KOCHI: Kochi is a hub of riders. The rising number of solo riders and riding groups is a testament to this statement. The Road Trips Co (RTC) is a community of riders who like to discover untouched places, meet new people and create unique experiences through trips. The Kochi chapter of Road Trips Co (RTC Kochi) is conducting ‘ThrottleMunch’ on Sunday, a meetup for travel aficionados to meet and share their stories.
The community was started by Deepak Ananth and Vineet Rajan at Mumbai last year. These two have collectively travelled over 5 lakh kms by road and are the founders of ScoutMyTrip, a community-driven road trip planning platform which helps users create itineraries for their travels. It is now active around 20 cities in India. “The Kochi chapter was launched on January 26. We had a meetup on that day and went on a trip to Panieli Poru. That trip had just five members,” says Johann Kuruvilla, head of the Kochi chapter.
The meetup is organised once every month. The community plans trips on weekends. “The meetup is basically done for the people who have joined us for the trips and the ones who love to join us. It’s to develop the bond between members. Last week we had a special meetup as the Bengaluru-based female bike rider Candida Louis joined us. The community is for all those who those love road trips and travel.
Even if you don’t own vehicles, you can join by taking car/bike on rent or by pooling,” adds Johann.
Johann says he doesn’t own a vehicle and travels on friends’ vehicles or on rent. “I am setting an example for all,” he quips. Their last trip was to Palakkad. Two weeks ago, they had a collaborative trip with the Thor group to Ramakkalmedu. “We had around 31 bikes for the trip.” He asserts that the next meetup will be special as they will be discussing convoy riding. “We usually practice convoy riding during our trips. Most of the people don’t know how to coordinate and drive when 5-6 cars or bikes travel together. So whoever comes for the meetup will get to know about convoy riding and we will be implementing that in our next ride.”
Johann says that what makes their community special is that it is an all-inclusive group. “Our community has female members and is open to families too. Many of our members ride with families. Another speciality is that the riders can come with their pets. So whenever we book resorts for overnight stays, we make sure that the properties are pet-friendly,” says Johann.
They are planning to start communities at Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. The meetup at Kochi will be held at DownTown Cafe, Panampilly Nagar, from 5 pm to 7 pm. For more details, contact 7042149051.