We bring news of our successful summer expedition to the north east of India - Nagaland was 'out of this world', with plans for two new routes there next year. Shorter Central and Southern India Expeditions await the adventurous and a new Tour in north and east Sri Lanka on Honda 250XL’s.

Welcome too, to our two Tibet Tour Groups in 2012 with Riders from Perth and Moscow; and places still for 7 or 8 riders from Lhasa to Kathmandu (02/10/12 - 10/10/12).

Praise for our bikes, word of our support team and an appraisal of our new luggage system. There’s growing interest from couples and small groups in our new Self-Guided Tour Option, and we ask “Is it time to ‘Stretch our Legs’ with a London to Lhasa Expedition?" We look forward to your feedback.

After a couple of months corresponding - planning and getting to know each other, Gerard ‘Gerry’ Privilege from Perth and myself met face to face in Bagdogra in West Bengal on the 21st of September. An hour later we were riding north to Darjeeling...

“Our peaceful 6 hour journey on an old wooden ferry down the Brahmaputra River... watching the life along the banks of this incredible river cannot be forgotten.” Read what Gerry said about the ride. Read more...

We rode two of Freespirit’s new fleet of motorcycles – in Teal Green, their fuel injected 500cc all-aluminium engines carried us over roads that hadn't seen tarmac for decades, through axle-deep mud and over steep mountain passes, never once missing a beat. For an indigenous Expedition Bike for the sub-continent I’m confident we’ve made the right choice.

We had to replace a clutch cable and an accellerator cable, and we gave Gerry a new set of brake shoes for the 'feel good factor'. And luckily, given some of the roads we rode, we had no punctures.

Our luggage system proved faultless! Ample space, ease of fitting and hand-carrying – sporting our new eye-catching logo, our smart black pannier system drew compliments everywhere we went.

The carrier frame redesigned, moving on from the bulky old ‘Leh Carrier’, is lighter, narrower and more rigid, leaving Riders to concentrate on the ride; no more stops at the welding shop for repairs.

We plan to ride at least two expeditions to both the northern and southern regions of north east India in 2012.

Expeditions from North India to the Arabian Sea coast and from Goa to southern India are also waiting for your bookings.

NE India expeditions will start in West Bengal the northern ride taking in Assam’s green plains and forgotten village roads, heading north to Arunachal’s spectacular dense jungles above deep river valleys through tribal areas and up close to India’s border with China.

The southern ride will take us south through Meghalaya’s Garo and Khasi hills, we’ll trek through rain forest like no other on earth... On to the Burma border to meet Naga tribesmen in their traditional Morung – long houses; this new route will taking us into Manipur and down into Mizoram.

NE India expeditions will be approximately 4 week rides and we invite adventurous experienced motorcyclists to join us for these self-supporting expeditions. For the keen photographer our expeditions provide endless, brilliant photo opportunities, all the way, every day!

Our expeditions through central India to the west coast and on to south India will run earlier or later in the year to capture the best weather conditions.

We’re thrilled to welcome two groups for our Tibet 2012 Season. ‘Motorcycle buddies’ from Perth, riding the Kathmandu Lhasa Kathmandu Tour; “We’re regular riders all around 50, and want to ride ‘there and back’ for the view and the challenge!”

Later, our second group from Moscow will ride the ‘Up’ route - north east, from Kathmandu to Lhasa, heading home from Lhasa, “We’ve dreamt of this ride for years!” At home they ride Harleys.

Both groups will ride from Nepal’s capital across the high altitude Tibetan plateau taking in endless vistas of Tibet and Mount Everest Base Camp from the north side and on to Lhasa.

If you and your friends are looking for a similar experience you can always ride from Lhasa to Kathmandu in early October 2012 (02/10/12) arriving in Nepal to enjoy in one of its best seasons!

These tours are best taken either earlier in the year - May, after the snows have melted and the roads are less damaged and after the monsoon in Nepal – September, to avoid rain damaged roads.

Sri Lanka is a Tour option for those who want to ride more off-road. Riding Honda 250XL bikes we explore from the western coastal region to the northern lagoons of the Jaffna peninsula and ride down the east coast through Batticaloa.

The return route brings us through the famous tea gardens where we stay close to ‘World’s End’ and its beautifully untouched forests. Given the two rainy seasons that water Sri Lanka we ride this Tour in March.

You want to come with us but not on a motorcycle? Fine, we’d love you to come too! You can ride in the support vehicle (sometimes it’s a truck!) Travelling with the support vehicle gives a quite different and equally exciting perspective. Follow the riders on Tour and see behind the Scenes. 

If you want to 'Ride in The Support Truck' (or Jeep), please select the Jeep Passenger Option in the Booking Form, when Booking. Typically the price is the same as for a Pillion Passenger. If we have two or more people 'riding shotgun' we will provide a jeep.

The logistics of touring by motorcycle in India means one has to use a truck (or a train) at sometime during a tour, usually at the beginning and the end. We use the services of Aslam Khan and his experienced team of drivers, mechanics and helpers.

Whether it’s delivering bikes 1,000km to Kathmandu or 2,000km to West Bengal, Aslam gets them there, on time, serviced, prepared and ready to go.

We’ve updated the Planning Pages to illustrate the best seasons for touring in specific regions. We’ve added notes to help you start packing and get you documents arranged in good time, to let you know about the dangers of AMS on our high mountain tours, and there’s advice about arriving early for your Tour.

It’s always pleasing when a Rider on a Tour compliments the experience. It makes all the hard work and slog that goes into planning and executing a Tour worthwhile. One of Gerry’s comments gave me a warm glow for a while...

“Peter has a lot of years of travel behind him which has taught him to keep an open mind and left him with a friendly and cheerful manner. I was blessed to have such a great guide who I have confidence and respect in and would not hesitate for a moment in travelling with Peter again.”

Thank you Gerry indeed, it was excellent fun touring with you too! Good luck with your on-going adventures in India! (Gerry's been hitching lifts for days on end on Indian trucks.)

I’m back to the drawing board to plan the next ‘Great Adventure’, could it be a ‘London to Lhasa’ Expedition?

Have a great winter, keep warm and well and if possible enjoy the odd ride! We’ll see you on the highway!

Peter Francon December 2011.

Additional Photo Resources

It's a constant task but we try to publish as many photos as possible. The links below list some of our photo resources online.

More pictures of this Expedition at: http://www.freespiritadventure.com/tour-photos.html

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Freespirit-Adventure-Motorcycle-Tours-India-Nepal/153217821361559?sk=wall

SmugMug Galleries: http://freespiritadventure.smugmug.com/Exploring-the-North-East