Roshni Sharma, 28 year old, from Bengaluru, She is the first female Biker and long-distance cyclist . She is long distance cyclist who has covered over 15,000 kilometres, Roshni Sharma is also a trekking enthusiast who, besides having undertaken a Himalayan high-altitude climb, has scaled all the major peaks of South India. The fact is about that she’s also the first woman biker to ride from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The last she counts as one of her greatest accomplishments so far. It started off on a whim when a friend mentioned that no woman had ridden cross-country alone. She recalls her memory and told that about the decision , “I decided to just go for it. I got to witness the unparalleled beauty and diversity of India. But it wasn’t all smooth riding, I remember almost crying in fear when trying to cross a forest, but once out, I felt fearless—the trip made me stronger.” Her father taught her how to ride at 16, and she counts herself as one of the lucky ones for having been given the space to chase her dreams. “Bikes are considered a man’s toy, and most women in India are discouraged by their family and friends from riding. I wasn’t, and I want to see more women riders, so I spend my weekends training girls who want to ride,” she says. Sharma now wants to explore the whole world on her motorcycle and her next target is to ride across India from east to west.
Twenty-six-year-old software engineer from Bengaluru, Roshni Sharma, is riding solo from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. A day in on her journey, on Sunday Roshni stopped in Hyderabad for a chat.
“I was always into travelling and adventure activities. I would wait for weekends to go on treks. I would also go for cycling and mountaineering whenever I got the time. I was always fond of bikes too,” she says.
“I tried hard to get a sponsor but did not find any. But I did not want to cancel, so I decided to put my savings into this trip. The total budget must be more than a lakh,” she adds.Roshni, who started from Kanyakumari on Saturday at 8 am, completed 1,200 km in one and a half day and plans to reach her destination,in 12 days.
“The most I had ever travelled on a bike was 850 km. But I always wanted to go on a solo trip from one point in India to the other. And going to Leh is dreams of every biker .” She adds, “I am attempting it for the Limca Book of Records and have a tracker in my bike which sends them my location every second. I am very confident about setting this record and have heard that no woman from India has done it yet.”
She said, that safety is a huge concern of today’s life. But I did a little homework before I started and enquired with bikers around the country about the places I would be passing through. I have planned my halts and hotels. But in worst-case scenario, if I can’t reach the place, I will have to rely on locals and I always have a police station to go for help. Although , I am also carrying pepper spray for my own safety.”
Roshni, who is also carrying spare parts for her bike in her backpack, says, “Before setting out on such a trip, one needs to make sure that the bike is fit. Also the person should know the basics about a bike and should be able to repair it if it happens to stop at a place with no service centers around.”
“My mentor, M.A. Kaleem, prepared me mentally for this trip. When I approached him with the idea he only told me one thing, ‘Either take it or leave it. If you take it, you will have to go through with it.’ And I decided to go through with it,” she concludes.