Women cyclists connect India’s East to West

AHMEDABAD: They began from Kibithoo, the last town on the Indo-China border in eastern India on a cycling expedition on January 27. Almost a month later, on Tuesday, cyclists Meera Velankar and Tasneem Mohsin will reach Koteshwar, the last Indian town on the Indo-Pakistan border, having covered 3,800km on their bicycles.
Covering between 150 to 175 kilometres every day, depending on the kind of terrain they were passing through, the Bengaluru-based cycling duo will achieve a unique feat on Tuesday.Never before has a pair of women cyclists travelled from India’s eastern-most town to the last town on the western borders of the country. The cyclists reached Bhuj late on Monday evening.
Meera Velankar, 45, who has been cycling for the past 10 years and is among India’s top long-distance cyclists, said that cycling from India’s eastern-most town to the last town on the western coast with another woman cycling has been extremely satisfying “I have done long distance trips with male cyclists earlier, but this expedition has truly been challenging and satisfying,” said Velankar. In 2020, Velankar and Dikar Patil, an ex-serviceman, completed the 6,263km golden quadrilateral route on a tandem bicycle.
Earlier, she also completed a Kanyakumari to Kashmir expedition on a bicycle.
“It has been an enormous and unimaginable experience. From the Himalayas to the Aravali mountain ranges, we traversed the most versatile landscape one could think of,” said Tasneem Mohsin, who has been an endurance rider and mother of two. Mohsin, 42, who is passionate about travelling by bicycle, has earned the ‘Super Randonneur’ two times by completing 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km in a single year.
When asked about how tough the expedition was, Meera said, “Managing temperature variations in a short span is tough. Cycling in mountains in freezing cold to high temperatures in Gujarat and Rajasthan was a challenge. We threw away heavy winter clothing as we cycled into the plains.” Tasneem added, “It was scary at times when for miles together we did not see anything on the roads in Arunachal. We are so used to seeing people, vehicles and roadside stalls, but the hilly regions of Arunachal Pradesh are completely deserted.”