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Meet an amazing young mum who is a working professional and a biker too. Shirin Shaikh shares with Mums and stories her sensitive story and about her living life as a free spirited individual.
“My journey of biking began when I was 14, when my feet hardly reached the ground. Yes that’s when I learnt riding a bike which was a 2 stroke Yamaha Rx 100. My maternal uncle (mama) Ayub Khan has played the most important role in my life. He is the one who introduced me with various extra ordinary things like adventure sports, riding a bike, driving a four wheel drive jeep, off roading and most importantly overcoming my fears.
Soon my dad bought a bike for me as soon as I turned 18 and then there was no looking back.
I won’t use the term “professional rider” for myself as riding is my hobby. I work in a software company to earn my living. Over the years, the practice and riding a few thousand km have made me a pro! smile emoticonA good enough rider I would say!
Professional riders earn their living through riding, I have not been fortunate enough to pick this up as a profession, but I am very passionate about riding and that gives me the energy to travel and explore as much as I can.
I am in love with my job. It provides for all my needs and most importantly I can accommodate my passion to ride with this company. They are very supportive and appreciate planned leaves which allow me to travel long distances and explore far off places too.
Yes I am a mommy smile emoticon my son Kabir, will turn 2 in June this year and I feel very proud to be a mum and still manage to travel and explore. Obviously, there are a lot of changes that come about in a woman’s body (physically) and taking up heavy activities and long journeys can be tiring. However I believe, motherhood has made me stronger emotionally
Every woman I have met, be it single or a mom herself has always appreciated and supported me and my passion towards riding despite of having a kid. They give my example to their young children and I love interacting with younger girls and motivate them to follow their dreams.
Being a single parent is not easy. You are already dealing with loneliness and then society has to add up to your difficulty. For me, being a single parent has never stopped me from putting a foot forward towards my goals and I would give a 100% credit to my parents.
They have been supportive in every situation no matter how good or how bad it may be. With the support of your family, you can sail along to a certain extent after which i feel every person deserves to love and be loved! I am keeping my fingers crossed!
I was not very studious while in school and preferred being involved in every possible extra-curricular activity. I played a lot of sports like basketball, athletics, football.
I grew up playing with boys all the time. I had very few friends who were girls and the legacy still continues!
My parents have been a blessing in my life. They never stopped me from any activity i wanted to do – be it choosing my career, my life partner, traveling , NCC , riding a bike and so on.
I have been All India Best Cadet in 2007 during my NCC days and represented Maharashtra in 0.22 riffle shooting as well.
“Conservative Family” is a mindset in the society but my parents have been really supportive and broad minded. Yes, there were restrictions but I guess they made me disciplined. I was a rebel in the family. But they always welcomed change and accepted me the way I wanted to be! Today, I could by no means follow my dreams if it was not for my parents who supported me and even now look after Kabir in my absence.
I usually ride solo as I am not a part of any bikers group as yet. But bikers are a different breed altogether! They are very helpful and supportive towards fellow bikers. I have gone for long and short rides by the coast line of Dapoli, Goa etc. In and around Pune I frequently ride to Lavasa, Amby Valley, Lonavala, Mulshi, Panshet, Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar,etc. apart from riding. I also drive a 4×4 jeep and participate in offroading events.
Pune Pathfinders is a group of 60 off roading enthusiasts and i am a proud lady member of the team smile emoticon we organize and participate in offroading rallies and events too!
I feel blessed because the universe conspires to make my dreams come true – travelling makes me happy and Kabir gives me the feeling of being content – he is my greatest strength.
Life is too short to be sad. Being an active participant in traveling, events, having a job ,running my house and then being a content mother gives me immense pleasure and a feeling of pride to my family!
I guess I am a reflection of my mom. She is my backbone. I have a learnt a lot from her. She is an extreme nature lover. She takes exceptional efforts to save the environment. I can proudly say she plants100s of plants and trees each year and even takes care of them until they grow big enough to survive on their own. She preserves natural habitats for birds and trees. She is very health conscious and my personal yoga teacher. She has learnt karate and is an extremely strong woman – physically and emotionally.
She has been my greatest support during the roller coaster ride of my life and I am able to travel and have a good job because she takes care of Kabir while I am away!
Oh… and she rides bikes too – it runs in the family :)”
Mums and stories wishes the enthusiastic Shirin and her lovely mum a great life ahead.
