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Udupi : Seldom do women go all out to chase their dreams. Merryl D’Souza daughter of Paul and late Helen D’Souza originally from Trasi is raring to do just that by riding her  wheels from Kanyakumnari to Leh of Kashmir rode into Santhekatte, Kallianpur near here on Tuesday afternoon 30^th June, 2015 where she was accorded warm welcome by her relatives at Santhekatte and members of public.

She started her incredible journey on June 24^th which she plans to complete her target in a month. It’s has been nearly a decade since she first flicked her wrist and went vroom-vroom, experiencing the wind in her hair and feeling liberated. Ever since, 29 year old Merryl D’Souza has been going off on her bike in and around Mumbai. Many small journey’s later the corporate communications manager is ready to go solo on her biggest journey thus far. On the morning of June 24 D’Souza will set off on a month long ride from Kanyakumari to Leh – realizing a long nurtured dream.

Asking with her, what prompted you to go on this solo ride, she said her friends and she had been wanting to ride from Mumbai to Leh for more than two years now, but either someone was getting married or having babies, so the trip never materialized. At Godrej where she work, they have an annual programme, called LOUD or Live out her dreams for employees to pursue their dreams within a budget of Rs. 1.5 lakh. So she applied this year and was selected among 100 entrants to pursue her dream of riding. With the financial backing, she decided to make it more chanlenging by riding from Kanyakumari instead of from Mumbai.

She want to explore India… see how the diversity changes from the south to the north. She also going to promote the message of an NGO called Safe City which helps women in distress her making them aware of measures they can take if they are bring troubled.

Asking about her riding plan and route she said that to start riding by 5.30 am and stop at around 4 p.m. riding about eight –nine hours and covering between 240 – 250 km each day. While travelling with one bag with plenty of energy bars and water, she will mostly eat on the road. She also have her spare kit and tools including helmet, jacket, boots and gloves and a GPS tracker for her Avenger.

She also said that her day starts at 5.30am with 15-20 minutes of meditation followed by surya namaskar, pranayams and a few asanas. She will continue following the same routine. Even it dhe son’t do yoga, she will meditate daily.

Asking with her regarding afraid or have any safety concerns, she said she have little scared… especially about Madhya Pradesh and the interior region because that area may not be safe. So she plan to ride on national highways and avoid other roads. She will also have a knife and pepper spray handy.

Her relatives of Santhekatte Mr. Benedicta Menezes and family and her aunt accorded welcome at Santhekatte where Auto rickshaw pullers and others at large. Around 4,200 km the distance Merryl will cover from Kanyakumari to Leh across eight states. Riding makes her very happy… her soul feels free. It is very liberating she said.