BUDGET KICKS
Brake Magazine wanted to find out just how cheaply they could have an adventure in the Himalayas. It turns out really cheaply…
When Brake Magazine’s Llewellyn Pavey told us he planned to do a super-budget, fly-ride adventure to the Himalayas and make a film of it, we were happy to be involved. Then he told us that one of the trio of riders was basically a learner, and we were intrigued how it would work out. The result is Brake’s new film: The Budget Adventure Challenge: India. We asked Llewellyn for some behind the scenes details.
KRIEGA: It sounds like it was important to take Joe, a real rookie on a bike. Would it have been a very different trip if he was closer to your level of riding?
Llewellyn In short, vastly different. Si and I have done a huge amount of instructing beginners over the years and maybe that changes our perspective a little. We've seen it all, including people ride off the side of mountain roads, and that brings a level of understanding to people’s riding and the mistakes they are making.
Joe is still in the phase where he is very much thinking about operating the bike, so when there was a lot of traffic, or other things to deal with, it was much more of a sensory overload. India is hectic as is, and requires you to be sharp, so having to do that for someone else takes a lot of brain power.
The road we attempted, but didn't finish, was definitely a step too far. It's hard to see on camera, but that road was in bad shape. If you're experienced, it's fun. If you're a beginner, it's a recipe for a front wheel wash or a whiskey throttle off a cliff. It comes down to having the experience of knowing what happens when you put your wheels on different parts of a dirt road and Joe is a true beginner there.
It's really cool and impressive that he did the riding and he actually loved it even though he was cooked. For me and Si, we were glad Joe got through, but there we some scary moments along the way.
Did Joe hurt himself?
No spoilers, but there is the scene with a car. One of my rules with adventure riding is that the more remote you are, or the less you want to check out that country’s hospital, the better your boots should be. We all wore Leatt Enduro boots. They're much stronger than an adventure boot and Joe is pretty convinced they're the reason he didn't get to visit an India A&E. His other crashes were all pretty minor and he was fine.
How many hours of footage did you film, and how long does it take to edit a film like this?
In terms of hours of footage, probably somewhere in the region of five hours I would think. The AcePro helmet cam and Insta360 footage can be quite long as you're trying to run it as much as you can. We're limited a bit by battery and hard drive space, but it does add up. The final project was around 1.5tb of footage for the week.
As for the edit, I think in recent years I've evolved the editing of Brake Magazine’s films quite a bit and they have a fairly high amount of 'editing' elements in them, especially around sound design, maps etc. Some of that is repeatable which does help, but some isn't.
I also shot a lot of the intro footage which took a day to do as well. In total, it was six long days at the computer and an extra day of shooting to get it good enough to be on YouTube.
How were those rental Himalayans?
The rental bikes were mixed. They were fine for the job, but not mint. When you pay bottom-dollar you get the old ones and we pushed the price as low as possible. Joe's forks were completely in need of a service, and his sari guard* fell off on the motorway, but otherwise I think they were pretty great.
They had around 10,000 miles on India roads on them and considering that, they got us round without much drama.
*NOTE: A sari guard is a kind of grille on the back-left of a bike to stop a side-saddle pillion’s flowing clothes being caught in the back wheel or chain. In India, it’s a legal requirement that all motorcycles are sold with a sari guard fitted.
We liked the caption for the 4p repair. What was being fixed?
Joe needed a handguard putting back on and my chain had become problematically loose. I think it was probably way too loose when we left and I never checked. It took the mechanic about 15 minutes and he charged us 5 rupees, or 4p (5¢).
Was there anything you wished you’d packed, or – on the other hand – felt daft for taking?
Yes and no. I used every item I took at some point on the trip, apart from my camera slider. I normally use that for timelapses, but we didn't shoot many. 40 litres of luggage will keep you pretty light so you don't have much room for overpacking.
In regard to the riding kit, I think we actually took the wrong kit. When we checked the weather before going, it was really cold in the mountains. I opted not to take fully-vented gear despite the lowlands being so hot. I thought we'd freeze for the four days at altitude and I was wrong. Turns out the weather reports we got were quite inaccurate and even at 3000-plus metres it was still over 25ºC. So vented kit if you're going in summer is a great choice. It would have made things easier.
What memory from the trip will last the longest?
Even though they were stressful, I absolutely loved riding the road from Udaipur to Killar and the extra valley we rode into. The whole experience, the views, the terrain, the footage, having no plan… It was so enjoyable. The feeling is awesome when you have those hard moments and overcome them. It's something I've always loved and there it felt so cool.
We also had a moment after waking up in the homestay where we went to shoot some still images, and the view, the light, everything was incredible. That was the icing on the cake of a wild 24 hours.
In your experience, how does the kindness of people in India compare to how we are in the UK to strangers from different cultures we’d meet on the road?
My other answer to the previous question was the people and how welcoming they are. I think, in general, British people are friendly, especially in Wales and Scotland. We'll help if help is needed, but we won't step out and offer it. In India it was different. It was very similar to the Igor episode in The Long Way Round. Indians are inquisitive, open and proud. They want to show you a good time, they want to make sure you're looked after. I'm not saying that you won't find bad people or every interaction will be good, but once you moved away from the big cities it was very different.
Maybe it's an exposure thing. In Europe we have huge blends of different cultures so it's not uncommon. Maybe it's because we're British in India too. They still seem to have a strong affinity for the UK, which was pretty nice.
The one takeaway was that we could be a little more open and a little more welcoming to travellers.
Kriega has a very loyal following in India, you stopped at the Ride Inn in Manali, what did you think of the enthusiast biker culture in the India (as opposed to people who just use bikes as transport)?
I was blown away by the enthusiast culture, especially once we reached Manali. I didn't expect Manali to be so big and I didn't expect to see Royal Enfield Himalayans in the quantity I did. They were the most popular bike there by miles, even over scooters and considering they're relatively premium in India, that was a surprise.
We visited The Ride Inn, Grease Cafe, and tons of bike shops. It was really cool.
Are you going to do a series of these budget fly-away films?
Yes. The plan was always to try and make a series. I think it's a really fun way to see the world and to have quite a different experience to an organised trip. I've done a few of those and they are beautifully easy from an organisation point of view. They are a holiday. Having to try and figure and plan a new country and do it within a budget added some real depth to the experience. I enjoyed that and I think it ultimately is a better story. I also want to try to lower some of the barriers to entry into adventure motorcycling. It's expensive and there are some creative ways to solve that, without having to compromise as much as you'd think.
I have some ideas as there are a ton of amazing places you can ride without blowing the wallet apart. Central America and Southern Turkey are both on my list. Turkey especially has potential to be something really special. I went there about ten years ago and it blew my mind.
If you can get the balance of flights and rental bikes right then anything is possible.
Llewellyn, Si and Joe each travelled to India with our Rollpack 40; Trail18 backpack, OS-6 Adventure pack and Tool Roll.
Photos: Brake Magazine