In Full Throttle: Two Female Bikers On What The Open Roads, Places And Journeys Taught Them

Final Up to date:March 08, 2026, 22:50 IST

This Ladies’s Day, meet the ladies riders turning the throttle on- from world excursions to racetracks, they share how the open street formed braveness, life classes and self-discovery.

Two such riders, separated by geography and age however united by the identical intuition for freedom, are Candida Louis and Darshana Sasane.(Picture: The Press Reporter)

When the Indian ladies’s cricket workforce lifted the 2025 World Cup below the management of Harmanpreet Kaur, it felt like a type of lengthy overdue moments in sport when persistence lastly met recognition. The victory wasn’t nearly a trophy; it was a reminder that ladies have lengthy been mastering arenas that have been as soon as thought of another person’s territory.

The identical quiet shift is unfolding within the high-altitude silence of Himalayan roads and within the golden hush of Rajasthan’s dunes, the roar of an engine can really feel like probably the most intimate dialog with the panorama. For too lengthy, that sound belonged nearly completely to males—leather-based jackets, lone wolves, the open street as a masculine ceremony.

But a brand new era of riders is quietly shifting that narrative. They’re engineers who left workplace desks, younger racers competing with males twice their age, and daughters impressed by moms who refused to simply accept boundaries.

Two such riders, separated by geography and age however united by the identical intuition for freedom, are Candida Louis and Darshana Sasane.

Candida Louis: Driving Past the Map

Candida Louis grew up in Hubli, a city in southern India the place motorcycling was a part of on a regular basis life however hardly ever a profession path for ladies. Her earliest recollections should not of lecture rooms or playgrounds however of sitting on the gasoline tank of her father’s motorbike, gripping the handlebars as if steering the world.

These childhood rides quietly formed her future. Bikes, she says, all the time felt like freedom. As she grew older, the sensation turned much less about transport and extra about motion, curiosity, and independence.

After shifting to Bengaluru, Louis labored at massive know-how companies together with Oracle and Infosys. The job was secure however the routine by no means fairly match. Two hours of commuting every day and lengthy hours in workplace cubicles left her staring out of home windows imagining roads that stretched far past town.

In 2015 she took a three-month sabbatical and rode throughout India. The expertise modified every part.

After returning briefly to complete her discover interval, she left company life and went again on the street. What started as a home journey slowly expanded into one thing far bigger. Driving her Bajaj Dominar, Louis has now travelled solo throughout greater than forty nations.

Bike journey, she says, modifications how a spot reveals itself. “You’re feeling the temperature change as you climb a mountain go. You odor the forests, the ocean, the rain on the street. You cease extra usually, discuss to individuals, and spot villages you would possibly in any other case drive previous.”

The machine forces a sure intimacy with geography. Each kilometre is earned. Ask her about unforgettable locations and he or she shortly factors to Spiti Valley in India, the place the panorama feels nearly lunar, and to Australia, a rustic she considers one of many world’s most underrated using locations. Eire, too, stays a favorite. Its coastal roads, sudden rain and dramatic cliffs make each trip really feel cinematic.

However the street has additionally taught her one thing extra private. Confidence, she believes, grows by expertise. The primary journey is all the time the toughest. But as soon as you start travelling alone, you realise the world is commonly kinder than worry suggests.

Darshana Sasane: Racing Forward of the Pack

If Louis represents endurance journey, Darshana Sasane embodies pace. At simply twenty-two, Sasane has already constructed a fame in Indian motorsports. In 2024 she was topped India’s quickest girl in flat observe racing, a self-discipline that includes skidding bikes round a round grime observe with out utilizing entrance brakes.

The class was open. Many of the rivals have been males. Sasane didn’t develop up round racing circuits or skilled teaching. Her first inspiration was a lot nearer to dwelling: her mom.

As a toddler she watched her mom trip bikes, one thing she hardly ever noticed different ladies do. That picture stayed along with her. Decided to study, she started practising secretly on a small scooter close to her home, rolling it down a slope with out keys simply to grasp steadiness and throttle management.

Ultimately she persuaded her mother and father to let her trip correctly. When she first tried flat observe racing, the connection felt quick.

“On that mud observe, when the bike skids and also you maintain the pace, it appears like flying,” she says.

The feeling, she explains, was much less about competitors and extra about intuition. The bike and the rider transfer as one.

Her journey since that title has taken surprising turns. She now works as knowledgeable stunt rider in movie productions and has carried out stunts for Alia Bhatt within the upcoming film Alpha. Earlier this yr she additionally carried out alongside worldwide stunt riders Rok Bagoros and Sara Lazzarini, athletes she as soon as watched on-line whereas educating herself tips throughout lockdown.

Assembly them felt surreal. For years she practised alone in quiet corners behind her constructing, repeating manoeuvres till they labored. Now she sends movies of her rides to the identical riders who as soon as impressed her.

What connects riders like Louis and Sasane is just not merely the fun of pace or distance. It’s the act of selecting a path that after appeared closed.

For a lot of ladies in India, travelling or using alone nonetheless carries hesitation. Security considerations, household expectations, and cultural assumptions linger.

