Four wheels move a body, Two wheels move a soul!
3rd day of cycling for almost 24 hours straight…
Total Travel on day 3 : 383 kilometers (Around 1200 kilometers from Srinagar till Agra)
Total cycling time : almost 24 hours
Route: Mathrul toll plaza, Delhi , Mathura, Agra
States crossed : Jammu and Kashmir, Hariyana, Punjab, Delhi, and a part of Rajasthan
Now Preeti has reached the Capital City of Delhi and is heading towards Dholpur.
At around six in the morning Preeti and the team started from Karnal toll plaza….. about 60 kilometers from Karnal toll plaza is Murthal toll plaza. Preeti and the team spent some time there with Mr. Kumar Vivek Vimal and Mr. Balwant Singh ( Officials at the toll plaza) and workers of Murthal toll plaza…
Apart from collecting toll the toll workers are also responsible for ensuring safety of the people travelling through …. They are used to seeing numerous accidents of small nature… Mr. Anand from the team shared the vision behind Preeti’s mission. A dead person can donate only his eyes but a brain dead person ( usually on account of being met with an accident) can donate 7-8 organs…. These organs can be useful for many people in need of them and can be lifesaving for them …. The ratio of the people needing organs to the available organs in India is 10000:1. Once they understood the Preeti has taken up this herculean task to spread awareness about organ donation… the people working at the Murthal toll plaza also pledged to spread the word about organ donation and try to do their bit for the society at large….
Smooth road… pleasant climate but Preeti’s cycle wasn’t supporting her the way she expected …….. On reaching Delhi the repair work was done…. Here too she had to tackle the unruly traffic.
The representatives of ANJ (who is the primary sponsor of this mission) from Delhi came to meet Preeti and give their blessings and best wishes for the successful completion of the expedition.
After 3 days of tiring and continuous work by the team members a small change was made in the support team. Mr. Sandeep, Col. Datta and Rutuja Maske were given rest and two new members were introduced in the team… let’s get to know these people….
- Mr. Kiran Patil: A mountaineer from Pune and a team member from Preeti’s previous mission “ Golden Quadrilateral” …. He and Preeti got to know each other in the Sahyadri Bhraman Mandal .. He has been introduced in the team to take care Preeti’s mental fitness and to ensure proper resting schedule for her so she doesn’t drain out.
- Mr. Vikas Bhosale: Basically from Phaltan , He’s been brought into the team for technical support…. He;s going to be driving the car behind Preeti and also will be responsible for any repairs that her cycle might need. He’s been with her in her Arunachal ( East west) expedition.
With the entry of these two new members the existing team members will get some rest and will also help in maintaining high morale for the expedition. The experience these two new members carrying with them is going to be of immense help for the expedition.
The travel through Delhi was a long one and took the whole day to cross Delhi…. In the evening Preeti decided to eat in the famous Haldiram outlet on the way to Agra….. A About 20 kilometers from there is Mathura and Agra about 80 kilometers… Doesn’t look like Preeti is going to wait anymore in between… she is usual extremely motivated self…… and the team is a bit worried about her sleep and rest schedule…..
Preeti took two small break ( for about 25-30 minutes each) did some stretching exercises and got ready to move ahead…
Salute to the lady who has been on two wheels for 2 continuous days for spreading the awareness about Organ Donation.
Attitude is a little thing that makes a BIG difference
Original Blog By : Kavita Pipada
English Translation By : Girija Shirurkar