(an accidental one)
2007 - Original plans were to explore Gulmarg, a ski resort situated high in the Himalayas. Working as a ski instructor in Europe, it’s every skiers dream to ski in some of the best powder snow in the world. However, arriving in India unexpected turn of events added to Sunil’s travels. Wandering through New Delhi, he caught sight of a Royal Enfield Bullet. Motorcycling besides skiing had been his passion since the age of 17 and the purchase of a 500cc classic proved irresistible.
Gulmarg lived up to what he expected, but it was the four day ride that had left him speechless. After the winter season, he decided to continue his journey. The following five months saw him travel the entire length of Kashmir and Ladakh, traversing some of the highest mountains on earth. The Himalayas enthused his love of biking, returning the following year to ride across the tantalising landscapes of the Spiti Valley.
Manali at journeys end, he bumped into Dave and his wife from Doncaster, England. They were on a two week motorcycle tour with a group of over 30 other riders, organised by a UK company. Sadly, the restrictions of a large group resulted in a lack of photo opportunities, hurried lunches, and paying for their own petrol, they then would have to wait up to one hour for the last bike to fill up. At a cost of nearly £7000, their experiences had been quite distressing.
Back home in Nottingham, research into Himalayan motorcycle tours revealed only a handful of companies operating in the region. The most astonishing discovery was the huge cost, from over £2000 to nearly £5000 per person also disguised in US & AUS Dollars and Euros and most without flights.
Further research highlighted internet hype with greater emphasis placed on statements such as: “We are the original and best” - “World’s best motorcycle holidays” and “We are the longest UK India operator”, while others fronted charities to lure innocent clients with exaggerated prices.
Motivated by the couple from Doncaster, ten months of painstaking detailed work and hundreds of phone calls later, Purebiketours was borne. We knew the costs of things from hotel rooms to the food on the table to the price of petrol from our travels. Knowledge of the regional economies helped us tremendously to cost our prices competitively. We decided to create a motorcycle adventure company with a difference.
In our short history, we have achieved a few firsts. On our Trans Himalayas adventures, we were the first company in 2010 to take a motorcycle group across the top of the world and into Kashmir and repeated the feat twice in 2011 with more riders. We were the first company to entre Ladakh after the horrendous flooding of 2010.
Continuing to explore the Himalayas; we are opening new routes with access to locations unique to Purebiketours, and in 2012 we will be the first company to take clients on the highest ski lift in the world, in Gulmarg. Our aim from day one has been to provide exceptional travels experiences that take you beyond your expectations and get you close and personal with the people and cultures of the Himalayas.
However, it hasn’t been all plain sailing. Our detractors, owners of Blazing Trails Tours ran a year-long “Dirty Tricks” internet campaign, including personal attacks on Sunil to run us out of business. They fabricated lies about one of our clients (who just happens to be the UK’s business development manager for Hewlett Packard) and have gone to lengths using their clients to mention Purebiketours by name on their blogs.