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Riding with Safety & for Safety!

The first section of the BFI National Safety Ride has just been completed and what a ride it’s been! Riding through a part of the country, amidst lush green scenery on two of Triumph’s best bikes from their fleet, spreading the message of safe riding; what better life for a biker? What better way to promote safe riding?

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Dr. Rahul Sharma & Rohan Monga from Born 2 Ride Motorcycle Club were the first of the riders in Bike Festival of India’s National Safety Ride. The biking brotherhood was visible in full swing at all the locations they traveled to; motorcycle clubs, individual riders, laymen too came out in full support of the safety message that BFI has set out to convey to people.

Regularly changing the bikes amongst themselves, both Rahul & Rohan have ridden a stretch of approximately 1500 kilometers. And both of them couldn’t stop raving about the bikes, according to Rohan “both bikes are totally different from the Harley & KTM that I have ridden earlier. Both bikes have powerful engines; in-line 3 cylinder in the Triumph Speed Triple & the parallel twin cylinder for the Triumph Thunderbird Storm add character to the bikes.” For Rahul who otherwise rides a Harley Davidson, “the braking system in the Triumph bikes is powerful from what I have used before. Riding superbikes is all about control, patience and focus. Their acceleration is ferocious; they can go from 0 km to 100km per hour in three seconds flat.”

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However one thing the bikers did note while traveling their section of the country; “apart from serious bikers” they say “nobody else is interested in putting on the correct safety gear.” In fact Rohan cited one such example when they were in Udaipur. He said “We came across a group of bikers, young boys who were riding freely without a helmet and without the fear of crashing. We stood and had a long chat with them and explained to them the importance of putting on safety gear. They showed interest in the kind of pants and boots we were wearing and they vowed to be more careful and to purchase sturdy helmets. We hope we saved lives that day because one rider’s mistake on the road can result in ten others getting hurt for no fault of theirs.” “Unfortunately” Rahul said that “it’s these kinds of careless riding methods adopted by youngsters that give bikers overall a bad reputation. They even set out to perform stunts without realizing the impacts of doing so without the right gear.”

Both riders agreed that “there has been an influx of world class biking gear & accessories but this area still needs some more attention particularly the safety aspect of biking in our country. People still don’t buy protective riding gear except the helmet & they don’t care much about rules & others on the road. The situation has improved but we still have a long way to go & we feel its people like us, xbhp & all the other biking communities in the country who must take this as top priority so that the stigma of hooliganism attached with bikers and biking is removed forever.”

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Coming back to the ride experience, the riders started off towards Jaipur where they were met by Vijay Singh from Rajputana Customs and visited his workshop. Vijay too stressed the importance of wearing a helmet and the correct gear. From there on they proceeded to Udaipur & moved downwards to Ahmedabad where the Star Riders interacted with local clubs; Gun Riders Motorcycle Club & Enfield Pirates along with various other bikers. Triumph West Coast hosted the first meet & greet session of the National Safety Ride where again the riders spoke about BFI and fellow riders stressed the importance of inculcating the safety message to new riders and their parents.

Baroda & Surat saw the Baroda Super Bikers Club & the Surat Super Bikers Club warmly welcoming the riders and their entourage. The trip proceeded towards Vapi where there was a hearty welcome awaiting them by the Unity Motorcycle Club along with a media interaction session promoting BFI’s National Safety Ride Initiative.

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Onwards, the bikers arrived at Mumbai. And boy, did Mumbai greet them! They were welcomed with open arms at Mumbai Triumph Motorcycles by not only various local clubs but also by team BFI and the Star Riders for section two of the ride. Ikjot Singh Bhasin, co-founder of BFI proudly hosted the session and lauded the efforts put in by one and all. After the a long ride & a lengthy meet & greet session it was time to head for some much needed rest before beginning the last leg of section one of the National Safety Ride.

Pune, saw the end of the first section of the safety ride. Star riders, Pratish Ambekar from Ride Till I Die and Jaspreet Aiden were waiting to take the reins of the ride from Rahul & Rohan. Pune saw a lot of clubs that day welcoming the safety ride and applauding the BFI initiative. As a matter of fact, Pune cops too were with the riders and they gifted them with mugs in the form of a memento.

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As Rahul says, “The sole purpose of the group is to promote biking in a positive & responsible way & to increase awareness amongst the general public about biking as a passion & a sport rather than a simple means of transportation. We at ‘Born to ride’ motorcycle club strongly follow & emphasize the safety aspect of motorcycling, as in our country the risk of this sport is much higher than some other countries for obvious reasons.”

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And for Rohan and all other biking clubs and communities out there, “we never ride without a proper gear which includes a helmet & protective clothing including shoes and we never race or do stunts. You may use biking to flaunt your attitude but not at the cost of your life and of others lives on the road.”

Always respect the society in which you live & never endanger the life of others. Responsible biking is the key word.

 

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