SEVEN years ago, on a Saturday night I lay sleepless in my friends room, looking up at the ceiling. He used to speak about motorcycles and how much he loves them, without an end. It wasn’t just that one night though, he’d talk about it every Saturday night. And I’d just lay there, wondering if I would ever have that kind of passion in my life. For, till then, an 18-year-old me had none. With every passing week, his passion grew stronger. With every passing week, so did my hunger to have a passion.
Seven years and more than a 140,000 kilometers later, I was dancing in the middle of a dark road in Meghalaya to the tunes of ‘I took a pill in Ibiza’ celebrating the milestone of riding straight for a 150 days and 21000 kilometers through the Himalayas of India, Nepal and Bhutan - my longest ride, yet!
I’m Manjusagar a.k.a Mentlmanja and this is my journey.
And my story began in that friend’s room. A few months after being inspired by his love for motorcycles, I got my first one - a sparkly, black colored Duke 200. But my zeal to ride couldn’t compensate for my lack of experience. I had five falls in the first five months and ended up selling the beaten KTM.
What followed was embarrassment and regret - which gave birth to a yearning - a kind I’d never known before. I wanted to prove to myself and probably even to the people around me that I could get better at the game that had defeated me. Many months were spent learning the ‘art of riding a motorcycle’. And in January 2014, I got another Duke 200.
This story is from the June - July 2020 edition of xBhp.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June - July 2020 edition of xBhp.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
XBHP KERALA G2G DEC 23 AND FEB 24
Scenes and stories from xBhp Kerala G2GS organized in December 2023 and February 2024.
WELCOME TO THE MOTOPIT
A look into an exceptional section of the MotoVilla- the MotoPit starring the stunning TVS Apache RR 310 and Castrol POWER1 ULTIMATE.
CEAT XPLORING THE COLOURS OF RAJASTHAN
Our CEAT XPlorer Raghav Kataria gets riding again and heads out to explore the colours and flavours of Rajasthan.
PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS WITH CASTROL POWER1 ULTIMATE
We take our TVS Apache RR 310 for a roadtrip to Palampur, powered by Castrol POWER1 ULTIMATE 15W50.
YES TO TUONO
The story of another stellar addition to the XBnp Garage, the Aprilia Tuono V4, and how we got it ready for another epic roadtrip.
REVISITING XBHP POWERTRIP
We take a trip down memory lane to talk about PowerTrip360, one of our most epic roadtrips on two of the fastest motorcycles of the time.
FREESTYLING WITH THE FREESTYLER
An exciting day with the Apache RTR 310 as Monty Singh enacts our idea of art, of Freestyling. Our idea of the Apache RTR 310!
ART OF CORNERING
An account of our time spent learning how to go faster and safer with California Superbike School and Vredestein Tyres
FORGED IN IRON.WILLS AND BUTTS
The story of my three Iron Butt runs and a plethora of nifty tips and tricks if you're thinking of attempting it yourself.
XBHP POWER TOUR
We add three more automotive marvels to our list of experiences in the xBhpPowerTour 2023.