Learning to ride a Bullet
The Western community is quite close-knit here in Tiruvanamalai, and it makes easy to get along.
I’ve been lucky to have met one of the long standing members of this community on the plane to India, going by the name of Laxman, and he made my life easy by showing me round and taking me places I might not have ventured in so easily on my own.
Most of the Westerners stay around the ashram though.
Just sitting in the tea shop one morning, a few people gathered and we were chatting, when Jack the biker arrived. He bought an Enfield Bullet, with the idea of riding it back to France. He’s more or less rebuilt the old machine from scracth (it’s something like 40 years old).
I said ah, that’s something I’ve always wanted to do - learn to ride a motorbike! He said, you can learn right now if you want. I’ll teach you.
…??
-Ok! I said.
(I was rather thinking of learning on a 125 or such, but he was insistant - learn now, why not).
So I went to put heavier pants and trainers on, and off we went, on the Bullet, to a quieter road the other side of the mountain.
It was great! I really enjoyed the sensation of riding this machine, and after a bit of trouble with my co-ordination, I got it.
The funny thing was that every time I stalled, I had some young villagers gathering around, watching, finding it funny to see a woman on a big bike, asking me if I needed petrol, wanting to help me kick start it. And contrary to what it would be like in England, it wasn’t unnerving at all. You get so used to being watched here, and talked to.
I’ll want a bike now.