Post date: Jul 26, 2011 6:39:54 PM
With women banned from riding motorcycles on Iran's streets, a mother and daughter take to the sandy hills overlooking Tehran to indulge in their passion for motocross racing.
Two motocross riders tear up a track outside Tehran.
But they're not your obvious scrambler-riding candidates.
Shahrzad and Noora Naraghi are a mother and daughter team who love off-road biking.
Which is just as well, says Noora, because as women, they are not allowed to ride motorcycles on Iran's streets.
23-year-old motocross rider, Noora Naraghi, saying:"It is true that if women were able to ride motorbikes (on the streets), that would lead to less traffic. And that would also reduce the pollution in the air. However, from the very beginning, I was in the motocross field. I have not even wanted to ride a bike on the roads. So it wasn't because we weren't permitted on the streets that we came here."
Every day the pair heads for the hills outside Iran's capital, because the bike track at Tehran's main sports complex is off limits.
Noora, who has been riding since age four, says she almost abandoned the sport because there was nowhere to compete.
But together with her family's support, she managed to set up this track where she and her mother now train.
And the highlight was when they both took part in the country's first ever motocross race for women two years ago.
23-year-old motocross rider, Noora Naraghi, saying
"In 2009," Noora explains, "it was the first ever competition in the history of Iran."
She goes on to say, "I think despite the small numbers (that competed) it was an immense upheaval in the history of motocross. It was really interesting that something like this had happened in a country like Iran," she says.
And with this level of dedication, the Naraghis are sure to leave any competition in the dust.
Tara Cleary, Reuters.