Ride Report: The India Ride Expedition

**ryanjpyle** · 10-19-2012, 09:50 AM

Day 46: Today was a moving day, and our India Ride Team had heavy hearts leaving the hill top mountain retreat of Darjeeling. The scenic views, the clean mountain air and the abundance of tea plantations give the region and relaxing and timeless quality. We enjoyed our time there as we learned about tea making, soaked up some mountain sun and got some much needed laundry done.

After suffering through the four hour traffic jam to get from Darjeeling back down to Siliguri, a tough way to start any morning, our team made brief work of the 327km to Bhagalpur, Bihar province. The journey today brought us back in to touch with "Real India" as our relaxing mountain retreat was replaced with the hustle, the bustle and the traffic of life in Bihar province.

Tomorrow we'll be back on the bikes and making our way to western Bihar province, as we continue our journey back to Delhi. Can you believe we left the India Gate exactly 46 days ago? We've seen so much and traveled so far that we'll actually need to review all our HD footage just to remember the bulk of our journey, far too many highlights to try and recall by memory alone.

**ryanjpyle** · 10-19-2012, 04:18 PM

Day 47: The journey continues, but alas we are in to our last week of our great adventure around India. As the countdown begins to our return to Delhi I must admit, I had no idea what we were up for when we began planning this journey over one year ago. And as the weeks turn to days, our completion of our journey nears and our entire team is able to hold our heads high. We set ourselves an incredible task: To circumnavigate India by motorcycle and share our experience with the wider world. We are now only 6 days and 1,100km away from completing our goals.

And today, we inched a little closer to our goal of returning to the India Gate in Delhi on Oct.24. With Bihar province having a questionable reputation as a bit of a "wild west" we were told by numerous people in India to stick to the main roads and avoid riding at night; well, those instructions have been tough to follow. Instead of sticking to the main expressways we had a brilliant day traversing southwest from Bhagalpur to Bodhgaya riding mostly on small country backroads which brought us in to contact with numerous colourful villages and farming communities. What Bihar province lacks in reputation, it makes up for in stunning landscape and good roads.

**ryanjpyle** · 10-20-2012, 11:21 AM

Day 48: After 48 days on the road, our team finally found enlightenment. This morning we took a tour of the Mahabodhi Temple, the place where Buddha gained enlightenment. It's a pretty special spot and the plethora of followers, many whom had traveled long distances, to pray and worship on the site only added to the ambiance of the moment. After so many days on the road, and so much struggle, our arrival in Bodhgaya has rejuvenated the energy of our team and we are now pumped up for our remaining 1,100km journey from central India back to Delhi.

With our team enlightenment coming before lunch, we opted for meditation training in the afternoon and the results were mixed. Many jokes have been made within our team about Ryan's "intensity" he carries with him on a daily basis, and we thought some meditation training would help "chill" him out a little bit. So we organized a meditation training session at the Vipassana Meditation training center in Bodhgaya and got their chief instructor to offer some insight in to the fine art of meditation. Needless to say both Colin and Ryan struggled with the concept of sitting still, and they failed miserably with the most basic task of focusing on your breathing. Perhaps meditation is not for motorcycle adventure riders.

**ryanjpyle** · 10-20-2012, 11:23 AM

Day 49: Colin and Ryan, and our entire team, have had an Incredible Time in Incredible India. And we thought: what would be the best way to show our appreciation to the people of India and perhaps even inspire two individuals to get out and explore their surroundings on two-wheels? The answer was obvious. We are going to give away our motorcycles to two lucky competition winners.

http://www.facebook.com/mountaindewindia

**ryanjpyle** · 10-22-2012, 03:46 PM

Day 50: We've reach another milestone in our journey around India, Day 50. Sure, we've always known we would reach Day 50 and it's been planned since the beginning of our journey; but there is something so satisfying about knowing that we've been on the road exploring India for the last 50 days. And it's been magical journey to date. This morning, at sunrise, we took the opportunity to walk the shores of the Ganges in the ancient town of Varanasi. Also known as the cultural capital of India, Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in all of India, and the town is very special. Whether walking along the banks of the Ganges or exploring the narrow streets in the old town, Varanasi's long history can be felt with every step. We hope you like our imagery from the day.

**ryanjpyle** · 10-23-2012, 06:22 AM

Day 51: As we inch closer to the completion of our journey, we can't help but think about how far we've come. Over 51 days we've covered countless kilometers, visited nearly 30 cities and circumnavigated much of India. In many ways, there is nothing left for us to do now other than return to Delhi. Today our team had a steller day covering 347km along National Highway #2 and making some great time as we pulled in to the city of Kanpur in the late afternoon. Tomorrow we'll be leaving Kanpur for Agra and then onwards to Delhi.

**ryanjpyle** · 10-24-2012, 12:05 PM

Day 52: I hope all is well. Today The India Ride Team conquered 292km from Kanpur to Agra on what have been some of the best roads so far on this trip. The National Highway #2, that we've mostly been on since Bihar province, as been a wonderfully maintained road and it allowed our team to make some good ground today. Agra marks a very special moment in our tour around India, as tomorrow is our last "off the bike" day as our team will visit the Taj Mahal. Yes, sure, the Taj is a huge tourist trap and millions of tourists visit each year. We know all of that. But after 53 days of traveling in India we've been building up our trip to the Taj as our grand finale in India, and to know that we'll be making that visit tomorrow gives us all goosebumps. We have seen much, and we have traveled far. Bring on the Taj Mahal!!

**ryanjpyle** · 10-24-2012, 12:08 PM

Day 53: It took 20 years to build, and 20,000 people dedicated their lives to building the Taj Mahal; and it is every bit as beautiful as everyone says it is. Colin and Ryan had a brilliant time today during their visit. More than just the Taj, the building itself represents something far more for our team...it represents the end of our time in India. With heavy hearts our team is nearing the end of our time in India and we've experienced so much in such a short period of time Colin and Ryan are actually keen to review all their HD video footage just so they can remember half of it. We've covered over 30 cities and countless attractions as we've truly experienced much of what Incredible India has to offer. The term "world-wind tour" does not even begin to describe how much we've seen and how positively it has influenced all of us. With the end so close, we need to remember that our final 230km tomorrow from Agra to Delhi is crucial. We'll need the same kind of pure focus that we've shown on this entire trip in order to make sure we complete our journey safely

**ryanjpyle** · 10-24-2012, 12:10 PM

Did anyone out there really think that we would not make it? Our team arrived at the India Gate at 2pm on October 24th. Exactly 54 days after we left from the India Gate!!