Two Canadian brothers set off on an 18,000-km motorcycle ride around China in 2010 and succeeded. A couple of years later, they decided to do another epic motorcycle ride around India. The India Ride – 2 brothers, 2 motorcycles, an incredible adventure is the story of this feat of stamina, courage, and most of all, patience. Written by the brothers, Colin and Ryan Pyle, The India Ride details the entire journey which started from Delhi, went northwest along treacherous mountainous roads and to the border with Pakistan, then southwest to Mumbai and the Arabian Sea coast before going back up along the southeast coast up to Bengal and finishing in Delhi again.
The arduous journey was not just a daredevil joyride but a carefully planned expedition that was intended to be fully recorded for a TV show based on the trip. In fact, the brothers were still completing book and television deals for the China trip while preparing for the India trip. The book details the arduous preparations as even before the trip actually began, the brothers had to plan the journey day by day, hire a driver and videographer (the same from their China journey) who followed and filmed them during the whole trip, apply for permits to shoot video at places they planned to visit, and get sponsors.
Not surprisingly, the trip was full of hazardous traffic and road experiences, including a few close calls, mixed emotions, and frustration. India is no cup of tea for visitors, especially ones riding motorcycles around the country. While I’ve never been to India (yet), I’ve heard a lot about the country, which just from afar can seem like an assault on the senses and mind. The brothers’ experiences and insights of India showed the country to be as fascinating, chaotic and frustrating as I’d expected. The brothers don’t hold back in expressing their thoughts on the country, during and at the completion of their journey. Their encounters with locals are mostly positive, such as when a stranger driving by who leads the brothers to a nearby mechanic after one of their motorcycles breaks down on a hilly, rural area.
The book could have been shorter on the planning details at the beginning, and longer on the actual events and sights of the trip. As the main point of the trip was the motorcycle journey and not sightseeing, it is understandable. They do visit some major sights such as the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar, the ghats alongside the Ganges River in Varanasi, and major temples. The chapter on the Rat Temple (Karni Matar) in Rajasthan state is a particularly interesting and honest read, though it might put readers off of visiting it. It’s also exactly why I think there should have been more writing about the sights.
The brothers’ India ride was a remarkable journey in a remarkable country, which very few people would ever dare to complete. It is good to see that the journey did not put off Ryan Pyle, the older brother and whose idea it originally was to ride around China, as he would go on to complete another incredible motorcycle ride in Brazil and is still going strong.
Year published: 2013
