Life's Not A Race

In this fast-paced world, sometimes, you need to pause. at the GS trophy, you stop running and live a little

- Amaan Ahmed

“GENTLEMEN!”

In a friendly yet strict tone, Tomm Wolf addresses his pack. I say pack, see, for the back of his T-shirt reads ‘Malelobo’, meaning ‘big, bad wolf.’ Following him are a handful of the 40 gentlemen (riding their own BMW GS motorcycles) who are here in picturesque Canacona, Goa, to be a part of the GS Trophy India qualifier. The morning sun is beating down on us all, humidity levels rising, but the riders follow Tomm without a peep, who will train them over the course of the next six hours to be at one with their machine. In the unforgiving heat, it’s important to keep the mood light, and thankfully, Tom’s a witty guy.

Silver hair glimmering in the sunshine, the 58-year-old explains the rather straightforward task at hand: “You ride up the slope, see the cone placed up ahead – think of it as a broken Harley – you slow down, turn around without putting your feet on the ground and execute a U-turn. Low-speed control.”

“What happens if we put our feet on the ground?” asks an unsuspecting participant.

“We cut your legs off!”, replies Mr GS Trophy. Laughter ensues. Soon after, Tomm’s pack is at it, tip toeing, finding their feet and mastering the task. When they get it right, they high-five Tomm on the way down.

At another training point, instructor Burak Ercan is teaching a group of fairly inexperienced riders to ‘walk the bike’. It’s a pretty simple thing to do: use the clutch to keep the bike moving as you walk alongside it. Some stall their GS, some drop theirs, but soon enough, the baby steps transform into confident strides.