Crank with ProCycle

India’s only lifestyle bicycle magazine

Volume 6 Issue 8

KARENG / 2016 / 68421

AUGUST 2018

Rs. 100/-

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lusive M e Exc

ar tner aP di

Ultra Challenging The Odds Shimano XTR M9100 Cycling the Comrades Journey Our bike docs

Official a n

Inside

Cycling Federation of India

InThisIssue CFI news CFI on fast-track Juniors Shine in Germany

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IndustryNews Scott Sports unveils STC XTR M9100 from SHIMANO

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ProCycling Cycling the Comrades Journey Our bike docs

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InternationalEvents Ultra challenging the odds Nedbank Tour de Tuli 2018 Route

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Profiled Fast and fit mother - Anuradha Chari Pedal push for passion - Gautam Battish

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Editor’sNote

The CRANK with ProCycle Team Dear Readers Managing Editor and Publisher Vikram K Limsay Invitee editor Onkar Singh, Secretary General CFI and ACC Edit Desk Dr. Meera Velankar Trackside Editor - Triathlon - Deepak Raj Track side editor Ultra-cycling Dr. Srinivas Gokulnath

Contributors Mili Sharma, Pedal Pal, Bharat Pannu Creative and Design N. Chandru Contact editdeskcrank@procycle.in subscribecrank@procycle.in advertisecrank@procycle.in All Rights Reserved By ProCycle and Sports India Pvt. Ltd. Corporate Office and Showroom 1st Main Road, 20, 3rd B Cross Rd, Domlur II, nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560071 Tel: 080 41161902, +91 95380 66695 Website www.procycle.in Follow us on Facebook: @CrankwithProCycle https://www.facebook.com/CrankwithProCycle/ Photo Credits

Cover: Mangesh Todkar

Back Cover: Nedbank Tour de Tuli Printed By Print 2 Last Solutions

Its raining Cats and Dogs and even Lions and Elephants in some cities. But it has not deterred intrepid riders from getting on their saddle and pushing the pedal.

Our cover is a tribute to them. We only hope you’ve prepared your bike for the rains though. Corrosion proof coating, pre rain brake tune up and of course buying yourself that bright fluorescent parka or rainproof jersey to make you visible in the gray. After all riding in the rain is fun and we can’t let it go unexperienced.

This issue we bring you some International news. Of course with an Indian perspective.Read about a serious, challenging the odds, RAAM attempt by a visually impaired pair on tandem witnessed at close quarters by a crew from India.

Inspirational. The Tour de Tuli starts off and CRANK is preparing to be a part of it next month in South Africa and much more.

And of course profile of aspirational riders and technicians from around the country who are doing a their bit for the cause of cycling.

And before I sign off, hope you are keeping a close eye on Indian juniors on track on the world circuit. Easow is burning the velodrome in Germany. Don’t tell us we didn’t tell you in advance when medals start coming at Asian and Olympics. CFI is doing a grand job. Kudos Till we meet again Ciao Vikram K Limsay Managing Editor and Publisher

CFINews

CFI on fast-track

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n the first week of July, Mr Onkar Singh, Secretary General of Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) and Cycling Federation of India (CFI), had a series of meetings at the UCI headquarters at Aigle, Switzerland, on several issues of development of cycling in Asia.

Discussions were held on World Cycling Centre (WCC) and coaching programmes with UCI WCC Director Mr Frederick Magne. Mr Singh also met WCC Performance Manager Ms Belinda Tarling on various projects of ACC and UCI Commissaires Coordinator Mr Andrius Buividas. Later, Mr Singh met Ms Cecilia Viscarra to discuss the ‘Cycling for All’ project.

The deliberations were held to discuss all projects for the development of Asian cycling as Mr Singh shared plans on these aspects with them. The meetings ended on a positive note with summing up all matters with UCI President Mr David Lappartient and Cabinet and International Relations Director Marjorie Guillaume.

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Juniors Shine in Germany

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he winning spree of Indian junior cyclists continued in SprintCup 2018 — a UCI class I event — in Cottbus, Germany, on June 23-24. Around 200 cyclists from 19 nations attended the tenth anniversary edition of SprintCup at Cottbus cyclist track in the sports center. Apart from hosts Germany, the international event witnessed participation from India, New Zealand, Colombia, Belgium, Great Britain, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Italy, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Ireland, Hong Kong, Canada, South Africa and Lithuania.

advantageous position before the final sprint to the finish line.”

Incidentally, the Indian cycling team consisting of 10 cyclists are on three-month training programme with the German national team.

