18 countries, 20,000km: This Pune couple rode on a dream and a motorcycle

When taking a sabbatical from the reality of life, nothing beats the road itself becoming life. That’s what Manas and Anuradha Dewan discovered on a breathtaking motorcycle trip two years ago. But who wants to know about a couple watching the milestones along the way go by, keeping the speedometer needle in constant tension and taking in the hum and buzz of rustic towns and glitzy cities?
Well, there are many who do want to know.Around 15,000 dream chasers have connected with the Pune-based Dewans so far regarding their four-month-long, 20,000km, bohemian-like sojourn across 18 countries on a Ducati Scrambler motorcycle. The couple has been invited as motivational speakers and travel experts for over 50 sessions by corporates, NGOs and related groups. Early last year, Manas’ writing initiative, www.DostiOnWheels.com, broke into the list of top 100 travel blogs in the world. This prompted him to write ‘Dear Journey’, a book on his trip, which was published in December last year.
A medieval town in Sarlat, France, where time seems to stand still.
An adventure like the Dewans was rooted in dreams for long. It called for Manas, a corporate veteran, to kick up his well-paying job in Oman and return to Pune with Anuradha, a philosophy professor. Digging into their life savings, they set aside Rs 10 lakh for the trip and spent another Rs 10 lakh on buying the motorcycle and get it modded with self-designed seats, biking luggage, fabricated luggage racks and the like.
The journey began from Valencia in Spain and rolled into Portugal, France, Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy, Vatican, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey.
Cappadocia in Turkey, one of the couple's pitstops.
The couple did 18 countries to celebrate their 18 years of marriage, and 20,000km to toast their 20 years of knowing each other, says Manas, as he recalls memorable nuggets like the St John festival in Porto, Portugal; the walk through history in medieval towns like Sarlat in the Perigord region of France; the 30-minute ride to cover the whole of tiny Liechtenstein; Bologna in Italy where the Dewans sang India’s national anthem on local radio; Kremasta in Greece, the largest artificial lake in the country which is a rider’s delight to circumnavigate; and, Cappadocia for its fairy chimneys, underground cities and ballooning experience.
For a trip that took them through forest fires in Spain and Portugal, blizzards in central France and 50-degree-plus heat waves in the Balkans, their minimalistic luggage was a surprise — just two cabin-sized bags for swim wear, warm wear, rain wear, footwear and riding gear and a larger bag for tools, spares, laptop, gadgets and the voluminous paperwork.
Not wanting their trip to become a touristy affair, the Dewans avoided putting up in hotel rooms and instead sought homestays in the countryside or suburbs. The cross-section of hosts that they chose ranged from wealthy families who wanted them to sample exotic cultures to refugees who opened their doors for their own sustenance. Any which way, the homestay living brought with it a burst of varied regional cuisine from chopped raw beef tartare to boiled pork with vegetables and various blends of spirits of local vintage, including 21 varieties of wine in Porto from where port wine derives its name. When the dining was done, Manas would dedicate time to document the day’s travel for his blog and was overwhelmed by the growing hits and fan following.
The Dewans say they will always cherish the acts of goodness, humanity and kindness from strangers who had little or nothing to gain from them. Of particular help during a motorcycle breakdown on the Turkish border was the Ducati Istanbul staff which sent a tow truck from 350km away.
The couple knows that a Limca Book listing for their trip is a cinch but they haven’t sent in an entry as they believe their journey wasn’t done to set any record. They would instead like the trip to be an inspiration for those limited to building air castles around their dreams. As Manas says, the idea is to get out there, see how far one can ride and live the thrill of screaming one’s lungs out in the middle of a forsaken road.