Vrooming to fame

With amateurs and professional bikers taking to leisure rides and race tracks, biking is catching up big time among the youth in town.

June 30, 2016 05:48 pm | Updated September 16, 2016 05:04 pm IST - MADURAI:

BONDING OVER BIKES: Biking gives that much needed adrenalin rush. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

BONDING OVER BIKES: Biking gives that much needed adrenalin rush. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Be it a bike lover, a stunt athlete or a race biker, their love for their machines is the same. Either on a weekend leisure ride to Kodai or during a hot chase at the motor race, it’s an inexplicable feeling, they say. Biking is trending as a passionate hobby among increasing number of youth in the city. So much so that some of the city-based amateur biking clubs have given professionals to the sport.

Take 22-year-old B.S. Azhagu Abhinesh for instance. He is a member of the Honda Ten10 racing team, one of the most accomplished bike racing teams in India. The Madurai boy has made it big in over half a dozen track races at Delhi, Chennai and Coimbatore in the last two years. Starting off as an amateur rider from Subramaniapuram, the young biker is a professional now. “As a kid, I have seen casual racing events in our neighbourhood conducted during festivals. I was always fascinated by bikes. But then, I didn’t realise that it was a struggle some field,” says Abhinesh. “I started practise on a second-hand Pulsar bike and later bought a Yamaha FZ and a CBR 150. Biking is a great sport that gives you that much needed adrenalin rush.”

After his first national race in Delhi in 2014, there was no looking back. “It was on the F1 circuit at Buddh racing track. I felt on top of the world to be there among all the top bikers in the country,” he says. “I went on to ride in stock and pro-stock categories and gave impressive finishes. Once during a race at Coimbatore, I fell down and was run over by bikes. But that didn’t deter my passion. After lots of hard work, I hope I have now earned recognition in the biking circuit. However, my aim is to take part in MotoGP, the Olympics of biking.”

Vishal, a professionally trained street bike athlete is much sought after for his acrobatic biking stunts. It took six years of rigorous training under a master biker in Chennai for the 20 –year-old to become what he is now. “I watched lots of videos and professionals doing the stunts. It’s a recognised sport abroad and there are various career options in biking. Unfortunately in India, biking is hardly given its due,” says Vishal, belonging to Team Dog-fight Gang, a professional street bike club. “Stunts can be done on any powerful bike above 200 cc. I can do about 50 stunts. It requires high levels of physical fitness and optimum body weight. One has to be active and agile to be a successful stunt biker. We have performed around 200 shows all over India.”Bhaskar, an amateur biker from Freedom Riders Club, says, “I have participated in many rides and it gives a sense of freedom. I own a Duke 200 bike which is my most prized possession. Initially, my parents were apprehensive about my biking interests and later when they saw me take part in races, they understood that I am becoming a professional.” “Like other sports, biking has its own set of rules and regulations. It needs discipline and dedication to achieve in biking,” says Sharath Madhav, a High-court lawyer, who is also a bike enthusiast. “People generally have a misconception that biking is about rash driving. Any true-blue biker would show his talents only on the tracks and not on the roads.”

K. Rajnesh Kumar, a die-hard biker, who also owns Freedom Riders Pro-Biking shop on Bypass Road, says, “There’s a need to create awareness among youths about proper biking. I give helmets as gifts for weddings. I am an IT guy and biking is just a hobby. We conducted an event at Decathlon two months ago to create large scale awareness on road safety. Over the years, we have created a responsible biker community. There are people from various walks of life who unite for their love for bikes.”

Nagarajan, a gold smith, belong to Bajaj Avengers Club, says, “We are not so much into speed biking. Our idea of biking is to build a network of sensible road users across the country. We host any biker who comes to town and take them on a sight seeing tour in and around the city. We share brotherhood and bonding over bikes. Regular weekly breakfast rides.”

“During our long rides, we hold placards and stand at traffic intersections. We visit schools and run medical camps as part of rides, as there are also doctors and teachers in our club,” says Rajnesh, who also encourages his wife to be a biker. “My wife Sandhya rides my bullet 500. I hope there will be more women bikers in Madurai in the coming years.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.