Meet the UAE women's thriving biking community.

Gulf News

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00:00My name is Richa, I'm a part of, a member of Harley group, owners group in Dubai, HAWK

00:17Dubai.

00:18I'm also their committee member.

00:20I've been riding Harley since 2019.

00:25And the model that I ride is Street Glide 2021.

00:30It's a 430 kg weight, with over 1,800 cc.

00:37I love, love my Harley.

00:39I've always wanted to ride a Harley from the time I was, you know, from the time I can

00:46remember.

00:47Because when I used to see it in movies, in the magazines, when I see these bikers, especially

00:53the Harley bikers, you know, cruising down the highways with the hair flying and without

01:01a care in the world, that freedom, that power, I really wanted that.

01:08With time, it, that, that wants, that desire to own a Harley never waned.

01:17It grew with time.

01:20And there was a period of, you know, a phase where I decided, it's the time I need to get

01:27my bike.

01:28So my husband was scared because it's a big bike and, you know, in Dubai, the highways

01:36are huge and the vehicles move at very great speed.

01:42So he was worried, but I said, no, I have to have it.

01:47And he said, I know, you are not asking for permission, you are just telling me.

01:52So even before I got my license, I got the bike.

01:56I told the dealer, you keep the bike till I get the license.

02:00So I went back, got my license, started riding my Harley.

02:05And you know, I always wanted, you know, to feel how the birds must be feeling when we

02:12fly.

02:13You know, whenever I used to stand on, you know, on the balcony and look down and I see

02:18this, you know, sometimes the, the sea, I would say to myself, how it would feel to

02:24just, you know, fly through that, fly over the mountains, fly over the water, how that

02:30must feel.

02:32And riding a Harley gave me that feeling.

02:34I'm like, wow, this is how the birds must be feeling.

02:40It's a powerful feeling, the achievement that you feel that, you know, okay, this was my

02:47dream and finally you, you live your dream.

02:52That was amazing.

02:54What I liked about is as a group, we stress on training, we stress on riding with gears,

03:03we stress on riding safely.

03:06So we follow the safety rules, like the distance between, you know, two riders, how we should

03:13ride in a formation.

03:15We normally ride in a staggered formation so that in case when we take a turn or, you

03:19know, when we want to move around, you don't hit the other rider who is on your side or

03:26who is behind.

03:28Okay.

03:29And also riding as a group, we have a very systematic, you know, group.

03:36So you have the route team that takes care of the route, that takes care of the traffic

03:44when you're riding so that, you know, the rest of the group members ride safely.

03:50Other thing about riding as a group is in case your bike breaks down, in case you have

03:56an accident, there's always someone with you.

03:59Okay.

04:00You are not left alone.

04:02Your bike breaks down.

04:03Okay.

04:04We always stop, we'll check.

04:07The rest of the group will move ahead.

04:10One or two of the senior members will stay back with you till the recovery guy comes,

04:15picks up bike and we are made sure that, you know, we are safe.

04:22So that's a great thing about, you know, being in a group and all the motorcycle groups,

04:29we all support each other when it comes to causes like our, when it's our group's turn

04:35to, you know, do the breast cancer awareness ride, the other motorcycle comes and support

04:40us.

04:41Some motorcycle groups, they support autism and they do a variety.

04:45We go and support, you know.

04:48So there are a lot of brotherhood and camaraderie, sisterhood among bikers.

04:56The moment I know, okay, you're a biker and we meet, it's like you're friends, you know.

05:03The love that we share for riding just brings us close instantly and we bond.

05:13In 2015, I was looking for a new challenge in my life, something that I had never done

05:23before, something that scares me a bit, challenged me a bit and I thought about motorcycling.

05:32It was a completely new world for me.

05:36I didn't know any bikers, I never had any biker friends, so it wasn't something that

05:41was familiar or in my life around me.

05:47So I started with lessons, I got my license and since then it's become a passion, more

05:58than a passion I would say, it's become part of my life and part of my family's life as

06:03well now.

06:06Ever since I was young, motorcycles and biking scared me.

06:12I was a paramedic for a while and I had picked up a lot of dead bikers on the road.

06:19So it was kind of a red line for me that I wouldn't cross, I would never ride a bike,

06:24I would never become a biker, I wouldn't ride with someone either.

06:28And because I wanted something challenging, I decided to, you know, find the most scary

06:34thing I could find and go for it.

06:38And that's what happened.

06:40So I became part of the Harley-Davidson group and not only that, I became part of the committee,

06:48first as a paramedic and then in 2018 I became the director of the Harley-Davidson chapter.

06:55And then in 2021 I became president of the Hogg GCC Council, which is a council gathering

07:03all the chapters of the GCC, like Dubai chapter, Abu Dhabi chapter, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait,

07:09Qatar, Oman.

07:11So all the chapters of the GCC work together within one council and in 2021 I became president

07:18of that council.

07:19I'm really very proud of it because of all the support.

07:22It's not very frequent that you find female leaders in the motorcycling world and it was

07:30just another challenge that I wanted to take on.

07:34Riding, well anyone who rides a motorcycle can know the feeling of being free, of feeling

07:40the wind in your face and of the freedom that you feel on your bike.

07:46But it's not just about riding, you know, it's about the community that you build around

07:50you and this is what makes the Harley bikers different than any other bikers because anyone

07:56can buy a bike and can ride it.

07:58But to be part of a bigger group, of a bigger community, all around the world, wherever

08:02I go, with my logo on my vest, with the Harley Owners Group logo, you become part of a family

08:10no matter in what country you are.

08:13As a director of the Harley Owners Group in Abu Dhabi, we obviously focus a lot on safety.

08:20This is something we do not compromise on, we have a lot of rules.

08:24For example, we do not allow children on the bikes during official rides, we do not allow

08:31anyone who is not wearing the safety gear or flip-flops or shorts or riding without

08:38a helmet.

08:39So we have a lot of strict rules but I think this is what makes me and everyone around

08:44me safe.

08:46And luckily Harley bikers mostly understand that I'm not just being difficult, it's just

08:53for their safety and for our own.

08:57This is what keeps us going and what keeps us enjoying more adventures safely.

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