Going on a solo trip sounds like an enthralling travel idea, especially for the travel bugs. But to implement it ACTUALLY, it might not be as easy as it sounds. Most of us plan numerous imaginary solo trips and end up never really taking them. However, this 27-year-old Indian woman defied all norms by taking a solo BIKE trip; yes you read it right, a solo bike trip from Kanyakumari to Ladakh! She traversed from Kashmir to Kanyakumari quite literally, eh?
Roshni Sharma was born in Narora, a small town in Uttar Pradesh. She travelled on her bike through 11 Indian states alone to reach her final destination Ladakh. Imagine the challenges and adventure she must have been through during her trip. India is not a very amicable place for solo women to travel and we know that. But what Roshini Sharma did, was sure to break all the societal stereotypes around women.
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A planned journey
Roshni is adventurous but definitely not stupid. She laid down a far-fetched plan of her journey. She did some homework beforehand which included route plans, cross-checking the route, convincing her parents, purchasing a bike and other important equipment. Roshni shared,
“I had to know about the routes and weather. I learnt from my friend that only after summers does the Manali pass open. So I had to schedule my journey to after May. Also in June, many parts of Kerala get rain, so I had to push off Kerala from my itinerary completely. Basically in my entire journey, I never encountered rain! In fact, to know the routes, I just had to ask people around, talk to them for a better ideas and they were all very helpful!”
The road less taken
Roshni Sharma, an engineer by profession, loves to travel. She headed towards North from her place of origin Kanyakumari on her Bajaj Avenger alone. She knew that her journey is not going to be easy, but she almost lost hope midway when the nature tested her endurance. Roshini rode through glaciers, the path which even seasoned bikers wouldn’t choose to traverse.
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A journey full of challenges
There are a number of moments when Roshni Sharma questioned her sanity as to why she took a solo bike trip to Ladakh. She encountered experiences where she had no idea what to do and where to head. She even sobbed for a while along a 50-kilometre long pitch dark road made of stones near Pench National Park. The roads were secluded with no sign of life around.
She asks herself, “I had everything in my life – loving parents, friends and a good job. What else was I looking for in life with this ride?”
Moment of solace arrives
It was during the last leg of her journey that she realised the actual motive of her solo bike ride. While riding through the snow-capped mountains, she felt independent and liberated. She got all the answers to her hesitations, which broke her down for a while. She was greeted by Ladakh’s pristine white mountains, as if they were all lined together to welcome her in the state. She recalls,
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“I felt fearless. There is nothing in this world that I feel I can’t achieve.”
The solo bike trip was no less than a pilgrimage for Roshni. She explains her experience by saying,
“The experience of having the wind in your face while you ride is surreal. It’s nothing like travelling with family or friends. Here, you’ve got to interact with new people, ask around, talk and experience their culture and lifestyle. It’s a great learning and one that has truly transformed me.”
Stereotype breaking experience of traveling alone
Roshni Sharma’s experience is a tight slap to the regressive mentality that thinks a woman cannot travel alone. She not only did travel alone, but took a solo bike ride along the length of the 7th largest country in the world, India. She believes that the myth about solo women travelers first needs to broken in the minds of the traveler themself. Roshni said,
“I am cent percent sure that a woman can travel alone, for as long a she wants, if she is courageous, confident by herself in our own ways, wise, quick thinking and alert every time. It’s a myth that women cannot travel alone and it’s unsafe.”
A journey for all those who strongly believe that the spirit of a women should never ever be tamed by any means.
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