ADVENTURE
Deepak Kamath, 49, a project manager from Bangalore, India has now ridden a bike on all seven continents. Which means he’s been to Antarctica…
Depak Kamath has ridden all seven continents. That means Antarctica.
Where are you right now? Home!
You’ve just finished an epic ride you have titled the Dominar Polar Odyssey. Tell us more…
I led a team of three from the Arctic Ocean, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska through Canada before entering the USA in Montana. We then headed to Niagara Falls before circling back to ride across 24 states of the USA. From there we went south into Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. I ended my Odyssey in Ushuaia, argentina at the tip of South America. It was 31,000 miles and 99 days of saddle time through 15 countries and across two continents.
Actually that wasn’t really the end. From Argentina I took my motorcycle to Antarctica and rode a magical seven miles in the Great White Continent, which made me one of the few to have ridden a motorcycle on all seven continents.
To us European adventure riders your choice of bike was unusual…
I used the Indian-made 400cc Bajaj Dominar. It is the same bike I used for my previous Trans-siberian Odyssey and has clocked up 43,000 miles between these two adventures and not a single breakdown. I would definitely use this machine for many of my future travels.
These days we are seeing more Indian riders tackling overland adventures. What is behind this increase in adventure riding in India? Yes, this trend has grown. It’s a new attitude towards adventure, coupled with more disposable income and ‘Made in India’ brands seeking global exposure.
Tell us about your adventure riding experience?
I’ve done three long-distance journeys: in 1991 6900 miles in 267 hours including the Khardung La Pass, the highest motorable road in the world; in 1994 26,100 miles in 47 days across six continents on the Yezdi Castrol Continental Raid; 2017 the Dominar Transsiberian Odyssey across six countries, including a section of the Old Summer Road – the real Road of Bones.
What was the best moment of your adventuring so far?
The successful completion of the Dominar Polar Odyssey and most importantly making my way to Antarctica, and into it, on a bike.
What does the future hold for you?
It’s a big beautiful world.
‘It’s a big beautiful world… and I wish to see as many countries as possible with my wife’
From now on I wish to see as many countries as possible with my wife. Right now I have three more adventures that I am working on after which I will start taking it slow. Very, very slow!
What is the most important thing you have learned from your travels? It’s always the local people who are sent from God – I have had numerous instances where I have been helped by locals with no apprehension of caste or colour. And thanks to some great PR by the current Indian government it’s been heartening to find that people in the countries I have travelled through know many good things about my country.