Gushing wind, a beautiful landscape and speed of 100 kmph gives any rider a rush. If you like machines and speed then this club will surely grab your attention.
Mumbai Bikers’ Club (MBC) was formed in May 2005 by Gaurav Thakkar, Samir Patel, Om Vaikul and Saurabh Acharya. Thakkar is a mechanical engineer and is known as ‘mechanic’, whereas Vaikul, a portal administrator by profession is called ‘navigator’ of the club.
The club was formed on a social networking site, where like-minded people joined in. “Each of us was hunting for a place where we could fit in,” said Gaurav Thakkar, co-founder of the club.
MBC initially used to be an online discussion forum, where technical issues and road trips were discussed. When the club was formed weekend adventure trips, away from the concrete jungle, were planned. The club now has more than 1,500 registered members from all the sections of society — from students, doctors,to retired professionals. There is no age bar to be a member, one just needs to be a biker at heart.
Unbeaten path
Thakkar feels every biker becomes a photographer, capturing the scenic locales, people and local food. “We travel for leisure and to explore different cultures and cuisines of India,” he added.
Till now, the group has travelled to 390 cities and towns and feels that there is still a lot to explore in the diverse country. No opportunity is left unturned and trips are scheduled round the year, usually during long weekends and public holidays.
Bikers have explored the northern countryside extensively. They believe that the experience gained by travelling to different places, cannot be attained by sitting in an air-conditioned office or home.
Mad rush
Members feel that their trip to Leh, undertaken last year, was a memorable one. They call it the ‘graduation ride’. “Going to Leh, was like achieving a degree in long distance biking. We had to ride across nine states, over 5000km, across the most deserted region of the country,” added Thakkar.
During another trip, they attempted a record run across the Golden Quadrilateral across four metropolitan cities, over a distance of 6,046 km from Mumbai - Delhi - Kolkata - Chennai.
Ride with a difference
The club is not just about bike-rides across the country. They realise their duty and do their bit to make the country a better place. Last year, they collected money to buy books for underprivileged schoolchildren of a village near Ratnagiri. Before every trip, the club collects money, Rs100 per biker, so that they can help people, if the need arises. Apart from this, the club also believes in safety and wants every biker to be responsible. Moderators guide new bikers to follow traffic rules and safety measures.
New destinations
They plan to participate in the Himalayan rally and form an official racing team to participate in Indian racing circuit. “We there is a lot of money involved in motor sports. It would take us some years to build a proper team and have infrastructure to support it,” said Thakkar.
The club plans to open up a cafe; by the year end, where bikers can enjoy a cup of coffee over discussions and plan various trips.
Comments: 2