Burning the Asphalt

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was just ten kilometers into her ride that Shyni Rajkumar was flagged down by the local residents. They pushed her Royal Enfield Himalayan off the road. “You can’t go,’’ they glared at her. After snaking her way through the huge traffic, she got pulled down by the locals who told her she could only go after the ambulance arrived. A man lay dead on the road, an unpleasant accident and the agitated folks were blocking all vehicular movement.

She was losing out on time. Soon other bikers who had embarked on the journey arrived. “Let the bikers go,” someone said from the crowd. And after a hold-up, she revved up her engine, gearing up to cover 1,610 kilometers in 24 hours.

It was the BaPuBa ( Banglaore – Pune –Bangalore) challenge of the Indian Endurance Bikers Association which she embarked on February 25. And 23 hours later, she etched her name in the Full Throttle category of the BaPuBa challenge. One among the first women in Kerala to do so. At present only two women in Kerala are credited with the feat, the other being another biker who undertook the challenge along with her.

A rider who has covered more than 1.5 lakh kilometers till now, the recent feat of covering 1700 kilometers in 23 hours has helped her script another history of sorts. Although it wasn’t a cakewalk, especially for someone who has never stayed awake for 24 hours at a stretch, Shyni completed the challenge without much of a struggle. The challenge is to complete the 1610 km ride which starts from Bangalore to Pune and back to Bangalore in 24 hours.

Decked up in riding gear and armed with a bag full of water bottles and Snickers, she embarked on the journey. “Even stopping to have food is a luxury that you cannot afford. Every halt delays you and I didn’t risk to have food,” she says. All she ever stopped was to have water and to take naps. The ride began at 6:30 am from Bangalore. Traversing at an average speed of 80 kmph, she sailed through the challenge.

“But on my way back to Pune I took a good rest and slept when I halted,” she says. And all the while, there was not a bad incident she can recall. “For me, it was just about completing the journey, not about the time taken. So I did not stress myself out to complete the ride in a short span,” she adds. “Even then, I could finish it within 23 hours,” she beams.

Riders are tracked during their journey via their phone and they have to produce fuel bills and so on as proof. Midway through her journey, her phone stopped working. “There was no charge. I was cut off from all. There was just ten percent charge left. But somehow it all worked out,” she recalls the many struggles during the journey. “There were also instances when I struggled to find a petrol station at night. After traversing close to 30 kilometers and failing to see any open petrol pump, I thought I would not be able to finish the journey,” she recalls.

“Riding is my passion, my first love. This is my answer to all those who criticised and challenged me that I could never complete this,” she says. The challenge had 42 riders take part in the ride. Only two women participated and they aced the challenge.

Shyni started riding at the age of 20. And ever since she has been hooked to it. The support from her parents and husband Rajkumar has helped her achieve many riding feats. For someone who changed careers and finally quit to follow her passion, riding is everything. “Freedom. That is what riding means to me. And I will ride until I can,” she says. Always wear your gear is one advice Shiny has to all riders. “I have had accidents but it was the gear that protected me at all instances,” says the ardent rider who owns ten bikes in all, including five Royal Enfield.

Although she has traversed across India except for North East in her beast, her favourite place to ride is still Kerala. “There is something that brings me back here. This is my favourite place,”says Shiny who has undertaken rides for many social causes. She now has eyes set on the ‘King of Road’ challenge. “That and a trip to Bhutan or Nepal,” says Shiny longingly.