Tough Girl Podcast

Nirjala, the "Mountain Queen," was born in Kumari Pati in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nirjala is one of two children, with a younger brother who is a keen road biker. Nirjala started out in her late teens as a professional model. For this career, she was required to keep fit, and it was through going to the gym that she got into first bodybuilding and then cycling. In 2001, some friends suggested she try her luck in a mountain bike race, The Himalayan Mountain Bike Race Series, and she won the National Women's Category. This proved to be her inspiration to leave modelling and pursue a professional career as a cyclist for the Nepal National Team. Nirjala's rise to fame and to working as a professional athlete for the Nepal National Team was beset by the difficulty that arose from the patriarchy-based society in which she grew up. Although she competed at a national and international level and at a higher level than the majority of Nepalese male riders, she was marginalized by her own national cycling association, whic