Bihar Cyclist Sabita Mahato sets a Record by Pedalling to the Highest Motorable Road

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 30 June 2022

“An ordinary girl from a village in India who wants to do something extraordinary for herself, her country and other women who don’t even dare to dream.” Her website's bio reads: And she is making every effort to see that this happens.

Sabita Mahato is a climber and endurance cyclist from the Bihar town of Chhapra. She is pedalling arduously to realise her ambition of uniting women to empower one another.

She already held the global record for riding alone across 29 Indian states, but she now holds the title for cycling alone from New Delhi to the world's highest motorable road, Umling La Pass in Ladakh.

The Border Roads Organization recently finished construction on the route (BRO). She set out from New Delhi on June 5 and arrived at the pass on June 28 at a height of a formidable 19,024 feet. Some of the most difficult roads she encountered on her scenic trip included Jispa, Zing Zing Bar, Sarchu, Pang, Dibring, Upshi, Chumathang, Rongo, Handle, and Photila. She also faced challenging weather, but she triumphed.

The goal of Sabita's campaign is to unite and empower women. Sabita seeks to address issues that a sizable portion of the country is currently dealing with. It wants to empower those who lack the ability to make crucial life decisions, combat prevailing attitudes and behaviours, address inequalities within households, support those who lack autonomy in speaking up for themselves, and gain access to decision-making abilities.

She is eager for the oppressed groups to work toward gaining access to jobs, education, and freedom of movement.

Sabita overcome numerous challenges to reach the heights she has. In Bihar, her father sells fish from a roadside stand for a living. The BRO has also backed her cause.

Sabita has cycled over 33,000 kilometres, including nine high-altitude passes and 12 summits, in favour of her cause so far, and she plans to do much more!