Put on safety gear & follow traffic rules when you ride, says biker Ambica Sonia

Team L&M

Jallandhar resident Ambika Sonia recently did a solo Fastest Round Bullet Bike Ride From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and back. Significantly, she had no sponsors for her ride which she did entirely of her own expenses. For this feat, her name is being included in the India Book Of Records as an achiever.

Stating that a senior rider from Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) Dalip Chohan guided her, she says, “I started from Kashmir on Feb 11, reached Kanyakumari on Feb 19. I began my return journey the next day from Kanyakumari and reached Kashmir on March 1, spending a total of 18 days on this ride.”

Ambica crossed through three Union Territories and 12 states during her travel. “I also visited Dhanushkodi, Coimbatore and Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu and Munnar in Kerala for a little enjoyment,” she smiles.

With a fellow biker from Srinagar Aaqib

But this is not Ambica’s first ride. She has been riding a bike since her school days though she couldn’t pursue her passion of long trips on bike owing to her busy life earlier. The passion was reignited in 2020 after her banker husband Bhagwant Kumar gifted her Royal Enfield Meteor 350. The first thing she did after owning the bike was enrolling with Torque Moto Club Jalandhar as a member. Significantly, Ambica is the only woman member of this club wherein all the other 500 members are men.

At Homachal Pradesh border

“But that doesn’t bother me,” she say confidently. She then took her first solo ride; from Jallandhar to Red Fort (Delhi) on August 15, 2020.  There was no stopping her after that. She undertook solo rides to places like Himachal, Pathankot, Patiala, Delhi, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Basohli among others. “I usually do solo rides because there are no female bike riders around here,” she says.

Since her childhood, Ambica has been walking off the unbeaten track, which helped her get accolades like a Black Belt in Karate and A, B and C Certificates of NCC. “Twice I was selected for R–Day parade on Rajpath. I try to do things which can be inspirational for other women, which can help women empowerment. There is nothing a woman cannot achieve,” she says, adding that it is support of her family that helped her achieve such milestones.

“Life isn’t about finding yourself, but creating yourself,” says Ambica whose other interests include trekking, cycling and learning new things.

Does she have any message for other women riders?
“Always take care of your health and remain positive. And before you start a ride put on your safety gears, and when you ride follow traffic rules,” she signs off.