Jigisha Rajput

Posted in India, Snapshots | 2 comments

 

Hi Jigisha, can you tell us a good story? I was riding on the roads of Delhi to meet one of my friends. After crossing a traffic signal, I saw an auto rickshaw stopped right in the middle of the road. I was about to overtake him on his left when I realised that the driver was doing a u-turn without checking for traffic behind him. I was riding slow so it wasn’t a major crash but the auto hit my right hand so hard that it ended up breaking my metacarpal bone. When I fell, a lot of people surrounded me and made me sit on a footpath on the side of the road. When I removed my helmet, everyone looked shocked at the sight of a lady rider. A few took a few steps back as if they had seen a ghost.

What was your last great ride? My last ride to Ladakh in north India was the most memorable in many ways. It was the longest ride in terms of kilometres covered, and full of difficult terrain, water crossings, steep inclines and declines, muddy roads, no roads, heavy rain, and extreme cold, all of which made me a better and more responsible rider. It was also special because the kind of respect and support I got from the other riders was really encouraging. I enjoyed the attention when people would turn to check out my bike –  25 year old 100 cc 2-stroke YAMAHA RX100 – and the girl riding it. It bought a smile to my face.

What’s next on your bucket list? The next challenge for me is riding solo through the Himalayas. My love for them always drives me to visit them again and again. My biggest ride will be Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh next March.

I am also planning a 7000 km ride where I hope to start from Bangalore, Karnataka and ride through 11 states – Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana.