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00:00My name is Richa, I'm a part of, a member of Harley group, owners group in Dubai, HAWK
00:17Dubai.
00:18I'm also their committee member.
00:20I've been riding Harley since 2019.
00:25And the model that I ride is Street Glide 2021.
00:30It's a 430 kg weight, with over 1,800 cc.
00:37I love, love my Harley.
00:39I've always wanted to ride a Harley from the time I was, you know, from the time I can
00:46remember.
00:47Because when I used to see it in movies, in the magazines, when I see these bikers, especially
00:53the Harley bikers, you know, cruising down the highways with the hair flying and without
01:01a care in the world, that freedom, that power, I really wanted that.
01:08With time, it, that, that wants, that desire to own a Harley never waned.
01:17It grew with time.
01:20And there was a period of, you know, a phase where I decided, it's the time I need to get
01:27my bike.
01:28So my husband was scared because it's a big bike and, you know, in Dubai, the highways
01:36are huge and the vehicles move at very great speed.
01:42So he was worried, but I said, no, I have to have it.
01:47And he said, I know, you are not asking for permission, you are just telling me.
01:52So even before I got my license, I got the bike.
01:56I told the dealer, you keep the bike till I get the license.
02:00So I went back, got my license, started riding my Harley.
02:05And you know, I always wanted, you know, to feel how the birds must be feeling when we
02:12fly.
02:13You know, whenever I used to stand on, you know, on the balcony and look down and I see
02:18this, you know, sometimes the, the sea, I would say to myself, how it would feel to
02:24just, you know, fly through that, fly over the mountains, fly over the water, how that
02:30must feel.
02:32And riding a Harley gave me that feeling.
02:34I'm like, wow, this is how the birds must be feeling.
02:40It's a powerful feeling, the achievement that you feel that, you know, okay, this was my
02:47dream and finally you, you live your dream.
02:52That was amazing.
02:54What I liked about is as a group, we stress on training, we stress on riding with gears,
03:03we stress on riding safely.
03:06So we follow the safety rules, like the distance between, you know, two riders, how we should
03:13ride in a formation.
03:15We normally ride in a staggered formation so that in case when we take a turn or, you
03:19know, when we want to move around, you don't hit the other rider who is on your side or
03:26who is behind.
03:28Okay.
03:29And also riding as a group, we have a very systematic, you know, group.
03:36So you have the route team that takes care of the route, that takes care of the traffic
03:44when you're riding so that, you know, the rest of the group members ride safely.
03:50Other thing about riding as a group is in case your bike breaks down, in case you have
03:56an accident, there's always someone with you.
03:59Okay.
04:00You are not left alone.
04:02Your bike breaks down.
04:03Okay.
04:04We always stop, we'll check.
04:07The rest of the group will move ahead.
04:10One or two of the senior members will stay back with you till the recovery guy comes,
04:15picks up bike and we are made sure that, you know, we are safe.
04:22So that's a great thing about, you know, being in a group and all the motorcycle groups,
04:29we all support each other when it comes to causes like our, when it's our group's turn
04:35to, you know, do the breast cancer awareness ride, the other motorcycle comes and support
04:40us.
04:41Some motorcycle groups, they support autism and they do a variety.
04:45We go and support, you know.
04:48So there are a lot of brotherhood and camaraderie, sisterhood among bikers.
04:56The moment I know, okay, you're a biker and we meet, it's like you're friends, you know.
05:03The love that we share for riding just brings us close instantly and we bond.
05:13In 2015, I was looking for a new challenge in my life, something that I had never done
05:23before, something that scares me a bit, challenged me a bit and I thought about motorcycling.
05:32It was a completely new world for me.
05:36I didn't know any bikers, I never had any biker friends, so it wasn't something that
05:41was familiar or in my life around me.
05:47So I started with lessons, I got my license and since then it's become a passion, more
05:58than a passion I would say, it's become part of my life and part of my family's life as
06:03well now.
06:06Ever since I was young, motorcycles and biking scared me.
06:12I was a paramedic for a while and I had picked up a lot of dead bikers on the road.
06:19So it was kind of a red line for me that I wouldn't cross, I would never ride a bike,
06:24I would never become a biker, I wouldn't ride with someone either.
06:28And because I wanted something challenging, I decided to, you know, find the most scary
06:34thing I could find and go for it.
06:38And that's what happened.
06:40So I became part of the Harley-Davidson group and not only that, I became part of the committee,
06:48first as a paramedic and then in 2018 I became the director of the Harley-Davidson chapter.
06:55And then in 2021 I became president of the Hogg GCC Council, which is a council gathering
07:03all the chapters of the GCC, like Dubai chapter, Abu Dhabi chapter, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait,
07:09Qatar, Oman.
07:11So all the chapters of the GCC work together within one council and in 2021 I became president
07:18of that council.
07:19I'm really very proud of it because of all the support.
07:22It's not very frequent that you find female leaders in the motorcycling world and it was
07:30just another challenge that I wanted to take on.
07:34Riding, well anyone who rides a motorcycle can know the feeling of being free, of feeling
07:40the wind in your face and of the freedom that you feel on your bike.
07:46But it's not just about riding, you know, it's about the community that you build around
07:50you and this is what makes the Harley bikers different than any other bikers because anyone
07:56can buy a bike and can ride it.
07:58But to be part of a bigger group, of a bigger community, all around the world, wherever
08:02I go, with my logo on my vest, with the Harley Owners Group logo, you become part of a family
08:10no matter in what country you are.
08:13As a director of the Harley Owners Group in Abu Dhabi, we obviously focus a lot on safety.
08:20This is something we do not compromise on, we have a lot of rules.
08:24For example, we do not allow children on the bikes during official rides, we do not allow
08:31anyone who is not wearing the safety gear or flip-flops or shorts or riding without
08:38a helmet.
08:39So we have a lot of strict rules but I think this is what makes me and everyone around
08:44me safe.
08:46And luckily Harley bikers mostly understand that I'm not just being difficult, it's just
08:53for their safety and for our own.
08:57This is what keeps us going and what keeps us enjoying more adventures safely.