Passion is the source of dreams, dreams become reality when you work hard enough, and that is the life we all want to live. But life, as it goes on, brings with it many expectations. Expectations, responsibilities, and the effort it takes to carry those out generally lead to one subduing what they really want to do. But some people figure out a way around all those things and end up turning their dreams into reality. The story of Manoj Keshwar is a shining example of that.

After serving as a Colonel in the Army, Manoj Keshwar believes life has given him everything- name, money, fame, and everything one can ask for. But it also gave him something that he is particularly proud of- motorcycling and everything that entails. Also known as Mike, he served the nation in the armed forces for about 24 years. Now, he runs a roadtrips company called Viktorianz.

With Viktorianz, he takes people around the world and all that by road. He has always had this dream to travel the world on a motorcycle. In fact, roadtrips and motorcycling have been with him for a while now, ever since his Second Lieutenant, Lieutenant, and Captain days. Since then, he aimed to do at least one country in a year and finally, do 25 countries in 25 years, all on a motorcycle, of course. This goal of his came to be known as Dream 25 and all his friends know about it.

It was this Dream 25 that slowly and steadily morphed into Viktorianz. For the ones who want to do it, Viktorianz lets people choose the country they want to go to, flies them there, helps them explore, and flies them back. In this endeavour, Manoj has done some iconic rides as well, mega rides if you will. An example could be their India to London roadtrip in which they covered 22,000 km in 53 days. Post-COVID they are doing another major ride- Vladivostok to Paris, the biggest landmass crossed when one goes from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

According to Manoj, one of his best rides was in Northern Thailand- the Mae Hong Son Loop with its 1864 corners. In his experience, he has seen that other than Zanskar-Ladakh, Chiang Mai is one of the most popular rides. And if one is looking for content around nature, he thinks that riding in Kyrgyzstan has no equal. Another one that he thinks is awesome is riding in the Scottish Highlands along with visiting the Isle of Man.

In addition to riding, matters of environment and climate are also very close to his heart. Manoj has devoted a lot of time to Ganga Rejuvenation. During COVID, they conducted a walkathon that they called Ganga Parikrama. And in March 2022, they completed the Atulya Ganga Cyclothon, which was a 2,500 km ride from Gangotri to Gangasagar, in 28 days.

In his 28 years of riding, the most important lesson that Manoj has learned and would like to impart to others is that to ride longer one must ride safely. If you want to continue riding all your life, you have to ride safely. And to young riders, he’d like to welcome them and tell them that motorcycling is a wonderful world, great fun and a great lifestyle.