It Never Gets Easier, You Just Get Better!
Hyderabad done… now ready to conquer Bengaluru
Total Travel on Day 8: 270 kilometers
Total cycling time: Approximately 20 hours
Route : Ramayapet – Chegunta – Manoharabad – Hyderabad
States crossed: Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and a part of Telangana State
One more major change was made in the team on Sunday.. Preeti’s friend Shri. Shankar Gadave was included in the team… being a cyclist himself, he is here to help Preeti cover the south leg of her expedition.
Preeti started around 8 in the morning… There was an ascend this time…. Being a Sunday, the highway was comparatively empty…. The Hussain Sagar road joining Hyderabad and Secunderabad was closed on account of it being a Sunday… This compelled Preeti and the team to take the internal road via the main city… All the traffic in the city… the signals (the stops at them) accounted for a lesser average speed.
When Preeti reached Hyderabad in the evening, the local cyclists’ group welcomed her with open arms and wished her all the very best for her mission. Mr. Prasad from the group on his motor cycle showed a shorter route and guided Preeti and the team out of the city onto the highway … this saved a lot of time and a distance of 40 kilometers was covered in a comparatively small period of time.
Preeti being her usual self took only 2 breaks in the whole journey on the 8th day… once for half an hour and once for around two and a half hours in the afternoon for a nap…
Shankar says “It’s easier to ride at night because there are no head winds in the night”… In the day, due to the heat, the body gets dehydrated very fast and the requirement of liquids goes upto ten times that of what is required in the night. Also, at night, the traffic primarily comprises of commercial transport vehicles (they maintain a certain speed) making it easier to maneuver the cycle and to maintain a certain average speed of cycling.
Riding throughout the night… Shankar was keeping Preeti awake by talking to her on the phone (Using earphone of course)… at times a joke … at times planning of further activities like the “Katraj to Sinhagad Trek” to be held in March, “The Ravet Cyclathon” again to be held in March, etc are the usual topics of talks between them…. The team has come up with such things to ensure Preeti doesn’t feel sleepy at night while riding.
Now the next 400 kilometers to Bengaluru are the critical ones in the last leg of the mission…. This is a road with a rising gradient and being an ascend it is going to be tough on Preeti…. The average speed also may come down due to the ascend ….The rest of the way to Kanyakumari is a descend and will be a bit easier… also the average speed will increase after Bengaluru is what is expected..
Preeti would have entered the state of Karnataka by the time you read this article…
In the words of Alexander the Great :
“There is nothing impossible to they who will try.”
That’s who is Preeti for us!!!!!!!!!!
Original Blog By : Kavita Pipada
English Translation By : Girija Shirurkar