Hello,

I am Srinath from Chennai. I am 19 years old and an engineering student.

It's been a great experience since I became a member of xbhp. I was never really interested in biking until a few months back when I was in a dearth need of a personal transport! I used to depend on my dad's official car and used to go out only during weekends when he was free.

One fine day it struck me that I must give a try to riding bikes and fly out and go around the city. I then started hiring a suzuki max 100 and hero honda splendor from one of the nearest auto agent on hourly basis. Only then it struck me how relieving it was to ride bikes! It gave me a sense of freedom! I used to be addicted to just watching TV shows and playing PC and video games and of course facebook! I never really bothered to get out and explore!

Later on I bumped on to xbhp site! I was excited to see new bikes and everything new (as it appeared to me). My daily routine consisted of a ~38 km bus ride to college and back home in the same bus and then falling tired . Riding bikes opened up new ideas right from getting to know the locality! Later on, I went on to read a lot about bikes and got to know more and more through this site! My parents, aunts and uncles were giving me choices between cars and bikes. They insisted on a car though due to safety reasons and space. As I was lazy, I thought cars were good and comfy. But it wasnt economical to run daily and thought I could wait. Finally my parents felt the same and decided to go for a bike too!

I was excited about my parents getting me a new bike and it delayed by some means (for almost 5-6 months). Finally they agreed to get one soon and I started to ask people on xbhp for help choosing my first bike! There was duke, cbr, gixxer, fz and so on! I was attracted to duke and gixxer. But I never really knew that fate had different plans. Within a day the confusion got over! I saw the apache rtr 180 thread here and it felt as though it was going to be my first ride! I got help from a few people who owned it and were experts in bikes! Finally I got my bike on 10th dec 2014, Wed. It was as though a huge thing for me! I still have so many doubts and xbhp is there to clarify them, about my new ride or anything that is related to bike! Now my bike is 2 days old( as on 12th dec) and I have named it Sasha(the name struck me spontaneously when I saw my rtr in pearl white and with beast eyes).

Now after having ridden commuter bikes and getting my first bike, I feel my life has changed a lot! I can gradually get to know the things and places around me, which is the reality( and stop wasting time on social networking sites! esp FB!). My friends have bikes and scoots and I can hang out with them whenever I want. I am planning to gain more experience, finish run-in and go for a tour or an unplanned ride all of a sudden with few of my friends! Its so relieving to ride bikes and I can focus my concentration on road and things around and get the distraction that is necessary for keeping me calm. Riding bike teaches a lot of things. The past few years of my life were not so easy and there were unprecedented and tough changes in it. All these changes used to affect me and I used to be rebellious at times and worry unnessarily. Riding bikes has taught me to keep calm and concentrate on the path rather than worrying about the circumstances and the things that have passed by in our journey of life. I started helping people around, which I didnt do before i started riding! It helped me get new contacts and make new friends. And the best of all, if the roads are free, it taught me how to have fun!!!! I felt spending time on xbhp was atleast useful in knowing about bikes which actually existed in reality compared to the unreal virtual world on social networking sites :P I used to be so attached to my mobile phones and pc getting a very bad dose of those radiations and insubstantial things. But once I started going out on bikes, it felt refreshing and healthy! biking has become a part of my life now and I feel I will be more responsible hereafter because my new bike is going to teach me how to take care of it and how to maintain discipline on and off the road! On the whole, its a great experience and helps in spending time on worthy things!

Thanks for reading this and sorry if it was too long. I was excited to pen this down :P :P

Srinath.