Official ride to IBW flagged off from Vashi

Though all the action may be in Goa for the India Bike Week, Mumbai too has its tale to tell. This morning, around 20 bikers from the city gathered at Vashi to start their three-day journey to the event. The highlight of the ride is that they will be in the company of two legendary bikers namely Ted Simon and Jay Kannaiyan. 

The event, organised by 70 Event Media Group, is being called The Ride with the Legends. Bollywood actress and an avid bike enthusiast, Gul Panag flagged off the ride in the morning. Standing in the parking lot at Vashi, the bikers were all gung-ho about their day and were busy exchanging notes and travel details. 

The group had a small briefing before they embarked on their ride. The ride that started at Vashi will go through Palm Beach road, going on to Alibagh and then Harihareshwar, from where they will be boarding a ferry. Both man and machine will be accommodated on the ferry. Their last stop for the day will be Guhagar. The next day will see them go to Tarkali and so on. The ride will end on January 17 when the group enters the India Bike Week grounds. 

We had a word with Ted Simon, the British journalist, who is known for circumnavigating the world twice on his motorcycle. Ted calls himself a traveller and a rider rather than a biker. It has been 40 years since he has been to this stretch of the country. He also revealed that his purpose for the ride was to explore and view things around him as he loves life and wanted to see and experience new things.

The organisers tell us that the main reason for having the duo over to be part of the ride is so that young bikers and even enthusiasts get to learn from them. 

The event ended with the group of 20 bikers revving their motorcycle engines as they left the parking lot in Vashi in file formation. 

This is not just the only group headed to Goa for the India Bike Week. Around 200 proud Harley Owners Group (H.O.G) members of the Seven Islands Harley-Davidson club left the city to participate in the mother of all rallies- the second India H.O.G Rally which is also being held in Goa. The Harley-Davidson group will make their presence felt at the Bike Week and then, will join the remaining 12 Chapters to ride together in the second edition of the India H.O.G Rally, creating one of the biggest riding spectacles ever.