THE WEIRD STORY ABOUT THE BIKER THE GOT KILLED ONLY TO BE REBORN
Riding a bike on India’s backcountry highways is a dangerous form of art. Actually, forget it! Riding a motorcycle in India is sheer lunacy, the most dangerous, irresponsible thing I’ve ever done in my life! And I’ve done some crazy s*** on four wheels, on two, with an air tank strap to my back, and on foot – you name it. Nothing, I mean NOTHING matches the stuff you have to cope with while piloting a beat-up 1950s Royale Enfield Bullitt 350cc motorcycle. Just ask Om Singh Rathore. That died as a nobody on this very piece of tarmac between Udaipur and Jodhpur, Rajasthan, in 1991. Now he is a local celebrity complete with a personal shrine, a cult of believers, and is more alive than ever. We stopped by to say hello.