The coaching team under R K Sharma is also putting its best efforts to take Indian cycling to the higher level in Asia as well as to the World. The final goal is to make efforts for Olympic qualification.

Esow Alban won the second Gold in Sprint Men Junior while Ronaldo Singh and Rojit Singh secured Gold and Silver, respectively, in the Men Cadet Sprint. Following this result, Esow jumped to 2nd place in the UCI world ranking while in the team sprint event, Indian Men Junior team has clinched the 3rd place in the UCI world ranking.

About individual sprint, UCI guidelines say, “Qualification 200m time trials are followed by knockout heats of 3 laps that select the best two riders to line up against each other in the final. Riders sometimes come to a standstill to make their opponent take the lead — the least

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IndustryNews

Scott Sports unveils STC

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COTT Sports India recently unveiled its third SCOTT Technology Center (STC), by Everest Cycling Culture, in Navi Mumbai on 01st July, 2018. The Swiss based global multi-sport company SCOTT’s new STC is a massive 3,000 square feet product and technology hub with special areas devoted to the workshop; bike fit machine and bike parking.

Located in Thane, the STC is aimed at enhancing the consumer experience while offering superior technology products.

At the STC, cyclists can find a large variety of bikes and a wide range of accessories and parts. The center offers an exhaustive range of the top of the line and entry-level SCOTT products.

Major highlights of the third STC are 1) a fleet of test bikes, which includes different ranges from top-end models to mid-range models; 2) the bike fit system by Radlabor, which is now becoming popular worldwide among the cyclist’s community; and 3) the #BuildYourVision service, which helps consumers to personalize their bike. The bike mechanics at STC are trained and certified SCOTT Head Mechanics. The Center is equipped with a complete line of maintenance and service tools designed by Park Tool.

Country Manager of SCOTT Sports India, Jaymin Shah, and Co-Partner at Everest Cycling Culture, Abdul Kazi, welcomed the cyclists at the launch ride of the STC at Palm Beach Road.

More details are available at their Facebook page - https://www. facebook.com/SCOTTSportsIndia/

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XTR M9100 from SHIMANO

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TR M9100: designed to meet the highest level competitive mountain bike racing needs with a second to none performance and experience. XC, Marathon and Enduro racers demand a fine balance of speed, focus and control so each has been analysed and optimized in the development of SHIMANO’s XTR M9100 Series.

New XTR features a groundbreaking 12-speed cassette with either a 10-45T or 10-51T range, 2- or 4-piston brakes, and a new hub featuring SHIMANO’s new MICRO SPLINE technology.

Bas Van Dooren, Shimano Europe Product team leader: “Speed, focus and control were the words we lived by during the development phase. We’ve designed new XTR to enhance acceleration and speed by drastically cutting the loss of driving force with a re-designed drivetrain. We allow for precision focus with an intuitive handlebar set up and pin-point control comes with new brake solutions. New XTR is not an update of M9000, it’s a re-design from the ground up to find the best components for MTB racing for XC, Marathon and Enduro racing.”

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SPEED OF A NEW GENERATION Cassette: Developments in the drivetrain started from the position of minimizing gear change steps to give riders the optimum rhythm and cadence between each gear and ultimately the most overall speed. The result of this was the 51T sprocket, which comes after equal gear steps of 6T in the last three sprockets (10-12-14-16-1821-24-28-3339-45-51T) for an even cadence. XTR also introduces a 10-45T 12speed cassette (10-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36-4045T) for faster or less steep MTB courses and less cadence shock.

The 10-45T (CSM9100-12) is for XC riders wanting small gear steps and the lightest set up, the 10-51T (CS-M9100-12) is for the trail rider to climb every mountain they face.

Both cassettes use strikingly different metals for different sprockets to allow the best balance of weight and durability. The largest sprockets use aluminium, the middle use titanium and the smallest use steel.

A third cassette option (CS-M9110-11) comes with new XTR for riders specifically looking to create a stiffer and lighter wheel set.

Essentially this option is based on the 10-51T cassette with the 51T

of direct mount chainrings saving up to 80 g in weight and available from 30T-38T. Enduro riders running 1x12-speed can add the XTR chain device (SM-CD800 E mount, D mount or ISCG05 type) to aid chain retention and they have the option of the FC-M9120 crankset with a wider Q-factor to fit particular frame dimensions.

Riders who want the biggest gear range and control in all types of terrain have the option of a 2x12-speed crankset (FCM9100/M9120-B2) in 38-28T that can be paired with the 10-45T cassette for the maximum gear range and close gear steps for long races with lots of climbing.

