Syed Shamoon Ahmad Hamadani, a 20-year-old motorcycle biker from Srinagar, has created a record of sorts by travelling to and across 25 Indian states in the last two years. He has also done solo rides to Bhutan, Nepal and Kanyakumari.
In May this year, he represented India at the ‘Phuket Bike Week’ in Thailand, where he extended an invitation to other bikers to visit India and explore its beauty.
Brighter Kashmir caught up with Hamadani to understand the origin of his passion for motorbike riding, which he has been pursuing since 2021.
It was two years ago that his father, a biking enthusiast himself and now an educationist, presented Shamoon with a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 as an 18th birthday gift.
Shamoon initially used his bike to go to his tuition center but then transformed himself into a motorbike enthusiast.
"I have undertaken a number of solo rides. I have completed the All India Ride, the Bhutan Ride, the Nepal Ride and also travelled up to the India's border with Myanmar. I am very passionate about bike riding,” Shamoon told Brighter Kashmir.
He owns three motorcycles including a Royal Enfield Thunderbolt 500 cruiser bike, GT-56 and a KTM RC 200 racing bike RC-200.
“I will soon own a foreign manufactured middle-weight adventure touring motorcycle, the Benelli 502 TRK, with which I intend to travel to six more countries,” Shamoon said.
Shamoon shares his passion for motorbike riding with his father, who he says explored Ladakh during his teenage years. This shared enthusiasm for biking helped Shamoon get his family’s support for pursuing his passion.
"I developed an interest in motorbike riding from my father, who was a biker as well, and is now an educationist. He motivated me to take up this adventure sport because he felt and feared that if I didn't take up a sport or some sort of physical activity, I might be lured towards drugs, anti-depressants and even think of committing suicide like some Kashmiri youth are doing or have done in the past," Shamoon said.
Believing in the dictum that 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy', he said, “I feel it is an absolute must to be involved in extracurricular activities, whether it's football, or martial arts, or cricket. We need to take time out and go explore the world. I believe if we do this global exploring regularly, we will emerge as good ambassadors of Jammu and Kashmir”.
"The youth of Kashmir are not focussed on adventure sports like motorbiking. I can see a number of youth who are putting the lives of their parents and loved ones at risk by getting involved in bike accidents, misusing their hard earned money, losing their lives, etc because they don't ride responsibly. The J&K Traffic Police gives all of us a lot of support, so why can't we follow traffic rules,” he said.
"We must follow the traffic rules, use safety gears and drive with caution. We should not drive without a license, we need to come out with driving safety campaigns, we need to drive with adults if we are untrained, etc," Shamoon said.
"I have just completed a to and fro bike ride between Kashmir and Kanyakumari. I wanted to go to West Bengal, but because of climatic disturbances, I was not able to complete the ride. I have done the rides to Bhutan and Nepal. My friend, Richard, invited me to visit Thailand to take part in The Bikers' Week; it was a mega event involving the participation of bikers from 40 countries, there was a crowd of 40,000 in attendance," he said.
Terming it a proud moment for him, Shamoon said, “I could only reach the Myanmar border. I could not go further because the border had been sealed. I went to Thailand by air and represented my country and invited bikers from all over the world to visit Kashmir and the rest of India. I told them they must come and explore India's diversity and its natural beauty. It was a very proud moment”.
The ‘Phuket Bike Week’ in Thailand was organised on the theme of "Save Water".
Urging youngsters of Kashmir to ride responsibly, Shamoon said, “If I can do it at the age of 18 when I started bike riding, others can do it also. Ride responsibly, don't do stunts and make your parents and the nation proud”.