December 8, 2023, was a rather eventful day to be in Goa. While Panjimities celebrated the feast of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception by feasting on delicious pulao and xacuti, on the other side of the River Mandovi, the village of Vagator had an exciting day of its own at the 10th edition of India Bike Week (IBW).
A saving grace for people who have zero sense of direction, it was almost impossible to lose your way to the Vagator hilltop because truth be told, all roads led to India Bike Week and there was only one sound to follow – the roar of bikes revving to glory.
The energy at India Bike Week was contagious, to some it felt like coming home to a family that was bound together by a shared passion for biking. There was no room for ego hassles about whose bike sounded better, or any sense of entitlement; just pure respect, admiration and exchange of acquired knowledge.
As someone who has been attending IBW for as long as he can remember shared, “India Bike Week used to be way busier in the past, but maybe the crowd will be here once the sun goes down.” He humorously added, “Since we’re talking about the changes since the beginning of IBW, there are two things that I miss, the first being the boom-boom rock music that they used to play, and, the fact that in the beginning, there used to be sexy women on bikes, and now, well, not so much because people would misbehave with them.”
While Divine Riders rode their bikes to IBW from Nagpur, Mumbaikar Mayur used Google maps to get to IBW, hassle free. “The journey was pleasant. The only problem that I had was the map guiding me through narrow routes that my bike found it very difficult to squeeze through,” he smiled as he got onto his bike.
Day one of IBW 2023 in a nutshell was a treat to all the senses. To the eyes, it was a delight to witness the impressive bikes from all over the world. To the nose, the aroma of the food that was sizzling under the refreshment tent was enough to cause hunger pangs and to a biker's ears, the sound of a good engine being revved is music personified, and if that wasn’t enough, the night ended to the tunes of Indian music producer, Nucleya, who had the crowd going crazy.
If you missed Day 1, it’s not too late to hop onto your bike and ride off to Day 2 of IBW to witness bike trails, participate in exciting little adventures, purchase merchandise or simply interact with like-minded people.
After all, for bikers, stunts and risky rides are inevitable and run in their blood, because while the dust and dirt will wash away, the memories created at IBW 2023 will be there to stay.