Retracing the road to India Bike Week

Retracing the road to India Bike Week

We bikers, love two things the most: Our motorcycles and the time we get to spend time with it. We make sure we use every second of it. And when it comes to taking your motorcycle for a long ride, your ride will be given the most priority over your girlfriend. And when this ride leads to Goa – the place where the India Bike Week 2015 will be held, you don’t care about your boss (you do only till he approves the leaves for the ride), your 8-5 job and neither are you worried about your girlfriend leaving you. And honestly, all this is justifiable. Because for almost two days, Goa will be your address which will be filled with three things: Bikes, Beer and Babes. 

The biking scenario in India has changed drastically over the last few years. The major credit goes to a few manufacturers like Royal Enfield and Harley-Davidson. While Royal Enfield was the first one to give back to the motorcycle fraternity through their own festival, the iconic Harley-Davidson followed in their footsteps, not because they had to, but because it is in their culture. So when a group of like-minded people experience such a big scale event, it is bound to create curiosity among other bigger groups as well. There was always a need for such a place, where everyone could join in. It doesn’t matter what brand motorcycle you own, doesn’t matter if you are an individual or a part of a group. This basic need of a motorcycle enthusiast led to the creation of India Bike Week - the first and the biggest biking festival in India. In its third year of existence, India Bike Week has grown tremendously in terms of visitors and the event space as well, which overlooks the picturesque Vagator beach.

And if you think India Bike Week is only about bikes, then you are wrong. It is also about getting the entire motorcycling fraternity together, sharing your biking experience and making new friends. It doesn’t matter what you ride, in fact, you don’t need a motorcycle to enter the festival. All you need is sheer emotion and the spirit of motorcycling. If you have this in abundance, you are sure to enjoy the India Bike Week. 

Technically, the festival is spread over two days but the journey towards the party capital begins a week early, when motorcyclists from across the country ride down on their motorcycles. The size of the engine doesn’t matter because there have been riders who have ridden from Delhi on a 150cc motorcycle in the previous editions. Once you are here, you get to choose from various events. At one end of the arena, you get to see some amazing freestyle performance by international champions and at the other end, you get to enjoy EDM music with your friends. The two-day event brings some unique activities to the seven acres land. In 2013, Pentagram, India’s famous rock band performed at the event and blew everyone’s mind. Deepa Malik, the most talented sportswoman in the country made her presence felt and her story was truly inspirational. Matte Griffin, a young and talented stunt rider wowed the crowd with his amazing stunting skills and the biker cinema zone played a very important and inspirational role for many motorcycle enthusiasts to think something big and plan a dream ride. 

In 2014, the major highlight was the Biker Build Off where few start-ups assembled the most creative motorcycles and the decision was given to the IBW visitors who had to vote for the best motorcycle. The last edition also saw Ted Simon and Nick Sanders sharing their motorcycle experience. Ted Simon is known for circumnavigating the world twice on a motorcycle and Nick Sanders holds the world record for riding across the world in a record time of 31 days 20 hours. The most interesting part was when riders at IBW took some tips from these legends about touring the world. There are tonnes of other events and music that one can enjoy and if you want to quench your thirst, head to the Howling Dog Bar. 

The 2015 edition is going to be bigger. While the event has been shifted to the end of February, there is a major edition – drag race. Called the Howling Dog Drag, this new addition is to make sure that everyone gets to experience this adrenaline filled sport in the country. The schedule for the 2015 edition looks quite tempting and if you haven’t seen it yet do check it out here.

The entire team at BikeWale will be riding to Goa to spend time with the motorcycle fraternity at the India Bike Week 2015. Join us in celebrating the spirit of motorcycling.