Stop... chasing the mice inside your skull - A ride, a bike, a fall

"Stop... chasing the mice inside your skull" - A line borrowed from Munich - suitable, apt, perfect for most of us in our professional life. As we chase that mouse, it takes just a second to change everything. 13 days back I had a life-changing experience and I thought why not share the experience and learning from it. In a split second, I had a fatal accident that could have resulted in anything that we fear about, but then I escaped with a dislocated Shoulder bone and a hairline fracture; thanks to my armored riding jacket, a tight-fitting helmet, pair of gloves, pair of knee guards, riding boots, a sturdy bike and loads of luck. The positive side to it is that it's good to be prepared; the negative side is in spite of all precautions taken, an accident can still happen. The neutral part of the fact is, a well-prepared rider is subjected to less damage in case of an eventuality.

So then what changed? What changed is the approach to life and living. It was a day a lot of fellow #RoyalEnfield riders were looking forward to - One destination, One event, many paths - Goa, #RiderMania and a ride to remember from respective cities. A few hours away from the destination, a crash on a hill road and the closest encounter with unthinkable - daughter, family, close friends, career, money, parents - everything flashed on the helmet screen like a film and then the realization with sharp pain, fallen bike, and dust all around. Someone removed the helmet, someone tried to pull me up, some stopped the traffic, someone gave me water and many helping hands. People whom I don't know and people whom I will never meet again - but then all falling in place like a jigsaw when an unthinkable happened. Two hours later, driven by a helpful man in his car, I was in a local nursing home - Doctor, first aid, unimaginable pain, dislocated shoulder, friends around, pain killer injections, and an X-ray in hand. By midnight I was on a flight back to Bengaluru and touch down at 3.30 am. How life took a complete turn in less than 24 hours - riding to a city for hours to be there and back to the home town in less than 2 hours to get operated. The crashed bike in one city and the damaged body in another!

What did I realize?

• Life is good if the Lady luck smiles on you - it smiles when you are cautious and geared in your journey - professional, personal, or adventurous.
• You will find friends and you will find foes. You will also find the unknowns who will touch your life in a way that you may not realize at that moment, but when you want to thank them and recollect the moment - they will not be there! So thank everyone who is able to touch your life in some way or other and help someone else, just like someone did to you.
• We constantly worry about what next and keep chasing the rat in our head to know what is bothering us. It takes a moment for life to change. Less than a second to be on the dusty road from a good ride. So focus on the journey and mind the road - you never know when a dog can run across your path.
• We plan, plan, and replan. I did for days to get on this ride. We planned to reach by evening and be a Goan, but all that changed and I was 'gone' back to where I came from. Take it one at a time. Step by step. Enjoy the journey, the breeze, the friends, the breaks, the path. There will be pressure - unimaginable, uncalled, and atrocious ones. Someone would try to pass his mess on you, his inexperience on you, and make you charge like an untamed bull. Believe in your own journey, belief in your own self, believe in the fellow riders, follow the path - The roads less traveled gives you a better experience.
• In case of a fall, it's important how you react and realize. The sooner, the better. Know that it's OK to fall, but it's not OK to be fallen and cry. Know your bruises, realize the damage, and get ready for what next! It's better to be back on the road than to remain fallen there. The path unfolds thereafter! I found my friends who went missing from the group, found a spare rider to ride my damaged bike, a kind gentleman who insisted me to come in his car, and realization to come to terms with what happened. End of it You have to stand for your own self!
• Technology helps and it can also be the last thing available when you need it most. While we all are on our phones, internet, and machines throughout the day, at the time when we needed it the most, there were no connectivity and no signals. It was only human around to help - Human technology will always be required - today, tomorrow, and thereafter.
• There are moments when you want to give up because of one reason or another, there are times when you want to doubt the situations around you, there will be a time when you will feel failed, but when the mother of all fall happens and you get closest to your end, it's then you get up and smile and thank the power which kept you alive. Value life, for when it's gone, it's just over. Don't give up, for the end is yet to come!

Too long, preachy, and maybe boring, but it's good to be able to write, then to be somewhere else and being remembered :)

Keep living, keep experiencing, keep learning, keep riding - for there is nothing fresher than the breeze on your face, while you focus on the path! (don't forget the helmet and the riding gears)

Looking forward to being there next time - #RiderMania2019 #relive