Hyderabad: Hours of riding buff motorcycles on dusty highways, stopping only at dhabas to eat and freshen up — sound like a hobby only men could have. But several women have been challenging this stereotype for quite some time now. Helping young female aspirant bikers how to ride, Kuldeep Sharma and Amit Saini, founders of Lets Ryde, have now ventured in Hyderabad.
The two conducted the first orientation session in the city recently at Novotel Hyderabad, which was attended by 22 participants. Spread over four days – two weekends – the session conducted by Lets Ryde covers everything about riding right from the basics.
Talking about the initiative, Amit shares, “We are a Delhi-based company lending super motorbikes to riders who plan to go on a trip. Since we started the company, we received requests from several women to provide them with a bike, as well as a rider. They liked bike rides, but didn’t know how to ride. So, we decided to teach a few of them. Seeing their interest, we planned on expanding our initiatives to other cities as well.” And Hyderabad became their first destination after Delhi for the workshop.
Their experience in Hyderabad, however, was way different than that in Delhi. “The enthusiasm of female riders here was contagious,” shares Kuldeep, adding, “We were impressed how girls here were not just excited about the whole project, but very proactive in asking about more things.”
Nidhi Dubey, a 23-year-old IT professional from the city, who attended the workshop, shares that the session gave her a lot of confidence. “I have a scooty, but I always wanted to ride a bike. My parents however, never allowed me to. The problem is no one teaches girls the nuances of bike travel. Here we learnt everything – right from how to get the bike on a central stand, to how to lift the bike when it falls down. We were also given tidbits about the mechanical aspects.”
Neha D, a 21-year-old working professional and first time rider shares, “I met so many inspiring women there. The place was buzzing with energy. All of us wanted to learn. We were also helping each other with various things. It felt like a community.”
And that’s the goal of Lets Ryde. “We don’t just want to train these women. We want to enable them to take trips on their own. Bikers are a community and we want to introduce these women to others with similar passion, so they could plan their own rides and go on trips,” says Amit.
