The bullet from Bangalore

Riding through remote Assam back in 2005, Sandeep Menon and his biker buddies were accosted by a group of activists from a local students union. Surrounded by militant students in a distant state with no knowledge of the local language, Menon feared the worst.

“But on discovering we were from Bangalore, the hostility changed to friendliness,” laughs Menon when we catch up with him at his office in Bagmane Tech Park in Bangalore. “They reeled off a long list of relatives and friends studying and working in the city.”
These unexpected twists in the road are nothing new for Menon. A Chemistry Honours student from Loyola College, Chennai—his father wanted him to be an engineer—he started out with Enterprise Advertising in Mumbai. After 18 months, however, Menon was worn out by the constant battle between the creative team and brand managers. “I was also bored of hanging out of an electric commuter train for three hours a day,” he jokes. So, he took a sharp turn—from the frenetic pace of Mumbai to the (one-time) serenity of Bangalore.

It was the mid-’90s, and tech giant IBM was hunting for people with diverse backgrounds. But his first couple of months at IBM were hell. As a nonengineer, he found himself swimming against the tide. “I wondered what I had gotten myself into and seriously considered quitting,” he says. Still, he toughed it out and during his decade at IBM he started the firm’s Linux business in South-East Asia and ran strategy for the nascent IBM Global Services. Then, he needed a change and moved to Novell, where he is now the Country Head. Menon loves Bangalore because he was bit by the biking bug here. He turns up for this interview in a black T-shirt with his riding club’s logo, blue jeans and an “armoured” riding jacket. “People seemed to have the time here for things beyond work and the office,” he explains. “My first ‘ride’ was from Bangalore to Mysore (120 km) on a Kinetic Honda.” His first bike—a Kawasaki KBZ—was a loan.

Menon persuaded his dad to buy him a bike with the promise of returning the investment in a year. “Easy!” he laughs. “I overhauled my bike and sold it at a profit. I found cheap mechanics and even got my hands dirty.” Since then, he has tried out all sorts of two-wheelers. “My favourite is the Bullet because it is the most comfortable bike for longdistance rides and can be fixed by any mechanic on the way,” he says. To date, he’s taken his Bullet as far as Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the East and Jammu and Kashmir to the North.

It was in 2001 that Menon teamed up with four friends to form the Rolling Thunder Motor Club. “We had our first meeting at Fanoos (a popular café in eastern Bangalore) and we’ve since ridden all over the country,” he says. And with that, he jumps on his Bullet and heads down the Old Madras Road, past some old factories and the town of Hoskote on Bangalore’s eastern periphery. After thundering along for 20 km, we turn off the highway and find ourselves on the banks of a small lake, with a precipitous slope leading down to the water. Ignoring advice from locals, he rolls down the steeply inclined path. “Why can’t I make it back up? This is nothing,” he says tearing up and down to demonstrate.

It is 6.30 p.m. and the sun is fast setting. It’s time to head back to the urban jungle that is Bangalore. But Menon stays on, he wants to soak in a last few minutes. “When I am at work, I forget about my other activities,” he says. “And after work, my colleagues know that I am only reachable in case of an emergency!”

Inside track born: 10.5.73, Delhi
Education: Postgraduate in marketing and communications from MICA
First job: Enterprise Advertising, Mumbai (Rs 10,000 per month)

Favourite music: Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong
Favourite food: Spicy Andhra cuisine
Favourite destination: Tree Tops in Aberdare National Park, Kenya
Mantra: Work hard and ride harder

Menon’s day out

6.30 A.M.
Wake up and meditate for 30-45 minutes

9 A.M.
Breakfast of fruits, cereals and idlis

9.45 A.M.
Take the bike (weather permittting) or car to work (45 minutes)

1 P.M.
Business lunch at 100 Feet, an Italian joint in Indiranagar. Or salads from the office cafeteria

6.30 P.M.
Work out for an hour in the office gym

8.30 P.M.
Meet biker buddies at Windsor Pub