Anyone with gasoline racing through their veins knows this to be a verified fact of life – there is nothing that compares to the feeling of hearing your engine rev to life opening up an endless possibility of adventure waiting just on the other side of the bend. And so it was with Rohith Subramanian, the 23-year old who has left grease marks in over 10 countries, across 10,000 kilometres and has slept under a different sky for the last 360 days. And he’s only just begun. Having started riding at the age of 15 on a scooter to traversing myriad terrains on his partner in crime, Sandra the Royal Enfield, the young biker’s story was riveting, we wanted to tell you about it.
It all began in front of the mirror inside a restaurant washroom. Rohith was surrounded by people whose lives groaned with a terrible monotony. His life too was spiralling in the same pattern. Was it time, then, to ride down the path less travelled? In a moment in that bathroom, he decided he would pack his bags and head out. Where to? “I had no of where I was going to go. All I knew was that I was going to ride my bike around the whole world. So the plan was out there. I had 196 countries to go to, and I would figure out my way on the go. I just had to decide between right or left” he tells us. And off he went.
Having already travelled through most of Asia, Rohith is currently making his way through 25 countries in Europe, some of which include Spain, France, Belgium, Sweden, Hungary, and Denmark. On his journey so far, he tells us how kind the road has been to him. “I have met the kindest of human beings, I have had food, found places to sleep in whichever part of the world I was in. And everyone has a smile when they see me riding a motorcycle.” Back home his parents have rooted for him and his adventure from the get-go. As each kilometre ticks by and the flow of Castrol power 1 cruises through his engine, Rohith accounts for the largest learning he has had so far, that “Change is around every corner. The more you keep travelling, the more you understand that as everything around you is constantly changing, the only constant that truly remains is you.”
It was this thought that propelled him further on his journey, along with the thrill of the uncertainty of the road. What lays a hundred meters ahead? Kilometre after kilometre would breeze by in his race to satiate his curiosity. Apart from just the sheer thrill of being on the road, Rohith also found himself in the unique position of putting himself in several shoes. He tells us that at different points through his journey he worked as a farmer, a waiter, a mechanic – a host of professions that showed him how willing people were to give him work and help him get by.
On asking him what advice he would give young riders looking to follow somewhat in his track marks, Rohith urges them to
As for what’s next, Rohith has his eyes set on South America and Africa. With enough planning, despite having an Indian passport, it looks as though this adventure is on the cards in the coming year or so. Signing off, we had to ask him what his dream bike was. “The real dream is to find my Dad’s bike, wherever it is, repair it and ride that. And make TheVibe do a show about it” And just like that, without waiting for the dust to settle behind his back tyre, the road beckoned and off he rode.
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Kartik Rao
Writer