Derailleurs: Three rear derailleurs are available at XTR level (the RDM9100-SGS/ GS long cage or short cage style or the RD-M9120-SGS double chainring long cage style), all with a sleek, aggressive and angular anodized aluminium design. To aid shifting performance the pulley wheels go from 11T at XTR M9000 to a larger 13T size to increase chain retention and together with the rear derailleur’s SHIMANO SHADOW RD+ design, helps minimize chain bounce. sprocket removed to create an 11-speed cassette with 12-speed gear spacing. The benefit of this option is that it gives riders the chance to create a lighter bike and stiffer wheels which can be used with the same chain and shifter that the 12-speed set-up uses.

Meanwhile the front derailleur is also available in three different styles depending on your frame. The Dtype, E-type and M-type mounts all feature SIDE SWING technology for effortlessly smooth front shifting.

Hub tech: To fit the 12-speed set up SHIMANO restructured the FREEHUB design with what’s known as MICRO SPLINE technology to fit the cassette. As well as that comes the introduction of SCYLENCE technology in Shimano’s rear hub. This new technology replaces the pawls with a ratchet system to reduce drag whilst coasting and create a virtually silent hub so you can focus more on the trail ahead. Front hubs are available in 100 or 110 mm spacing with a 15 mm thru-axle and rear hubs come in 142 or 148mm (Boost specification) with a 12 mm thru-axle (HBM9110/-B / FH-M9110/-B).

MADE FOR CITIES

Crankset: Alongside a dedicated 12-speed chain (CN-M9100) with a 12speed QUICK LINK comes a 12-speed crankset (FC-M9100/ M9120-1) with that famous hollow crank arm. XC 1x12-speed riders are well catered for with a wide range

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Made for trains Made for commuters and metros all over the world

Made for speed Making your journeys across town quicker

Indiranagar #226, 1st Main Road, Service Road, Domlur 2nd Stage Bangalore 560 071 Tel: +91 80 2520 2004

Koramangala 12, Service Road, Jakkasandra Extension, 1st Block Near HSR 5th Sector Bangalore - 560034 Tel: +91 80 2550 1967 Mob: +91 9880216064 www.procycle.in www.facebook.com/procycleindia

The first Brompton was designed and built in London 40 years ago, and it is still the city that inspires us most. Every Bike is still hand brazed and assembled at our factory in the capital.

Made for socialising Made for meet ups with friends and quick cafe stops

MADE IN LONDON

Ravi Tomar

ProCycling

Cycling the Comrades Journey

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here is no doubt that cycling is the ideal high-intensity low-impact cross training exercise for runners, but lets hear what these comrades finishers - Atul Godbole, Krishna Sirothia, Ravi Tomar and Nikhil Kamat - have to say about it. As it is known that the Comrades Marathon is the world’s largest and oldest ultramarathon of approximately 89km, which is run annually in South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The direction of the race alternates each year between the “up” run starting from Durban and the “down” run starting from Pietermaritzburg and an athlete must reach five cut-off points in specified times to complete the race.

Atul Godbole is the founder of the ‘Motiv8 Coaching’, which coaches all levels of endurance athletes to achieve their running and triathlon goals. Under the guidance of Atul, 6 athletes completed their first-ever Ironman 70.3 Colombo in February 2018 and in June 2018, 14 athletes participated in the Comrades.

The ‘Motiv8 Coaching’ coaches athletes from all over India and abroad using their convenient online coaching platform. Atul, who is passionate about running and endurance activities, believes that it is an excellent path to a healthy and fit lifestyle via continuous self-improvement. Some of his accomplishments include: 9 Marathons (Personal Best (PB) 3:15 in 2015); 30+ Half Marathons

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Atul Godbole

Ravi Tomar learnt about things that his body was capable of while he was training for the Comrades. He learnt to push beyond all the pain and exhaustion that helped him to attain a whole new level of physical and mental strength. When he completed his first ultramarathon of 50km in Lonavala in February 2018, he felt invincible which further made him believe in his training and himself. Successful completion of the Comrades in June 2018 in 10hrs and 47mins has taught him to push against all the limits.

He said that being a duathlon athlete, he knows that cycling also requires endurance and consistency. He noted that five months of Comrades training has taught him to endure long rides to a significant extent and the most imperative benefits was that he gained more control over gasping and his breathing pattern. Now he is looking forward to participate in more duathlon events and also has plan to participate in an Ironman in 2020.

