Over the next four days, Gaurav and I are gonna be going on a 2000 km road trip
crossing 4 states all the way from Delhi to Goa.
And just to give you an idea of the sheer magnitude of this trip...
India is just 3200 kms long.
We are covering 60% of the length of India
Where I'm from, in New Zealand.. New Zealand is just 1600 kms long.
So we are travelling further than the entire length of New Zealand.
And I'm not even sure we can actually make it.
We have got 4 days to travel 2000 kms.
That's 500 kms a day. And Indian roads are notoriously bad to ride on.
There are so many obstacles and there's no riding straighter than a 100 kms an hour.
It's just too dangerous.
And why Goa? Well we are going to the largest meetup of Royal Enfield motorcycle enthusiasts in the world.
That's where it's out and it's called Rider Mania.
And if you don't know what Royal Enfield is...
Royal Enfield is more than an Indian motorcycle brand.
Royal Enfield is an Indian icon.
It is one of the most loved brands in all of India.
People.. Indians.. aspire to owning a thumping Bullet.
And Royal Enfield is not paying me for this.
They even invited me to Rider Mania.
So I said "Okay. I'll come to Rider Mania. But.. but..
you have to give me a bike to ride there on.
I'm gonna ride from Delhi to Goa and I'm gonna enjoy a meetup with the rest of these bike enthusiasts after having ridden your bike there.
And they said okay. So cool. Let's do it.
Let's go pack my bag. I pack a little differently guys.
And then let's go to the Royal Enfield showroom and pick up my new Himalayan.
You guys are not gonna believe this but I only travel with a 22 liter backpack and a tank bag.
And I travelled just with these two bags all the way to Leh and Ladakh, one of the hardest rides in all of India.
And I do this because I hate screwing up the handling and killing the experience of riding a motorcycle with tons of baggage.
I see these guys with like all these fancy panniers on the sides and on the top..
and it just destroys the ride of the bike. It destroys the handling.
And it makes riding no fun at all.
I travel light. I'm a minimalist. You should try it too.
I just had to kick my girlfriend's mom out of this area so I can film this.
I feel bad. What if I'm gonna get in trouble?
In my 22 liter backpack, and this gets bungee corded onto the bike...
I keep my clothes and I take very few clothes with me...
I keep my driver's license, sunblocks, stomach infection medication because I always get sick on the road here...
my toothbrush and my gimbal as well.
In my tank bag, I just keep all my camera equipments so I can grab it really quickly, hand sanitizers and my sunglasses.
There is one more bag and what the hell could be in here?
And you will notice, they are all one rupee coins.
That's the kind of guy I am, one rupee person.
Hey, here we are! Ready to get the bikes now. We are gonna pick up a couple of Himalayans from Royal Enfield here in Saket and...
in South Delhi..couple of North Delhi dudes in South Delhi, eh? Gaurav: Yeah.
Karl: We are not cool here. We don't fit in here man!
I have a real problem um...
I have size 13 feet.
And so it's impossible for me to ever find a show, especially a riding boot, to take on this trip.
So I had nothing to right now. It was gonna be sneakers.
But here they had a size 12 and it kinda.. it just fits. It's a little tight but it's fine.
I waited for about a year ago actually.
and we had to go to some guy's house.. somewhere else in Delhi.. because he was the supplier
and he went back into his house and up to his storage room and he found, by some kind of a miracle, a size 13
and that's what I took to Leh.
They got totally destroyed on that ride and now I need a new pair but it's just so impossible to find.
Even in launchers in India, you won't find a size 13.
Anywhere.. it stops at 10 and if you are lucky, the sizing stops at 11 here in this country.
And no jokes about big feet in the comments, eh? Haters..
Karl: Brother, there is a problem with this bike? Gaurav: What?
I won't take it.
Gaurav: We will paste another one on top of it and we will write "Jaat Boy" on it.
Karl: We have to, we have to. Jaat Boy sticker.. that's what I need.
Oh no! Maharashtra!
It's says BJ as well. I guess that makes up for it somewhat..
And the thing about the numberplate is...
in India, this identifies you.
You can't be a Delhi guy riding with some Maharashtra plate or with some other plate.
You want to represent your state, right? So...
You don't want to ride with another state's number plate.
I think I need some stickers on these bikes. Everybody has stickers.
If you are like me, your sticker says "Ram Ram" or "Radhe Radhe" (Hindu greetings).
Or if you are like Gaurav, it says "Desi Boy" or like "Jaat Boy".. anything like that.
You need to get your number plate right and you need to get your stickers right.
Okay so these are our bikes that we are gonna take.
Karl: Are you ready? Gaurav: Yes. Goa is waiting! Karl: Yeah!
But first.. first we have to cross Delhi, oh my god!