Travelling is something integral to human beings. We may not realise it until we do it but travelling can liberate one’s soul. I have been a motorcyclist for a while and so, my travelling companion has always been my motorcycle. My family has always been aware and they have always encouraged me to do what makes me happy.
The story of this ride is a peculiar one. For a while now, my mother has been telling me this: “Since you guys (me and my sister) are grown-ups and independent now, it is time for me to explore the world.” We have travelled as a family quite a few times.
Family roadtrips in our car have been fairly commonplace. But the one thing that piqued my mother’s interest was how I was always out for a ride on Sundays with my friends. She wanted to know what it feels like to travel on a motorcycle. One day, she casually asked me to plan a motorcycle trip with her and that is where the idea of this ride came from.
I am from Bilaspur and my sister lives in Pune. She had gone to their place to visit her and when the time came for her to come back, I told her that I was coming to pick her up… on my motorcycle! She was elated! So, I rode from Bilaspur to Pune solo and that kicked off this Mother-Son duo ride.
We started our ride from Pune around 6:45 AM. Our target for the first day was to reach Amravati which is, more or less, half of the total journey. But the destination was the only thing we had planned. There were no scheduled breaks or anything. We’d stop for fuel, food or whenever we encountered something beautiful. Both, I and my mother, are believers in the beauty of nature and that is why we did not schedule anything in advance. We planned to enjoy the journey. So whenever we found a scenic spot, we’d take a break, take some photos, and be on our way back.
The journey to Amravati was a smooth one except for a detour that we had to take because of some minister’s upcoming event. The extra 50 km that we had to do was not the problem, but the condition of the road was. This little detour had absolutely pathetic road conditions, made worse by the heavy truck traffic. This part of the day was tiring and a little difficult but then, that is all part of travelling.
After covering around 375 km, we took a lunch break at around 4:30 PM. During our lunch break, there were so many people that had so many questions for us; where we were coming from, where we were going, how we take up this ride, and so on. Their reactions and their words, both served as encouragement for us. People were truly gobsmacked about this ride of ours.
We have travelled between the two cities before but usually by car. This time we were on a motorcycle but even then, there’s a coffee stall along the highway once you cross Mehkar and we always take a break there. Unfortunately, this time the stall was closed. But the owner was nearby and he was kind enough to get us coffee from another stall. This is one of the incidents that touched both of us deeply, making us realize that travelling not only helps us meet new people but creates selfless bonds as well.
After this break, we rode continuously to Amravati covering 630 km from Pune in around 15 hours. Regardless of the fact that we were on an awesome roadtrip, a mother is always a mother. She asked me to take proper rest even if it meant waking up late. She told me all that while she herself was super excited to hit the road. So much so that we woke up at 6, got ready to leave and woke me up afterwards.
So, after freshening up, we left Amravati around 7:30 AM. The good part about the next 600-odd kilometres was that the roads were wonderful. We had 4-lane expressways all around and the beauty of nature to contend with. We had decided that we’d take fewer stops on the second day but then, the scenes around us were just too compelling. So, we did take quite a few breaks.
It was heartening to see what a good time my mother was having. She was smiling ear to ear, took photos and videos at each break and even told me that she was going to show it to all her friends to make them jealous. It felt really good to be able to provide some happiness to my mother who has always selflessly put our needs before hers.
For the most part, most women her age do not generally indulge in adventures like this regardless of how much they want to. Sometimes it is the age, sometimes it is the responsibility, and sometimes some other thing; but it has become a stereotype now and one that I’d like broken. My mother felt the same way and so, we would wave to so many people along the road. From kids to elders and from a handful of people to families travelling in buses and cars. In return, most of them would also take pictures and videos too.
By around 4:30 PM, we reached the Chhattisgarh border where we spotted the first sign board for our city. It was still around 260 km away but we knew we had covered a lot of kilometres. Here’s where my mother asked me to stop as she wanted to record something. I held the camera and she said, “You should also enjoy something like this, all of you. You just have to because this is a special feeling, being out on a roadtrip like this. If you really want to, you can do it. Age is just a number.”
To me, it was one of the best things I had ever heard and it made me happy to no end that I could do something like this for her. We covered the remaining distance in around 4 hours or so and I enjoyed the ride to the fullest. More than that, I know that my mother enjoyed this ride a lot and that is what matters the most to me.
This article was published in the Apr-May’22 Issue of the xBhp Print Magazine.
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