Deepak Kamath, a renowned biker from Bangalore loves to travel and has been travelling since the age of 18 and has covered close to 5,00,000+ kms till date and would love to continue for another 10+ years. Travel for him has not been limited to any particular mode, but has been an adventure camp since he was in the NCC, cycling, motorcycling, driving, and also trekking / hitch hiking. He has taken up many motorcycle expeditions and here is a small brief of his various rides. In 1988, he led a team of 2 on an All India Cycling Expedition across 17 Indian States and Nepal. In 1989-1990, he went about on a World Cycling Expedition which had to be called off as the cycle got stolen at the Greece-Bulgaria border. In 1990, With the help of Ideal Jawa in Mysore to do up the 1979 model B Yezdi for a India trip where he clocked 10280 Kms in 17 days…. across India and Nepal. He could not reach Leh via Jammu – Srinagar as the landslides had blocked the roads, hence this dream of reaching the highest motorable road from this side ended as he had to complete the run to Bangalore in a record time.
1994-1995: The Yezdi-Castrol Continental Raid… an endeavor to cover the length and breadth of the Equator, 24901 miles or 40075 kms across all 6 continents….with a minimum of 1000 miles in each continent without using the same road twice. A total of 42038 Km was covered in 47 riding days and 119 days in all… and is still intact over the last 25+ years.
He has owned various bikes like the Yezdi Modedl B, Yezdi Roadking, Kinetic Honda, Yamaha FZ, TVS RTR, and currently rides the Benelli 600 GTS, and the Yamaha FZ25 which he uses for his daily commutes. He also owns the 2 Record makingBajaj Dominar’s that have taken him across 5 of the 10 most dangerous roads in the world. The motivation behind his rides is sheer passion. He believes in the philosophy “I Travel Because I’d rather look back at my life, saying “I can’t believe I did that” instead of “If only I had” by Florine Bos. On the current riding scenario he feels that riders, or the so called ones and self-proclaimed ones, seem to be in a hurry, and this is a near generalized statement. Unfortunately, the scenario in this country has been evolving quite drastically giving very little or no room for maturity to sink in. Until very recently, many of us used to ride 100-150 CC bikes. But with the advent of powerful engines, responsibility seems to be a distant reality and priority. He knows very few bikers who actually share a good passion to travel and hopes that the times get better and sense prevails. He would like to pass on a message to budding riders that develop patience and respect other road commuters. Hold your ground if you happen to stop a person who is flouting traffic rules. Have your priorities very clearly in life. It is important to have a job in life. They will fuel your passion. Please do not get carried away by Social Media posts. He further adds that one must have a passion in life and chase that passion. It may and must not be limited to a copy of who you come across, example me. Do not copy me. I have 3 decades of experience behind me and I am still learning and evolving. I get invited to share my experiences. I look at every opportunity to connect with the current youngsters. I have had cycling, NCC background, motorcycling, driving with which I have shared equal passion and chose to stay with two wheels. The biggest happiness is when you get out of your cozy comfort zone and travel. We have seen yesterday, we are living today, and we have not seen tomorrow… who know what is in store. Plan your basics.. get out and enjoy life. … Your Life is Now!