Category: Long Motorbike Trip From Bangalore

We are travel duo couples, went on numerous long bike trips from Bangalore to many places in South India. Here are 7 Most Useful Long Bike Ride Tips In India.

It is nothing about road safety or any boring tips you see commonly in the internet.

Be it Leh ladak or Kanyakumari trip, these practical bike ride tips will come in handy from our constant travelling day and night.

Our experience will let you prepare for a long motorcycle trip in India, be it solo or couples trip.

Long Bike Ride Tips In India

No rental or Loaned from Friend – Ride your Own Bike

Am sure you didn’t expect me to start with this suggestion when you were looking for some cool long bike ride tips in India. Believe it or not, we rode Pulsar bike on all those numerous trips from Bangalore and never had any trouble so far, touchwood. 

Many days the bike got us home, when we were super tired and no longer had energy to focus. You can call it sentiment or bond, but sure there was something special having your own ride for a very long time. 

People expected us to buy a luxury motorbike like Harley Davidson or at least Royal Enfield anytime soon, when they started seeing us all the time on the road. I mean from our regular Facebook posts.

But we didn’t, why would we when we were super comfortable with this one.

It was our regular office ride too. 

And you know, your bike doesn’t not just run on just gas. You also need to make sure everything alright by getting a regular service done and add some accessories like a mobile holder and extra blink headlights if you want. It would be super helpful for a long bike ride at night time too.

So get your bike serviced, change oil, check the suspension, fix those breaks, change the tires if you want to, add the extra headlights and tail lights. It’s all just basics, am sure you knew that already.

Super -bike or any regular bike, since you are going on a long ride, ride your own bike which you know very well. 

Plan well – Keep an Itinerary for All the Days of Your Trip

However long a bike trip you are planning for, it is important to have a well planned itinerary for all the days.

In our case, we went on an 11 days long bike trip in the year 2017 and 12 days long bike trips in the year 2018.

Both the trips were planned by me and executed by my partner Rajesh. We went as per the plan, sticking to the time schedule and resting well during nights.

Keep a handbook or mini note pad that fits in your jacket, write down your day’s plan page by page. Don’t make it clumsy, assign each page for consecutive days of your trip.

Note – If you prefer making a note in mobile itself, thats fine. Personally I prefer pocket notes for the ease of scribbling.

If you are a blogger like me or if you want to log your trips somewhere for future use, this notebook will come in handy.

For me, not just blogging, I also have a habit of sorting pics day wise in a harddisk, and save important pics in facebook albums to share with friends.

So, keep your day’s plan in a short note book for all time reference.

Read Related – This is How to Prepare for a Long Bike ride in India – Free Guide

Plan Well For Long Ride But Pack Only For Four Days

Yes you heard me right. 

This one advice we followed strictly on all our long bike trips. 

When you are going on a long bike trip, you are going to live life like a nomad. 

If you fill all the luggage space in saddle bags with clothes, then you would have to carry an extra carry – on bag or a day bag to fit in all other travel essentials. Like a bike rain cover, pair of slippers, SLR camera, power banks, jackets, riding accessories, Laptop (Rajesh carried in all the bike travels no matter the length of the trip), etc.,

Well, you are going to be on the wheels most of the time. Yet you would need clothes which will be comfortable for riding, right? 

So Here are few Practical & Smart Long Bike Ride Tips In India

• Carry a jumper or a jacket based on the season you are planning your travel. We always keep both during winters – jumper for the day time ride and Jacket for the night time ride.
• If you plan on carrying just one jacket, then pack long sleeved clothes for day rides. Since you are looking for long bike ride tips riding in India, keeping our humidity in mind, it is advisable to ride wearing long sleeved clothes for protection.
• Rajesh had invested in an expensive padded jacket, but he found it too hot to wear it all the time. So, it was the long sleeved t-shirts that helped him protect from the sun.
• Pack not more than 2 good pairs of jeans or formals to wear for the restaurants or any visiting places. 
• For all time bike riding, pack a couple of travel pants – a soft and comfortable textile for both day and night rides. I wore jeggings from the Fratini brand, which was super comfortable for long bike rides. My hubby wore comfortable sweatpants all the time. 

