Bengaluru

My friends were returning to Hyderabad from Ooty and decided to stay in Bangalore for a couple of days; they invited me to come join them; I borrowed a friend's bike from Tirupati, had it serviced, and headed for Bengaluru later that day.

I was delighted and terrified at the same time because I had never gone alone, that far on the bike before. I plugged in some music and set off on the adventure. The feeling of freedom that comes from being on the road alone is indescribable. In my opinion, everyone should embark on at least one solo ride. Just when I thought that the ride couldn't get any more interesting, it started raining. I found shelter immediately. Bengaluru is plagued with heavy traffic and I had to cross it in the midst of a downpour. Riding from Tirupati to Bengaluru was an easy task, but crossing the traffic was something that I had not accounted for.

Bangalore became officially the longest I had traveled on a bike. This trip made me realize that visiting new places was just an escape from reality. At the time, my reality was not a positive one. I was struggling academically and in my personal life. When you're on the road, the wind pushes all your problems away, you might think I'm exaggerating, but there's magic in the wind when you're visiting places that you've never visited before.