The following is a story of not one person but many. It’s the story of a brotherhood called Adventure Riders of which I am a proud member. It’s not about me and my motorcycle or the places. It’s about me riding thousands of miles in a foreign country, meeting old friends, whom I had never met before.

Hi, my name is Chanderjeet and I spent the month of October riding a Suzuki – DL650 V-Strom exploring the land of opportunity, the United States of America. A month long adventure lurked for me when I landed in Seattle, Washington so I spent the first two days acclimatizing with the traffic, speed and the bikes. The first motorcycle I got on was a URAL which was built for Russian army and had a sidecar attached to it. I got over with the “first crash” of the trip part on day one when I successfully crashed a Suzuki DRZ 450 while climbing some dirt trails.

A day later, I was ready to go. Astride a Suzuki 650 V-Strom I choose my direction, not location. Soon I was southward bound traveling on the world famous west coast highways of Washington and Oregon. After almost two days of riding on the curvy highway 101, I had my first spectacular moment when I stood face to face with the Pacific Ocean. For someone who has never seen a big lake, the Ocean was spellbinding.

I stood there trying to capture it in my camera and my heart and before giving it a second thought, I rode my bike to the beach. I rode only a short distance on sand but it was the best ride in my big journey.

The damp cold weather of Pacific Northwest soon turned into sunny and warm when I entered California, the state where lane splitting is legal. Riding in between those tuned up Porsche’s and Acura’s brings a grin on your face, ah the pleasure of riding the motorcycle. I couldn’t have chosen a better day to enter San Francisco because the US Navy was celebrating Fleet Week and the Blue Angels were performing while I crossed the Golden gate bridge. Watching the WWII planes perform alongside with the Blue Angels was a great experience. I took the next day off and played tourist and explored the buzzing china town and watched the world go by while I rode the famous cable car.

The next stop on my journey was Yosemite National Park which is one of the first wilderness parks in the United States. Within it’s nearly 1200 square miles; I found deep valleys, grand meadows, a vast wilderness area, and many photo ops. While crossing the snowy Tioga pass (9993 feet) I saw one of the best sunsets ever. As the sun went down, I finished the day in Bishop.

The next morning was bright and shiny which only meant more caution for me because I was going to ride through the Death Valley (and there’s a reason behind that name).

After packing properly for the alien world, I rode fast in this superlative desert of sand dunes, snow-capped mountains and three million acres of stone wilderness. I took the most deserted road and ended up in Badwater, (lowest point in USA, 85 meters below sea level). Road out of there is long and lonely. Ironically, that’s where my bike broke down. It had been at least 40 miles since I passed the last vehicle headed opposite direction. My mind started working overtime and thoughts crept in but after fiddling with the ignition cable and a bump start, I was able to start the engine. I blasted through the rest of my way and stopped only after crossing the valley. Some food and some thoughts later I decided to ride to Las Vegas to spend rest of my day in exploring the City of Casinos and Hotels. I can’t tell you much about it because whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

After visiting the Hoover Dam next morning, I headed out to Palm Springs to meet a very special friend, Glen. After having completed his world travel on motorcycle, he wanted to share his side of the world with someone from half the globe across.  It was his idea that helped me get started with the trip and I met him like I was meeting someone who valued much more than a brother. I spend some time with him and that night I spent time, thinking wondering, applauding in my mind, the ideas, the persona he induced in me.

Next morning I woke up and said to myself, its time to change direction. So it was that an hour later, I found myself riding east. I kept riding east and took the famous Historic Mother of all, Route 66. Being one of the earliest highways in USA (1926) its fame came from TV-Series and movies and soon it was flocked by Hot-Roders, bikers and any one from anywhere who wanted to enjoy the love of road was here. I rode the route 66 though the amazing Joshua Tree National Park. Full of cactus and big rocks this park is a vast desert full of life. Crossing the desert changes your views on how you look at things. The long lonely highways and deserted places along side give you a solemn solitude and time that you require to clear your mind and inline your thoughts. I rode all the way to Williams and stopped to get some food but decided to spend the night there.

The brotherhood showed its colors again when I was woken up by another fellow adventure rider named Jon. He rode more than 300 miles to come and meet me. It just amazing what people do to meet someone they don’t even know.  We were only 50 miles from the Grand Canyon National Park so we changed bikes and I rode that distance in a leisurely manner astride his Ulysses XB12X. We entered the Grand Canyon and soon parked to see the movie called “The Grand Canyon”. After watching it, I understood why it is the best IMAX movie is ever. The History and the theories behind the creation of the canyon are mind blowing. It’s hard to comprehend that a river made that canyon. I stopped many a times during my ride through the southern rim of the canyon. I also met some red Indians who now own road side shops selling their traditional jewelry. Later in that day I rode past the small town called Winslow, Arizona (famous from the Eagles song, Take it easy). We parked for the day in Holbrook.

We were on the road early next day and were quickly eating some miles on the Interstate. While cruising, we overtook a guy riding a BMW 1150 GS. After sometime he came up and pointed me to pull over. I thought he wanted some help so I pulled over.

