Being first has its own disadvantages
Being the first in any field has its own
disadvantages. You have to invent the wheel not
reinvent it. And when you are a dumb looking
Indian, your difficulties will multiply. Internet was in
its nascent stages and painfully slow and the
information available was not really useful. No one
to look at and no one to guide me as no one did it
before me from India. I ran from pillar to post to do
the simplest things. If you start planning for a world
tour without internet then you will understand.
Getting all the visas is a great hurdle for the
Indian rider
My biggest problems were funds and permissions.
Till then I didn't even had a passport. All the
biggest visa agents in India rejected my case saying
I won't get a single visa on a fresh passport except
for a group tour to Singapore. They were right, I
cannot furnish any requisites like return flight
tickets, confirmed hotel bookings, funds and
sponsors. I am going on a motorcycle and I don't
know exactly when and where I am going to be.
But by then I had become deaf to the word 'NO'. I
went to each and every embassy and got all the
visas on my own. There is a big story behind getting
each visa. Now I am an expert on Visa procedures.
Getting sponsors for the ride is the
next big hurdle
Then there is the insurmountable hurdle of finding
sponsors. In the west even well-known companies
sponsor such rides even though there is no direct
gain for them. They do it to support and for
prestige. Whereas in India, I still don't see such
support from the corporate sector. Sure they spend
hundreds of crores of rupees on advertising and
celebrities but they don't feel they get enough
value from these expeditions even if someone is
doing it for the first time. From their point of view,
they are right. A film hero would surely get more
eyeball than I can. But I am sure that I can add
great value and prestige to their products which
even ten heroes cannot. Finally, I could not get any
kind of sponsorship except for offers like a cheap
helmet or a waterproof raincoat full of stickers
saying 'sponsored by...' So I had no sponsors. I along
with another two close friends Dr. D. Gopichand
and Dr. M.S. Sharma pooled in the money and we
did it. But nowadays the big companies are
recognizing the value of such events and are more
positive to sponsor.
Quitting is the easiest thing - Never quit
There were so many lonely and depressing
moments when I really got dejected and thought
of quitting. But that's the easiest thing to do. I
persisted and pushed myself in spite of adversity
from all quarters. I had to postpone the dates
many times, changed the routes and had to