Stoppie, wheelie, high chair... whether it’s stunt biking jargon or the names of motorbikes, 22-year-old Tana Luciya Joji peppers her conversation with these terms. Though she learnt to ride a bike just two and a half years ago, Tana is now among a select group of women stunt bikers and part of Street Lordz, a stunt riders group.
“This is not rash riding. If we were to ride like this on the roads, then it would be,” explains Tana. “This sport is practised in a controlled environment and we never ride without safety gear, despite the perception that it is unsafe.”
Her first lessons in riding came from her friends in Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology (RSET); Tana is a final year computer science engineering student. The rest came from her father, back home in Kottayam where her parents are dentists, on a borrowed bike. Two weeks after she rode her first motorbike she got her own brand-new bike, an Avenger, “It showed how much confidence my parents had in me.”
Tana’s interest in racing came from watching videos online. “Last year I wanted to join a racing academy but my mother refused to allow me.” However, she found a coach in nearby Tiruvalla, stunt rider Gautam Suresh, and soon Tana was training under him. “I went home and told my parents that I needed another bike. And I got a second-hand Yamaha RI5 V2.” It came with a promise to her parents: that stunting would be limited to semester breaks. “I just wanted to start, so I agreed.” But she kept her promise.
From a rider who didn’t as much as ‘brake slide’, she went the full hog training to be a motorcycle stunt rider. Her takeaway, from this last year of training, is that she has more control and rides safe. Shifting gears from riding to stunting wasn’t easy, as her small build came in the way. Then “the riding position is different and the bikes as well - one is the regular kind and the other is exclusively for stunt riding with design modifications. The toughest part is balance.” ‘Stoppies’ took a lot of time and many falls as did the ‘wheelies’.
Although she hasn’t broken any bones yet, she has had a few falls. “My dream was a wheelie or riding on the back wheel. The first day was tough and, on the second day, I managed to get the bike up and got so excited that I crashed.” That video scared her mother, but Tana managed to convince her that she was riding safe and hadn’t bruised herself. “Some days are tough but, on most days, there is a lot of satisfaction.” When she is home, on breaks, she trains from morning to noon.
Her love of automobiles started young, she remembers asking to be clicked with supercars and bikes while on holidays abroad. “I have always wanted to ride a motorbike, not a scooter.” She calls herself “an adrenaline junkie...I love adventure. I have even skydived.”
Though she would like to take this up professionally, Tana realises that India does not offer many opportunities. Even stunt shows are few and far between, though Street Lordz recently did a show at a Thodupuzha college. Incidentally such shows are not allowed in her college. “I would like to open an academy for stunt riders, some time. Not now, much later when I have enough experience.”
Meanwhile she has been placed at Cognizant, she doesn’t know where. “Wherever it is, I will not quit riding. Like I have Gautam to coach me here, I will find somebody.”