LetsTalk—How Did You Find Your Passion in Life? This is How I fell in Love with Motorcycling!
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!
If you like my work, please share my posts and follow my blog to support me. You may also continue reading my recent posts which might interest you:
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I haven't been a fan Of bikes anytime lately, but only two years back. I always thought travelling through cars is safe and secure, as you know the Indian roads and traffic.
So I always avoided the Idea Of Commuting Through bike, Even locally.
But Two years ago, One of My friend Bought Royal Enfield Classic 350 Black.
And He came to my house and wanted me to drive, As I was Scared of bikes because of an accident a few years ago, I resisted to do so, but he didn't give up.
So I took a ride with him within a couple of blocks. But I enjoyed the power, the thrust of His bike.
Then a few weeks after, We would go on a ride in our city only, But almost Daily, You know the daily 'Gedi on Bullet'.
That made me a little bit fascinated about Bikes, especially Royal enfield.
So last Year I purchased Royal Enfield desert storm on My birthday from my own money.
Incredible story dude! Life is too long to give up on something you enjoy after 1 bad incident. :) Congratulations on your motorcycle!
Thanks, I lerned that you could find incredible results If you try to do what you are always scared of.
Haha! Absolutely! I totally agree with you! :D
That is a great story. Sad to hear about your father passing but you finding the love for motorcycle riding is awesome and the pictures were great! I just recently bought a Honda ruckus, and feeling the wind blowing on me is so nice. I want to get a motorcycle but people are scary drivers! Have you had many close calls while riding motorcycles? Keep posting and I will keep reading. I'm following now!!
I know right! Congratulations on your motorcycle! I glad you are having fun! I'll share a few more interesting stories in the days to come! Thanks for following my work.
When riding on the bike, that's feeling just like the taste of FREEDOM.
Nice post! You remind me of my teenage.
hehe! That's great! I often look back at my teenage years and miss those days of being free and able to do anything I wanted! Especially with a motorcycle!
First off, sorry about the loss of your father. It sounds like you have many great memories with him. Motorcycles are certainly a common interest that both father and son can have. I remember my dad picking me up from school on his motorcycle. I felt like the coolest kid at school. No other kid was ever picked up on a motorcycle at my school. Motorcycles are pure freedom. Good to see you are still riding! I am really enjoying your blog. You have a lot of interesting articles and life lessons. Thanks!
Absolutely! Same here. When my dad used to drop me to School all my friends would surround the motorcycle and I would get my dad to rev the motor a little to give my friends a feel of what it's like to be on it! It was the coolest thing ever! Thank you for stopping by. I'll have a few more interesting stories coming up soon!
Such a lovely read. So glad to witness your adventure. Like you, my brother got himself a RX second-hand. He later got a Max 100 after some struggle.
It was our first new bike. He rode, with the young me, and my mom sitting. Absolutely excited. On the streets we cruised and watched the world.
Oh my. Those were the days.
With time, we changed. I was a special case. A bit different. I liked to watch comedy shows. Day in. And day out. In fact, I started writing jokes to make my grandmother happy.
It quickly turned into an obsession.
And I became the dude that tells those funny jokes. Then I applied these jokes everywhere in my life, and slowly turned myself into one hellva joke.
No joke there.
With that said, I am always been seeking... something.
Bahahahaha! You became a very funny dude for sure! :D Great story bro! Thanks for sharing it with me!
hahahaha, It was a little off the topic at the end, but I think you show humor more than jokes. keep doing what you do and you may end up a stand up comedian one day, or else you already do many things including the greatest responsibility of being a mod.
I could really feel the strong impact your father had on you. I never felt so connected to my family until recently, now that they are finally starting to accept me for who I am.
I am most passionate about community building. I wrote one of my first posts about this last week. I discovered my passion from the strong connections I felt in the underground music scene growing up and then later in small local cafes in Japan. Japan is a place where people never talk to strangers under normal circumstances, so I was surprised at how easy it was to make friends in the cafes. This sense of community allowed me to have more faith in humanity as a whole and I think I truly became a better person. So I'd like to make this kind of experience more readily available to all people. That's the short version!
Nice post!
I like motorcycles, but I have never had the guts to get into them. I am not the best judge of risk and not a top coordinated person, so that might be too dangerous for me. If you see some of the bicycle crashes I have under my belt, you'll understand what I mean. My last bicycle was put out of commission in a crash with a tree, just for reference.
Oh wow! I can understand. It's hard but we all fall no matter what we do. Just have to pick ourselves up, dust off and get back at it! :D
Of course but I'd rather fall from a slower type of vehicle if I have the choice. If the speed is too high, dusting yourself off is not always an option.
Yeah that's true!
Great post brother. Much respect.
Thank you so much @thejohalfiles for taking the time to read! :D Look forward to your feedback on my future posts as well.
I wrote a post a little while ago on twins and motorbikes so be safe
my post today is aboout my father just seems funny both subjects in 2 weeks new at steemit so hope you will not take offense on me commenting
Thank you for your comment. I've followed you and will check your post shortly! :)
Such a great post. Thanks for sharing this. I too love motorcycles and have made a few posts about it. You can find them on my page if you like. Otherwise, just nice to meet a fellow two wheeler here. Nice bikes! Mine currently is a lil Lance PCH 125. Zippy scooter gets me where I want to go when in LA.
Oh wow that's fantastic! I'll check your latest blogs right away! :)