7 women set out to cover 6000km on bikes: Noida becomes pitstop for women riders

On a busy morning, vehicles in

Sector 18

slowed down slightly to make way for seven

women

riders who have set out to accomplish the golden quadrilateral ride and cover a distance of 6,000km. Starting from Daman, the women had a stopover in Udaipur before arriving in Noida on Tuesday. The riders halted at one of the malls in Noida after covering 1,215 km. Sunita Kunjir, a 43-year-old homemaker from Pune who is the director of their biker group, said, “The purpose of this ride is to send out the message that India is a safe country where the roads are safe for women as well.”

Anushriya Gulati

‘People were very welcoming in Noida’
“We keep travelling to many cities and have come to Noida several times earlier as well. I find Noida’s infrastructure quite impressive. The roads are well-maintained and the city is well-planned. As a rider, I enjoy riding here. We found good lane discipline on the roads. The people were welcoming. They were happy to see us and waved at us when we rode past,” added Kunjir.

Riding in style: Women riders at Sector 18

‘People need to be careful while taking selfies’
While they loved the warmth of the city, a few of them found Noidawallahs slightly aggressive when it comes to taking selfies. Kunjir said, “When we are riding, fellow drivers try to take selfies with us. It’s okay when your bike is standstill, but on the road, it gets dangerous. We might lose our balance. We have to keep looking at the rearview mirror to watch out for selfie enthusiasts. People overshoot and overtake us to take a picture. People are very inconsiderate about these things.”

Urvashi desai, Sunita Mande, Krupa Reddy, Sunita Kunjir

‘Noida needs more trees’
Sunita Mande, a rider and artist, felt that Noida could do with more trees. “I am riding in Noida for the first time and I felt that everything here is concrete. Noida needs to have more trees and parks. If that is done, half of Delhi residents will start living in Noida.”

I AM A PRO!

‘The best part of the capital is that the sign boards can be read from a Distance’
“While entering Delhi, a few truck drivers were yelling, ‘hoi hoi’ at us. We thought it was some sort of a lewd comment, but we weren’t sure, so we just said, ‘Thank you’. The best part of the capital is that the sign boards are so conspicuous and can be read from a distance. One can easily navigate on these roads,” said Shirley George, 48.