Entrepreneur Atul Pratap Singh has an aim. The Ghaziabad-resident, who is an avid explorer and dynamic adventurer, wants to make India a safe country for bikers. With this in mind, he co-founded Roaring Power Machines (RPM) India, a leading motorbike community, in May 2017. RPM doesn’t just host biking rides but also educates riders on the importance of traffic rules.
The two-year-old group has 12 chapters and 2,000 members. Chapter-level meets are held every weekend and the annual meet takes place on the Foundation Day – July 4. In a tete-a-tete, Singh elaborates on India’s biking scene. Excerpts:
Does India have a biking culture?
Of course. And it is growing. With infrastructural reforms such as motorable highways and state roads, bikers are getting more miles to cover and explore new territories. Many motorcycle manufacturers are introducing affordable and technically advanced bikes. Moreover, Indian companies are manufacturing affordable safety gears. But traffic rules and regulations are still very choppy in India. The biggest culprit still is that anyone can get a driving licence which is worrying.
Why did you feel the need to start RPM?
Various city-level groups have been doing Sunday rides for fun. I noticed that these groups are like a social circle where people meet. There is no culture of educating or informing riders about the rules or safety gears. That is where the idea of building RPM clicked. I got together with some like-minded bikers and created WhatsApp groups and other social media profiles and started adding riders.
With many riders aligning with our vision, we started weekend and special occasion rides where riders meet, exchange their experiences and influence new-age riders. We talk about everything related to rules, machines, safety gears, riding routes, dos and don’ts and how we can impact society while enjoying our passion. Today, we have chapters in Delhi, Dehradun, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Pune, Shillong, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Lucknow, Trivandrum and Kochi.
Tell us about your expeditions.
We have an annual expedition, Biker Salute Ride, which is our way of paying tribute to soldiers. Our Turtle Tide Ride is supported by the Delhi Traffic Police and Gurugram Traffic Police, where super-bikers (bikes over 600 cc) ride their machines well within the speed limits in the city.
We also did the True Leaders Ride, where we requested female riders from the city to ride and lead a group of over 150 bikers. The idea was to demonstrate that women are true leaders.
We also ran a campaign Ghoorna Band Kar by creating and distributing these stickers free of cost to women for using on their helmets, bags and mobiles. Before the 2019 General Elections, we did ‘S’Elect Ride to encourage the first time voters to go out and vote.
Which has been the most challenging ride so far?
The toughest one was Biker Salute 2.0 edition. The ride was flagged off at 4.00am from India Gate by the BSF officials. Twenty five super-bikers had to cover over 600km from (Delhi to Attari Border) in six hours. We also played a friendly cricket match with the BSF officials at the border and later give a special Rev Salute during the beating retreat ceremony.
Any safety tips for bikers...
Invest in safety gears. Buy a comfortable bike. Understand your bike thoroughly, its acceleration and braking capabilities. Take good care of it. Be very careful on roads else you may have to pay for other’s mistake as well. Follow traffic rules and don’t ride like Batman.