THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Trivandrum Bikers’ Club is celebrating this Independence Day in a unique way. The club members launched a 1,000km bicycle ride on Friday night and plans to complete the distance in 75 hours to symbolise the country’s 75th year of Independence.
The event titled “Ride to Freedom” will cover 11 checkpoints in total, 3 of which are in Trivandrum.
The club has a long history in long-distance endurance cycling, known formally as Brevets de Randonneurs Mondiaux (BRM), with rides ranging from 200, 300, 400, 600, to 1,000 kilometres. Although the club has conducted all the first four forms of randonneuring before, this is the first time a 1,000km is initiated.
On Friday, 12 cyclists set off to Kanyakumari. They returned to Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday and set off to Kollam. From Kollam, they will go through the checkpoints at Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Palakkad, and Walayar and then return to the state capital.
“This is a time-based cycling event and not a race but we do have a set time limit. There will be checkpoints and the cyclists must reach there within the given time range. Only then can they reach the next stop. There will be a start and closing time for each checkpoint,” said Nine Kollara, general secretary of the Trivandrum Bikers club.
“Cyclists get extremely low support in our country. Only very few people are ready to join such events as it has been a novelty among them,” said Hiranraj, a 45-year-old cyclist who has won SR championships and is one among the 12 participants in the ride. “Those who are attending the event are experienced riders but the risks of riding bicycles for the whole day are high. It is mostly a mental game and will depend on how much effort the traveller is ready to put in. Mental strength matters more than physical stamina,” said Nine. The bikers will reach the Chandrasekharan Nair stadium at 10pm on Monday, completing 1,000 km.