Shubhangi has been riding some form of a two-wheeler ──a bicycle or scooter for 30 years or so. It was only during her teenage years that she fell in love with motorcycles! She must have been about 14 - 16 years old, when on her morning walks, she saw a woman riding either an Enticer or Avenger bike, hanging out with her friends at a tea stall. Shubhangi’s admiration and fondness for motorcycles kickstarted there and she has been riding for 24 years now.
Nonetheless, she faced her fair share of challenges. Initially, her excitement and eagerness to ride a bike had to be kept aside for a while as Shubhangi was having a hard time finding someone to teach her to ride. Her family and close circle of friends dismissed the idea, saying that as a woman knowing how to ride a scooter was good enough, and the motorcycle is a vehicle more suitable for men. Despite all kinds of discouragement, Shubhangi wouldn’t back down. She managed to persuade a friend’s husband to teach her. Shubhangi knew the basics; she could balance and maneuver the bike well, but what she struggled with the most was shifting the gear. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t release the clutch on time to shift the gear. They tried for two days, but unfortunately it didn’t work out for her.
The First Gear
Shubhangi approached her husband again and requested him to teach her. The same thing occured ── shifting gears was a debacle! She tried a couple of times and ultimately the engine shut down! Only this time, they were at Shivaji Park amidst crowds, and her husband lost his cool and scolded her even though there were spectators around. Perhaps it was the cumulation of panic, embarrassment and resolve, that spurred Shubhangi to learn how to shift the gear in that moment! Despite his scolding, she remains extremely thankful to her husband for teaching her to ride her beloved motorcycle.
An Expression Of Freedom
As as a teenager she was inspired by a woman, and today Shubhangi is admired by other women for riding a motorcycle! A lot of women have praised her and expressed an interest in learning from her. Long before she started her own training school, Shubhangi had already started teaching women to ride. Many of the women came with the same problems as Shubhangi did - either their partner or family was dismissive or refused to teach them or didn’t have the patience to tutor them. Shubhangi decided to start her own motor training school – First Gear, a training school 'For Women By Women.' When it initially started, it kept only women in mind, but over the last few years, even men are being trained by Shubhangi to ride a motorcycle. However, she is clear that the agenda for starting the motor training school will always be ‘to teach as many women as possible to ride.’
Apart from motorcycles, majority of the women also enroll to learn how to ride a scooty/scooter as they don’t want to be dependent on family members or a partner or public transportation to take them around. For most women who have come to Shubhangi to learn to ride, it’s always been with the expression of freedom and confidence for them!
Words Of Wisdom
When it comes to riding solo, Shubhangi advises that it is necessary to figure out the terrain, the area/locality, understand the people or locals. She particularly advices women to try to refrain from riding late in the evenings, as it gets difficult to figure the mechanics. Also, women should be well equipped with bike spare parts and how to change them, in case a situation demands. She also advocates carrying a small pepper spray bottle handy. It is also essential to keep yourself fit, enrol for self-defence techniques such as martial arts so that you are in a position to safeguard yourself, if posed with a dangerous scenario.
Shubhangi feels that both men and women need to be alert when on the streets. The most alarming situation these days is to witness people walk about the roads, crossing streets/signals while gawking into their mobile phones or deep in conversation. Pedestrians quite conveniently feel that it is the duty of the rider/driver to watch out and steer their vehicle carefully, but it is equally the responsibility of pedestrians to be vigilant and careful. Not just that, it is difficult to safeguard oneself if people are going to be engrossed into their digital device and unaware of their surroundings. The world around us is always in a hurry to reach somewhere, so it is upon each of us to be vigilant and ride safely.