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Indian-Australian man completes a solo bike ride around Australia in 50 days

 Indian-Australian man completes a solo bike ride around Australia in 50 days

Going on a solo road trip around Australia on a bike is a dream for many adventurers, and Indian Australian businessman Jatin Kotecha fulfilled this amazing feat. He started his journey on 30 April 2022 from his home in Melbourne and completed it on 18 June after visiting Tasmania’s Devonport. Besides, the trip took 50 days to complete, wherein he covered more than 16,000 kilometres and visited every state and capital city of Australia.

While expressing his excitement, Jatin said it was a unique and memorable experience for him to go on the trip. Furthermore, he finished his adventure according to how he had planned, and upon his return, his family gave him a warm welcome.

How did he get the idea for travel?

Initially, Jatin had considered making a trip to Leh-Ladakh in India; however, due to Covid-19 restrictions, he had to cancel that plan. Hence, he decided to go on an adventure in Australia; after researching about travelling across Australia, he came across” the big lap of Australia”.

Therefore, he started his dream journey from Melbourne on his Royal Enfield motorbike, riding on national highway A1, a route that passes through every state and connects major cities. However, he made elaborate preparations before hitting the road, including considering potential issues while on the road. Also, he chalked out a route planning and assessed his personal capacity for operating a motorbike.

Next, he got detailed information regarding the weather across various Australian states and chalked out a plan to visit the places accordingly. Also, convincing his family to go on a solo trip was challenging; he said he had to persuade his wife, Devangi. However, he is grateful for her support for the trip and throughout the journey, she was in touch with him virtually and booked accommodations for Jatin.

On the other hand, his grandmother and mother were surprised to know about his travelling adventure and suggested taking a short trip. However, he managed to convince them, and they supported him after getting to know their mission. Also, Jatin’s trip was self-funded, and his wife managed his business while he was away.

Jatin Kotecha

A well-planned ride

Jatin prepared his schedule according to the region’s weather and opted to get an early start in hot and humid places particularly. He would start his day at 6:30 am by packing his luggage, having breakfast and ensuring he had enough fuel on the main road. Moreover, throughout his ride, he would stop to raise awareness about climate change.

Also, he would stop to speak to locals and distribute flyers about Sadhguru’s Save Soil campaign – a movement started in India to save soil from extinction – while visiting various landmarks en route. Besides, he feels that the soil is degrading, and people should take mitigative actions to preserve it for future generations.
Among his highlights, he listed Nullarbor Plains, Great Australian Bight, Indian Ocean Way, Pinnacle Dessert, 90 Mile Straight Road and Pilbara Region.

Challenges during the trip

Australia encompasses vast arid and desolate areas; the distance between two towns surpassed 1,000 kilometres(sometimes more than that) in remote Australia. As a result, while covering vast distances, he encountered isolated locations; similarly, rapidly changing weather conditions contributed to the journey’s difficulty. For example, he said that he faced heavy rain, extreme heat in Western Australia, a humid and hot atmosphere in Darwin, cold and windy weather in the eastern parts of the country and black ice on Tasmanian roads.

Additionally, since he is a vegetarian, it was hard to find rest stops that provided veg food in regional locations. Also, when he exhausted fuel several times, he had to rely on backup fuel tanks.

abhilash david

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