Akram Ansari, a young engineer who runs an event management company in Ranchi, is all set to make his life more eventful. Next month, Akram will start a 6,000km cycling trip from the capital’s Morabadi to cover six countries of South Asia, including India, on wheels with the message to educate deprived children.
Another Ranchiite, Kanishka Poddar, an online garments businessman in his 30s, can understand Ansari’s passion. A member of Ranchi Cycling Club, Poddar recently took an 18-day cycling trip from Bangkok (Thailand) to Phnom Penh (Cambodia), covering around 1,000km from June 17 to July 4.
Amateur cyclists of Ranchi are going places, and how.
With names like Ranchi Cycling Club and Cycle Dost, groups of around 40 to 50 riders — otherwise professionals and businessmen juggling busy schedules — meet every Sunday morning and ride on the capital streets. The more dedicated ones ride on Patratu valley nearby. Some, like Ansari, are not members of any club, but are equally driven.
Asked about his forthcoming trip on his Btwin Riverside 500 hybrid cycle, Ansari is all charged up. “My first pit stop is Jamshedpur, before I reach Bengal and Assam (Silchar) and then Bangladesh to reach Myanmar,” Ansari said. “I intend to cover Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia too. I want to create awareness about the urgency to educate deprived children, ensure women's safety and employment for transgender people,” the alumnus of NIT-Rourkela added.
He will also speak on these issues at XLRI-Jamshedpur, IIT-Kharagpur, NIFT-Calcutta and NIT-Silchar in India, he said. “I have friends in these institutions who also feel strongly about these issues,” he said. And though he doesn’t have a sponsor as yet for this ambitious trip, he is undeterred. “I’m dipping into my savings and my friends will help,” he smiled.
Poddar, on his part, said he treated his own self-financed 1,000km cycling trip as a discovery. “I met people, tasted their food, took unusual routes through small towns and villages. I went to world famous tourist spots like Angkor Wat (temple complex in Cambodia) as well as to tiny cafes. Being on a cycle gives one unbelievable freedom anywhere in the world,” Poddar added. “People were mostly helpful. Many offered free food and accommodation.”
But there were unpleasant experiences too, he said. “When I approached the Cambodian border post from the south-east province of Trat in Thailand, the local immigration officials demanded a bribe that I refused to pay,” he said, adding he had to spend the night on no-man’s land before moving to another border post at Poipet where he was allowed a hassle-free entry.
Recently, a seven-member team of Cycle Dost covered 520km from Manali to Khardung-la in Ladakh via Leh on their cycles between June 30 and July 9.
“We cycled along one of the highest motorable roads in the world considered the gateway to the Siachen glacier region. People were very friendly and helpful,” said Ganesh Reddy, founder of NGO Citizens Foundation and avid cyclist.
Nipun Jain, a businessman and Cycle Dost team member, said they cycled on Patratu valley to prepare themselves for the Leh-Ladakh trip. “Some 30 members of our club go for long-distance cycling every Sunday.”
Any tips for aspiring amateur cyclists making long-distance trips?
“Carry essentials such as dry food items, tent and repair kit in your backpack. Also important phone numbers,” Poddar said. “Know when you are tired and stop. You need to stay fit for the long haul,” Ansari added.