Biking Fiesta : The Great Indian Riding Festival 2016

What’s the buzz
For all the travelers who love to have adventure and new experiences, there is a new festival in the town.
And yes how can I forget the awesome bikers, especially the bullet gang who love to explore new destinations.
Ok, not taking much of your time here I reveal the mystery; RootsVida.com proudly announces the launch of “The Great Indian Riding Festival 2016”.

What is “The GIRF”
The GIRF is a six month long biking fiesta starting from 1 April to 30^th September 2016 that runs with everything that bikers love. It is a tale of four destinations – Ladakh, Bhutan, North East and Spiti involving 25 tours from New Delhi. The festival gives you the freedom to choose the group, date and time as per your convenience. The festival has opened for registrations from 23^rd February.
 For more details click here.

About Rootsvida.com
Rootsvida.com is a travel based platform founded in 2013 offering experiential trips with a touch of local flavour. It is an upcoming marketplace for unique travel organizers hosting budget group travels. Roots is a passionate group of travellers who explore offbeat places experimenting with different concepts to experience adventure and travel.
At present the two year old company, primarily based out of Delhi, has executed 34 trips involving over 500 travellers. With such a great response the company is expected to grow manifolds with the like-minded people.

From the Founders alley
“With the growing passion for motorcycling and exploring vivid terrains, India gives an opportunity to explore such landscapes to a great extent. I see India as a growing hub for riding tours and we are going to contribute continuously towards this mission,” says Rootsvida’s co-founder Anurag Chauhan.

“Rootsvida.com will soon be rolling out a new program for travel organizers – a platform that provides bloggers, travellers, and passionate people to discover offbeat places,” states Rootsvida’s co-founder Shally Makin.

And now the most important question, Why to go for “The Great Indian Riding Festival”.
So here are some questions for you -:
1. Do you love to wander and reincarnate away from the busy roads?
2. Does travelling offers salvation to your soul?
3. Are you always looking forward to a fascinating experience of exploring the unseen, musing on solo travels and penning down your memoirs?

If answer to any of the above question is yes, you should definitely go for this amazing festival which will take you to the land of yaks and yetis, stupas and sherpas and some of the best biking roads on earth.
You will get to meet other riders on your journey, make friends, camp together and live some of the most memorable moments in the world’s most iconic places. Biking, adventure, camping, food and festivities! If these words excite you even remotely, then you should Join the TRIBE!!!

Here is a glimpse of the schedule

Not convinced yet?
Don’t worry the best part is here.
I have Rs 500 off just for you applicable on any trip you choose in GIRF.

Enter the below code and enjoy Rs 500 off.
Isn’t that an awesome deal?
So book now and Join the TRIBE..!!!
Click here to check all the amazing trips

From the Diary of a Biker

There is nothing quite like the joy that comes from riding a bike. Whether its on highways , through dirt or over the rocks , biking is one of life's simple pleasures. Bikes are a way to get around the town, to relax, to have adventure , to stay happy.
I have been riding bikes since I was 12 years old. My biking journey started with hero honda Splendor, than followed Bajaj Pulsar and finally came the love of my life Royal Enfield Bullet.

Switching from pulsar to bullet was smooth except the starting part. During the initial days I was hurt a few times while starting it,but as we became intimate I learned the art.
I used to ride it everyday, even rain, wind  and darkness couldn't stop me.

There is an incident that made be fall for my bike and brought us together.
It was last year of my college life. I and my friends had got placed in top IT companies of India and wanted to enjoy the remaining time having lots of fun and adventure.
Our college was in Indore. We all had a dream to visit IIM Indore once ,before actually getting admission into it...:P
One day our college got over before time and we decided to visit IIM Indore.
We took our bikes and reached the destination in some half n hour. After trying all our ways to convince the security guard to let us in and explore the campus , we finally gave up.
But 2 of my friends had something else on their mind.After strolling outside the campus for some 5 mins they drove their bikes right through the open gate. We kept shouting but till than they rode their bikes well inside the campus.Security guard roared angrily at us and started dialing numbers from his landline phone.
After 10 mins we could hear the sound of a police siren which was slowly becoming loud.
I quickly analysed the situation and called my friends to come outside ASAP as police was coming to arrest us.
All of us sat on our bikes and waited for 2 of our friends to come outside. The people jeep was right in front of us and at the same time 2 of them came speeding outside.

We rode our bikes as speedily as possible as if it was a run for our life. I was rushing through ,at the top of all speed limits. The feeling was incredible. Gust of cool breeze flowing through my face , blowing my hair.
My mind became numb just focusing on nothing else than the endless highway and the speedometer.
It was than when I became a speed demon and adventure crazy. The feeling of floating in air, sometimes even flying, while riding my bike made me fall for it..:)

I love riding my bike because of the following reasons.
1. Thrill
2. Adventure
3. Self Reliance
4. Freedom
5. Passion
6. Speed
7. Feeling of Brotherhood
8. Cool Factor
9. Single Mindedness
10. Sensation and lastly
11. Light on pocket when compared to driving a car.


But why people love their bikes even more than their spouse or girl friend.
To get the ans I met many bikers from different runs of life,belonging to different age categories. I asked what is that reason they ride for? Why is bike the first love of their life?
Here comes the replies.

Some say that riding is the closet thing to flying. The excitement, thrill and freedom while riding is beyond description.

For lot of them riding a bike tends to focus the mind in such a way that is eliminates all other mental distractions and creates a single mindedness.Thoughts and worries about the common stresses of everyday life , such as pressures from work and home disappears from our mind during the ride.As a result mind becomes refreshed after the ride.

Biking is about being a speed demon. Cruising on highways with the rush of adrenalin when we go in full throttle ,with the wind rushing on your face is magical.So the speed and sensation is what they ride for.

Motorcyclist often feel like they belong to a big community and that sensation give them something in common.So for many the reason to ride is for the bond that they share with other bikers.

                              

Many women said that they are fed up been a pillion rider. Now they want to own a bike and fell the sensation, the adrenaline rush while riding a bike..So for experience and thrill of lifetime women ride bikes.

Riding a bike makes a person look cool..When a gal or guy walks into a restaurant with leather jacket, gloves and helmet under arm they invariably exude a swagger and sense of cool just isn't the same as rolling up in a car.  So the cool factor associated with motorcycle make them ride it.

Fuel saving at pump takes priority for some people. As bike can get more than double the fuel economy of car, it make them serious money savers.

                                                     


But there is also a  different part of this story. There are many people who carry a wrong perception about bikers. They consider them violent thugs of some gang which can harm them anytime. But this is totally a misconception. Bikers follow a code of brotherhood not only between themselves about also with others.
Here are my words on behalf of bikers all over the world for all the people who consider us wrong.

I saw you pull your child closer when we passed each other on the sidewalk
But you didn't see me playing with the kids at the local park.

I saw you stare at my long hair
But you didn't see me and my friends cut ten inches off for locks of love.

I saw you roll your eyes at our leather jackets and gloves
But you didn't see me and my fellow bikers donate the old ones to those that had none.

I saw you look in fright at my tattoos
But you didn't see the names of parents written in and out of my heart.


I saw you complain about how loud and noisy our bikes can be
But you didn't care about the volume of your DVD player


I saw you change lanes while we passed by
But you didn't see that I was rushing fast so that I can be with my family.


I am just a biker with friends a family, but you didn't see me.

I have written this with the hope that people will understand the bikers and will befriend them.


This post is written for The Castrol Power1 Blogging Contest on Indiblogger...:)