Negative motivation turns into positive action for #Ride5k rider
● Health shock prompts R5K member to bike across India
● ‘You just have to believe that you can do it’ R5K MEMBER SHARON OLIVER
Sharon Oliver is giving her #Ride5000miles target a serious boost with an ambitious solo ride around India… on an Enfield Himalaya, of course. Having travelled much of the globe as a backpacker, charity worker and motorcyclist for the last 25 years, Sharon is no stranger to adventure. So, when the shock news of a breast cancer diagnosis came in the Christmas of 2013, the selfemployed photographer decided it wouldn’t stop her tackling ambitious biking adventures across Europe, Asia and Africa. After a previous group ride on Enfields in Tibet (pictured above), 54-year-old Sharon is now heading to Delhi for a month of solo riding on a Royal Enfield Himalayan. Although no specific route has been planned, Sharon plans to leaves Delhi tomorow (Thursday, March 5) and cover over 1000 miles, taking in Rishikesh, Shimla, Mandi, Manali, Amritsar and then back to Delhi.
“I got my licence at 17, so I’ve been riding bikes all my adult life,” Sharon told MCN. “I’ve always ridden to places, not just exotic ones, like Scotland and Cornwall. I’ve always been a biker.
“Life’s too short, isn’t it? And with my diagnosis, I just thought ‘Hang on, I could be dead tomorrow.’ The diagnosis changes you, which is why I’ve started these trips.” Previous journeys include a trip to Bosnia via Belgium, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Lichtenstein and the Netherlands, as well as a journey to Morocco from the UK on a CCM GP450.
When quizzed about the biggest challenges she said: “I’ve never ridden in Delhi before but have arranged for a local bike mechanic to escort me out of the city for around 500 rupees (just over £5). I’m going to find my way from there.
“I think you’ve just got to go for it, haven’t you?” she continued. “I think once you get there, people are the same wherever you go, helpful and friendly and you’ve just got to open yourself up to it.
“I’m from a northern working-class background and I haven’t been to university or anything,” she added. “People from that sort of background don’t do stuff like this. I just think you have to believe that you can do it.”