So, going to Leh Ladakh or Manali, Kumbakonam or Kanyakumari, invest in a good pair of comfortable clothes and saddle bags. Also don’t forget comfortable shoes and sandals. Since it’s all part of travel essentials for Long bike travel, it’s important to make a list of them beforehand and buy quality stuff for the repeated wear.

Why Saddlebags? Why not just throw on a backpack? The Reason Why I Call it a Best Long Bike Ride Tips In India?. Lets see.

Invest in Saddle bags – Best Long Bike Ride Tips in India You Will Hear from The Regular Bikers

Many of us, riders in India, still have the habit of riding with a heavy backpack on our shoulders. Some prefer to tie it with a rope at the back of the bike, some prefer carrying it – mostly the pillion riders are taking the burden.

I did too for many one day trips and two days trips from Bangalore until we bought a saddle bag and a tank bag. 

A tank bag – a multipurpose day bag which has a magnet grip to hold on to the both sides of the bike tank has been indispensable in all the bike trips. It doesn’t cause any inconvenience to the rider. Infact rider can keep his valuables inside the bag and can access it any time with ease. When you are not riding, it can be converted to a day-bag with the detachable shoulder belts.

A Saddle bag – which hangs on both the sides of a pillion ride bike seat with a good amount of space to keep your travel essentials. And it doesn’t cause any inconvenience to the pillion rider.

One of the basic essentials for that long bike trip is to invest in a good quality saddle bag. The most important long bike ride tips in India you would hear from any bikers if you ask.  If not a tank bag, buy a good quality saddle bag – let it sit on your bike at the back. It is easy to remove unlike the bags tied with rope, and it comes with double layered rain protection (again depends on the brand you buy).

It also offers a comfortable cushion and good support for the thighs for the pillion riders, for that long ride.

This is definitely the most neglected long bike ride tips in India, because we also invested in these bags too late. 

Until we bought this  saddle bag, we were riding with our individual backpacks and sure it was painful to carry them all the way to our destinations.

Note – You need to be all the time aware of those saddle bags especially when you are on highways and overtaking any vehicles.

Now that your bike is ready, you have a proper plan in hand, know what to carry on a long bike ride. Well, who is going to ride with you?.

Read Related – Best Earphones Under 500 In India (List from a Daily traveler).

Ride with a Partner with Common Interest and Complimenting Energy

The one thing that kept us going strong as duo bike couples was our complimenting energy. 

I mean any day or even late evenings, we are always ready to go on a bike trip.

You would not believe that once we have started our bike journey in the evening, rode 200kms to reach the destination by midnight.

If there is any never ending conflict between us (obvious as a newlywed), we just start the bike. Argument stops, mind relaxes and soon the craziness wades out.

Bike rides connected us. Strong.

But we both are two different personalities. For starters, he is a night owl and I am an early riser. 

On all our bike trips, I usually kick start the day, continuously nagging him to get ready so as to stick to the schedule. As the day goes by, you would be amazed at the energy transcending from him. He ends the trip with the same energy as I started it. While, myself just hanging in the bike, barely holding onto google maps with only half opened eyes. 

So you need to choose a partner with the same passion you have for bike riding. And who has a positive mindset at all times.

This is how your partner’s qualities should be and very well should be yours too – Read here.

Are you a regular traveler like us?. Or Are you a city crawler?. Here are the list of best shampoos for daily use.

Don’t Blindly follow Google Maps – Question the route

This happened when we went on a 2 days trip from Bangalore to Yercaud in the year 2017.

There are two routes from Bangalore to reach Yercaud hills – one is shortest but rides among the dense trees, whereas the second is via Salem NH with proper paved roads with hairpin bends.

We unintentionally chose the shortest route – the one which was used by locals and the forest department. For very long time we were unaware that we had chosen a dense forest route.  It gave us chills when we realised it was just us riding the bike, except for the few locals rarely passed by us. 

