JOIN USYou need not necessarily wait for the next in the Dhoom series to get a look at the latest hot superbikes in the international market. Venture to the Delhi-Noida-Delhi flyway, National Highway 1, Yamuna Expressway or Faridabad-Gurgaon corridor any Sunday early morning and you can spot up to 70 bikers in full gear zooming past on their stylish superbikes. Before you know it, they will have vanished into the distance leaving behind a smoky, dusty dream of huge, macho and utterly-desirable superbikes.
GODS – Delhi’s largest and best-acclaimed Group of Delhi Superbikers – don’t make a daily appearance after all. This group of businessmen, lawyers, bankers, software professionals – all with a passion for biking – bring out their mean machines once a week and take them on a ride. They are led by 52-year-old Dr Arun Theraja – a surgeon with the Maharaja Agrasen hospital – and the original superbiker cum GOD of the group.
Dr Arun informs Metrolife, “15 years back, when I bought a Kawasaki Ninja GPZ 600, there were hardly any superbikes in Delhi. I used to be a lonely crusader bringing out the bike once in a while. Thankfully, I met one Arshi Khanna who also owned a superbike and together we came up with the idea of GODS in ‘98. It was formally registered as a group in 2000.”
“Since then, the rules and regulations for buying and importing superbikes have become much simpler leading to several well-to-do youngsters in Delhi purchasing motorbikes.” That has not lead to a phenomenal rise in the numbers of GODS though. The group is extremely strict about who all they include and decide not to.
“Our membership on Facebook far exceeds our actual numbers. We could have had hundreds of members had we wanted to but we are extremely careful about our members’ educational and professional background, their attitude towards biking and bikes. We are a respected group and don’t want any elements who conduct themselves rashly and bring us a bad name.”
The group also has a strict code of conduct when they go out biking. One pre-designated biker leads the group which moves in a staggered formation with a uniform speed of 120 km/hour. A ‘sweeper’ makes sure that everyone stays in the pack. No one bikes without safety gears like gloves, biker’s jacket, riding pants, boots and helmets.
GODS, of course, don’t contain themselves to Delhi and fly wherever they wish. “Every year, we go out on a tour. We have been to Leh-Ladakh, Sanchi pass, Spiti, Chandratala lake, and this November, we are planning our first international tour. We will be going to Changmai in Thailand which is among the top 10 biking routes in the world.”
It is not just a love for bikes – the BMWs, Harley Davidsons, Suzukis, Aprilias and Yamahas which keeps them together - but also ‘brotherhood,’ as they call it. Anurag Kapur, who owns a Hayabusa, says, “Doc (Arun) is like a mentor and I have made the best friends of my life in GODS. It feels great to be a part of this fraternity.”