Krishna Sirothia

(PB 1:26 in 2017); at Ironman 70.3 Turkey in 2016 he qualified for 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championships, the USA; only Indian to complete the Mont-Blanc Vertical Kilometer Race in the French Alps; qualified for the USA Triathlon National Championships in 2015; placed 6th in open category at the Goa Triathlon in 2016; participated in various international events like Ironman 70.3 Phuket, Big Sur Marathon, California, Paris Marathon, etc; founded ‘Team Motiv8’ registered under the prestigious ‘Ironman TriClub Program’ for participating and competing in Ironman races across the world; completed the Two Oceans Marathon in South Africa; completed the Comrades 2016; numerous podium finishes in age category including 2nd at Tritheos 2016, 1st at Veterun 2016, 2nd at Satara Hill Marathon 2015, 3rd at Bangalore Marathon 2015; completed cycling BRMs of 200km, 300km and 400km distance.

Nikhil Kamat has completed Comrades in 2017 and 2018. Nikhil’s endurance journey started in October 2015 when he signed up with the ‘Motiv8 Coaching’ to build the foundations for endurance sports with a structured training approach. In past three years he has completed cycling ‘Super Randonneur’ series in 2016, participated in cycling races around India, participated in the ‘Tour of Tamilnadu’ cycling event in 2016, completed many duathlons, has ran three marathons and attempted London-Edinburgh- London in 2017 immediately after the Comrades. Nikhil considers running as a foundational building block to endurance sports. He aspires to complete Paris-Brest-Paris in 2019 followed by Zurich Ironman in 2020.

Nikhil Kamat

Krishna Sirothia has started running in 2014 and has been running regularly since then. With several marathons and half marathons under his belt, he has achieved the personal best timing of 03:24 hours for a marathon and 01:30 for the half. He has completed both the “up” and the “down” Comrades in 2016 (10:57) and 2017 (10:24) respectively. Krishna cycles to remain fit as well as to crosstrain on non/easy-running days. He has also participated in 5 to 6 Olympic distance duathlons comprising of running and cycling.

While sharing his training routine for Comrades in 2016 and 2017, Krishna mentioned that the training was very demanding with 5 days a week of running with a mileage of 80-100km/week. He said that he used to cycle during his Comrades training to cross-train, which in turn helped him to recover and to continue with his training injury free. He emphasizes that the combination of running and cycling has improved his overall fitness level. He noted that not just cycling helped him with his Comrades training, but the Comrades training has also improved his cycling efficiency. His future plan for 2019 is to do an Olympic distance triathlon and then move towards 70.3 event.

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Our bike docs

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ike technicians are the unsung heroes of any bike shops. You often don’t get a chance to interact with them but it is they who your bike interacts with. CRANK profiles some technicians around the country and we will bring you more as we go along.

At only 22, Mohammad Daud Chaudhari has already gained expertise in solving technical problems of MTB and hybrid bikes. The young customer care technician of TI Cycles in Mumbai had SIS and HDB certifications from Shimano. But he insists that more than these trainings, he learnt various things from his techanical teacher Riyaz Ansari, with has over 25 years of experience in this field.

After completing Class XI, Chaudhari had to take up cycle mechanic’s job full time as due to family problems, he could not study further. “When I saw people taking an interest in high-end bicycles, I too started to learn about cycles and their problems, especially breakdowns, “ says Chaudhari with a smile.

The ace mechanic offered support to many a cyclist as a technical crew in various rides, including K2K, Tour of Aravalli and Deccan Cliffhanger.

In Kolkata, Someshwar Rao is the go-to guy for any problems with cycles of any brands. Almost a selftrained mechanic till getting technical know-how from Hero in 2006 and Firefox later, Rao says, “My journey to mechanic was simple. I used to go on long rides during my school days in Howrah and one day or the other the cycle used to develop snags. My father was not very forthcoming in doling out money to repair those, prompting me to do it all myself.”

A stint with Firefox during 2009-13 also helped Rao pick up tricks of the trade in the company’s training centre in Gurgaon. “It started with a regular Hercules cycle, now I can handle even Specialized or Bergamont, which have users in Kolkata but no service centres as such.

I’ve gained huge experience in fixing problems of these bikes.”

Rao, now 35, has also been roped as technical support crew by cyclists taking part in endurance rides and races. “I feel proud when I see national and international riders on tour or even before and after races call me and wait for my appointment. Also, I’ve conducted several technical workshops for riders in Kolkata so that they can have a basic idea of troubleshooting while riding alone, especially during brevets,” Rao signs off with a smile.