We were able to breathe free only when we reached a local village.

On returning back, we readily took the longest but seamless route via Salem.

Gaining wisdom from this trip, later when we faced the same situation on our 4 days bike trip to Coorg (Madikeri), we investigated the route and chose the best way to reach the destination safely.

When in doubt, compare the 2 or 3 different routes suggested by google maps. Because google maps suggests routes which are used by locals, which may not be safe for the travellers.

Lets see an example.

To reach your destination, if you are suggested 2 routes with following directions: One with 32 kms showing 50 mins to reach and the other one is 49 kms taking 1 hr to reach. Also the first is showing a white road on the map and the second is showing a combination of white and yellow road on the map.

Which route will you choose? A or B?.

If I were you, I would choose the yellow road with more distance, because it is a National highways route, with proper paved roads and safer to ride.

Why route B?.

When compared to the white road which indicates a rural road / state road, are more bumpy n less safe comparatively. And probably it takes more time than it is mentioned in the map.

Trust me, many times when we had no choice but to take the white road, it took us more time than it was mentioned in the map.

Also, let’s not forget the road safety. Not just on highways, even riding on the rural, always expect the unexpected. 

Do Not Mass Book the Rooms

This is another most important long bike ride tips in India. 

Now think about it for a second, is bike riding is all about just riding the bike for day and night long, non-stop?.

At one point of time, will you not call it a day and rest someplace?.

Because many think that bike riding is all about riding long hours, covering 500 kms a day. Some do it for pride and some for saving money.

If you are a couple like us, you probably need to think of pre-booking the rooms at your destination for your own safety.

Here is the advice from our regular long road trips experience. Do not mass book the rooms even if you have plans to stay in a place for more than one day. 

Though it is always advisable to book the rooms before you reach the destinations. And we always make sure to book it atleast 2 days prior to our trips -long or short bike trip.

Only if you like the room, feel that it’s worth the money and service, then it is wise to extend the stay. 

Also, there are stories revolving about the bikers / tourists being cheated or taken advantage. Though it is much cheaper to mass book the rooms, to have an upper hand, it is best to book the room for just a day.

We have never stayed in any of our acquaintances’ houses, so absolutely no experience on that.

And finally, it is absolutely necessary to wear a helmet and protective gear at all times. And be a good guy,  follow the road safety rules. 

Enjoy the ride. And wish you to have many more adventures in your life.

Read – Long Drive From Bangalore to Mysore in Our #AllNewCreta

How to Prepare for a long bike ride? Be it 2000 kms or 10k kms long bike ride, how do you prepare yourselves for that long journey on the road?

Here are some 5 practical questions that will help you prepare for a long bike ride.

Under each question, I have given our real life example of how we prepared ourselves for the long road trips. And some useful tips on long bike preparation, what to carry on a long bike trip and how to choose a travel partner.

How to Prepare for a Long Bike Ride

How Confident Are you?

We went on a couple of long bike rides in India in the year 2017 and 2018, after numerous one day and two days trips from our home in Bangalore.

This is how we grew confident over the period –

• Took an adventurous trip to Hillstation Yercaud, learnt to ride confident in those many hair pin bends
• Numerous bike trips among countryside (To Talakad, Melkote, Lepakshi, nandi hills etc.,) and in Highways (Tirupati and Hosur Highways)
• Went 2 states trip in just one day, covered total of 350 kms
• Covered 500 kms under 36 hrs riding back to back, day and night.

Success!!!.

Rest is history.

In the year 2017, we were able to go on 11 days long bike trip from Bangalore and in the following year 2018, we went on 12 days long bike trip from Bangalore. 

Had we not gone those first 50 bike trips to the nearby places in Bangalore, we could not have definitely gone those long bike trips.

Pro Tip

If you are not confident yet, you need to take a couple of 2 days bike rides, aiming to cover atleast 150 kms in a day. Then slowly increase to 300 kms a day.

If you are entirely new to bike trips, if you have never even taken the bike out except schools or the office, then plan for a 50 to 80 km bike ride.

