Feeling adventurous and want to kick up some dust? Bengaluru’s first off-road motorbike park is gaining quite a lot of importance among adrenaline junkies in the city, giving all dare devils a space to showcase their talent.
The sport which is all about riding a heavy bike on a dirt track which includes hurdles like rock formations, navigating through pools of muddy water and even zooming on wet earth, is creating quite a stir! We talk to a few adrenaline junkies from the city about their passion for dirt bikes, and the scope for the sport in the city.
Actively trying to improve the off-road motor bike scene in the country, Nilesh Dhumal, an active off road motorbiker says, “It is one of the toughest sports there is.” The sport which involves biking on mud seems to have gained quite a lot of momentum in the city.
“It is definitely more physically demanding because you have to have your balance as well as directions in place. It is also quite dangerous as one has to literally drive off the road onto mud which is quite tricky. Intense training is definitely required to ace the sport,” says the national level champ, who currently runs Big Rock Motopark, Bengaluru’s first off road motorbike park in the city.
Though the country is not big on the sport, a number of youngsters are passionate about navigating in muddy pools of water, riding on rock formations and skidding on wet earth. “I have always been fascinated with biking, ever since I was a kid and my passion grew with me. When my grandfather bought me my first bicycle, I preferred to ride on non-tarred parts of the road,” recalls Joshua Promod, an off road biking trainer.
“When we are young, we don’t really care about the repercussions and dangers, but now thinking back, it’s quite dangerous and requires a lot of training,” says the adrenaline enthusiast who is happiest when on wheels! “There is not much coverage given to the sport, which is what is hindering it’s growth, I think. It picks up from time to time when depicted in films and TV shows, though they aren’t entirely in the right light,” adds the adrenaline junkie.
The dirt rail in the city, which was initially a part of the forested land and was set up by CS Santosh, is causing quite a stir among the younger daredevils in the city. “I used to love doing stunts on my bicycle but now that I’m of legal age, so, I finally get to follow my passion,” says Tanmayy Aacharia, a youngster from the city. “As opposed to what people think, it’s not a ‘wannabe daredevil’ sport because it is actually dangerous.
Take your eyes off the path or lose focus for a second and you are sure to crash, considering the path isn’t smooth and you have to ride on a heavy bike on barren land, where you can skid or run into trees. I’d also advice people starting out to train on lighter bikes as opposed to what seasoned bikers use, as it is obviously harder to maintain a heavier vehicle especially at such high speeds,” he opines.