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Mohammad Daud Chaudhari Someshwar Rao

Lal

Lal The Tech The beginning was with a bang. In October 2013, a 23-year-old Nepali boy came to India in search of a job and landed up with Giant Starkenn Cycling World in Pune.

As a complete fresher, he started his days in the workshop — from cleaning bikes to repairing puncture. And, in the process, he picked up tricks of the trade quite fast. Besides servicing, he also began to cycle, and later compete in races to understand high-end bikes well. In just about a month, he could dismantle the bikes and polish them after servicing.

Later, he used to take such bikes on test rides to give feedback to the technician. His mantra was simple: “If I’m not satisfied, how can the rider be?”

After spending about three months, he was allowed bike servicing under guidance of his manager. He serviced top-notch bikes of some elite riders like Gautam Taode. After gaining full support from his team, he started working on different types of bikes with confidence.

Looking at his performance for a year, he was moved to Mumbai, and in just four months, he built his fan base with people starting to recognise him as Lal — Lal Bahadur Rokaya.

To enhance his skill level, Lal attended Shimano training — starting from SIS to Di2, caliper to hydraulics brakes. Soon after his training, he started working on things he learnt and used to feel the difference.

Riders in Mumbai started liking his work; and, paying a visit to Lal before and after events became a ritual. A few customers even dropped their bikes at Giant Starkenn Cycling World in Khar when Lal was not available and asked not to touch their bikes until Lal is back. In simple words, Lal used to do magic to their bikes and they fell for the same. A few customers also said, “You buy a bike from wherever you want to but give it to Lal for servicing.”

Mohammad Rafiullah

These days, Lal works on appointments with his customers.

Usually, the appointments are booked three days in advance. To keep himself updated with changes in the industry, Lal spends his free time on YouTube, browsing through videos and enriching his skill.

He is undoubtedly a great boon to the cycling industry.

Raleigh To Trek: A Giant Shift When he was in Class III, Mohammad Rafiullah started working in a cycle store in Ram Nagar where his father used to work. Today, 35 years down the line, Rafiullah has made a niche in servicing bikes in Jayant Probikes and Fitness in Jayanagar, Bengaluru, where he has been working for the past 13 years.

The beginning was not so smooth, as in the early 1980s there was hardly any high-end bikes in India. “I started with basic repairs and mending punctures of Atlas, AI, Raleigh, Hercules and Hero brands.

During my initial years, I got an opportunity to work on hub dynamo and internal hub gear (3-11 speed) with Raleigh bikes. Before the wheel dynamos, it was the trend of hub dynamos in our part of the world,” says Rafiullah.

Besides Rafiullah’s speciality in Trek bikes, which he has been servicing for 10-plus years now, he has taken a keen interest in working on otherwise irreparable bike components like rear deraileurs, levers, hubs etc than changing those to new ones.

Although he is specialised in MTBs, he was fortunate to work with cyclists like Shamim Rizvi, Nilesh, Naveen Raj, Iggy, Sriram among others during their initial days of cycling. Rafiullah is also wellexperienced in hydraulic bleeding, TLR, shocks, wheel tuning and others.

Apart from being busy with bikes, Rafiullah also rides long distances on his Trek 4300. From Bengaluru, he has done Pune and back, down-and-up Pondicherry and Ooty and back too.

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InternationalEvents

Ultra challenging the odds

By Bharat Pannu

(Bharat, an ultra cyclist, finished Race Around Austria in 2017 as first team of two from India, apart from completing numerous endurance races. He also aims to finish RAAM as a solo racer.)

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or me, it all started in the first week of April 2018 when I became part of Team Sea To See, which was the dream of Dan Berlin and Jack Chen for finishing Race Across America (RAAM) as the first all visually impaired (VI) cycling team. The team had four pairs of pilots and stokers — Caroline Gaynor (female) and Jack Chen (male), Pamela Ferguson (F) and Tina Ament (F), Chris Howard (M) and Kyle Coon (M), and Charles Scott (M) and Dan Berlin (M).

The first training camp of the team, which had no cycling coach as such, took place in Arizona in January 2018 and was to simulate 24 hours of our race, so the crew could experience what the exchanges would look like and how it all worked. The second training camp took place at Grand Junction, Colorado, in April.

On June 11, I reached Oceanside, the start point of RAAM, where I met all the team members as they arrived. It took no time to gel with them although I was the only Indian in the otherwise all-US team and crew. Most members of the team stayed in Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, where we had to prepare the tandem bicycles — of various brands like Canondale, Co-Motion, Calfee, Hawthorne, Seven and Granite — and vehicles. Also, all bikes were 11 speed — four with DI 2 Shimano Ultegra, two with Shimano Ultegra and two others with SRAM components.

