HYDERABAD: Polavarapu Vineel Raj treasures his bike. An avid biker, the 21-year-old BCom student learnt how to ride a bike on his own, and has been practising stunts from a young age.
Speaking of his love for biking and stunts, Vineel says he used to cycle 15 km to a place where people performed stunts. “One day I thought, why should I not try doing stunts myself. So I bought a second-hand bike and started practising on it,” he says. Now, he is an expert at stoppies, wheelies burnouts and other stunts.
Vineel says he funded his passion by selling his old second-hand bikes at a higher cost. “That is how I made profits and bought better bikes,” he says. He is very cautious of the bike’s condition however. He owns a Pulsar 220 now and makes sure he services it every 20 days. “With this kind of usage, if I don’t get it serviced regularly, it will become useless in a few months,” he says. The way he maintains his bike is probably the reason why he was able to sell his old bikes for a profit.
Biking at a young age did land him in trouble sometimes, he confesses. “A lot of people used to complain to my folks often about how I drive my bike, and my parents did warn me regularly. But biking was an addiction, I could not keep myself from it for a long time,” he says.
After he turned 20, he began using protective gear like helmets and knee pads, on his father’s advice. Speaking of future plans, he says, “I am considering a career in biking, and I am exploring options. Only after charting a perfect plan, will I take it up as a profession.” Though he has been a biker for five years, Vineel still calls himself a learner. “People call me a rider, but I always consider myself a learner.”
— shiva.shanker@newindianexpress.com