Hyderabad: 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, Leh, 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 Leh is every biker’s dream.” 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 adds, “I know that safety is a huge concern in today’s world. 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. However, 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.