On June 14 night, Blind Stokers Club of Oceanside welcomed us with open arms and gave us a chance to speak about what motivated the team to want to do the 3,000-mile race. We were

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placed in 4-person mixed (under 50) category as we were riding tandem bikes.

At 12 noon on June 16, Team Sea To See started the race after dipping our bicycles in the Pacific for good luck. All our bicycles started out together with one van following for the first 23 miles at an easy parade pace.

Our strategy was simple: four pairs of riders were divided in two sets; each set would take four-six hour to pull while the other set would rest. With each set of riders doing anywhere from 4-10+ miles depending on the terrain, sleep deprivation, muscle fatigue, etc. At any given time, a tandem bicycle was on the course with a follow van and a shuttle van. Often, a command van was also

deployed for emergencies. On top of the vans leapfrogging, the two RVs (one of which towed the mechanics trailer) was leapfrogging the resting riders. So leapfrogging on top of leapfrogging — that was our strategy.

We always had spare bikes in the vans, food, ice, radio sets and plenty of laughter! The vans were equipped with radios so we were in constant communication with each other (as long as we were in range) and each van had a driver and navigator.

The first day was awesome and I spent way too much of it being excited! Our first stop was in Borrego Springs, CA. My role was of primarily van driver, and my days were driving for 12-14 hours. After my shift was done, a quick meal, bathroom break and a bite to eat and then sleep for eight hours with two hours of break. My navigator was Sheila Stevans. There were four sets of driver-navigators and I have to say we had a solid easy-going relationship out on the road.

We worked extremely well together — Sheila had local knowledge of the route and what the riders would need. We were always quick on our feet, and laughed until we cried.

There were always six of us in three vans (driving and navigating), four cyclists out on the road (two waiting and two actively cycling) while the remaining team was stationed in the RVs — either sleeping or driving. Every nook and cranny of the RV was taken over by either luggage, water bottles, snacks or tired bodies. The RVs took local roads and highways. If you were okay with tight sleeping/ living quarters, minimal showers (I took three showers during the entire seven-day trip), hanging with stranger-turned-friends, then this was definitely the adventure for you!

We obviously encountered some hiccups along the way but fate always seemed to be on our side. At an unknown place, chains of two of our bikes snapped and as we were figuring out what to do, we drove slowly passed a bicycle repair shop whose owner directed us where to get chain replacements! Also, due to the amazing preparedness of our food managers, we never went hungry. Our vehicles got stuck twice and, on both occasions, — once in mud and the other soft sand — we were able to get out in a reasonable amount of time. Fans who tracked us online seemed to always make an appearance whenever we needed our spirits to be lifted the most. Weather, for the most part, was on our side but we did face some nasty ones, including flash flood, lightning bursts and insane hailstorm. A large hail even broke our van window! Thankfully, Dan Berlin was wearing a helmet in the van for protection!!

all came together for a common goal, giving up weeks of our life, left our families at home while most of us had never met before, sacrificed hygiene, and all these to support eight cyclists to make history! At 6.21 am on June 24, we became the first-ever VI team to cycle across the US. The common theme to this adventure and word I keep coming back to is — gratitude. We made history in becoming the first ever VI team to participate and finish in RAAM. We raised awareness for a community with a 70 per cent joblessness rate but most importantly we treated each other with kindness and encouragement. We left Annapolis with more friendships, permanent smiles, giddiness to tell the world what we had done, and an increased kindness for humanity and each other.

The numbers: 2 RVs 3 15-passenger vans 28 crew members 3 RV nutrition managers 4 blind stoker cyclists 4 sighted pilot cyclists 11 film crew 3069 miles raced in 7 days 15 hours and 3 minutes 16.77 mph average speed (includes stops) 19.1 mph average moving speed 54 Time Stations where we zeroed out our odometers to stay on track with the preprinted RAAM directions 12 states — California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland 2 cyclists who carried their tandem bikes over fast-moving water flooding a road 1st place in our division of tandem cyclists

For all the crazy lows, there were so many positive memories. We

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Nedbank Tour de Tuli 2018 Route

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une 2018 – Nedbank Tour de Tuli has officially launched the 2018 route of Africa’s most adventurous mountain-biking event, which will see 300 riders cycle cross more than 250 km of challenging and remote terrain in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa between 2 and 7 August. Riders will not only have the unique opportunity to discover thrilling and untravelled wilderness trails, but also enjoy a range of original activities such as meeting an astronomer, being present at the unveiling of the brand new Nyala Berry Camp in Zimbabwe and visiting a fascinating 140-million-year-old dinosaur fossil site.

