Meet a son

In November, my dad approached me and asked if I would like to go on an adventure across India with him. This adventure would take us from Delhi to Ladakh on the back of a Royal Enfield. My immediate response was, “how would I pay for this?” But, after talking through the options with my dad, we concluded that I will be going and set in motion a plan for getting us there. By January, the plane tickets were paid for and the motorbike booked….it was actually happening!

Once the tickets were booked, we quickly realised that we needed some practise riding a motorbike as some of the terrain we were going to experience could not be called ‘smooth’. Also, I had never ridden a motorbike before and so definitely needed to get some sort of experience. So, we borrowed a bike, went to a friend’s farm and drove through the fields to get used to controlling a bike on the rough and bumpy terrain. I am not what you could call an expert now, but I should be ok once we get onto the rough stony roads.

So, why am I doing this?
This is a big thing for my dad to ask me to do and I feel really privileged that he asked me, and not my brother or sister to do it with him. My dad and I have never really seen eye to eye and, although I love him, I have never felt like I could be his friend or he mine. My real hope is to get to know my dad through this experience together. I will have trust him with my life and he will have to trust me with his; I hope this will build up the relationship we have already started. It may have taken 30 years to get to this point but it’s going to be great and it won't be wasted time. To be honest, we should have done something like this 10 years ago; not only because it would have been good for our relationship, but also because I was about 4 stone (50Lb) lighter than I am now and sharing a motorbike would have been a lot easier!!

I would like to add that not only am I going on a trip with my dad, but I am also leaving my wife, Nickie, and 2 children, Connor age 6 and Isabel age 1. My wife shall be 37 weeks pregnant when I leave for India on the 7th August, when I return she will only have 6 days until her due date. This is going to be a challenging time for me and my family as I leave my wife at a time that she probably needs me most. I, of course, have her blessing to go but this has put a lot of strain on us. However, it has also proven the strength we have in our relationship. I just hope the baby doesn't decide to arrive whilst I'm in India….hopefully it won’t.

Meet a Father

I haven't driven an Enfield for 15 years. Or for all that matter any two wheeler for any significant distance since then. And I'm a bit out of shape, low on stamina, creaky knees, stress neck, kidney stones, I must be crazy. Still 16 days to go...might there be a war?

Hi, I'm Sanjiv, one of the riders, going up with my son Ashish. I'll be twice his age when he's 29, so what does that make me now???

OLD.

Why am I doing this trip? Also with Jeff and Martin (they were twice my age when I was 12), Steven (I was twice his age in 1988), and with James (he was a year old when I met him in 1981). I'm six years older than the average age of all. First one to guess my daughter's age gets a prize.

My life's been busy busy busy. And my 3 kids have had the worst of it-with each kid the next one had less of me. So me and the youngest are going on a bike to connect-father and son, up in the mountains, to discover what it feels like to do things together since the last time we did...which was....a long time back.

Also to make money. So as to get a school up and running for kids who never would have had the opportunity. They've never seen a computer.

They will-after this ride.

Catch you again closer the date.

about the journey....

"Whatever It Takes" is not a normal holidayride; "let's-cruise-on-a-scooter-over-the-hills-and-through-the-valleys-in-the-sunset-and-with-the-warm-winds-in-our-faces". Nope, this journey will take the men from the streets of Delhi to the off-road mountain tracks in Ladakh and will all be accomplished on 'Royal Enfields'- these classic models which they have been building in India for 40 years.

The stunningly beautiful route runs through over 2000 km of Himalayan mountain 'roads' to the destination at 18,500 ft. The team will start their journey from Delhi in the Monsoon Season with its heavy rains, and drive to Leh, in Ladakh where it will be bitterly cold. From the fast roads of Delhi to the broken roads of the Himalayan Mountains, the team will travel across all types of terrains, from lush farm land to mountain desserts.

This will be ten days of tough riding for driver and pillion passenger (yes pillion!), with some of the most challenging conditions for the bikes and their riders, as they seek to raise as much money as they can for the support of the Bengali Basti (check out the video on the sidebar).

Heading north on Aug 10 is three bikes and a support vehicle, filled with clothes, food, spares, medical kit and other stuff men think they will need when they leave home.

join the ride on this blog!

WHATEVER IT TAKES

this is the official blog for the "Whatever it takes" expedition from Delhi to Leh starting on August 10! A group of Father and Sons embark on a journey to make a difference. The group is raising funds for a school in the Bengali Basti in South Delhi, which is run by Sahaitha- a programme within IIDA (Intermission).

Follow the group's journey on this blog.

The countdown has started.