How to prepare for a long bike ride?.

Start Small and improvise.

Related – How to prepare for a 100 km bike ride.

How Energetic are you?

It may look easy to read that we went 335 kms in a day in the initial days. That will be 670 kms in 2 days, with just one night’s rest. 

For those who think many bikers ride more than 500 kms in a day, those riders have also gained the experience just like us – taking slow steps at a time.

Note that we ride motorbikes with a theme. On every trip we visit famous places in our travel destinations. That gave us purpose in starting bikes. 

We needed energy to not just bike ride, but also do a lot of sightseeing in our destinations.

Like in our 2 days Yercaud bike trip, after riding in never ending hair pin bends, we went trekking to Kiliyur falls. 

On our 2 days Madanapalli bike trip, we went trekking to Talakona forest and waterfalls. 

On our 3 days Coorg bike trip, we went trekking to Abbey falls and sightseeing many other places.

In one of our Tiruvannamalai trip, we trekked on a steep hills for 1 hr to a Hindu temple with special waterfalls on the hill top.

Imagine the energy you would require to do bike riding and trekking – all in 2 days trip?. Above all riding bike in the nights?.

All the above were examples of 2 days and 1 night bike trips from Bangalore.

It requires lots of energy, to both ride a bike under the sun and moon, and to also to go on sports. And to do pradakshina in all those enormous Hindu temples – it requires more than just energy to drive bikes.

Tip

Initially you don’t have to go by any travel theme. You could just pick a destination, be it any resort or meeting any long distance friend, and aim to cover 150 to 200 kms in a day. 

Once you have made it to the destination, rest well only at night. Do not extend your rest period. Start immediately next morning. Check your energy level after completing the trip.

For myself its first half of the day and for Rajesh its second half of the day. 

So, How to prepare for a long bike ride?.

Plan your trip timings based on your energy levels.

Aware – Even Though you are physically fit, if you face any problems like nausea, fatigue and loss of appetite, then it’s a red flag.

How Well Are You Prepared to Face Challenges in Roads?

Lets address the elephant in the room. You will not get to choose the roads to your destination – atleast most of the time.

How prepared are you to go long bike ride in –

• Countryside roads?
• No roads but a bumpy path?
• Mountain – side?
• Action packed highways?
• Adventurous hill stations?
• And unexpected turns of events riding motorbike at night in all the above roads?

I didn’t mean to scare you. You need to be there riding the bike to understand road rules and road safety. You cannot blindly follow the book, because there is nothing like in the book.

In our early stages of bike riding, we choose the countryside routes from google maps. We didn’t always stick to comfortable 4 ways highways.

Like in our regular one day trips to Talakad, Somanathapura, Melkote – we always choose the Kanakapura route rather than taking comfortable Mysore highways.

(Note : Since the end of the year 2019, Kanakapura highways road has been extensively extended. Now its almost as good as the Mysore highways ).

And on our regular trip to Tiruvannamalai, we always took the countryside route from Darmapuri rather than comfortable Chennai highways (via Vellore route).

Like in our 11 days long bike trip in the year 2017 and 2018, we chose countryside destinations. To reach those destinations, every single day we rode in highways, crowded cities, and rural area agri fields. That too with our fully packed saddlebags and tank bags.

So, How to prepare for a long bike ride?.

By riding bike on all kinds of roads.

Related – What you need to carry on the road trip

How Good are You in Planning a trip?

It is easy to tag along any long bike ride groups (most trending is Leh ladak and Manali trips in North India and Kanyakumari trips in South India).

So, you need nothing to worry about. 

But if you are just like us, prepare for a long bike ride with your partner, then you need to be good at planning and executing.

This is another most important quality in a bike rider – planning and executing. 

Every single trip we went in our life required careful planning of time calculation to reach the destination, book an accommodation (again sort the best from hundreds of options in booking sites), budget planning, shortlisting sightseeing places, pit stops based on your driving speed etc.,

We are married couples and we share equal responsibilities on-road and off- road. Here is the list of what those responsibilities look like.

