There’s always a dream that every individual has, at least once in their lifetime; and that would be to travel alone. The feeling of fullness and trance of riding on your own is an ecstatic feeling that one would never forget. To define otherwise, It isn’t just a feeling, it’s a dream come true; to be wholly immersed onto the path that the unknown roads take us by. And I must say, not everybody can conquer these roads with such great determination. Here is one such story, that any traveler would often relate. It changes you and your being, in various ways. Your mind accepts that once you set out your foot on something, your existence crosses the sea to conquer it! Imagine the feeling of being independent, traveling across beautiful states of our country. You feel self-sufficient and all the tiny problems turn into something else! To emphasize, Roger Loren, a young man from Mangalore, set off with his solo bike journey to experience the same thrill of riding alone. Solo travelers, you better take notes.
Mangalore-Goa-Pune-Mumbai: Solo ride through 3 states!
On February 19, 2020, Roger rode his Hero Xpulse 200 motorcycle, all on his own en route Mangalore-Goa-Pune-Mumbai. With a GoPro camera attached to his helmet, this man documented most of his memorable parts and initial destinations of his wonderful journey. “I had initially recorded it for myself, but after a few of my friends insisted, I decided to release it. Since I didn’t want it to feel monotonous, I condensed it into a 4-minute video, instead of several hours. To keep things interesting, I composed and produced an instrumental song exclusively for the video.”
We all have been the victims of the vicious cycle of life that has made us feel exhausted at least one point. With the year 2018 and 2019, career-wise, Roger had extremely busy years and began to feel burned out. That’s why the young man decided to go on a solo trip so that he could spend some time by himself and clear his mind. Roger says that the journey took a total of 22 hours of riding time, taking two breaks along the way; one being at Goa and another at Pune. One might think, how would this be possible in a situation like the COVID-19. But as we all know, It happened a little before the pandemic blew up. The rider says that things were fairly under control, as it was around mid-February, but was still quite concerned by the virus, following necessary precautions.”A big plus was that I didn’t have to come in contact with any people along the way. I spent most of the trip by myself.”
Riding solo might seem lots of fun and a daring siyaappa, but our friend Roger has prepared much better before he headed out to the streets. “I didn’t face any problems. I had prepared for the journey quite well. I have been working on physical fitness for the past three years and a few weeks before the journey began, I doubled certain exercises, specifical ones for my back. I also do a lot of breathing exercises to improve concentration. It really helped me stay focused, throughout the trip. I took the bike to the service team at Hero, who inspected and serviced it, two days before the trip.”
Roger shares his life-changing experience with NK and says “It was a life-changing experience. Long-forgotten memories from my childhood began gushing in, as I was navigating past some very scenic routes, through the ghats. It was quite an experience. I felt very charged and self-confident by the end of it.”
Of Career, aspirations, and dreams.
Roger Loren is a full-time Music Producer, Sound Engineer, and Musician, working in Mumbai since 2015.
“I’m originally a Mangalorean and lived there for the first 20 years of my life. I take up work on Films, TV Reality Shows, Web Series, Independent Musicians/Bands, Live Events, Commercials, etc.” His work activities involve music composition & arrangement, recording, mixing, and mastering. “The electric guitar is my primary instrument, so I often collaborate with various other artists, in their music releases, too.” Roger composed and produced the music for the vlog, from scratch, based on inspiration he got from the trip. Now, how fantastic is that! “I mentioned earlier in our discussion that the journey brought back memories of my childhood. I’ve captured that feeling in the song, which is essentially about a journey back to my roots.” When Roger was in college, he was the frontman of a rock band, and now he mostly works on commercial projects. “The song begins as an electronic song and slowly evolves into a rock song, along the way.”
As we can say, our family tends to be more aware of every tiny step we take. This is what Roger had to say when he traveled all alone around the 3 states: “They were all quite concerned, at first. But they’re aware of my love for adventure, due to my past trips, around the country. Before I set off, I spent some time discussing all the precautions I would take, with them. I contacted my mum at every major checkpoint along the way.” He adds that he was quite thankful that they were confident in his abilities. Because of this, he was able to do it without worrying about them losing sleep over it.
Roger says that as a musician, a lot of his art is inspired by real-life experiences, and travel has always fuelled these experiences. “Travelling to different places has helped me bond with, celebrate, and respect the various cultures that our country is world-famous for.”
I know all of us are set to go on this life -thrilling adventure but the pandemic has almost, but not really, crushed our travel dreams. He advises people in this way: “I wouldn’t advise traveling in the current situation. It’s much riskier right now than it was in February. Even though I’m part of multiple biker groups, I’m not attending any of their trips and meet-ups until the virus situation is under control. I wouldn’t like to put other people or myself at risk.”
Well, the advice is taken. At least until the pandemic slows down and everything seems fine, all you travel lovelies can explore your true self! As J.R.R. Tolkein once said, “Not all those who wander are lost” ~
To check out Roger’s work, click here.
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