The journey has culminated. The term - the experience of a lifetime truly describes the past two days of my life.



It has been an overwhelming journey, mentally, emotionally, and physically. I believe I have rediscovered myself in a very short span of two days with this ride. The power of the human mind and determination is immense, and I have been able to prove the same to myself.  It has been a pilgrimage of self exploration for me and my fellow riders. From conceiving the idea, to submitting our entry, to winning the contest , making plans, cancelling plans, again making plans to finally see the dream come true has been a rollercoaster ride. The immense personal satisfaction we got as a team cannot be put into words. I feel I have contributed my bit to the society, something each one of us owes to the community. And with this initiative, we hope we made a difference in some way.



 





Wherever we went, the support we received towards the cause was great, and this just spurred us on to do even better. Beginning from Chennai, to Pondicherry, to Cuddalore, Chidambaram and finally back to Chennai, everywhere we went, the support we got was wonderful.

 

We did 150 miles in under 17 hours, and went through some really testing terrain for a cycle rider with the most unfavourable conditions during most of the ride. The cause, to Save the Children always motivated me at the back of my mind to keep going.

 

We are ten riders accompanied by a medic, photographer and a
journalist from TOI. We started off at 5.30PM from Madhya Kailash in
Chennai. We had 15 others accompanying us till Mamallapuram. People
were full of spirit to make the best of the morning climate. We
finished 46kms by 9.00AM.
We had breakfast in A2B restaurant by 10.00AM. After that the tropical
heat started kicking in. With the unmerciful ECR headwinds adding to
the exhaustion the riding pace was halved. After an enduring ride we
reached the place of lunch at Mudaliarpet Midway by 2.00PM.
After a whole some lunch riders where given mild therapies for their
muscle cramps or pains. As usual after a brief warm up session by the
medic we started again at 3.30PM towards Pondicherry.
After another 3hours of enduring ride we reached Pondicherry
University. There Pondicherry community radio had asked us for an
interview regarding the event. A recording of interviews of myself and
fellow organizers happened over an hours time.
Finally we reached Soorya Resort at 8.30PM after an endurance ride of
127kms. A refreshing bath and filling dinner is now going to be
followed by a deep reenergizing sleep.

Day2

Riders had a recharging rest last night. However due to excessive
exhaustion there was difficulty in starting early as was planned. To
relieve riders of their muscle soreness and make them prepared for
another enduring ride our medic had a half hour long warm up session.

Finally we started from Soorya Resort at 8.00AM. In half hour we
reached Pondicherry beach where we had the official flag off for the
second day.

We finished breakfast before leaving Pondicherry. It is a daunting
22km ride before our next check point which is Cuddalore. The road is
prone for rash driving by motorist. So riders are denied the pleasure
of riding with a co-rider. We had to keep moving in single file
without being able to talk to anyone. It was rather a blessing in
disguise as riders where able to make the best of their fresh energy
and we finished the entire distance in under an hour.

We had some refreshments in Cuddalore Subrayalu Park. The super -fast
ride had taken its toll on the riders. The medic had to do some
therapies and had to do another half hour of relaxing procedures to
get the riders back on track.

The riding party finished the next 20 odd kms in a similar fast pace
to reach the sea side sleepy fishing villages through which was
awaiting a scenic ride. The ride was very enjoyable with pleasant sea
breeze and scenic surroundings.

Complications started arising due to the exhaustion of the bikes that
lacked the drive of the riders. Bikes had some tube issues due to
excessive heat and the bikes needed tune ups. So the ride has to be
paused for almost an hour.

We were grossly off schedule. So the riders needed to pull up their
socks and make up for lost time and they did exactly that. The last
30kms was enduring with the riders cruising at 20+kmph with one short
break in between. Finally made it to our challenge destination
Chidambaram an hour later than planned at 6.30PM

It really is a rewarding experience for all of us. The bonding that
facing a challenge creates in like non-other. Now after a beastly
feast we are heading back to where it all started.

They say the human soul, if you believe it exists, is confined to our mortal bodies till we die. I refuse to believe that. I believe our soul is meant to soar. Have you ever felt that fleeting happiness that we sometimes feel that somehow lifts our very being. That's happiness that reached your very core. Traveling ,for many, serves that purpose.How, until we push ourselves out of our comfort zone and step out into the world, can we truely know ourselves? Lost in a wood with friends, running out of gas on a deserted highway and still having a blast or maybe just sitting on a beach with the wind on our faces pretending we're the kings of the world. That is true happiness.So get off your couches, turn off those computers and see the world. Kudos Shanketh Ragunathan of XIMB for your foray towards happiness.