10,000 km for a cause

Bengaluru’s 24-year-old Yogesh Kumar K.M. is on a 10,000 km trip on his motorcycle to spread awareness about women’s safety. Starting on August 30 at Bengaluru, Yogesh visited Kanyakumari, reached Vijayawada via Madurai and Chennai and then Hyderabad on Monday. He has named his trip ROAR — Revolution of Anti Rape.

Yogesh rode 1,620 km in just 22 hours 28 minutes on his motorcycle in July 2014 and is recognised to be one of the world’s toughest riders by the Indian Bikers Association. He has even tattooed his record on his wrist.

During his brief halt with local riders, Yogesh shared the reason he took up this long journey. “I was shocked by the way a young woman was raped in New Delhi a few years ago. Then a few special Acts to control crime against women were introduced but nothing changed. If this continues there will come a day when we will be scared to send our sisters out, even during the day. I don’t have any siblings but I can do this for the women around me,” he says.

 “I wish to see a country where women are respected. On my way I am getting petitions signed from people. I shall submit them with the Ministry of Law and Administration, the Prime Minister and the President when I reach New Delhi,” adds Yogesh, a business developer.

“I am smitten with motorcycles and often go on long-distance trips,” he adds. Yogesh will visit  Nagpur, Agra, New Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and then return to Bengaluru via Punjab, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai in the next 20 days.

“Convincing my parents was a tough job. During the trip, I keep updating my dad frequently,” he says adding, “The highlight of the trip has been meeting other riders and interacting with people on the road, explaining the need for protecting women.”