Sunday, 12 June 2016
Cyclist Gule Afshan Tariq on road in Rawalpindi
Gule Afshan Tariq on Krakuram Highway
Gule
Afshan Tariq is an athlete who recently cycled 1,098 kilometers from Islamabad
to Khunjerab. Ms Tariq, who is also an amateur paragliding enthusiast and rock
climber, regularly uses her bicycle to get around in Rawalpindi.
Cyclist
Gule Afshan Tariq talks about her experience as a passionate cyclist:
Q:
Were you always interested in sports?
A: Growing up, my
biggest inspiration was my father, who was an ardent traveler and took me with
him on his trips. I have always been an avid rock climber and I took to
paragliding because I found it very exciting. Cycling is another passion, and I
have been lucky to find other companions as well. I met Samar Khan – who
accompanied me to Khunjerab – at the Paragliding School in Abbotabad. We went
on our first cycling trek with a few other friends and cycled from Lalazar in
Rawalpindi to the Margalla Hills. I have been involved with other sports as
well, but I realised I liked cycling better because of the thrill associated
with it and went to Dubai in September 2015 to receive further training. I have
been participating in cycling events for over two years now and won a silver
medal last year.
Q:
What is it like being a woman cyclist in Pakistan?
A: People on the
roads treat me like an alien; but nobody has ever said anything discouraging to
me personally. I find that it is mostly women who talk disparagingly about
women cyclists; because they don’t believe it’s an activity that women should
be participating in. There are a lot of women who want to cycle but are deterred
by road conditions and the traffic situation. I think there should be separate
tracks and routes for cyclists, especially for female cyclists. There are also
not many facilities for cyclists in Pakistan. I wanted to go to Siachen, I but
could not find a sponsor. I approached several leading international brands and
one even agreed to sponsor me, but then they pulled out at the last minute,
saying they could not afford to bear my costs for a whole year. When we were
coming back from our trip to Khunjerab, truck and rickshaw drivers around
Mansehra would not let us pass, though Gilgit and Hunza were much safer and
easier to cycle through.
Q:
What are your plans for the future?
A: I’m very
interested in ‘underwater cycling’, which is a relatively unknown extreme
sport, where cyclists ride specially designed bikes underwater. I really had my
heart set on breaking the underwater cycling record, but the equipment and the
facilities required are prohibitively expensive. I have been working with the
Paragliding Association to put together a team of women paragliders, who can
represent Pakistan in international events. Currently, there are no teams, nor
are there any proper facilities for training. The military, which has the only
equipment one can practice on, does not allow us to go out for more than three
hours at a time. But professionally practicing for a sport requires hours and
hours of practice. The equipment required for paragliding is also very
expensive and one needs Rs500, 000 just to get started.
(Source:
The Daily DAWN)
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