35-year-old began riding three-four years ago after her husband gifted her a motorbike

Not like this. Not over a pothole,” said Anita Verma, of her friend Jagruti Hogale, who died on Sunday afternoon when she fell after her bike hit a water-filled ditch in the middle of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway in Jawhar, and she was crushed under an oncoming truck. Friends of the 35-year-old, who began riding only three-four years ago after her husband Viraj gifted her a Royal Enfield motorbike, remember her as the one person who always made special efforts to be with them aside from their weekend rides.

The duo met two years ago at Verma’s first ride with the women’s biker group, The Bikerni. They became close friends. The dream was to ride together to Ladakh. Hogale, however, beat her to it, successfully making the trip last year. “The last words she said to me were: “You’re going to make it this year,” Verma said. Verma, who described Hogale as a fascinating woman and full of life, admitted to being in awe of the way Hogale managed raising a nine-year-old son alongside biking, running marathons, trekking and playing in a dhol tasha group ‘Maurya’. “She paid great attention to her son. And we thought, how do you manage it all?” added Verma.

A resident of Bandra (East), Hogale joined The Bikerni three years ago. The group was founded in 2011 and has a chapter in each major city. The club’s website mentions that its mission is to “create an equal platform for women motorcyclists and to empower women all over India through motorcycles.” The group finds mention in the Limca Book of Records for an all-woman motorcycle expedition it undertook from Delhi to Ladakh in 2013.

In a short statement on Monday, the group’s founder Urvashi Patole praised Hogale’s love for motorcycling. “Her social media profile is filled with pictures of her trips and bike rallies she participated in for gender equality and for the love of motorcycling,” Patole said.

28-year-old Mayuree Hajarnis recalled how Hogale rode all the way from Bandra (East) to Thane the day her Royal Enfield Thunderbird bike was delivered. “She had a presence in my life apart from biking. She was like a soul sister,” she said.

Hogale, she added ensured she was around for her birthdays, her engagement, wedding and the birth of her baby five months ago. “She made every effort to make all events of my life special. Why would any of my biker friends do that?” she says.

Hogale’s bike ‘Hirkani’, Hajarnis said, was a part of her family. “She had done up her bike beautifully. She made a special seat for her son Archit to sit behind her. Hirkani was main part of her life,” she added.

Paying compliment to her friend, Patole added that Hogale had inspired many girls to start riding. “The Bikerni deeply regrets this mishap and expresses its condolences to the family of Jagruti Hogale. We have lost a gem and one of the best women riders in India for whom safe riding was always the priority. May her soul rest in peace,” she said. The Palghar law enforcement have arrested the truck driver Vinodkumar Yadav, and booked him for rash pouring and causing death due to carelessness.

The misfortune that killed Jagruti Hogale took place near Vaiti village on Jawahar-Dahanu highway, 100km from Mumbai. The road is said to be maintain by the state Public Works Department (PWD). State PWD Minister (public undertakings), Eknath Shinde, on Monday said: “All roads are not under PWD and we will kick off an inquiry into the matter, enchanting note of all incident.”

PWD preacher Chandrakant Patil, however, said: “The death of bike rider Jagruti Hogale was not due to potholes.” Speaking about potholes that riddle the city, Yuva Sena leader Aditya Thackeray said: “BMC has already been briefed about the potholes issue. Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar is himself looking into it. We are functioning on it and there will be action on potholes almost immediately.