At the semi-finals of Crossmandu, a bike race at Tinkune, Kathmandu, he was leading when suddenly he felt another bike pushing him and lost control of his bike and fell down. In a high speed race, the person behind him couldn’t manage to slam the breaks on time and he felt his own teammate’s bike go over his legs.
This is a story of 21-year-old Bibek Hyomba, who has been indirectly involved with performing stunts ever since he finished his SLC. Although he didn’t have a bike of his own, he immediately made his license so that he could join his home team Ryderz of Bhaktapur (ROB) to learn a few stunts himself.
“It has been about five years that I have been with the team. I used to see them practice and I knew that one day I wanted to be like them,” he said. He only recently got his scooter and started practicing professionally. When the Stunt Battle was announced he entered in the Novice category, in which he eventually won second place, with his scooter in a battle dominated by bikes; despite the doctors urging him not to take part at all.
The concept of freestyle riding is a fairly new one in the country, but there are groups of people who have come together to form teams and practice to hone their techniques. Riders Unified is one such team that even gives stunt classes to people who have a vehicle and license.
“I had no idea about stunts when I first went to watch Racemandu, a yearly motorcycle racing event organized by Nepal Automobile Sports Association. It was there that found out that I could do so much with my scooter,” said fashion designing student Aagya Khanal, 18. Having witnessed it all, she knew she wanted to be one of those people and decided to enroll for the stunt classes provided by Riders Unified. At first she was apprehensive about it but when she found out that safety was of utmost importance and everyone wore their riding gears while practicing, she was very excited to begin her lessons.
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“When I first joined, I had to purchase a knee pad, an elbow pad and a full helmet which has saved me from countless bruises,” she said. It has now been one and half years since she began her journey and she knows she will never look back again. She has done around five stunt shows and has traveled to Pokhara for an event organized on women’s day as well. She secured third place in the 2016 National Gymkhana competition as well.
Inspired by an article she read in the newspaper, Barsha Basnet, 21, too began her journey by enrolling in the classes provided by Riders Unified. She has been doing stunts for three and a half years now and has managed to leave a huge mark for women in the field. She does stunts on both her scooter and her bike, which is a KTM Duke 2.
Once you have that fierce passion for something, it is hard to let go, Bibek said as he continued with his story. But he loved the adrenaline rush it gave him and so when he picked up his bike, he felt no pain. He completed the final two laps and although he came in third at the semi-finals of Crossmandu, he wasn’t able to qualify for the finals. When he heard the results is when the pain really hit him and he rushed to the doctor to find that he had a ligament tear.
“I was told that muscles don’t heal as easily as bones do and was forced to take two months bed rest. My legs, of course, have never been the same again. Even when I practice, sometimes I get severe muscle cramps, but not for a single moment have I thought about giving up this lifestyle,” he said.
Bibek isn’t the only one whose passion has made him stick to this lifestyle. Suraj Danegulu, 25 and a bike mechanic at a Yamaha showroom, too has broken both his legs within a span of four years. Both the times he was doing his regular practice, although rigorously, and trying out new moves to up his level. “The world was upside down, my motorbike was on top of me and when my teammates tried to pull me up I just felt this bad pain,” he says, the memory of the pain making him shudder.
But despite his injuries he never once thought about giving up. “I knew that wasn’t the end of my riding career, and I knew it because I wouldn’t let it be the end. I still have a long way to go,” he said. Even though he and so many others have spent a long time in the field, they are only just laying the groundwork so that there is more scope for the newer generation of motorcycle enthusiasts.
Although his leg was in a cast, he would still show up for practice and instruct people from the sidelines. And although he wasn’t supposed to, he would also practice a few moves. Trying to defend himself, he smiled and said, “When there is an interest this intense, there is nothing that can hold you back, not even a broken leg.” He has taken part in many events, the most recent being Stunt Battle where he secured first place in the expert category.
Barsha fully agrees with what he says and shared that when she came in third at the 2013 Divacup, she felt like she had the potential to become the best and since then has won all the four National Gymkhana competitions that have been organized. Getting in touch with her feminine side, she also has been doing a little modeling but she says that she would give it up in a heartbeat. She recalls that since she joined the fashion industry, countless of her own idols have come up to her and praised her work. “I felt really humbled and it made me believe that I have what it takes to contribute as a woman in this field,” she said.
When asked about parental support, everyone except Barsha had the same answer. They were all not that enthusiastic about the idea of performing stunts on bikes. It wasn’t till they started winning competitions that the parents started coming around. Aagya reveals that she would tell her parents she was going to TOFEL or her fashion designing classes and go for practice instead. When her siblings told her she shouldn’t do this, she knew that there was no hope for the parents to understand. Slowly, however, she started showing them pictures and her cousins would come in and congratulate not only her but her parents as well on her doing something so different.
For Barsha, things weren’t as tough. “I have an elder sister so when I was born my father wanted to raise me as a son. It turned out great for me because I love sports,” she said. As she was always sporty, her father encouraged her adventurous side. Although her family tells her to be careful, they have never told her to not pursue her passion. They actually ask her when her next race is scheduled, how the practices are going, and if they can come watch any of her events. “They look so proud whenever someone calls me ‘stunt girl’ in our family,” she concluded.
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