Mumbai’s easy riding gals

.Last year, Harley-Davidson, the iconic US motorcycle-maker, started featuring an advertisement in women’s magazines. It showed a black-and-white image of a rider using the chrome plating on her bike as a make-up mirror.

This was part of a larger effort to woo a tide of women bikers. The company even modified some motorcycles (low to the ground bikes so women can plant their feet firmly at rest, narrower seats, softer clutches, adjustable handlebars and windshields to make bikes more comfortable for smaller riders) to suit its new customers.

Such moves resonate with Mumbai’s growing legion of women bikers, who are discovering the thrill and adventure of riding motorcycles.

As speed junkies who have mastered control of their mean machines, each and every biker on a modified Royal Enfield or Suzuki has a fascinating riding story to tell. Anita, who works in a BPO, has been riding bikes for more than 10 years. She says: “I got into biking because I love travelling. I opted for a bike instead of a car because the bike is open and riding on one with the wind blowing in my face gives me a sense of freedom.”

For housewife Sumi Sen, getting on her bike means following her heart. “I was an athlete during my college days and was majorly [sic] into outdoor sports. Though I tried riding bikes a few times, I was a bit hesitant.” Then she got married, had children, and her biking dreams were shelved. “A few years later, I tried riding my husband’s bike. The experience was exhilarating. Now riding has given me the means to escape to unknown places. It gives me a sense of power,” says Sen.

That’s a crushing reply to all those who believe that women are scared of motorcycles, make bad drivers, and that they are better off on non-geared bikes. Rajeev Shah, vice-president of Indiethumpers, a motorcycle club, says, “It’s really appreciable that women today don’t hesitate to ride a Royal Enfield, a bike which, in popular perception, is the tough guy’s choice. And the whole idea about women being bad drivers is untrue. We can’t associate bad driving with gender.”

Though the number of women bikers in the city,  as compared with men, is  low, the number is rising by the day.

Many people believe that Mumbai’s well-connected public transport system and the tendency among people to opt for cars, instead of two-wheelers, could be the two reasons few women opt for bikes.

Kamal Sharma, founder member of Bombay Bikers, says, “With the rise of biking clubs, women bike enthusiasts have found people who share similar passions.”

For Simi Kamal, who is married and working, it was a chance to break down traditional gender barriers. “I wanted to prove them wrong - all those people who thought that women can’t drive. My biker friends and I travel to various places across the country. My recent trip to Ladakh, with its impossible terrain, was the most interesting experience. From crossing tar roads to rocky pathways and landscape similar to a desert, all of that gave us a high,” says Sharma.

College student Arati Vikas Samant, who got into biking for a new experience, has been hooked to it for the last six months. She says: “My dad rides a Royal Enfield, but I couldn’t understand his craze for them. Once, a friend who belongs to a biking club asked me to come along for an experience.” That, more or less, sealed it for Samant. 

“It was independence day, and we rode from Churchgate to Borivali,” she says. “Riding a Bullet, I was ecstatic. Now I have my own Enfield, which I’ve named Gabbar.”
If women are doing something different, raised eyebrows and unwanted comments are to be expected. But there seems to be a shift in the way men think of women and motorcycles in the city. Reema Poreyana, a working woman who faced a comment or two when she first started biking, four years ago, says, “I see a major change. When guys look at me now, they give me an encouraging smile or a positive vibe. The problem happens with truckers on highways. But we must ignore them.”

Whatever it is, now that that they have the power, women are no longer afraid to follow their hearts.
p_sugandha@dnaindia.net