Taking up sports after retirement is commendable. Post-retirement cycling and hiking thousands of kilometers across eight states in just one month is a different game.
This five-member group of city retirees completed a self-supported Delhi-Kolkata-Raipur-Pune cycle tour, covering 3,444 km in just 30 days. They concluded their ride at historic Shaniwarwada on Sunday morning.
The youngest in the group was Monish Chakraborty (53) and the oldest was Adv Gautam Bhinganiya (79). Other members of the team were Sanjay Katti (67), Mukund Chiplunkar (71) and Shankar Kengar (65), who retired as Superintendent of Police, his last posting in Sambhajinagar.
Bhinganiya, who retired as a food scientist with the Maharashtra government, started cycling seven years ago. After retirement, initially yoga was an exercise for him, when he saw that his granddaughter’s bicycle was not being used at home, he started cycling for short distances of 2-5 km. However, after joining a Young Seniors group that conducts daily rides across the city, he started doing long and adventurous rides like the recent expedition.
Chiplunkar, an IITian who retired as a chemical engineer, says his reason for taking up cycling was to stay fit and become an asset to society.
Talking about the expedition, he said the group had set out without a support vehicle. “We used to travel light with luggage on bicycle panniers, stay in hotels near main roads and take breaks every hour. We used to eat lunch only after cycling for hundred kilometers,’ he said.
Chiplunkar says that the campaign was completed without any untoward incident. “In fact, we were overwhelmed by the kindness and support extended by people all along the way. The highlight of our trip was our participation in the Dev Diwali celebrations in Varanasi on November 15,” he says.
Starting from Delhi’s India Gate, the cyclists traversed some of the country’s most historically and culturally rich regions, covering Mathura, Agra, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Bodh Gaya, Durgapur, Kolkata, Sambalpur, Raipur, Bhilai, Nagpur and Sambhajinagar.
Katti, who conceived the ride, believes that these endurance journeys push all boundaries and inspire others to stay healthy. A former deputy general manager of Mercedes-Benz, he says the Young Seniors group, which started around 12 years ago, does morning rides of 40-50 km daily.
“We have about 80 members in the group, including women. On an average day, 15-20 members participate in the rides. Our longest journeys in the past were Kolkata-Kanyakumari (3,000 km), India West to East (3,870 km) and Kashmir-Kanyakumari (3,930 km),” he said.