A number of young women in Siliguri who are into different professions but are united in their love of cycling have joined hands to form a group of women bicycle enthusiasts.

To promote cycling among women, the forum — The Powerpuff Female Cycling Community of North Bengal. named after the famous US animation series — arranges rides and expeditions through the varied terrains of north Bengal, ranging from forests to hills to tea estates. It has over 30 members.

“The basic idea is to encourage cycling as an adventure sport among girls and women and simultaneously promote the use of bicycles as the local transport for a healthy planet. Initially, there were only a few of us who would go out on rides but gradually, the number of enthusiasts have increased and on a regular basis, girls and women are joining our group,” said Bijurika Saha, the school relationship manager at a private educational institution.

Last month, a number of women cyclists joined a “cyclothon” hosted during the Bengal Himalayan Carnival when they pedalled to Bhorer Alo, the mega tourism hub located in Gajoldoba, around 25km from here.

“We usually go for rides on weekends. So far, the longest ride we had taken was a trip to Birpara from Siliguri, which altogether of 200km. Four of us had joined the trip,” said Bijurika.

Other members like Jamu Bhutia, a bank employee, and Urmi Das, who works in a multinational company, said they had taken up cycling as a hobby.

“We take routes like Darjeeling More to Rongtong for a mountain ride or move through the fringes of forests,” said Bhutia.

The forum’s senior-most member, Uma Doss, 52, said she goes for rides on weekends to keep fit.

“Cycling is good for health and also freshens up one’s mind,” Doss said.

They are all safety conscious and during the rides, wear helmets, use rear and front lights on their bicycles and non-plastic water bottles.

Being women, they are also conscious of the need for self-defence.

Recently, during a ride, one of their members had faced some problems near Rongtong on NH55 as two youths started teasing her, but she had handled the situation well herself, other members added.

The members said there is still some stigma if women pursue adventure sports.

“We want more women to come out and join us in cycling. It is good for our planet and keeps us fit. By cycling we can spread the message of a carbon-free environment,” said Urmi.

All-women expedition team reaches Sikkim

An all-women expedition team led by mountaineer Bachendri Pal has reached Sikkim.

Officially flagged off from New Delhi on March 10, the Fit@50+ Trans-Himalayan Expedition has 12 women, who are all over 50 years old. They started the journey from Pang Sau pass in Arunachal Pradesh and after covering Brahmaputra valley, Assam forests and the tea gardens of Bengal, entered Sikkim.

The team will have covered a distance of around 450km before crossing over to Nepal. The 12 women arrived at Zuluk, located in the upper reaches of east Sikkim, and started off from there under the aegis of Trishakti Corps headquartered at Sukna, on the outskirts of Siliguri.

During the expedition, the team will cover a total distance of almost 5,000km. The expedition will end at the Kargil War Memorial in Kashmir on July 30.