The Roads Worth Taking

Some motorcycle journeys begin with a destination.

Others begin with a date marked on the calendar.

For Zeev Tankus, this one began with a simple realisation.

Some journeys deserve to be taken when the time feels right.

Having travelled extensively after leaving a successful career in film production, Zeev had long ago stopped measuring adventures by distance alone. The Indian Himalayas had always been on the list, but more importantly, it was a journey he wanted to share with his wife, Delphine Tetenoire.

There was no dramatic deadline.

No bucket list.

Simply the understanding that some experiences are better enjoyed while life still offers the freedom to chase them together.

Over five weeks, the couple would ride their Royal Enfield Bullet 500 from Dharamshala through Manali, Leh and Nubra Valley before returning by a different route. Around 1,400 kilometres would pass beneath the tyres, with hundreds of those kilometres crossing broken roads, riverbeds and rough mountain tracks.

For Zeev, however, the ride was never defined by statistics.

It was defined by India.

Why India?

For someone who has travelled across much of the world, Zeev speaks about India with unusual affection.

The mountains are spectacular, certainly, but they are not the reason he keeps returning.

It is the people.

India, he says, possesses a rare combination of innocence and sincerity that continues to surprise him on every visit. Time and again he has found himself making agreements with nothing more than a handshake, only to discover that trust is honoured exactly as promised.

That simple quality has become increasingly difficult to find elsewhere.

The Himalayas provided another excuse to return.

The people were the reason he came back.

Built For The Journey

The Bullet waiting in Delhi had already been prepared for exactly this kind of adventure.

Interestingly, the first modification Zeev makes to any touring motorcycle has nothing to do with performance.

It is the pillion seat.

Factory seats, he says with a laugh, rarely show much consideration for passengers. If Delphine was going to spend eight or ten hours a day on the motorcycle, comfort came first.

It is a wonderfully understated expression of how they travel together.

The rest of the motorcycle reflected the same thinking.

A reinforced luggage rack, fabricated from steel almost twice as thick as the standard versions, carried weeks of camping equipment, tools and supplies. Spare cables, ropes, a rechargeable tyre inflator, a spare chain and a pair of high rubber boots for river crossings all found their place among the luggage.

Preparation, Zeev believes, creates freedom.

Not because everything goes according to plan.

Because eventually something never does.

The Mountains Make You Earn Them

The Himalayas wasted little time introducing themselves.

Approaching Rohtang Pass on the first morning, freezing temperatures and rain replaced the excitement of departure. Soon afterwards came the first washed-out road, where the Bullet picked its way across loose rocks hidden beneath flowing water.

Those crossings would soon become familiar.

So would the condition of the roads.

Broken tarmac, loose gravel, construction zones and long stretches of dirt demanded complete attention, yet they also reminded Zeev why this route has become one of motorcycling’s great adventures.

These are roads that ask something of every rider.

The Bullet, meanwhile, simply got on with the job.

Loaded with two riders, camping equipment and everything needed for five weeks on the road, it climbed steadily without complaint.

“The bike was amazing,” Zeev recalls.

“It carried both of us and all our luggage over everything.”

Magic, Planning And A Broken Chain

The most memorable mechanical failure arrived just before Leh.

Without warning, the drive chain snapped.

The motorcycle rolled quietly to a stop.

Within minutes another rider appeared and asked if everything was alright. After a brief conversation came an almost unbelievable piece of news.

A Royal Enfield dealership stood barely three kilometres away.

The workshop repaired the motorcycle within two hours.

The coincidence still makes Zeev smile.

As far as anyone knew, it was the only Royal Enfield dealership anywhere nearby.

He shrugs when asked about it.

“Believe in magic and trust.”

Those few words capture him surprisingly well.

He prepares meticulously for every journey, yet still leaves room for life’s unexpected kindnesses.

Perhaps that is why he enjoys India so much.

The country has repeatedly rewarded both.

Freedom On Four Legs

Ask Zeev to identify the single defining moment of the journey and he refuses.

“There were dozens.”

It is difficult to argue.

The vast open spaces of Ladakh.

The silence.

The campsites beneath enormous skies.

Prayer flags fluttering across high passes.

The endless roads disappearing towards distant mountains.

Yet the memory he returns to most often arrived without warning.

Emerging from thick fog, the couple found themselves sharing the road with a small herd of wild horses.

Majestic.

Untamed.

Completely free.

For Zeev, they became a symbol of everything he searches for whenever he travels by motorcycle.

Not speed.

Not distance.

Freedom.

One Moment That Changed Everything

Only once during the entire journey did Zeev genuinely fear for their lives.

An impatient SUV driver forced the motorcycle towards the edge of a mountain road overlooking a sheer drop.

There was barely enough room to react.

Rather than risk going over the edge, Zeev deliberately laid the Bullet down.

Only after confirming that Delphine was safe and seeing the motorcycle resting barely forty centimetres from the cliff did the emotions arrive.

His first thoughts had been entirely practical.

Protect Delphine.

Control the motorcycle.

Minimise the damage.

Only afterwards, he admits with a grin, did he begin imagining how satisfying it might have been to introduce his fist to the driver’s nose.

It is exactly the sort of story Zeev tells over coffee.

He jumps effortlessly from danger to humour without making either feel dramatic.

The Roads Worth Taking

Talk to Zeev for long enough and certain themes begin to repeat themselves.

Preparation matters.

Trust matters.

Sharing the ride matters.

So does choosing the right travelling companion.

He and Delphine have ridden together in several countries, and there is a quiet ease to the way he speaks about those journeys. He never describes her simply as a passenger. She is part of every decision, from rebuilding the pillion seat before departure to sharing ten-hour days on some of the roughest roads India has to offer.

The Himalayas gave them extraordinary scenery.

India gave them memorable people.

The motorcycle simply connected the two.

Many riders return from Ladakh talking about altitude, mountain passes and difficult roads.

Zeev remembers those too.

But years later, the stories that still make him smile are the stranger who stopped to help, the handshake that needed no paperwork, the impossible timing of a Royal Enfield workshop, and a group of wild horses disappearing into the mist.

Perhaps that is the lesson hidden within every memorable journey.

The finest roads are rarely remembered because they were the most difficult.

They stay with us because of the people we shared them with, the moments we never planned for, and the quiet satisfaction of knowing we chose to ride them when the time felt right.

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Story Credits

Story: Zeev Tankus

Edited by: Let’s Ride Editorial Team