Riding Beyond Boundaries: How Women in India Are Reclaiming the Road, One Mile at a Time
Even today, when a woman revs up a motorcycle and hits the road, heads still turn. Some turn with admiration, others with surprise — and a few with that lingering blink of disbelief, like they’ve just seen a unicorn in a leather jacket.
Why the fuss? Is it because society still hasn’t shaken off the old belief that motorcycles are strictly a man’s domain — built for brawn, not balance? Or is it because, for generations, the cultural narrative handed women the pillion seat, not the handlebars?
But something is changing — and it’s loud, bold, and powered by 350cc of roaring defiance.
Kerala’s Quiet Revolution on Two Wheels
In the palm-fringed city of Calicut, a riding movement is rewriting rules and revving up resistance. Meet CRF Women on Wheels, a powerful sub-group of the Calicut Riding Family (CRF) — founded by Fais N in 2016 with one clear goal: to help women swap hesitation for horsepower.
What started as a humble initiative in Calicut’s parks has grown into a full-blown revolution on wheels. Over 1,000 women across India have learned to ride under the CRF banner. And trust us, this isn’t just about learning how to shift gears — it’s about shifting mindsets.
From Pillion to Pilot: Sesharani’s Ride of Liberation
For Sesharani, 30, the road to independence started with a dilemma. A passionate traveler, she’d always depended on her brother and his friends for road trips. But when her brother moved abroad, a question lingered: What now?
“He just said, ‘If you want to go somewhere, gear up, turn on the GPS, and go,’” she recalls. That push sent her on a new path — not just figuratively, but literally.
She joined CRF in 2020. Just four months later, she was already on a multi-day ride from Kasargod to Kanyakumari on her Royal Enfield Classic 350. From time management to road safety, every ride was a classroom, every mistake a lesson, and every mile a milestone.
Discipline was non-negotiable. “By 5 am, the bikes had to be ready. Delaying the ride wasn’t an option,” she shares.
But the ultimate test? Ladakh. Seventeen days of rugged terrain, biting winds, and sky-scraping altitudes. She recalls crashing once, her protective gear absorbing the worst of it. Still, she rode on — with support from the CRF community, and grit stitched into every kilometer.
Weekdays, she’s an IT professional at Deloitte. Weekends? “Booked — either for family, myself, or my bike,” she grins.
Seema’s Second Act: It’s Never Too Late to Ride
At 52, Seema Warrier, a special needs educator, isn’t just riding — she’s blazing a trail.
Her first love affair with bikes started young. But for years, it was just a dream deferred. Then came the pandemic, and with it, a realization: if not now, when?
For her 49th birthday, her husband gifted her a Royal Enfield Meteor 350 — affectionately named Pumpkin. Friends thought she’d lost it. “Buy a car,” they said. “It’s safer.” But Seema knew better. She took Pumpkin for a spin through Wayanad’s hairpin bends, and never looked back.
CRF gave her more than skills — it gave her a sisterhood of riders and the confidence to tackle every roadblock, literal and metaphorical.
In 2023, she suffered a severe wrist fracture after dozing off at the handlebar. Everyone expected her to quit. Instead, she healed, trained, and within three months, she was back on the saddle — riding to Ladakh with the CRF community.
“I may take longer to recover now,” she says with a laugh, “but my passion hasn’t aged a day.”
More Than a Hobby — It’s a Movement
CRF’s founder, Fais, saw the need long before the world caught on. “I noticed women around me hesitated to ride. Not because they couldn’t, but because they’d been told they shouldn’t,” he explains.
So he built a space where that fear could be replaced with freedom. Today, many of the women trained under CRF have become trainers themselves — passing on the torch, one throttle at a time.
The roads of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra now echo with the unmistakable rumble of women taking charge — of their bikes, their journeys, and their stories.
Breaking Bias with Every Ride
From first-time riders to mid-life motorcyclists, every CRF woman carries more than a helmet — she carries a message. That it’s never too late. That strength isn’t gendered. That freedom doesn’t come with a designated driver.
Whether it’s Sesharani scheduling weekend rides between code deployments, or Seema proving age is no barrier to boldness, these women aren’t just riding bikes — they’re rewriting what it means to take control.
As Seema beautifully puts it, “Riding has given me confidence, strength, and a second family. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
And with every mile they cover, they’re not just traveling the country — they’re carving out a road where every woman feels free to ride, explore, and belong.
Let the engines roar. The revolution is on two wheels — and it’s only gaining speed.