It will be 3 years this June 18th since my father passed away. Someone recently asked me this question, "When and how did you start motorcycling and make it your passion?" As I prepped myself for a response, I also stumbled upon a picture with my father and his motorcycle. Today, I thought it would be great to share my story with everyone on Steemit.
My father owned a 1984 Yezdi CL II 250 and he’d take me to my school on it! I loved our early morning ride every day. I would sit at the base of its fuel tank, gently holding the handlebars as the motorcycle thumped away. There weren't any helmets back in the day. Wind in our hair, we wore a smile on our face!
His made-in-India Yezdi was built on the Czechoslovakian Jawa motorcycle platform and was a real motorcycle! He had the exhaust mufflers removed. It was loud, and made a racket! In the pin-drop silence of the wee hours you could hear it approaching from half-a-mile away and recognise it in a heartbeat!
I was 4 years old at the time, but the speed, sound and the visuals of being on a motorcycle got my attention! Our monthly visit to his ancestral home in a village not far away, had me hooked to the front seat action of watching the open roads for hours at a time!
The long ride through the winding roads of these pretty Indian villages with all the greenery and scenery whizzing past us got me hooked to being astride a motorcycle.
For lack of other options, we still rode during our intense monsoon season. Our only protection was our locally manufactured, waterproof Duckback rain coats.
I always put my tongue out in the rain to taste the cold water droplets. My mother (pillion, seated behind my dad) would often order me to shut my mouth along the way. Being exposed to the elements and taking it all in became one of my favourite things about being on the motorcycle as a child.
We rode everyday through the narrow and somewhat deserted city roads of Mangalore, India in the early 90s, with the Yezdi thumping away. Reverberating sound and the adrenaline rushing through me, sowed the seeds for what would one day became the path that would guide me through this wonderful life.
On some days, my dad would take me to the train station where he managed a branch for his bank. He allowed me onto some of these towering locomotive engines that were waiting at the platform, awaiting their respective journeys. It was nothing short of an adventure trip for me. My father was known figure at the station and we would often meet the train drivers. They would narrate how cool it was to drive the train, and in response I would tell them I enjoyed riding with my dad!
I waited patiently for the next ride on the motorcycle to the train station. I strongly felt, there was nothing better for a 4 year old Indian kid to experience in life!
Thus, I grew very fond of my father’s motorcycle and fell in love with motorcycling as an experience! It was the most exciting way to get around and see the world!
Many years later when I was in high-school, an older friend let me have a go at his brother’s Yamaha RX100 motorcycle. It was a well maintained pocket rocket of 2-stroker. The model itself was a powerful motorcycle for its time in India, offering quick acceleration and a decent top speed! It was also the perfect wheelie machine for its time!
We took a short spin around his neighborhood with him riding the motorcycle. Until then, I had only managed a few rides on his scooter but later that day he offered me a ride on the motorcycle. I was only 13 years old!
I was curious to see how it felt to ride a motorcycle and I just couldn’t refuse! It was powerful for its time and I managed to ride it very slow for a couple of hundred meters without crashing it!
After a year or so of being a ‘secret rider,’ I pestered my father to teach me how to ride motorcycles. It was indeed a ploy to get my hands on his motorcycle, even as I knew how to ride it!
My father was later transferred at work to a different city, but he left his motorcycle behind. The Yezdi was sold by then and he had picked up a Kawasaki-Bajaj commuter motorcycle. But, those 2 years of riding it every day was when I realized how much I continued to love the experience!
In 2004 as I began my 11th grade, another friend let me have a proper go on his more powerful, race tuned Yamaha RX135 5-speed gearbox variant based on the 100 series. At 15 years of age, It's raw acceleration and power wheelies simply blew my mind away and I wanted one for myself!
I saved up all my daily pocket money Rs.30 (65 cents at the time), skipped several lunches, worked some odd jobs but a year and Rs. 12500 richer I bought my first motorcycle, a pre-owned Yamaha RX135!
Guess what? I've been on a great adventure ever since!
I'd love to hear about your stories growing up and finding a passion in life that drives you and motivates you everyday! I look forward to your comments!
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