| Daredevils on bikes: Not all are teens |
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| Friday, 30 December 2005 | |
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Source ::: The Peninsula - thepeninsulaqatar.com Motorcycle enthusiasts displaying their skills on a road. DOHA - Not all those who are seen riding sports motor cycles and showing daredevilry on the busy Doha roads are teenagers. Many of them are senior officials, married men with children and come from respected families. Some are highly educated professionals like engineers and even pilots and all they want is that the state authorities must provide them recognition by way of helping set up an amateur professional body for sports motorcyclists. They want the media to highlight their hobby in a perspective they deserve and the public not to look down upon them as a group of daredevils out on the roads creating nuisance. .... “We feel very sad when we hear criticism from people saying that we are responsible for increasing road accidents or creating public nuisance,” Khalifa Al Rumaihi, a motor cycle enthusiast told Al Sharq yesterday. Not many people know that amateur sports motorcyclists from Qatar have participated in regional and even international competitions at their own expense and won laurels for the country. Recently, Mohamed Darwish took part in a championship in Bahrain and made Qatar win the top position, Khalid Al Mohannadi, another enthusiast, said. There are an estimated 10 groups of sports motorcyclists in Qatar and unlike in some big countries where there are clubs and their members wear uniform and carry emblems on mobikes, there is no state or social support for them here. “We spend our own money to pursue our hobby and since we are not allowed to use the tracks in Lusail near Al Khor, we are forced to ride the motorcycles on the busy Doha roads,” said another enthusiast. “But instead of highlighting our woes and writing about our achievements, the media and the people are always critical of us,” he said. Since there is no club, the enthusiasts gather at some point in the city and for that they choose either the garden near Doha Sheraton hotel or the place opposite the City Center. “Actually, we don’t like to assemble there, but there is no option,” said yet another enthusiast. As for the criticism that they create nuisance on the roads, one motorcycle rider told Al Sharq: “It is the other way round. It is the motorists riding big vehicles who harass us”. Related Articles:Passing SafelyGovernment Should Encourage Motorcycle Use Tips for buying a new or used motorcycle SGI Rate Proposal SGI Roadsmart - Motorcycle safety Get Your Motor Running All About Chains |
