Every Rider Gets Rusty

After months away from the motorcycle, a World Motorcycle Day ride through Goa and Maharashtra reminded one experienced rider why practice never stops.

There are many ways to begin this story, but perhaps the most honest is also the simplest.

Alan D’Mello joined a ride on World Motorcycle Day because he was rusty and needed the practice.

The Royal Enfield Garage Cafe Goa has become something of a hub for the riding community. Having been part of its WhatsApp group for some time, Alan signed up the moment the ride was announced. Even then, there was every chance he would not make it that morning. Fortunately, the odds fell in his favour.

A rider who almost always travels alone suddenly found himself among 21 others with nothing to do but enjoy the road. More importantly, he needed time away from the desk and time back in the saddle. It proved to be a compromise well worth making.

The pace was brisk, the roads rewarding and, throughout the day, the group’s discipline and teamwork stood out.

Rusty

This was Alan’s first ride of 2026.

For someone who usually measures the year in kilometres rather than months, that was unusual. A much longer journey lay ahead later in the season, and there was no substitute for rebuilding confidence before it. Off-road practice, in particular, had become a priority.

The long break had left its mark.

In the days leading up to the ride, there were genuine nerves to overcome. It felt strangely similar to preparing for a first ride, despite decades of experience. The previous weekend was spent airing out riding gear that had sat untouched for months. The evening before departure was devoted to something even more humbling: remembering how to pack the motorcycle.

Riders gather for the pre ride briefing before setting off on a group motorcycle ride through Goa. — Every memorable ride begins the same way. A quick briefing, familiar faces, and the shared anticipation of the road ahead.

A task that once took five effortless minutes stretched well beyond twenty. The Viaterra 8-litre dry bags, bought months earlier but never fitted, became an unexpected reminder that riding is as much muscle memory as it is knowledge.

Some things return instantly.

Others need to be relearned.

Finding The Rhythm Again

For the occasion, Alan chose his Himalayan 450.

The motorcycle had travelled barely 50 kilometres since March the previous year, accumulating only around 10,000 kilometres in nearly two years of ownership. A 150-kilometre ride on World Motorcycle Day seemed like the perfect excuse to wake both rider and machine from their extended hibernation.

Alan's Royal Enfield Himalayan parked beside a lush hillside during a break in the Western Ghats. — Every rider has a story with their motorcycle. On this ride, Alan's Himalayan quietly carried him from uncertainty back to confidence, one trail at a time.

Fresh oils, new brake pads and routine maintenance had prepared the bike.

Now it was the rider’s turn.

As Ride Captain Pradeep Hundre finished briefing the group before departure, Alan was still making his way towards the rendezvous.

The original meeting point at Royal Enfield Garage Cafe Goa was only a short ride from home in Mapusa, but a timing miscalculation meant the group had already left. Instead, Alan waited at the fuel station in Parra, watching the road.

There is something deeply reassuring about seeing a well-organised group appear on the horizon. After what felt like an anxious eternity—but was really only ten minutes—the familiar line of motorcycles rolled into the fuel station together.

The Garage Cafe crew have earned a reputation for organising rides that are welcoming without being casual. They strike a balance between experience and inclusiveness, looking after newcomers while never compromising on safety. On this occasion, every rider in the group had touring experience, many with thousands of kilometres behind them.

With little more than greetings, fuel stops and helmet nods, the group set off towards Pargad Fort.

Surprisingly, the greatest challenge wasn’t the road.

It was the group.

Despite more than three decades and over 300,000 kilometres on motorcycles, Alan had almost always ridden alone. Group riding has its own language, etiquette and rhythm, and he was unfamiliar with all of it.

Within fifteen kilometres, however, the anxiety had disappeared.

Alan smiling into the camera before the ride wearing a bucket hat and sunglasses on a bright day. — Every memorable ride begins with a rider willing to say yes to a new adventure, even if the confidence takes a little longer to arrive.

The smile had returned.

It felt good to be riding again.

Standing Up

Motorcycling has always been its own small community.

That became obvious over breakfast in Dodamarg.

Bhaji, pao, chai and conversation quickly dissolved any remaining unfamiliarity. Riders have an uncanny ability to find common ground within minutes, no matter where they have come from or what they ride.

Soon afterwards, the real purpose of the day arrived.

A left turn off SH130 onto the Tilari road marked the beginning of the dirt section.

This was why Alan had joined the ride.

He wanted to practise riding while standing on the pegs.