Some on – road responsibilities:

• Checking google maps often to ensure riding on the right route
• Finding pit stops while on the go
• Take turn to go washrooms to keep an eye on the luggages
• Confirm room bookings
• Look for gas stations on the map
• Fill water bottles at pit stops

Some off- Road responsibilities:

• Plan the holiday and budget
• Detailed itinerary for each day of the long road trip with clear destinations, nearby restaurants, sightseeing places with phone numbers etc.,
• Getting bike service done 2 days before bike trip
• Book accomodations at all destinations
• Pack toiletries
• Pack first aids
• Fit clothes in saddle bags
• Keep all the expensive and ready to use essentials, bike ride accessories on the tank bag
• Keep all the mobile phones’, power bank’s and SLR camera’s batteries charged night before the trip
• Keep the water bottles filled
• Again cross check everything on the day of starting the trip
• Check the house safes’ and doors are secured (if you are couples like us).

Related – 7 good qualities of a bike ride partner

How Well You Know Your bike?

This is not so important but an essential question to ask to prepare for a long bike ride.

But this question has nothing to do with the first question – How confident are you?.

Because you may be confident to ride bike for 500 kms straight, but imagine riding a bike which breaks down in mid and screws that dream trip?.

Your bike is your first companion on the road, next is your bike ride partner.

That’s why it is always advised to ride your own bike, which you have been riding for quite some time.

Not the rented bike – the bike you have no connection with.

(That’s why when people talk about sentiments with their bikes, I totally agree with them).

Its only best if you could fix minor issues on your own.

Also, it is essential to get your bike service done a week before your long bike trip, to ensure smooth journey.

We never carried bike tools with us nor got ditched by our bike, because we always took care of it well before every single bike trips.

This is how to prepare for a long bike ride.

Now you are good to go!

Go or No-Go?

These are the facts you need to know on how to prepare for a long bike ride.

I could have just advised you to get a Royal Enfield bike, buy all the travel gears and essentials, find a partner or a group and just go.

But that’s not it. 

It is how much you trust yourself and enjoy the ride, how much your body and mind come together to experience the best time of your life.

The very reason I decided to write about the bike ride partner qualities is that many are actively looking for travel partners (strangers?) in the travel forums. I have been seeing people requesting in travel forums such as “looking for bike ride partners to Manali”, “anyone interested to join us for long bike trip to Leh Ladak” etc.,

I don’t know how many of you had successful bike trips partnering with strangers, I have some suggestions that might be of value to you.

Here are 7 (good) qualities to look in a bike ride partner from our numerous bike trip experiences in India.

Image credit – Reddit

Bike Ride Partner Qualities – The list From Our Numerous Bike trip Experiences

#1. A Partner Who Shares Common Interest – The one most important Bike ride partner qualities

Be it a 200 kms bike ride in a short bike trip or 500 to 600 kms ride in a day in a long bike trip, you and your partner are going to share long hours on the same bike. 

If the other person does not share common interests i.e. for travelling, then say it’s wise to not choose he/she as your bike ride partner. 

Though knowing to ride a bike may not be a mandatory qualification, one must be willing to sit on a bike, pillion ride long distances without complaining about the weather or anything. 

Trust me, this one quality is more important than anything. 

If someone wants to join you just to test the water rather than real interest in bike travelling then its No – No.

#2. Rider Who is Not Willing to Give Up

In our 2nd longest bike trip back in the year 2018, I felt sick as soon as we started the bike. Then as soon as we reached the destination on day – 1, I developed severe fever and chill. Due to that I had to go to the hospital on the same night. 

My hubby proposed that we go back to Bangalore if I don’t feel well the next day. I too felt the same. After coming back from hospital my decision to go back became certain.

But the whole night, the thought of giving up on that long bike trip kept disturbing me. Furthermore, I thought about the days and time I spent on planning for this.

Above all we both took off officially from work for this well planned 12 days vacation.

On the next day morning, I told my hubby that we are good to go. At first he didn’t agree. Soon we were on our way to our next destination. 

