The Bikerni
We had the opportunity to catch up with ‘Urvashi Patole’ the founder and head of one of the most popular riding group in India, ‘The Bikerni’, and we could NOT miss this chance to extract as much as we could. The whole concept of an All Women Riding Group had us intrigued already.
Urvashi initiated ‘The Bikerni’ group to empower women through the field of motorcycles. There were too few of women riders in the growing field of motorcycling and the few, who existed, weren’t considered as equals. She realized it was time to change the ball-game and so gathered together all the women bikers in India and formed an association.
Before zeroing in on the name “The Bikerni”, Urvashi and her team had also come up with an array of other names for their gro
up like ‘Lady Riders Association’, ‘Women Bikers of India’, ‘Female Bikers unite’, which just didn’t cut it for them. To quote her exact words, “They lacked the appeal that would make heads turn, at a time when women bikers had no platform at all. So we wanted the name to eventually become a household name because it has colloquial origins and Voila! It worked.”
‘The Bikerni’ is India’s first and largest association of women motorcyclists. After having kicked off in January 2011 in Pune with just 11–14 members, the group now has over 800 members s
pread across India and chapters in more than 16 cities such as Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Lucknow and Guwahati to name a few. They’ve all traveled through the lengths and breadths of India and outside as well. They make sure they organize two rides and two meets per month in every chapter apart from annual meetups and organised roadtrips.
If Urvashi had to define the group in three words, she’d call it the “Wheeled Wonder Women.” And we’re not surprised why!
When asked about the most memorable journey with her group, she said “Our first ride with 10 women bikers to the highest motorable road in the world and to Nubra valley will remain special and forever in our hearts.”
‘The Bikerni’ is all about making a difference, and we’re sure by each growing day, it already is!
Website: Join Us
Facebook: fb.com/thebikerni
Twitter: @TheBikerni
