Chennai lawyer vrooms her way into record books

It was sheer grit and perseverance that led lawyer Kalaivani J to set the record for the longest bike ride, without any breaks. She undertook a challenging ride of 2,313 km from Chennai to Pune and entered the India Book of Records. She completed this feat in 40 hours.

Kalaivani's love for two-wheelers started when she was 12 years old. Though she used to ride her father's motorcycle she never took riding seriously. After her marriage, she started using her husband’s bike and wentfor short-distance rides on National Highways.

In order to gain more experience in riding a bike and understanding its mechanism, she joined The Bajaj Avenger Club in the city. "I went to a couple of hill stations like Yelagiri, Chikmagalur, Kolli hills, etc., and those experiences boosted my confidence. Through the club, I learned the upkeep and maintenance of my bike, Bajaj Avenger 220CC Groove," she tells us.

After listening to Kalaivani's love for motorbikes, one of her colleagues suggested her to set a record. "I wasn't sure about it because I have never done long-distance riding before. But I was fascinated by the idea and decided to give it a try. Before venturing out, I did a test ride to Vijayawada -- that was a 1,000 km ride and completed it in a day. Then I decided to ride to Nagpur via Vijayawada and Hyderabad and that was supposed to be 'the challenge' ride. But unfortunately, I couldn’t pick up the speed and also my bike got damaged. I couldn’t accomplish the record. I wasn't ready to give up. Six days later I rode to Pune and set the record in 40 hours," shares the 42-year-old mother. The lawyer vouches that test rides helped her understand more about long-distance riding. “Thanks to my club members who pushed me to try test rides. Test rides helped me in mastering time management and maintaining a certain speed limit. I also learned to manage bio breaks (bathroom breaks),” she reminisces.

Kalaivani thanks her club members for helping her selecting the easiest routes and providing safety tips. As a proof, she had to take pictures at every toll gate and also while filling petrol at bunks. "Though I met a lot of people during the journey, I couldn't interact with them because of time constraints,"she says.

The rider remembers how a few people discouraged her from taking up bike riding. "We need to break gender stereotypes in all fields. Being a woman, I never thought that I was this strong and had the stamina to ride so many kilometres. If you have perseverance, nothing can defeat you," she sums up.