When most people think that ageing is all about giving up on the things they like the most, for Dilip Chauhan and his wife Pooja Chauhan it was a start of a new life of fulfilling their travel dreams by taking the road less travelled. At 61, Dilip, a retired bank manager, and Pooja, 58, are on an all-India motorcycle expedition to cover the length and breadth of the country, including the bordering countries of Nepal and Bhutan in 150 days.
“Age may have an effect on the body, but not on the mind. And it is the mind that challenges the body to keep moving on. What keeps the mind going? The realisation that you live only once, being unafraid of uncertainties, and a desire to explore the diversity of the universe,” say the couple, travelling across the country in a 350 cc Royal Enfield. They were in Vizag this week after covering a distance of 11,000 km across North India, Nepal and Bhutan.
When Dilip and Chauhan decided to hit the road from Ujjain on September 21 last year, nothing came in their way – not event the fact that he would be riding a two-wheeler after 15 years. Just before the expedition he bought his motorcycle and modified it to suit his long expedition.
A setback
But the journey tested the Chauhans in more ways than one when they met with accident on the Yamuna Express Highway, near Agra a month after they embarked on the expedition. Dilip fractured a collarbone while his wife had a hairline fracture in the rib cage. It took them four months to recover and when they did, the determination to resume the ride from where they left off was stronger than ever. “It was my wife who took the lead and said that we had to finish the journey of our dreams,” says Dilip. They started off from the very place where the accident occurred on March 3 this year. Pooja took a short training in physiotherapy after the doctors advised them to continue their daily physiotherapy. “We take out time to stretch a bit and do the basic exercises to avoid the strain on the affected areas. Now we have got used to the long rides and enjoy every moment of it,” says Pooja.
As a couple, the Chauhans have always loved to trek and whenever time permitted, they went for trekking tours with organisations like Youth Hostel. Finally when the retirement day arrived, they decided to devote their time in seeing nature more closely and understanding the real meaning of ‘unity in diversity’ of the country.
Himalayan journey
Their journey has been a mix of easy, pleasurable rides and tough, challenging stretches. After covering the main cities, they entered the hilly Himalayan terrains of Ladakh and braved the treacherous mountainous terrain of Khardungla Pass. In the next leg of their journey, they covered four districts of Nepal and braved incessant rains in the precarious hilly regions of Bhutan before entering the snow covered Nathula Pass in Sikkim. “Rain, snow, sub-zero temperatures with bone-jarring wind chill, hairpin bend roads – you name it, and the Himalayas threw it at us with a vengeance. The ride along the Himalayan belts was an adventure itself. But in the entire journey while we moved along, we also travelled inwards and understood our inner strength,” says Dilip.
The expedition opened their minds in a myriad ways and brought out the beauty of the diversity of Indian culture in ways that touched their hearts. “We celebrated Dasera with a wonderful hospitality of a Muslim family in Srinagar and Diwali with friendly a Nepali family in Dharamshala. These experiences reinforce our faith in humanity and are so contrasting to the pre-conceived ideas we share about regions and communities. Travelling through the roads gives you this unique liberty of experience that nothing else does!” says Pooja. The couple is greeted by the biking communities in every city they visit and their updates are shared on a Whatsapp group of bikers. “We are keeping a travel log book of our journey to inspire other bikers and tell them that age should be no constraint in hitting the road,” they say. Be it starting on time for their day’s journey or their diet during the tour, the Chauhans follow a routine. “We carry kilos of dry fruits with us and that is our main lunch during our rides. We plan the journey ahead in a way wherein we can soak in the best of what a place has to offer,” says Dilip. On an average, they cover 300 km a day. Their highest in a day was 480 km covered in 14 hours from Bikaner to Amritsar. From Vizag, the couple will be moving along the east coast through Vijayawada, Chennai, Kanyakumari, Kerala and hit the west coast from Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat covering another 10,000 km. After this, the couple wants to continue their biking journey and explore every district of the country. “This is our way of celebrating life and be one with nature,” they say with a smile.