Adventure riders negotiating a rough muddy forest road with one rider standing on the foot pegs for better balance and control. — Standing on the foot pegs transforms the way an adventure motorcycle handles rough terrain, making it easier to absorb bumps and maintain control over uneven surfaces.

There is a certain honesty that comes with off-road riding. It exposes weaknesses quickly, and after spending the better part of a year rolling around on the wheels of an office chair rather than a motorcycle, standing for long stretches demanded more than remembered technique. Every shoulder, hip and knee made its opinion known.

Even so, he stood through most of the 61 bends climbing from Morle towards the base of Pargad Fort.

A brief stop halfway offered spectacular views across the valley before the climb continued.

More importantly, it offered reassurance.

The dirt section was completed without incident. Clutch control still needed refinement, but the instincts remained intact. Balance, vision and confidence returned surprisingly quickly.

Ironically, the only fall of the day happened on tarmac.

Near the base of the fort, second gear slipped unexpectedly into neutral instead of first during a slow uphill section. It was little more than a standing fall, but the riders behind were immediately there to help lift what Alan affectionately describes as the Himalayan elephant.

The Right Kind Of Company

The Garage Cafe riders proved to be exactly the sort of company every touring rider hopes to find.

Highly skilled.

Completely unassuming.

Nobody had anything to prove.

There were no unnecessary displays of speed or bravado, only riders enjoying motorcycles for exactly what they were built to do.

The weather, too, seemed willing to cooperate.

The monsoon paused just long enough for the climb towards Pargad Fort to remain dry. Yugandhar Khorate—better known to many as Trackbreed—spent much of the morning hoping the rain would eventually arrive and make the terrain even more challenging.

For a first group ride, Alan had prepared thoroughly.

Proper riding gear.

Medical kit.

Adventure motorcycle.

The essentials.

Others arrived in jeans, trainers and T-shirts. A few even brought large cruisers onto roads clearly designed for lighter machinery.

Every rider completed the route.

Without drama.

Without incident.

Perhaps the preparations had been excessive.

Riders gather for a group photograph at a scenic hilltop viewpoint after completing an off road training ride. — The ride ended with new skills, shared laughs and a reminder that the best days on a motorcycle are often shaped as much by the people as by the roads themselves.

Then again, perhaps there is no such thing as over-preparing for a motorcycle ride.

The day also reinforced something else.

People genuinely want to ride.

Increasingly, they also want to share that experience with others.

When The Rain Finally Arrived

The group spent an hour at Pargad Fort before descending through Namkhol, Waghtore and Gudawale Khalsa towards lunch at Hotel Pudhari.

Twenty-one hungry riders are enough to overwhelm any kitchen.

Orders changed.

Seats changed.

Conversations flowed freely.

The staff handled it all with admirable patience.

After lunch, there was brief discussion about exploring another dirt section near Thivim. Many riders, Alan included, decided to head home instead. Other commitments were waiting.

Barely ten minutes later, Trackbreed finally got his wish.

A large group of adventure riders and motorcycles gathered at a misty hilltop viewpoint during a monsoon ride. — Rain, fog and changing weather are all part of the adventure. The best group photographs are often the ones taken after riding through the toughest conditions together.

The first drops arrived almost apologetically before the monsoon committed itself completely. Within moments, the hillsides became waterfalls and the roads transformed into fast-moving streams.

There was time to stop and pull on waterproofs.

Alan chose not to.

His riding gear was already filthy and destined for the washing machine anyway. Besides, he had made himself a promise.

He had missed getting soaked the previous monsoon.

This year would be different.

The promise was kept.

Tilari’s roads are demanding in perfect conditions.

In heavy rain, they demand complete respect.

Water flowed across the tarmac, hillsides spilled onto the road and visibility deteriorated rapidly. Boots filled with water, the helmet’s Pinlock finally surrendered to the humidity and every switchback demanded patience rather than confidence.

There were moments when even brand-new tyres inspired little reassurance.

What carried him through was not speed.

It was experience.

And the simple habit of choosing the right line.

It remains one of motorcycling’s least celebrated skills.

Those who understand it know why it matters.

Those who do not should make it a priority to learn.

That, ultimately, was the real reason for joining the ride on World Motorcycle Day.

Practice.

Not because experience disappears.

But because even experienced riders need reminding.

Back at the foot of the hills, with the rain easing and Goa once again in sight, the lead riders gathered everyone together one final time before the group dispersed.

Alan turned towards home.

The evening was spent washing mud from his riding gear, cleaning the motorcycle and quietly reflecting on a day that had delivered exactly what he had hoped for.

By the time everything was clean again, it almost felt as though he had brought a little of the mountain home with him.