The 2018 Tour de Tuli promises a life-changing mountain-biking event through prime wilderness areas. “Each year the route for the Nedbank Tour de Tuli changes as our volunteer teams are constantly discovering new and exciting trails for our riders. With over 11 years of exploring the Tuli Block, our route planners have managed to find some truly authentic wilderness trails that not only showcase the magnificent landscapes throughout the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area (GMTFCA), but also create the best cycling adventures in Africa”, said Tour Director, Nicola Harris.

This year promises another extraordinary mountain-biking journey complete with pristine single-track wilderness trails, a range of wildlife encounters, meaningful community interactions along the way and superlative hospitality with 150 volunteers completely dedicated to the success of the event. The Tour will be opened by the celebrated Botswana Dance and Choir Group who will also see the riders off in style on the morning of the first riding day.

In Zimbabwe, renowned astronomer Cory Schmitz will take guests on a virtual tour of the stars on the second night, the 5th of August. He is participating in the Tour and will be available to chat with riders, sharing his expertise on astronomy. According to Cory, “2018 is very special in that we are able to see five planets (Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars) with the naked eye, all at once, with four of them being some of the brightest ‘stars’ in the sky! Mars in particular will be bigger, brighter and closer to Earth than it’s been since 2003. The remote location of the event will offer incredible visibility of the planets due to the significantly reduced

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light pollution in this wilderness area and I am looking forward to sharing this magic with the Tour’s participants”.

Itinerary highlights over the four days of cycling include:

Day 1: Limpopo Valley Airfield to Limpopo River Camp (Botswana) – approximately 60 km The riders set off from the Limpopo Valley Airfield, with many little koppies providing 360-degree views of the breathtaking landscapes showcasing the Tuli Block, while the spectacular sunrise colours in the winter bushveld are sure to impress. Riders can expect huge diversity in the terrain, with changing landscapes and mopane thickets opening into plains littered with agates, shepherd’s trees, rocky sides and plenty of undulating sections hiding sneaky and sandy drainage lines that require special attention to detail and great caution from the rider. Interesting highlights include a stop at ‘Bryce’s Store’ which contains historic tales of the conflict between the British and the Boers dating back to the late 1800s in what officially came be to known as the Anglo Boer War.

Day 2: Limpopo River Camp (Botswana) to Nyala Berry Camp (Zimbabwe) – approximately 80 km The second day of the Tour is the longest riding day and therefore it is compulsory for riders to carry hydration packs. They ride along the Limpopo River for a few kilometres before turning north towards the crossing point into Zimbabwe, using ancient paths that migrating elephants have walked for centuries. Since these elephant trails have been used for so long they are hard-packed, creating perfect, fast and flowing riding routes. At Shashe village, riders are treated to a tour around the community-owned and farmed orange orchards irrigated with massive central pivot machines. They also get to visit the children of the Jalukange Primary School (one of ‘Children in the Wilderness’ partner schools within the GMTFCA), before enjoying the fast-flowing, winding jeep track that will take them past the Big Donga before crossing the Pazhi River. After sailing across the mopane graveyard, past ancient nyala berry trees, the riders settle in at the brand new Nyala Berry Camp for the rest of the day. Situated on a flat-topped mesa along the Pazhi River,

the camp owes its name to the massive and ancient nyala berry trees on the site.

in the ancient Kingdom of Mapungubwe, a World Heritage Site in South Africa.

Day 3: Nyala Berry Camp loop (Zimbabwe) – approximately 52 km

“We have spent many hours fine-tuning this route and can’t wait to share it with our repeat riders, as well as introduce the Tour’s magic to our newcomers. Being based at a new and remote camp for two nights will give our riders time to relax and feel at home in this beautiful wilderness area and to enjoy and explore the beautiful nyala berry forest”, Nicola added.

The third day begins by crossing the Pazhi River into a fascinating region of sandstone koppies, rocky outcrops and old elephant trails. There is an opportunity for riders to explore the Tobwane Dam along the way before tracking along the ridge separating this region from the Limpopo floodplain. After a tea stop, riders head down a rocky ridge towards the newest one-kilometre dam wall in Zimbabwe. The reservoir has been created to store water pumped out of the Limpopo River using solar power.

