Haute Wheels

Women bikers are kick-starting a trend on the roads of Thiruvananthapuram

February 04, 2016 02:43 pm | Updated 02:43 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Alina Padikkal Photo: S. Mahinsha

Alina Padikkal Photo: S. Mahinsha

Alina Padikkal is in full throttle on a Yezdi motorcycle, her hair flying in the wind and a big smile on her face. Her mom, Bindu Philippose, looks on proudly at the ease with which her daughter is handling the vintage bike; a bike that’s difficult for muscled men to handle, let alone a slender 21-year-old. After all, it was Bindu herself who taught Alina how to ride a bike. Feisty engineering student and champion driver Athira Murali, all of 22, too enjoys hitting the road on her Royal Enfield Bullet, as do guest lecturer Asha Asok, and Kerala cricketer-turned-mural artist Shyni Rajkumar. They are but some of the growing tribe of women motorcycle enthusiasts in the city.

Where once women were at the most pillion riders on motorcycles, lately, many of them are getting in the driver’s seat. “Jaws still drop, especially at traffic signals, when people realise that it’s a woman riding the bike. But society, by and large, seems to have shifted gear and accepted women bikers. These days, I’m often greeted with Macha..! and Yo, bro !, when I encounter fellow bikers on the road,” says Alina, an RJ, television anchor and psychology major. She was taught by her mom to ride a bike as soon as she was old enough. “My parents are huge motorcycle enthusiasts and it was only natural that I fell in love with bikes too. In fact, my mom used to drop me at school on her bike and, according to my friends, that was the coolest thing ever!”

Bindu, who has been a keen biker since the 80s, chips in: “My husband, Philippose Padikkal, and I were determined that Alina learn to ride a bike, for it’s one of the most empowering things ever. I myself learnt to ride a bike when I was a teenager. Back in the days a woman riding a bike was such an anomaly that our friends used to place bets against me and they would get me to ride around the Secretariat on a Jawa. I had the last laugh!” she recalls.

The increase in number of women bikers has also got a lot to do with comfort, say the women. “Motorcycles make for an infinitely more comfortable ride than gearless two-wheelers. It might be more expensive to buy a bike but in the long run they give better mileage and so are easier on the pocket,” explains Asha, who teaches at MMS Govt. Arts and Science College, Malayinkeezhu.

Like many of her fellow bikers, she was taught to ride by a family member (in her case, her father). “Familial support is important and if not for my father I would not have perhaps even got on a bike,” says Asha. Today she owns a Bullet and a Yezdi and is an active member of city-based Yezdi club, Smoking Barrels.

She is keen to point out that riding a bike is not always an example of self-determination or a way of taking a stab at the establishment. “I learnt because I was passionate about bikes. I am guessing, it’s the same with most other women bikers. Besides, where is it written that motorcycles are only for men and gearless scooters are for women?” she asks, as Shyni, echoes her thoughts. “When I started out in 2007, there was a stigma against women bikers. But I was determined, for I wanted to show society that there is nothing wrong with women riding bikes and to prove to that there is nothing that women cant do that men can do,” says Shyni, president of city-based TWAWK [Two-Wheeler Riders Association Women in Kerala]. “We aim to get more and more women to take up biking. I am already teaching two of them,” she says.

By most counts, there are roughly 100 regular women bikers in the city, possibly more, if you take into account those who know how to ride a motorcycle. “Anyone can ride a bike, if you have the confidence, the will power…and long enough arms and legs!” says Athira, who’s name is etched in the India Book of Records for being the youngest person to hold the most number of vehicle licenses. In fact, she’s just back from an off-roading championship in Mumbai, in which she won the women’s crown. “It can actually be a bit of strain on the legs and arms, especially if you are on a long ride, on a vintage bike,” adds Alina.

Of course, there’s the strain of dealing with the cynics too. “Hooting, catcalls, vrooming and the likes are part of it, especially from young bikers looking to show off their skills. The worst is when they try to cut in front of you, forcing you to brake suddenly. Occasionally, it irks me and if I’m on a bike of the same cc [engine displacement volume], I try to give them a taste of their own medicine! For the most part, you just have to ignore it and carry on,” says Athira.

Several of the women bikers are part of some riding/ bike club or the other and do take part in the occasional rally. What’s missing in the city, though, is an all-women’s riding club. Says Alina: “I’ve been yearning to form a club of women bikers in the city. My parents won’t let me go on long rides alone or with friends/guys from the bike club; on that note, neither would the bikers take a lone woman. If there are other women, then we could band together and go the distance…,” she muses. Wheels up, ladies!

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