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Story: e’re sure that once the coVID-19 panDemIc becomes a thing of the past, many are going to pack their bags and head out for a holiday destination of their choice. Bikers who have always dreamed of heading to high-altitude mountains or adventure trails to conquer them on a motorcycle are surely going to tick mark that particular item in their bucket list.

my two such ride experiences have been with royal enfield and they taught me a lot. one was a ride at the peak of the rainy season through parts of Goa you wouldn’t normally visit and the second was a ride to the mountains of spiti Valley in himachal pradesh.

riding through off-road sections needs considerable skill and the best way to learn is to keep practising. every time you go off-road riding, you will learn something new about how the motorcycle handles and how and where input needs to be given to the motorcycle. the first tip to follow while riding on offroad terrain is to hold the handle loosely, which lets the front wheel move freely. this will allow the front wheel to find the best grip through that section and prevent the bike from losing stability. If a section is extremely slushy or packed with black-ice, you are most likely to lose the front end and this demands you to also use your strength to suddenly pull back the handle to avoid a fall. a good trick is to keep both your legs off the motorcycle and use them to help move the bike. Keeping your legs down also avoids serious injury in case of a fall by mainly keeping your leg from being trapped under the motorcycle.