11th October 2013 Panvel, India to Arambol, India

11th October 2013 Panvel, India to Arambol, India

I awoke to the gentle conversation between rain drops and leaves. Woods Resort has lush green lawns, white egrets were dotted about them.

I have said this before but the road to Goa is a fab road. Sweeping twists and turns, ascending and descending the Konkanghats. It rained periodically and when it did I pulled up under a banyan tree with other motorcyclists. Under one banyan I met 3 bikers… riding motorcycles for the joy of it rather than as budget transport.

I enjoyed my final day of riding, maybe a blessed conclusion to this particular adventure. I headed for Arambol to chill out in the anonymity of a backpacker beach village where I am unknown to locals.  It may sound strange for I am not spiritual, but I paused for prayer outside an old Portuguese church. To give thanks for many things……..

I ate well under the stars on a sandy beach fringing the Arabian sea. I went back to my room and fell asleep with the light on fully clothed. I wasn’t even aware of sleep taking a hold of me.

I know that I now face a period of adjustment. This takes time. It has its up and it downs. Moments of triumph and euphoria, questions that I have to answer of myself, contemplation about whether the adventure justified its dangers, the separation from my family. It takes time to return to the demands of real life. On the road you ride, you don’t live real life. I will now become a father again, make money, exit the adventure, run the race.

One thing I am certain of is this; I am unlikely to ride this particular road again. Maybe just maybe if my son wanted to ride the road to India with his father I might acquiesce. Maybe I might drive with a camper van, but ride a motorcycle…. Probably not.

Thankyou to my family for the gift of freedom.Thankyou to all the people along the many roads that lead to India who expressed interest in my ride, to those who shared a
conversation or a meal with me.

 

 

 

 

Arambol mileometer 23216, 294 miles ridden. Journey over.

Total mileage Loughborough to Arambol 7186 miles (11,500Km), 27 days. Google maps say the journey is 7020 miles. I got lost quite a few times!