24 states and 34,000 km — Woman bikes solo from India to Australia

Candida Louis has emerged as an inspiration to women in the country after she biked all alone from India to Australia recently, traversing 24 states and over 34,000 km to fulfil her dreams. Hailing from Hubli and recently working in an MIC in Bengaluru, Louis talks about how she followed her passion for travelling and biking, even if it came at the cost of a secured income.

Tripoto extensively covered Louis' story, where she talks about her love for biking, which developed when she would be riding pillion in her dad's motorcycle during school days. Gifted with a bike in 2016 was just the start for the young woman, as she soon started leading numerous biking tours in India and overseas. She has ridden in more than 25 nations thus far as well, but made waves when she rode all the way from Bengaluru to Sydney on her Bajaj Dominar 400, a journey that took eight long months!

However, Louis did not have it easy, and, convincing her parents, as would convincing most Indian parents would be, was the hardest bit. "Your parents invest so much money and time in your education and it's very difficult to just walk up to them one day and tell them that you'd like to quit your well-paying job to take up biking as a career, especially when there aren't many career options for females in the industry," she tells Tripoto.

The long journey entailed travelling through Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, from where she shipped her bike to Perth. From Perth, Louis took a trip down to Sydney, where she met Alistair Farland's family. Farland was a biker, just like Louis, and had unfortunately passed away in North America in 2014 while completing a world tour. Admitting that Farland was an inspiration, Louis was left emotional after meeting his mother.

Also read: This woman biker travelled from Kanyakumari to Leh in just 129 hrs

"It was the sight of Alistair's Mom, who had been following my ride ever since I left India which got me very emotional. I actually stayed at Alistair's home for a week and visited his grave. This ride was for Alistair Farland and many other Alistair Farlands to come."

The biker, despite all the trials and challenges, followed her long-held dream, and most importantly, gave up her cosy living for an adventurous one. Though often, women might get bogged down by duties and responsibilities, along with having a fear regarding one's safety, people like Louis show that, if there is an undying will, there surely will be a way.