Castrol Biking Brings John Abraham Even Closer to Bikers

“Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.”

This is probably the most renowned quote among bikers. Biking is a religion, and members of the brotherhood are fanatic followers. Faithfuls of a religion go to temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras, etc. Likewise, hardcore bikers head out on rides and attend events which enable them to meet people of the same faith.

One such event was organized by Castrol Biking on 9^th April, 2013 at Taj Land’s End, Bandra. They wanted to showcase the new PowerBiking app launched by Castrol for the benefit of us bikers. The celebrity who would unveil it and walk us through it was John Abraham.

I reached the venue at the allotted time. The 1^st thing that immediately impressed was that Castrol Biking had reserved a parking lot inside Taj Land’s End’s campus for us bikers. A bike is not allowed to park in the hotel’s campus. But I’m probably one of the few who did. So yeah, +1!

Bikers Posing before Parking

We got a chance to interact with other bikers during the event. It was delightful to meet Sigmund, Sharvari, Vikram, Amandeep, Tanmay, Urvashi, Saurabh, Sanket, Nikhil, Pratik (bikers must follow each and every one of them) and others. I was blown away on hearing that the event’s main compere Nikhil Kashyap owns 28 bikes! I had a good chat with him after the event. 1 hell of a warm and generous guy!

Popular bikers who attended the event

John Abraham displayed the app on a phone, showcasing various features in it. Some include:

John Abraham having a blast with fellow bikers

1. Logging in with your social media account
2. Listing your ride, finding friends and connecting with them
3. Best routes + maps for a ride depending upon your preference
4. Castrol Bike Zones at locations across India
5. DIY tips for your bike

The app is currently available only on the Google Play store. Castrol is working on launching it for iOS too.

Answering fan questions with his 'Rambo'

The usual Q&A session followed, with John answering questions from the audience as well as those posted on Facebook. He was patient and his answers were well thought through, showing clarity in thought. John was asked whether there should be separate schools for teaching women to ride. He responded saying that schools to teach better riding were essential, not just for women but for men also. He exuded passion when he spoke about biking, and regrets not having ridden his new Aprilia RSV4. He keenly wants to promote biking in India, along from football and hockey. His biking tales and experiences were awesome, despite him declaring upfront that he doesn't travel as much as some of the resident tourers. The event ended with the celeb posing with all bikers – individually and in a group.

My respect for John Abraham has gone up manifold. He hasn't just heard of John McGuiness, he reveres him. John is trying to shoot climax of his upcoming movie on bikes at the Isle of Mann. He doesn't follow only MotoGP; he tried to co own the Kawasaki team in World SBK. He knows about Evo bikes and Formula E. He has ridden on roads I haven’t even heard of. And he believes riding a bike is not about merely going fast; it is about being part of a ballad. John Abraham is not a Bollywood celebrity who rides fast bikes. He is a biker who acts and produces movies.

Selfies with individual bikers and with the group

Thank you Castrol Biking for letting me be part of this event. Regarding the goodies, Castrol can replace 1 item among them with a litre of their best 4-stroke biking oil. Once a rider uses it and likes it, s/he will stick to that oil for her/his bike for a long time and also refer it to others. That will help increase sales. After all, we bikers treat our bikes better than we treat humans, don’t we?