Day 4: Nyala Berry Camp (Zimbabwe) to Mapungubwe Camp – approximately 60 km The last riding day of the Tour is a feast of sights for the riders, including plenty of elephants, and a fascinating dinosaur fossil site that is more than 140 million years old. After crossing the Pazhi River again, riders enjoy a spectacular viewpoint, which includes an interesting old ox-wagon that was abandoned there many years ago. Riders then proceed to fast-flowing plains with no riding tracks. The area is ideal for game sightings, including a den of bat-eared foxes. Once they cross the red Kalahari sand, riders take in the magnificent surroundings of baobabs and ancient rock-figs until they emerge at the Sizi Spring, purported to grant ‘everlasting youth’. The last night’s festivities take place at Mapungubwe Camp

What makes the Tour that much more appealing is the fact that all funds raised are channelled directly to Children in the Wilderness (CITW), a non-profit organisation that runs sustainable environmental education programmes in rural areas, bridging the gap between local communities and the adjoining wildlife areas they live next to.

“The Nedbank Tour de Tuli is the primary fundraising event for CITW and has contributed immensely towards the programme since 2006. Thanks to our participants, sponsors and volunteers, the Tour has managed to raise more than ZAR20 million for CITW to date and this has allowed for the sustainability and steady growth of the programme across seven African countries. CITW has since awarded more than 2 000 scholarships to learners at primary, secondary and post-secondary institutions, has hosted some 7 000 children on Eco-Clubs, and trained close to 700 Eco-Mentors.

The actual Tour may just be four riding days each year, but its positive impact is everlasting in the lives of these children”, Nicola concluded.

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21

Profiled

Fast and fit mother - Anuradha Chari

“

It is never too late to start something new,” says Anuradha Chari, mother to a 12-year-old daughter. The 42-year-old IT professional, who is currently working with Standard Chartered Bank, is an amateur and recreational, but a passionate triathlete.

While recalling her journey to become a triathlete, Anuradha said that she had never played any sport in her entire life. In 2014, two years after moving into her apartment, which has a 25m indoor swimming pool, she learnt swimming. She added that she learnt to swim very fast because of her love for the water and hence was tempted to swim in the open water and that is when she came to know about Goa triathlon, in which she participated as a swimmer in the Olympic Distance Relay with her friends. She was happy not being the last person to come out of the water after finishing the 1.5k of the sea swim. According to her, the Goa Triathlon has changed her life. When she saw triathletes doing all three disciplines of the sport back to back, she made up her mind to do a triathlon.

Now the only challenge she had in front of her was to learn to cycle and run.

The next year she bought a cycle and with the help of her friends and her daughter, she learnt the basics of cycling. While appreciating Anil Kadsur for being patient and teaching her cycling, she also thanked her coaches, who helped her in her journey.

She continued that Madhurjya Borah had structured her triathlon

22

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training and had also helped her to improve her swimming. His training plan and nutrition tips made a huge difference in her overall triathlon performance improvement. She is currently training under the Tri Coach Kaustub Radkar. She mentioned that training was her biggest challenge and recovery was even more challenging being a working single parent. But she was glad that her coach had customized her training plan according to her busy daily routine.

She mentioned that she gets one rest day every week and does her endurance training over the weekends. On the weekdays, she swims, bikes and runs, but with the more focus on speed. She fears the most cycling mainly because of her bike handling skills and admits that she is very weak in running, but in spite of all that she loves triathlon and the trainings and like any other triathlete, her goal is also to become an Ironman someday.

She said that she had participated in a number of local triathlons between 2016-17 and had finished the 70.3 Colombo Ironman in February this year. She has also got podiums in triathlons, in state level masters swimming championships and in open water swimathon competitions, which has boosted her confidence immensely.

Before concluding, she stated that if she could learn all the three disciplines of the sport in her 40s, then anyone could try something new, which gives him/her happiness, at any age. Her mantra is, “Do it for yourself. Stay fit and feel beautiful inside out.”

Pedal push for passion - Gautam Battish

O

n July 1, 2017, banker-turned-businessman Gautam Battish challenged himself with something he had never done before: cycling everyday. For the first 100 days, he cycled 20 km daily that he increased by another 10 km from the 101st day. Following advice from doctors, he was successful in reducing weight by 15 kg as he was on the borderline of lifestyle diseases.

“Be it fog or smog — I was always on the road. It was a great honour for me when Bathinda Cycling Group rewarded me with medals for taking part in 50-day and 30-day cycling challenges.

I always encourage my students, in the coaching centre I run at present, to attend classes on cycle,” says Battish, 45. His passion could not fail him even when his cycle was snatched by some miscreants in October last year. “After finishing 23 km on that cycle, I had to get another to complete the rest 7 km,” Battish signs off with a smile.

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