She’s ridden with fishermen to catch the first rays of dawn at Dhanushkodi, she’s conquered the unforgiving winds of her most challenging trip — world’s highest motorable road, the Umling La Pass in Ladakh, she’s sat with seers and 80-year-old folk singers to listen to Shiva dhuns and has ridden turbaned across the length of the country along with fellow women on a spiritual quest to the Panj Takhts.At 49, solo traveller, adventurer, feminist Ambika Sonia continues to set her eyes upon her huge bucket list — looking to charter unknown territories across India and abroad. Her son’s 27 and her British daughter-in-law (and her mother) are among the women she inspires.On Women’s Day 2026, Sunday, Ambika Sonia shall ride with 80 women from across Jalandhar on bikes and Activas in their own unique celebration of the day. A pass out from Amritsar and married in Jalandhar, she has always been a risk taker, since college. She was an NCC cadet and participated in the Republic Day parade at Raj Path twice and is also a Karate black belt.Fiercely patriotic, her solo drive to Umling La Pass was made with an Indian flag clutched firmly in her hand. Herself fulfilling her dream to ride solo across India in 2021, after her husband gifted her a Royal Enfield bike during Covid pandemic, her first trip involved riding across 8,0000 kilometres on the K2K drive — Kashmir to Kanyakumari that lasted 18 days.Ambika Sonia says, “In South India, it isn’t an unusual sight to see a woman driving a bike in her sari. I find it very inspiring. The spirit of travel isn’t in your clothes or your value system. It’s in your mind. A woman from anywhere can pick up her cycle or bike and travel the world. I dreamt of Punjabi women doing the same and now we’ve started.”“Scores of girls here drive an Activa. So I exhort them, pick up that scooter and go to Ladakh if you want to. Go in a suit or a sari, the world will support you. The new Activas are powerful and can ride in tough terrain. Women must remove mental blocks,” she adds.Having made countless trips to Kashmir, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa and the deep South, she says, “There is a perception women travelling solo is unsafe. But everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve been respected by men, women, groups of young men, children and elderly. If you mean well and are clear about your plan, people are supportive. I prefer travelling India off the beaten track and staying at people’s homes. I’ve always been welcomed and loved.”Sharing experiences across India Ambika says, “When I did the K2K trip, Dhanushkodi wasn’t on plan. But I found that fishermen on trucks, who were travelling on the same road, marvelled at the lone woman biker. I shared my journey and they applauded me. I ate on banana leaf and was awestruck by the resilience and simplicity of the women of the South. It’s been among my favourite experiences.”In Gujarat she found her favourite music. “Sitting on a rustic cot at Rapur-Amrapur villages in Rann of Kutch, I heard the sweetest song. I found it was the 80-year-old elderly neighbour, with a huge gold ring on his ear, singing a Shiv dhun in his modest room with just a charpoy and some dry wood for company.”Her favourite five rides across India include drives through — Rajasthan, Himachal, Dhanushkodi, Parra Road in Goa and the Rann of Kutch. Her huge bucket list is never ending, but a trip overseas may be imminent.