Louis believes the reply is just not grand gestures however small beginnings.

Begin with brief rides. Belief intuition. Enable expertise to interchange worry.

Sasane echoes the identical philosophy in a unique language of movement. Ability grows by follow, she says. Confidence follows.

The motorbike turns into each instructor and companion. On this Ladies’s Day, their tales are much less about riot and extra about growth. The map has not modified. The roads are the identical as they all the time have been however the riders have.

And more and more, they’re ladies who refuse to attend for permission earlier than twisting the throttle and heading ahead.

But a brand new era of riders is quietly shifting that narrative. They’re engineers who left workplace desks, younger racers competing with males twice their age, and daughters impressed by moms who refused to simply accept boundaries.

Two such riders, separated by geography and age however united by the identical intuition for freedom, are Candida Louis and Darshana Sasane.

Candida Louis: Driving Past the Map

Candida Louis grew up in Hubli, a city in southern India the place motorcycling was a part of on a regular basis life however hardly ever a profession path for ladies. Her earliest recollections should not of lecture rooms or playgrounds however of sitting on the gasoline tank of her father’s motorbike, gripping the handlebars as if steering the world.

These childhood rides quietly formed her future. Bikes, she says, all the time felt like freedom. As she grew older, the sensation turned much less about transport and extra about motion, curiosity, and independence.

After shifting to Bengaluru, Louis labored at massive know-how companies together with Oracle and Infosys. The job was secure however the routine by no means fairly match. Two hours of commuting every day and lengthy hours in workplace cubicles left her staring out of home windows imagining roads that stretched far past town.

In 2015 she took a three-month sabbatical and rode throughout India. The expertise modified every part.

After returning briefly to complete her discover interval, she left company life and went again on the street. What started as a home journey slowly expanded into one thing far bigger. Driving her Bajaj Dominar, Louis has now travelled solo throughout greater than forty nations.

Bike journey, she says, modifications how a spot reveals itself. “You’re feeling the temperature change as you climb a mountain go. You odor the forests, the ocean, the rain on the street. You cease extra usually, discuss to individuals, and spot villages you would possibly in any other case drive previous.”

The machine forces a sure intimacy with geography. Each kilometre is earned. Ask her about unforgettable locations and he or she shortly factors to Spiti Valley in India, the place the panorama feels nearly lunar, and to Australia, a rustic she considers one of many world’s most underrated using locations. Eire, too, stays a favorite. Its coastal roads, sudden rain and dramatic cliffs make each trip really feel cinematic.

However the street has additionally taught her one thing extra private. Confidence, she believes, grows by expertise. The primary journey is all the time the toughest. But as soon as you start travelling alone, you realise the world is commonly kinder than worry suggests.

Darshana Sasane: Racing Forward of the Pack

If Louis represents endurance journey, Darshana Sasane embodies pace. At simply twenty-two, Sasane has already constructed a fame in Indian motorsports. In 2024 she was topped India’s quickest girl in flat observe racing, a self-discipline that includes skidding bikes round a round grime observe with out utilizing entrance brakes.

The class was open. Many of the rivals have been males. Sasane didn’t develop up round racing circuits or skilled teaching. Her first inspiration was a lot nearer to dwelling: her mom.

As a toddler she watched her mom trip bikes, one thing she hardly ever noticed different ladies do. That picture stayed along with her. Decided to study, she started practising secretly on a small scooter close to her home, rolling it down a slope with out keys simply to grasp steadiness and throttle management.

Ultimately she persuaded her mother and father to let her trip correctly. When she first tried flat observe racing, the connection felt quick.

“On that mud observe, when the bike skids and also you maintain the pace, it appears like flying,” she says.

The feeling, she explains, was much less about competitors and extra about intuition. The bike and the rider transfer as one.

Her journey since that title has taken surprising turns. She now works as knowledgeable stunt rider in movie productions and has carried out stunts for Alia Bhatt within the upcoming film Alpha. Earlier this yr she additionally carried out alongside worldwide stunt riders Rok Bagoros and Sara Lazzarini, athletes she as soon as watched on-line whereas educating herself tips throughout lockdown.

Assembly them felt surreal. For years she practised alone in quiet corners behind her constructing, repeating manoeuvres till they labored. Now she sends movies of her rides to the identical riders who as soon as impressed her.

What connects riders like Louis and Sasane is just not merely the fun of pace or distance. It’s the act of selecting a path that after appeared closed.

For a lot of ladies in India, travelling or using alone nonetheless carries hesitation. Security considerations, household expectations, and cultural assumptions linger.

Louis believes the reply is just not grand gestures however small beginnings.

Begin with brief rides. Belief intuition. Enable expertise to interchange worry.

Sasane echoes the identical philosophy in a unique language of movement. Ability grows by follow, she says. Confidence follows.

The motorbike turns into each instructor and companion. On this Ladies’s Day, their tales are much less about riot and extra about growth. The map has not modified. The roads are the identical as they all the time have been however the riders have.

And more and more, they’re ladies who refuse to attend for permission earlier than twisting the throttle and heading ahead.

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