The Rann of Kutch is not a place you arrive at casually. It is vast, flat and almost disorienting in scale. When TVS partnered with the Government of Gujarat for the second time to host a three-day riding experience here, the setting became as central to the story as the motorcycles themselves.
Getting there involved a 70km drive from the Bhuj airport, roughly 90 minutes on the road before Tent City appeared on the horizon. Spread across eight clusters, most housing around 12 tents and one larger cluster accommodating 25, it is a carefully planned settlement in the middle of the desert with cafés, souvenir shops, galleries and cultural exhibits.
Scattered across the property were several TVS Ronins, parked almost like installations that guests could interact with. Their presence set the tone even before the formal programme began.
The first afternoon shifted to action. At a separate venue away from Tent City, TVS created a performance arena against the desert backdrop. Stunt riders took to the Apache range, demonstrating balance and precision control. A flat track race followed, featuring modified Ronins built specifically for sideways action. Stripped down and purpose-built, they looked and sounded distinct from their road-going counterparts. Riders pushed hard into corners, rear wheels sliding as dust trailed behind.
The newly introduced RTX was also demonstrated in an off-road setup, focusing on throttle control, body positioning and suspension compliance over uneven surfaces. The evening closed with a freestyle motocross performance by two international riders, one from Russia and the other from Finland. Backflips and mid-air variations unfolded against an open skyline, the scale of the Rann amplifying the spectacle.
TVS also briefly unveiled special Rann of Kutch editions of the Apache RR 310, RTR 310, RTR 200 4V and the Ronin. These models were bespoke to the event and they won’t go on sale. The following morning began before sunrise. Riders were split into sunrise and sunset batches; with an early morning return flight scheduled for the next day, the sunrise slot made practical sense. Bike allocation for the main ride was decided through a lottery. Keys were handed out at random, removing preference from the equation. My draw put me on the Apache RR 310.
Around 40 riders rolled out that morning, divided into five smaller groups, each assigned a marshal. The formations stretched and compressed along the empty highway, but the riding remained measured and controlled. The ride covered close to 200km round trip. Senior TVS executives rode alongside us for large parts of the journey, shifting the tone from a formal media exercise to a shared ride.
Our destination was the 30km stretch known as the “Road to Heaven”, connecting two villages across the Rann. Shallow water flanked both sides of the narrow strip of tarmac, making the road appear suspended between reflections. Minutes into the run, large swarms of flies filled the air. At speed, they struck visors relentlessly, forcing multiple stops just to maintain visibility. It was inconvenient but strangely memorable. Support was built into the convoy from the outset. A backup Ronin and an ambulance rode with us throughout.
On the return leg, we were briefly allowed off the tarmac and onto the white surface of the Rann itself. Riding on the salt flats, even for a short stretch, felt surreal, and the fact that we had backup was reassuring enough that I could venture off the road on a supersport!
From Mumbai, reaching this stretch would mean nearly 17 hours in the saddle just to get there. Most riders will never make that journey purely for one ribbon of road. For two nights and three days, TVS made it accessible. And in a landscape as remote and vast as the Rann, that access is what defined the experience.
Vishal Venugopal
Azaman Chothia
