It was an exceptional opportunity for local motorbike enthusiasts and riders to meet the legendary Italian motorcyclist, Giampiero Pagliochini, who arrived in Udaipur two days back after covering thousands of miles on his KTM 990 dual sports bike.

What made this 55 year old retired Italian so passionate about motorcycle journeys? How did he manage to cover more than 100 countries all alone? What were his experiences throughout his adventurous voyage? What were the risks, expenses? These were some of the questions put forwarded by local biking enthusiasts to Giampiero Pagliochini.

The meet up was held at Horizon Hotel and Restaurant, Panchwati last evening where Pagliochini met local bikers Nitin Hiran (owns KTM 390), Harshit Sharma (owns Suzuki Hayabusa), Navdeep Singh (owns Ducati Monster) and Simranjeet Singh (owns Triumph Thunderbird).

Arpit Khaturia, owner of Horizon Hotel and organizer of the meet, told UT that when Giampiero arrived in the hotel, he was amazed to see him on his motorcycle. After talking to him, Arpit came to know about his voyage and decided to organize a meet with local motorcycle enthusiasts.

“My motive was to organize a casual conversation between Giampiero and motorcyclists of Udaipur to understand how Giampiero Pagliochini managed his journey and what were his experiences in different countries. His knowledge and experience will add a lot of value to the perspective of local bikers, said Arpit.

I called my friends who owns superbikes and love to go on long rides. It was a great experience for all of us, Arpit added.

Nitin Hiran, a restaurateur and motorcycling enthusiast said that he was amazed about Giampiero’s extreme passion and how he managed to get the funds. Touring more than 100 countries on motorcycle needs both guts and bucks, says Nitin.

The meeting with Giampiero was unforgettable and he particularly liked seeing another KTM Duke, said Nitin.

During the discussion, Giampiero Pagliochini informed that he arrived in India via Nepal, Singapore and Australia. He started his journey from Italy on 1^st June 2014 and expects to complete the tour by October this year.

After working as an electrician, Giampiero Pagliochini, retired from his job and decided to go on a world tour on his motorcycle. Over last 32 years, Pagliochini has covered most of the countries on his bike. In his entire motorcycling career, Giampiero has changed 12 motorbikes.

He is also involved in several motorbike related editorials, blogs and gets continuous support from motorcycle companies. His current tour is backed by KTM Sports Motorcycle Company based in Austria.

On his visit to Udaipur, Giampiero said that he is visiting Udaipur for the second time having first arrived in the city 16 years back. He said that he particularly liked Udaipur for its architectural magnificence.