BIKERS CLUB MAY 2019 ISSUE | Page 42

CONVOY CONTROL CLUB A MANNER TO LIVE LIFE What is Convoy Control Club? CONVOY CONTROL CLUB is the only club in the world who's known for the members of different kinds of physical disabilities, and it is riding club and members are the bike riders. They not just ride bike but they ride for the cause, and they spread the awareness related to physical disabilities in the society. Convoy Control Club is first started in Jaipur by Mr. Upen Shastri, and after that the second chapter which opened is Mumbai Chapter and the founder of Mumbai chapter is Mr. Vinod Rawat. Currently there are Nine chapters across the country, which includes, Jaipur, Mumbai, Akola, Jalgaon, Surat, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Orissa, Hyderabad, and soon it will be opened overseas as well. How it started ? I Mr. Vinod Rawat, founder of Convoy Control Club Mumbai with one artificial limb is mad about riding and I always seek for riding motorcycles be it short distance or long distance. Because of my disability I used to ride always solo but nobody can make out that I am disable whenever I ride, coz it's always been covered with the pants I wear. It's not I am ashamed of my disability but I don't want sympathy and that's the only reason I keep it covered. It was in December 2010, I was in Mumbai and was preparing a short trip near to Mumbai and I met a members one of the riding club of Mumbai, and when they came to know that I am rider and I am planning for a short one day trip then admin of that group told me to join their ride, as they were also going that destination only. Till now I have always heard about the riders and their groups but never rode with them and this time some of the club approached me so immediately agreed on it. It was sunday morning we started riding and within 3 hours we reached the destination, it was a fun ride and I learnt lot of things regarding group riding. But when they came to know about my disability, they insulted me and told me to leave that group and said you can't ride as we can, and that sentence hurt me, I left that ride in between and came back to Mumbai but that time I had decided to create my own group but I wasn't knowing how ? In about within 2 months I happened to visit Jaipur on my bike, there I met a guy named Upen Shashtri, when he saw my bike which is Maharashtra registered and he enquired about who's bike that was, I said It's mine and I rode it from Mumbai, till that time he didn't know that I am disabled. Riding motorcycle in long distance is very normal for abled riders but it's kind of anomaly for disables.