The Musafir from Mumbai who loves to prove people
wrong
Ruchita
Raicha, 23, Freelance Assistant Director, Owns KTM Duke 390, from Mumbai
For Ruchita, biking has been a fairly new
venture. After trying her hand at learning how to ride on friends’ bikes, this
advertising professional used her hard-earned money to buy the monster called a
KTM Duke 390. Ruchita says, “It was a bit difficult to start on a 390 cc bike,
which is known as ‘The Widowmaker’ because of its aggressive character.
Everyone thought I was not going to be able to do it. I think the thrill of
proving people wrong coupled with that of taming the machine drove me to get it
right. A few months ago, I happened to ride with this group in Mumbai called
‘Mumbai Musafir’ that rides together to various destinations. It was an outing
with this group that got me hooked on to biking and gave birth to an all new
passion that I knew was here to stay.”
About
the festival: “The festival is great. It suddenly
gives you this amazing sense of unity as a biker. I rode from Mumbai to Goa; to
see the lengthy convoy of bikes riding together for the festival and to ride
with them was a great feeling. The best part is that you don’t personally know
other bikers but everybody treats you as one of them.”
A housewife and mother who’s got her priorities right
Sangeetha
Jairam, 45, Housewife, Owns three bikes – 1954 BMW R25, Yamaha RD 350 and KTM
Duke 200, from Bangalore
Sangeetha inherited the passion for biking
from her father who rode from Germany to India in 1965 on his 1954 BMW R25.
Sangeetha has been riding from the age of 15. After marriage, she was busy
playing the role of a housewife and later a doting mother, which required her
to take a sabbatical from her love of biking. It was only after her son was old
enough to take care of himself that Sangeetha bounced back and has been doing
international biking trips ever since. Sangeetha says, “I used to ride in
Bangalore but never really got out of my comfort zone. However, that changed
when I took my first international trip to Bhutan on Pulsar 180. The rush was
such that many more rides followed, including one to Cambodia on a Honda 250 cc
dirt bike, to Sri Lanka on a Yamaha 250 cc dirt bike and to Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan and Kenya. Apart from these occasional ones, I make it a point to
ride to the Himalayas once every year.”
About
biking: “I love the machine and the feeling of
riding a motorcycle. I love having that interaction with people from the
destinations that you visit. When travelling in a car, there is this protection
around you that also cuts you off from other people. On a motorcycle, you are
out there; you stop and you chat. My family was not really supportive of my
passion for biking but when you stick to something that you love, people learn
to live with your madness. My husband had a problem with it initially. But now,
it has come to a stage where he asks me about where I’m headed to next.”
The daredevil whose impulsive decision has been the
best one ever
Nimmi
Suri, 62, Owns a Harley Davidson Street 750, from Bangalore: It was a simple dare from a friend that triggered a new-found love
that Nimmi has been hooked on to ever since. Nimmi reveals, “Somebody dared me
by saying that at this age I will not be able to learn how to ride a bike. What
started off as a friendly dare ended with me buying a 750 cc bike and riding it
with perfection. It was an impulsive decision on my part but I think it was one
of the best ones that I have made till date. When I told my family about my
decision of buying a Harley, they were shocked and thought that I was going
through a mid-life crisis.” After booking her machine in April, the waiting
period of three months allowed Nimmi to initiate the process of learning the
art of taming the bike. Soon, she was burning rubber on the tarmac with her
rides.
About
her memorable experience: “My first ride was to
Yelagiri in Tamil Nadu. My fellow riders were extremely supportive and despite
knowing that I’m a new rider, I was asked to lead the group. I was doing about
60-80 km/hr and they were following me. During the course of the ride, I grew
confident and soon was riding at about 110 km/hr. At the end of the ride, I received
a standing ovation from all the fellow bikers.”
