Stallion’s First Fall

Whenever we have new riders joining us for a trail ride, I give a short briefing at the start of the ride. At Goa Trail Riders, we have a rule. When we drop our bike, we do not lift it until we take a picture of it lying down. So after a fall, we recommend that you lift yourself up, take five steps back and click a picture of your motorcycle. A true adventure rider always takes a picture of his motorcycle before lifting it.

Having said this, the real reason for this rule is to prevent further damage to yourself. The damage to your bike is already done. But when you have a fall, the adrenaline pumping through your body conceals any injury that you may have sustained during the fall. So in that elevated state, if you try and lift your bike, you may pull a muscle or do some damage which could cost cost you the ride.

I have ridden my Triumph Tiger 800 XRx for 8,000 kms without ever dropping it. It’s not that I’ve ridden it on tarmac all along. It has had its fair share of trails. But to call myself an adventure rider I felt that I needed to drop the bike at least once on a trail and take a picture to prove it. 🙂

My wish was granted yesterday. As I was climbing down from Sada to Mangeli, I got distracted with the breathtaking view of the valley and didn’t notice that my front tyre was veering from the line I had chosen for it. I lost the front tire and thus graduated from an adventure motorcycle owner to an adventure motorcycle rider. 🙂