One Man Rides Alone

A Solo Himalayan Adventure (Where Nothing Went Exactly to Plan!).

By: Ketan Joshi

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

One Man. One Bike. And a lot of very steep hills.
Think A Walk in the Woods... but with a vibrating Royal Enfield instead of a backpack, and significantly more curry.
When his usual riding companions decided that "responsibilities" were more important than a mid-life crisis, Ketan Joshi did exactly what Bill Bryson would do: he muttered something under his breath and went anyway.
Trading the safety of the pack for the unpredictable solitude of the Garhwal Himalayas, this is the story of one "generously-proportioned" man’s attempt to find himself in the mountains. He mostly just finds thin air, mechanical failures, and the realization that when you travel alone, there is no one else to blame for your spectacularly bad decisions.
From the flowery meadows of the Valley of Flowers to the high-altitude silence of the Niti Valley, this isn't just a motorcycle journey—it’s a battle against gravity, a broken sprocket, and his own mechanical incompetence.
Inside this solo "un-guide":

• The Bryson Standard: A witty, self-deprecating meander through the history, culture, and local legends of Uttarakhand—where the observations are as sharp as the hairpin bends.
• Bike vs. Hike: Swapping the saddle for trekking boots to reach the remote beauty of Deoriyatal and the world’s highest Shiva temple.
• The Mana Pass Gamble: A hair-raising attempt to reach the literal end of the road at the Tibet border, which ends exactly as you’d expect: with a lot of swearing and a very long walk.
• Solo Survival: Discovering that the best part of traveling alone is that you can eat all the paranthas yourself—but the worst part is pushing a 200kg bike out of a ditch by yourself.

Described as "the P.G. Wodehouse of India," Ketan Joshi delivers a refreshingly honest look at why we travel—even when we have to go it alone.