It turned out that he had heard about me from some one whom I rode with earlier and was amazed to catch me. At that moment I told myself, “I made a new friend, while cruising at 75 miles an hour”. It turned out that the guy (Brennen) has been on road for 12 months now and was riding to raise funds for Parkinson’s disease. He rode from Florida to the tip of South America where he met a bad accident and was on bed for sometime. I was amazed to hear it all from him and I thought how wonderful it is that you meet people who are riding for a cause, taking all that pain, all that adversity for the benefit of others. We rode into Albuquerque and then into the big parking lot of the BMW dealership in Sandia. They showed up around and gave some goodies which me and Brennen gladly accepted. I got a chance to check out some really good bikes like the 1200 GS and the xCountry. It had been almost two weeks since I was on road and i was ready for some Americana. We decided what better than getting some lunch at the famous Hooters. But it was completed packed with bikers and people so we headed down to its competition called the Twin Peaks J. Good food along with some scenic views inside the restaurant took almost 2 hrs to get over with. I spent the evening exploring the Albuquerque area and stayed with a friend for the night.

The next morning brought out many BMW-GS riders for their routine Sunday ride. This was suppose to be a dual sport event with some tarmac and some off-road riding. I gladly accepted their proposal and tagged along. I must admit that it was one of the best decisions I made that day because we route was amazing, the scenery and the villages we passed reminded of something out of a European country. I was climbing up the mountains and coming down the meadows. I rode right next to a water stream for miles but then we took a dirt trail that lasted for about 20 miles. This was the toughest riding part of my entire trip. Soon the dirt trails became rocks and then big boulders. Not used to dirt riding and off-road trail, I took this up as a lesson and I rode my fully fueled, top heavy, overloaded, street tired V-strom on the trail. We reached an elevation of nearly 10000 feet in less than 1 hour. It had been a roller coaster ride and I did not take me much time to realize why this trail was chosen. The view from the top of the mountain was breathtaking as the trees were changing color and the winter was settling in. It was already 3 PM and I had to keep moving east. I waved then goodbye and entered Texas on wet roads while following the path of a passing rain storm and parked for the night in Vega.

I knew the weather was upon me and I needed some mile munching days so for the next three days I rode swiftly covering almost 2000 miles that took me through the most amazing Smoky mountains and landed me in Charlotte, North Carolina where a friend took me for a adrenaline rushing Stock Car (Nascar) ride for over 165 mph. The day ended in Virginia but luckily I secured a grand discount of 7 dollars on the rent when I told me story to a curious fellow Indian who owned the motel.

The following day I was not planning on riding much because I was going to meet a very special friend. Her name is Gwen and I had known her for sometime but never met her. I wanted to meet her and give her a Get-well-soon Hug because few months ago she high-sided from her ST300 while going 80mph on the interstate during her cross country run for raising charity funds. So I rode quickly to the town of Culpeper and stayed with her for the next 3 days during which I met many people, enjoyed exotic cuisines and even test rode a few bikes, including the KTM 950 adventure, BMW1200 GS, Yamaha Fazer and the mighty K1200R.

It was not easy to say goodbye to her but the time had come for me to turn north and head out to New York City. I took the interstate to see the Historical city of Gettysburg.

Met a few very impressive people and had some good American food in a classic shiny steel diner, Americana at its best. I understood the reason behind the big Battle that took place here during the American Civil war. The time though was running out and I ended up staying with a friend at his huge farm house that covered two mountains. The next morning was misty and it was perfect opportunity for me and my friends to shoot some pictures. We were riding as fast as hounds running on high mountains. After taking some great photos I rode out towards the town of Montgomery to see the Famous Orange County Choppers. Enroute` I joined a few other riders and after OCC we took the mountain roads passing the lakes to reach the crowded, fast moving city of New York. The traffic, the roads and the driving reminded me of New Delhi. Though I saw the city with new eyes and I enjoyed spending time there and I got a chance to play tourist again. Over the next 2 days I visited the Ground Zero, the Goggenhiem Museum, the Metropolitan museum, the Times Square and the Empire State building. Standing on the observatory on the Empire State building I said to myself, “Congrats. You have made everyone proud.” Though I had planned NYC to be my final destination, the ride was not over. I was to ride another thirty miles out of the city to New Jersey where I planned to spend the night with a friend who also happened to the Pilot of the flight I would take next day. By the time I came down from the building, it was already dark and raining hard so I quickly packed my stuff and headed out to New Jersey.

At this time of year the northern part of the country starts getting cold and snowed. The roads were slippery but I was able to maintain the interstate speed limits of 65 mph.

But coming on the New Jersey turnpike, I skidded at 60 mph on a patch of black ice. I slid for at least 100 meters of the busy highway with traffic (big rigs) rushing past me at similar speeds. After sliding on my belly, then on my knees and finally on my feet, I ran to the side and waved for the traffic to stop. Luckily the bike had turned its headlights towards the on-coming traffic which avoided them to hit me or the bike. I somehow managed to pick the heavily loaded bike up and checked it carefully for fuel leakage.

Turned out that the double platted steel panniers have taken the most while the crash bar did its job. With only a cracked rear view mirror and a broken turn signal, I had survived the horrifying crash and thanked my guardian angel. I reached the final destination filled with adrenaline and resonating thanks to all those whose wishes travelled with me.

They say, it’s a trip when you have a destination, but it’s an experience when you don’t.

But I say it’s more than an experience, it’s a journey into unknown, a journey into fascinating vistas that stand on every corner, a journey better measured in no. of friends made rather than miles, what you might call a “A journey into friendship.”.

This would have never happened without the immense help and the family bond that prevails amongst the members of Advrider.com