Hyderabad to Leh solo ride: Kiran Morta

Hyderabad-based Kiran Morta, took a solo ride of 8,000 kilometres, from Hyderabad to Leh to reach the world’s highest motorable road way Khardung La, which is at an elevation of 18,000 feet

Kiran Morta, an industrial psychologist and a leadership trainer from the city rode all the way from Hyderabad to Khardung La, more than 8,000 kilometres to mark her birthday as a special day. Last year, on her birthday, she rode from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in 50 days.

Speaking with The Hans India, Kiran Morta explained why she chose such an arduous task rather than celebrating her birthday with family and friends.

“I love biking and started riding from last two years. My sister Soujanya gifted me a Royal Enfield bike and my riding journey took off. I wanted to do something special for my birthday and started doing solo rides from last year. I do this not to prove anything but to pursue my passion for bike riding,” said the 30-year-old.

“Riding in India is like riding through the different cultures and traditions. I love to meet new people and know different cultures,” Kiran added.

This year, Kiran started the ride on July 1, from Hyderabad and reached to Khardung La on July 18 (on her birthday) and returned to Hyderabad on August 7. “I planned to reach the world’s highest motorable road (Khardung La) on my birthday. I rode through Hyderabad, Nagpur, Delhi, Chandigarh, Leh, Sri Nagar, Jammu and Kashmir to reach my destination,” Kiran said.

Sharing one of her tough moments in the journey, Kiran said, “One of my friends told me that there is no need to take permission to go on top of Khardung La. When I reached the check post at Khardung La, the police personnel had asked me for permission. They asked me to take permission and come back. And that meant I would lose a lot of time.

I told them that today is my birthday and I want to reach the highest point and explained about my journey from Hyderabad. They understood my dream ride and took all my details and allowed me to go there. After successfully coming back, the police personnel said that I was the second woman to reach that point and applauded my efforts and courage.”

Kiran said that she always plans one day before (about the next day’s programme) the ride. “I check my bike and route plan every day. I change my ride as per the circumstances of that day. I don’t plan the whole schedule beforehand I feel planning one before is suffice as I would know the conditions of the road, etc better.”

Speaking about the safety of a solo woman rider she shared, “Safety is definitely an issue. A man going solo on a ride is completely different from a woman. I am always aware of the fact that safety is important. I never ride in the night and I complete my journey from dawn till dusk.”

She also said that she is planning to do an international ride on her next birthday.