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Motorcycle enthusiasts gear up for bike fest in Goa in November

The KTM-Duke owner, who participates in many racing events, won the Lonavala rally run last year and also freelances as a motorcycle journalist.

pune, goa bike fest, bike fest in goa, bike enthusiasts, indian express news, india news Varad, who has been riding for the last 20 years , says, “I was fascinated by motorcycles from a very young age. I would get my hands on whatever motorcycle posters and magazines that I could.”

By Shreyashi Roy

Biking enthusiasts have something to look forward to as the fifth edition of the India Bike Week (IBW) gets underway on November 24 and 25 in Goa. Organised by 70 Event Media Group, this two-day event will also play host to some biking legends such as Leslie Porterfield, the fastest woman biker of the world, Freddie Spencer or “Fast Freddie”, a former world champion motorcycle racer and Vinod Rawat, who overcame disability to become a biker. From Pune, Pooja Dabhi is participating in the event. Speaking to Pune Newsline via e-mail about her biking journey, the 25-year-old Dabhi says, “Men on bikes always wanted to overtake me if they saw me speeding on my way to college. That’s when I decided to get a bike with a bigger engine.”

With a passion to travel , Dabhi has ridden all over the country, making solo trips to Karnataka, Gujarat and Goa, even completing the entire Konkan-Goa coastal route, ending in south Goa — a journey of 1,500 km — in just five days. She says that one of her most memorable adventures was a trip across India and Nepal. She has participated in events like Orange Days, a racing event for KTM owners, where she was pitted against 70 men.

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Dabhi, who has ridden 85,000 kilometres in two-and-a-half years, says, “One of the things that I love most about biking is the way people treat you if you are a female biker, with huge respect in their hearts. They look up to you. Biking has inspired a confidence in me that I never had before.” The festival will also have another Pune connection. 33-year-old Varad More, or “Speedy”, as he is known, is one of the country’s first motorcycle racers. Varad, who has been riding for the last 20 years , says, “I was fascinated by motorcycles from a very young age. I would get my hands on whatever motorcycle posters and magazines that I could.”

He is a member of the Pune-based club Rubber Smokin’ Angels, which he joined and then helped manage and develop. The club, with 250 members, is open to owners of any motorcycles, unlike most others, and focuses on different disciplines of motorcycling such as sport riding, stunts and drags. The KTM-Duke owner, who participates in many racing events, won the Lonavala rally run last year and also freelances as a motorcycle journalist. “IBW is a great platform for motorcyclists from across the country to connect. It’s a good takeaway for people who are into it, a place to chill out and just talk motorcycles,” he says.

First uploaded on: 11-11-2017 at 12:28 IST
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