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Welcome to chapter seventy-five of our ‘Ready To Ride’ short stories series.

These are five quick snapshots of what we do, where we ride, the laughs had, and the general shenanigans and goings-on while riding together over the Himalayas & through South India.

I’m posting these every Friday, and they’re an easy read; a few minutes are all you need.

Enjoy!

Alex Pirie
Founder & Lead Rider

“Freedom and whisky gang thegither.” – Robert “Rabbie” Burns

For the non-Scottish: freedom and whisky go together.

We couldn’t agree more.

It’s safe to say we’re enjoying a wee dram (or two) this Burns Night as we celebrate freedom at the Secluded Beach, following our ride to India’s Grand Canyon.

There’s nothing quite like toasting the adventure.

Knowing we’re making the most of it, whisky in hand, watching the sun set over the sea on the Goan coast.

It’s safe to say it doesn’t feel like January.

Forests… in India!?

Yes.
That’s right.

Many people are shocked when they learn just how varied the terrain is here in India.

There are many misconceptions about what these ancient lands have to offer. Yes, there are busy cities, but there’s so much more to it.

From sandy beaches to snow-capped peaks, dense forests, deserts, waterfalls and landscapes that will have you feeling like you’re on another planet, it’s all here.

As we ride through the evergreen Himalayan forests, for a moment you could think you were in Snowdonia, or maybe even Glencoe. But this really is India.

During our Roof Of India adventure, we see just how full of surprises India is.

Riders often tell us that they had no idea that India was like this.

It just goes to show that when we drop our misconceptions and assumptions, a whole new world opens up to us.

Be prepared to go with the flow…

I think we all know that feeling of riding somewhere unfamiliar and suddenly realising that you haven’t seen a fuel station in a while, and then, just as the realisation sinks in, the fuel light pings on.

The nerves start to set in ever so slightly, but all we can do is make a plan and go with the flow. The same can be said when we’re fuelling up in the middle of nowhere in Tibet.

Places like fuel stations aren’t dotted along the road every ten miles like in the Western world.

They’re few and far between and remain a lifeline in these harsh terrains. And when you get there, you have no idea how it’s going to go.

We just have to make a plan, go with the flow and be prepared to change the plan if we need to.

No January blues here…

A few days ago, we completed our very first ride of the year, and it’s safe to say there were no sad faces here this January.

When you’re riding in glorious sunshine through tiger-inhabited forests, tackling the most incredible mountain passes on fresh tarmac, witnessing sunrises over ancient canyons, and starting your mornings with a swim in the Arabian Sea, there’s not much to complain about.

Trust us.

Thanks to our first riders of 2026, we’ve definitely started on a high, and we can’t wait to welcome the rest of our 2026 riders throughout the year!

The power of a photograph…

It’s incredible that we live in a world where we’re able to document our adventures, capturing real-life memories that we can look back on in an instant.

They remind us of those little moments: the cool breeze rushing past, the steam rising from the chai, how cold the air felt when we took off our gloves, the sensation of the terrain beneath our boots as we stopped to take the photo.

Images like this really take us back to those moments.

While the memories and elation settle in, they’re often quickly followed by a tinge of sadness that it’s over. And a yearning to do it all over again.

Yes, the photographs are great, but it’s never the same as being there, right in the thick of it.

Luckily, there’s a way to fix that…

Enjoy the ride.

I’ll see you on the next one.