RIDE and SHINE
Delhi conquered… Dholpur done and now we are at Lalitpur ……..
Total Travel on day 4 : 300 kilometers
Total cycling time : approximately 20 hours
Total Travel until now: 1500 kilometers
Route : Chambal Bridge-Murena-Gwalior-Datia-Jhansi (Bypass)-Babina Rural- Lalitpur (Bypass)
States crossed : Jammu and Kashmir, Hariyana, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan and a part of Madhya Pradesh
On 16th in the wee hours early morning one team reached Lalitpur and the other team is around 40 kilometers behind them…
Only 3 breaks between Delhi and Gwalior … and the longest one was at Gwalior at 3 pm when they had lunch…. Now going towards Jhansi …. Preeti has been taking small naps in every break but hasn’t really slept for a long time… this was at 7: 15 pm in the evening on the 15th of February 2023.
Almost 375 to 400 kilometers every day with very limited rest time… extremely less sleep … Preeti and the team have to ensure that she is well-fed and more importantly well hydrated…. She has been eating less as it makes her feel drowsy but she has made it a point to take her proteins and keeping herself well hydrated…. A hardcore vegetarian …. The proteins primarily come from Paneer and protein energy bars….…. The hydration part is taken care by Coconut Water… Buttermilk…. One off bottle of flavored milk…. And of course water….. She’s also taking vitamin tablets everyday for endurance…… 3-4 liters of water per day.
The team also plays a very important part in this… they keep pestering ( Pun intended) her … They have ensured a fall free ride this time ( Preeti has had a couple of times in her past expeditions due to exhaustion ) …. She takes this with a pinch of salt….. Overall it’s a highly positively charged atmosphere….
Preeti has finally decided to get some sleep… she has slept for around three straight hours somewhere near Lalitpur ever since she started from Srinagar……. The team is relieved too. They had been worrying about her not getting enough sleep and being exhausted….
On the morning of 16th February 2023 Preeti and the team have started from Lalitpur and now they are moving towards Sagar (Sagour) in Madhya Pradesh…… The cold has resided… Preeti and the team have started feeling the warmth… the strategy they have now is to cover maximum distance in the night when it’s cold ….. Preeti is wearing a cooling Jacket and drowsing her head gear with water to handle the heat…
From Dholpur to Sagar there lies the Famous Chambal Valley and the Murena Patch…. For the layman a pretty scary patch but this is a very safe one now as per the team….
Owing to the challenges faced in the first 2 days the team is 200 kilometers behind schedule and they plan to cycle around 60 additional kilometers every day…. The team is also coming up with runtime problem-solving techniques like buying red flags to handle and manage the traffic and make way for Preeti to cycle….
We also spoke to Rutuja Maske, Preeti’s daughter…. She says at the moment Rutuja is the Mom and Preeti is the daughter…. She’s busy taking care of Preeti and is extremely Proud of her MOM …Preeti also gets a nice and refreshing massage from Rutuja at most of the pit stops….
Preeti having done the route five years ago she’s aware of the terrain … Back then Preeti had done K2K in around 17 days… this time cycling for the noble cause of Organ Donation inspired her so much that Preeti , like Arjun could see only the fish’s eye….. she can only see the destination if Kanyakumari…. None of the problems really make a difference …
The Preeti and the team wish to reach Sagar by nightfall on 16th February 2023. They also have the strategy to take more rest in the afternoons when the sun is high and cover most of the distance in the night when its cooler. For achieving this , Preeti has to reset her body clock …. Sleeping (short bouts of sleep like she normally has been doing since she has started the expedition) in the day and staying awake the whole night ….. The team is extremely certain that Preeti is going to handle everything in her own distinct way……. As always…..
There will be a lot of complaining that today was too hard , but winners never complain….
That’s Preeti for us
Original Blog By : Kavita Pipada
English Translation By : Girija Shirurkar