Though I was not as active as I was on the 2017 long bike trip, I felt better after 2 days of medication. Also I knew Rajesh would have also never given up if he was to be in my place.

Not giving up was the best decision we have taken in that long bike trip.

Now we have another feather to our cap.

The person who is willing to not give up is one of the best bike ride partner qualities one can expect. 

#3. Someone Who Values Your Trip Plan – Another must have Quality of a bike ride partner

If the partner lost any interest during the middle of the trip, then its going to be an unpleasant experience. Very soon you will find them saying, “I thought you were going to stop at this place…”, “I only joined this trip because I thought………”. 

Or they will find a way to delay the time some or the other way. Because they don’t care. Because they lost interest and wants a way out.

Not only you will be frustrated answering your partner’s constant complaints and soon you will find yourselves dragging a dead weight.

#4. Avoid Someone Who Enjoys Blame Game

If there is one thing for sure happens on the road is, expect the unexpected.

Be it delay in plan, not finding good pit stops, trouble finding gas stations, mobile battery runs out etc., one needs to be prepared to face it like an adult.

If the bike ride partner finds it easy to blame everything on the other person, then you find a way to let go of that partner. Trust me, you are well off alone.

And you cannot let go of the partner in the middle of the trip, that’s why I suggest to know the person for sometime atleast.

Read Related – 11 days Long Bike Ride in India (road trip from Bangalore 2017)

#5. Who is Ready to Sacrifice Small pleasures

Consider yourself  lucky if you could find a bike ride partner ready to do small  sacrifices. Such as eating at irregular intervals, compromising on restaurant choices, take a leak near woods without complaining, sleep in uncomfortable beds, pathetic room services, spend the night without cable or internet connections, etc.,

It’s all part of nomad life and if your partner is not willing to do small sacrifices, then say No to the partner. 

#6. Share the Burden too

When I say “share the burden”, the most obvious thing that comes to your mind is sharing the budget. 

There is more to look for in a bike ride partner qualities. 

For example, when one person is an active rider, then the pillion rider takes responsibility for finding pit stops from google maps, confirming room bookings and route navigations, etc.,

Here are some on – road responsibilities:

• Checking google maps often to ensure riding on the right route
• Finding pit stops while on the go
• Take turn to go washrooms to keep an eye on the luggages
• Confirm room bookings
• Look for gas stations on the map
• Fill water bottles at pit stops

Some off- Road responsibilities:

• Plan the holiday and budget
• Detailed itinerary for each day of the long road trip with clear destinations, nearby restaurants, sightseeing places with phone numbers etc.,
• Getting bike service done 2 days before bike trip
• Book accomodations at all destinations
• Pack toiletries
• Pack first aids
• Fit clothes in saddle bags
• Keep all the expensive stuffs and ready to use essentials, bike ride accessories on the tank bag
• Keep all the mobile phones’, power bank’s and SLR camera‘s batteries charged night before the trip
• Keep the water bottles filled
• Again cross check everything on the day of starting the trip
• Check the house safes’ and doors are secured (if you are couples like us).

#7. Who doesn’t go crazy on shopping 

Planning for a long bike trip requires careful selection of minimal travel clothes and essentials which fit all in your saddle bags (and tank banks).

Avoid travelling with the partner who doesn’t understand the concept of minimalist packing. Certainly it would save you a lot of frustration.

Buying new stuff in travel destinations means not only putting a dent on your travel budget but also an extra luggage to carry around. 

Travel Partner – Go or No Go?

Even if your partner is riding on his/her own bike, the above are some qualities you need to look for in a partner for seamless experience.

We were always on the same bike because we are compatible duo travelers.  And we always have a proactive approach to every single ride.

We grew compatible and easy going couple over many may one day – and two day – bike trips.

Above all we were quick to ask sorry and correct our mistakes. 

Probably its best to travel in groups led by an experienced bike ride organizer if you couldn’t find a perfect partner.

Which of my bike ride partner qualities do you agree with most?.

Read Related – This is How to Prepare for a Long Bike ride in India – Free Guide