspeth, Candida and Urvashi being in complete control of their motorcycles, well, that was a sight all male riders should’ve seen. It was a privilege, witnessing the composure and capability of female forms from varied backgrounds on a motorcycle. After all, the motorcycle doesn’t care about the gender of the human riding it, and neither should anyone else. Also, point out one bad female rider and I’ll show you ten worse male ones. You may or may not not see it now, but that’s just the way our species always goes.
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There was a moment one afternoon, when I saw Harsh leading the way in the distance on a plateau lined with golden grass (or was it through a tree-lined canopy?) with every other rider between the two of us. And I imagined an invisible, magical thread running right from him to me, passing through all the riders in between. It didn’t splinter, that thread, even when the road turned this way and that for a long time. And in that prolonged moment, I realised that as long as a person rides, and rides either for the sake of it or with a purpose, that’s all I need to relate to them. Everything else is just nonsensical ego talking. Marcus must’ve been busy riding, of course, for all the time that I asked him to send in his words for this story. It’s okay, Marcus; I hope you do get that Harley-Davidson you want to complete your ride around the world. Get rid of that electric bike already.
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No matter how generous my heart is towards Harsh and Rishad, my brain cannot come up with the words to express it. And they’ve been kind enough to suffer this particular condition of mine for many years now. I can only repay them by being who I am, even if they might wholeheartedly disagree.
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The flow state is one where things happen without any apparent effort, almost as if they were meant to happen, with your involvement or otherwise. This was one of those rides, and this is nowhere close to all that I wanted to say — for once, I will keep all those things tightly locked away in my memory. Also, now I’ve run out of space. Over to the people who will henceforth forever be my fellow Konkani riders.
THE LEGEND
I was both apprehensive and excited when I received the invitation to attend India Bike Week earlier this year, which also included a three-day ride from Mumbai to the event in Goa. My first Indian experience was 40 years earlier in 1984 when I arrived in Madras (now Chennai, of course), a young 24-year-old woman on a solo motorcycle trip around the world. As a single woman I had found travelling through India in the early 1980s extremely challenging… how much would things have changed?
The route took us along the western coastline of Maharashtra, through seaside villages, along beaches on beautiful motorcycling roads overlooking the sea. Short ferry crossings were a welcome break to the riding which in India still required one’s full attention at all times. But this was a very different country to the India I had first encountered; good roads, delicious food, all with a wonderful group of like-minded individuals.
Elspeth Beard
THE INSTALADY
The ride from Mumbai to Goa along the coastal route for India Bike Week was nothing short of magical! I never knew Maharashtra had such stunning, untouched beaches, so peaceful and pristine. The food, oh, the food! Every village we stopped at had something delicious to offer, from fresh seafood to local treats that left us wanting more. Riding the Harley-Davidson X440 was perfect for this terrain — it handled village roads and speed breakers very well. But the highlight? Riding alongside the legendary Elspeth Beard and my biker friends. The camaraderie and shared passion made it truly unforgettable.
Candida Louis
THE DAI
I love a good road trip, especially cruising along the sun-kissed Konkan coast: scenic views, surprising stops, the time spent with friends or alone with your thoughts — it’s when I do some of my best creative thinking. The possibilities for exploration are endless — should I turn off the route on an unmarked road to a beach that Google Maps promises will be my private Keela-Wee? Should I take the ferry or follow the estuary and loop back again, adding miles and memories? Prawns, rawa-fry or masala-fry? Behind the handlebar, you’re in full control of the agenda, steering the trip wherever your heart or mind takes you.
This year on the ride to India Bike Week, the pace was mellow, and the company of riders was a ragtag bunch of illustrious world travellers that included Elspeth Beard who, in 1982 at the age of 24, set off in her BMW R60/6 to become the first British woman to travel around the world on a motorcycle. I suspect most of us already had a crush on Elspeth even before riding with her down the coastal route from Mumbai to Goa! It was amazing to hear her stories firsthand and then to see her ride with a nonchalance that only a veteran rider can possess.
As always with Kartik, he and I were usually the last people standing, long after the rest of the group was asleep, swapping stories, challenging opinions, talking motorcycles, just bitching, and putting away a lot of lager. And already, I can’t wait to ride down this road again on a motorcycle which is appropriate for this kind of slow travel that I love.
Harsh Man Rai
THE GUY WHO MADE IT ALL HAPPEN
I’ve done the ride from Bombay to Goa along the coastal road once before, coincidentally with Harsh leading the way. That time, too, it was to ride to India Bike Week, in fact, the inaugural one in 2013. This time around the idea sprung up when IBW invited Elspeth Beard to talk on the Big Trip stage. I met Elspeth in the UK in April 2024 to interview her about her round the world trip. Even though it’s been 40-odd years since Elspeth rode around the world on her BMW 60/6, the lure of motorcycling is still strong and she was at once game for the idea of riding from Mumbai to Goa.
The plan went all over the place before it finally firmed up into a small knit group including Harsh and Kartik who are great guys to ride with and even greater guys when they’re not on motorcycles. Candida Louis, I knew only from Instagram, and I am happy to say that for all her fame, she is sweet, simple and down to earth. Urvashi from 70 EMG was an absolute boon in terms of logistics for stay, management and a fabulous rider on her KTM 390 Adventure. Marc, who is riding around the world on an electric motorcycle, joined us, too. The star of the ride, though, was Elspeth and in her, too, as in Harsh, (both born just two years apart), the joy of being on a motorcycle runs unbridled. Both of them ride with an eagerness that is tempered with the wisdom of experience.
The ride was one of my best in recent times. Unlike a media ride, we were akin to a bunch of friends out for a road trip with the primary purpose being the joy of motorcycling. Everyone was competent, considerate and chilled out, and this resulted in great camaraderie and conversations. The roads were, surprisingly, in a good state of repair and the X440 that I was riding was very well suited for this road trip. Over three days we rode along the serrated Maharashtra coastline, riding through small fishing villages and crossing creeks on flat-bottomed ferries. It was truly a ride that I thoroughly enjoyed because each of my co-riders regard motorcycling as a way of life and that goes a long way in making them wonderful human beings.
Rishad Saam Mehta
THE STRANGER
Our ride to India Bike Week was a beautiful journey along the Konkan coastline, where every twist and turn felt like a reward. We started with the M2M ferry from Mumbai to Alibaug, and from there, the road opened up — winding through lush ghats, hugging narrow coastal routes, crossing rivers on local ferries, and soaking in the quiet charm of places like Guhagar and Tarkarli. Riding with Elspeth Beard, Candida Louis, Marcus Engel, Rishad Saam Mehta, Harsh Man Rai and Kartik Ware was an experience in itself.
Their presence brought an effortless flow to the trip, their stories and laughter adding so much to the ride. The days were spent chasing the sun through stunning landscapes and feasting on the freshest seafood, while the evenings were alive with shared tales and unfiltered laughter. Being part of this journey as a representative of the IBW team was an honour. As we drew closer to Vagator, fellow riders started appearing, exchanging waves and smiles. The air was electric with anticipation, the kind you can feel deep in your chest. And by the time we arrived, the road had already given us a story worth telling.
Urvashi Patole
