The Refuge of Riding
BY MAHSHID HADI
BY MAHSHID HADI
When I was a little girl in Iran, my parents bought me a bike, and I learned to ride it in our backyard. I fell so many times, and I got back up so many times. Finally I could confidently call out, “Let go, Dad, I can do it.” From there, I wanted to ride forever. I felt so free.
Then I turned nine. I was forced to wear the hijab, a long blouse, and loose pants, and to make sure all my skin was covered up. I attended my Jashn-e taklif ceremony, which marks the end of childhood and beginning of adulthood. I was considered a woman now.
Where I grew up, in the city of Esfahan, it is illegal for women to ride bikes. Fearing for my safety, my dad took my bike away from me. That childhood sense of freedom was now just a haze of memory. And I would spend the next decade trying to find it again.
What happened next is the subject of my upcoming documentary film. In summary, I fled to Turkey, and then a few years later, to Canada. But I was not free yet. I felt so lost. I yearned for the bike.
I worked for two years for enough money to buy a bike and finally, I rediscovered that feeling of freedom I’d been longing for. I also discovered bike-packing and the joys of being completely in the moment. On these long rides in the wilderness, my heartbeat harmonises with the sounds of nature. I am greeted and welcomed by other cyclists. I am part of a community where I have value.
I have ridden my bike in Turkey and the UK, and many beautiful places in Canada, including the Gulf Islands, and the Alaska Highway in Yukon. This winter, I will ride with my partner to the Arctic Ocean on the Dempster Highway, considered Canada’s wildest highway, on a 500-kilometre self-supported bikepacking expedition. We will produce a documentary about the ride and my life story.
I push myself so hard on the bike, taking on extreme conditions and facing my fears—and it feels right. I believe I can make a difference by finding my power on the bike, and encouraging other women to find their power as well. When we connect, we are like a chain, stronger together.
Mahshid Hadi is a radio technician and women’s advocate in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. To learn more about Mahshid’s Arctic bikepacking expedition and documentary film, visit her GoFundMe Page and follow her on Instagram.