Back in the saddle

With 90-plus motorcycle clubs, Chennai’s biking community is steadily growing. Meet the men and women who are inspiring more people to discover a love for the open road

Bullet Bose has fond memories of his glory days at the Sholavaram track when he raced on his Lambretta scooter from 1968. The septuagenarian and Chennai racing legend Subash Chandra Bose (affectionately known as Bullet Bose for his affinity with the Royal Enfield Bullet) states that he has been riding for over 50 years.

A regular on the Sholavaram Airfield circuit and later at the Madras Motor Cycle Club at  Irungattukottai, Sriperumbudur, Bose has been the most decorated rider through the decades. “Racing those days was so different. I come from a conservative family so we didn’t have any motorcycles, but my friends lent me my first bike, a Java 250 cc, in 1971 and then I graduated to the Royal Enfield Bullet and won my first race at Sholavaram,” he says.

Bose is enjoying being back on the road, riding alongside members of the Beast Riders Motorcycle club, Reborn Riders and Madras Bulls Motorcycling club since 2005, just some among the 90-plus motorcycle clubs in the city.  “After racing for so many years I started my second innings when I joined the Madras Bulls riding club,” he says, adding, “I like riding with these groups since it keeps me young, and the other riders say it motivates them when they see a 70 year old on the road.” 

Started in April 2002, the Madras Bulls Motorcycling Club, one of the earliest riding clubs in Chennai, has a well-known legacy of its trips on Royal Enfields. David Ebenezer, moderator at the club has been on the road for 17 years. He talks about the shared love for the open road. “Riding is a jolt of passion that brings calm and admits the chaos,” he says, adding, “ We have about 100 members in the main group and there are about 1,200 in the newbies group. The newbies are folks who have the interest, but haven’t made it to the main group yet.”

Charting the trajectory of riding and the advent of riding clubs in the city, Raju Eashwaran,  an actor and producer, in Chennai, says that although he is more of a solo rider, “because it challenges me and I can choose my route, and how long I stay at a place etc,” the rise of riding clubs in the city has been good for the sport. “They are great because of the discipline, emphasis on safety, and the support team, and camaraderie among the riders. When I was younger we had a group of riders with different motorcycles, but now there are brand specific groups in the city as well.”

Biker Babez, India’s first motorcycle club for women, started in 2013 in Pallavaram, for instance, focusses on riding for a cause. So far the 35 active members, who ride any geared bike of choice, have participated in blood donation camps, tree plantation drives and local community projects in addition to regular rides. Riding for a cause, to bring awareness to harassment against women, Soundari Sindy, the founder and president, covered 16,210 kilometres through 29 Indian states and five Union territories over 42 days in 2019, on her Suzuki Gixxer SF150.

Riding through her neighbourhood since the age of 10 on her family Bajaj scooter, Sindy recollects how the biking scene was not open or easy for women in the early 2000s. “In 2012, there were very few female racers, and forging a career in motorsport was unheard of, for a woman. But I truly got into my groove after 2015-16, with the support of my family, and husband Ananthraj P, who is a fellow biker. We started AS Motorsports, a motorsport team and training academy, and now parents want us to train their daughters to ride professionally. It’s a great transition,” explains Sindy, now a veteran with her Yamaha YZF R15 V3 at drag and circuit racing at the Kari Speedway in Coimbatore and at the Madras Motor Race Track, Irungattukottai.