Breaking barriers one at a time — from fearing distance, rain and heat to discovering there are no limits.

 

The real journey is not from place to place — it’s from limitation to possibility.

 

A Simple Line, A Big Lesson

A simple line stitched on the back of a T-shirt of someone walking ahead of me in the park — barely a few inches of embroidery, yet carrying the weight of a life lesson.

Those words lingered with me. How often are we held back not by real barriers, but by the idea of a barrier — a ceiling we imagine and then obey as if it were truth?

Almost immediately, my mind connected it to my biking journey.

It may sound like a bit of psychology talk, but in riding, the mind often leads where the body follows.

 

Your First Obstacle Is Always Internal

The natural question was:

 “Why do we limit ourselves, What could be the reasons”?

 

Exploring this, certain thoughts flashed across my mind.

We don’t hit our limits — we imagine them.

Most limits come from the mind long before they come from reality.  

Some of them are:

✅ Fear of failing — “What if I can’t?”

✅ Comfort of the known  —Safety over possibility .

✅ Old beliefs we outgrew but never updated

✅ Comparison with someone further ahead.  

✅ Fear of success and the responsibility it brings:

✅ Mistaking discomfort for danger

 

The truth?

 

From Short Coffee Runs to the first break through

In the beginning, my rides were simple. A casual run to Mahabalipuram once or twice a week was enough to make me feel like I had “ridden.” I would sit quietly by the sea with a coffee in hand, head filled with music and the satisfaction of 80 kmph cruising.

That felt like my comfortable limit. I didn’t see the need — nor did I believe in my ability — to push beyond it.

Then came my first group rides which changed everything.

Suddenly, I was riding at speeds I never imagined I could sustain. The fear of “this is my maximum” dissolved the moment I realised the machine could do more — but more importantly, I could do more. The first illusion broke.

Disclaimer: I never encourage speed nor the ride is just about pace. It’s about the entire journey — the sights, the feelings, the challenges along the way. Speed is just one part of it, always done in a calculated way, respecting the road and traffic conditions. I don’t subscribe to riding beyond a safe limit — the thrill of the ride comes from the experience, not recklessness. 😊

Now also, most of the time, I still drive at my comfortable cruising speed but that’s a choice, not a limitation.

The Distance illusion

For a long time, I believed:

“I can manage only a couple of hours. Anything longer is too much.”

100 kms felt big.
200 sounded intimidating.

But ride by ride, experience reshaped my belief.  Experience is a patient teacher.

Soon, 500+ km days became normal — not because my stamina suddenly transformed, but because my mind did.  Now I start frowning if the ride is planned for anything less than 500kms 😊

“Now anything less than 500 kms barely satisfies the ego to call it a ride 😊”

 

Wea(h)ther Doubts  

Once distance stopped feeling like a threat, a new hesitation appeared:

• “What if it rains?”
• “What if it’s too hot?”
• “What if I get tired too soon?”
• “What if I can’t handle it?”

Like before, these were illusions too.

Rain rides taught me balance and calm — not fear.

Harsh summer rides taught me hydration and pacing — not misery.

Taking adequate refreshment breaks helped me to understand my body capability and accordingly adjust. The body tells – you just need to listen.

 

The weather was never the barrier.

The fear of the unknown was.

Though it still exists but the but the rewards are far more exhilarating than the fear.

 

For New Riders on Their First Short Ride

Sometimes when I hear from riders heading out for their very first short ride, unsure about so many things, I smile — because I’ve been there.

The truth is:

Uncertainty is natural — but it isn’t a limitation.

A limit only forms when you decide not to attempt.

Your first ride doesn’t have to be long.
It doesn’t have to be perfect.
It just has to be attempted.

Once you cross that first small psychological barrier, the world beyond it begins to expand — not because the road changed, but because your belief about yourself did.

 

When Belief Drives the Journey

From those small suburban loops to:

• 850+ kms in a single day from east coast to west coast
• A ride of 2500++ kms over 4 days
• Exploring Ladakh and the Himalayas
• Crossing 60,000+ kms in three years

The real progress was never measured on the odometer — it was in the mind.

The motorcycle was always capable.

It was “I“ who needed convincing.

What you call a “ceiling” is often just a belief waiting to be challenged.

The moment you stop visualising limits, the world stops showing you any.

For riders – beginners or veterans alike: 

Start uncertain. Start imperfect. Start anyway.

 

The Truth

1️⃣ Notice the story, not the obstacle

The mind protects us from looking “incapable”, so it avoids trying.

 

Most limits are not facts — they’re just long-held assumptions. The moment you notice yourself believing a limit, you’ve already loosened its grip.

 

2️⃣ We stay in our comfort zone → So we slowly stretch it

Comfort feels familiar, so the brain clings to it.

 

Transformation never starts with 800 km rides. It starts with the first 50… then 100… then 300… Each step tells your mind, “See? We can go further.”

 

3️⃣ Confidence is collected, not imagined

Doubt thrives in imagination.

 

The mind trusts what it repeatedly experiences. Small wins become psychological proof — and proof destroys doubt.

 

4️⃣ Discomfort ≠ danger

The brain reads new sensations as risk.

 

That uneasy feeling is not a “stop sign”. It’s the mind adjusting to a bigger version of you.

 

5️⃣ Surround yourself with expanders

When everyone around you plays small, your mind thinks small.

 

The right company doesn’t push you — they normalize the next level.
When someone casually does what you once called “impossible”, your mind quietly upgrades its reference point.

 

6️⃣ We don’t trust ourselves fully → So we build internal certainty

Limits stay alive when you secretly think “What if I can’t handle it?”

 

The deepest confidence comes from knowing: “Whatever comes my way, I can handle it.”

 

Limits are rarely physical — they are almost always mental. 

 

That’s when you realise — the real journey was never on the road, but in the mind…

 

…. But even when you’re not limited, sometimes the bike reminds you differently – say hello to the rev limiter (thanks to the Pro-rider of the group) every time you think  have crossed the “limit”😄