HUBBALLI: In a rare achievement, a 63-year-old chartered accountant, Gurumurthy Matarangimath, has succeeded in getting his name in the India Book of Records for being the oldest to cycle 50 km daily for 100 days continuously. The most fascinating thing is he started cycling at the age of 60 and achieved a lot of fame in just three years.
Of course, cycling is getting popular, and under the Smart City Mission, 34 docking stations have been set up in Hubballi-Dharwad placing 310 mechanical and 30 electrical bicycles. Though the project has not gotten traction as expected, people are gradually attracted towards it. These cycles are at least being used for exercise purposes rather than reaching from one destination to another.
While the situation is so, the feat achieved by the sexagenarian should certainly enthuse the younger generation, who gets captivated by new-age automobiles, to cultivate the habit of cycling. Of course, cycling is a form of exercise, but using this mode of transport would help in conserving the environment as well.
Physical fitness and preserving the environment were the moto behind the CA opting to cycle. Actually, his inclination started towards cycling when he was suffering from corns in his leg and was unable to walk freely at the age of 60. Later, it became a habit for him and encouraged him to achieve some milestones in the field.
Gurumurthy was part of 1,235 cyclists who successfully attempted to peddle four km in a single lane to enter into Guinness Book of World Records. This event was organized by Hubballi Bicycle Club which he headed twice. Apart from his mission, he also encourages youth to opt for cycling.
To enter into the India Book of World Records, Gurumurhty cycled 50 km daily for 100 days, covering a total distance of 5,000 km from May 11 to August 18. He used to peddle between 5 am to 8 am to cover 50 km before starting his busy schedule as an auditor. He finally achieved the feat at the age of 63 years, 9 months and 2 days.
Elated by his feat, Gurumurhty said his only purpose was to leave better living conditions for the next generations by conserving the environment. “The world has been suffering from global warming. Protecting the greenery was paramount from the onslaught of automobiles being run on fossil fuels. So, cycling is the last option,” he said.