A 'gang war' to shed flab via cycling

Mangaluru: Mangalore Bicycle Club recently conducted MbC Gang War, a 16-day strategic team-based challenge, to bring in regularity in cycling for fitness and commutation. Teams were evaluated based on individual/team riding capabilities and not on speed/distance/time taken, keeping in mind safety of riders. The event, launched on April 15, also included trump cards to make the course more interesting.
"The drive for cyclists was not just to win the war but to make this sport safe, healthy and disciplined," said Ganesh Nayak, a member of MbC.
Five teams, comprising 57 riders, participated in the challenge. Team MbC covered 25,000 km in 16 days, with 47 riders pedalling for 13 days covering an average of 30 km each. tnn
Team MbC shed 165 kgs of unwanted body fat, an average 3 kg per rider.
Team Cyclomaniacs led by Dr Pritam Sharma emerged the best team based on active participation from all members and leadership skills in the GoGreenGoCycling cause ride on the last day. Team members were Dr Arjun Dev, Dr Murali, Dr Nagaraj, Dr Prashanth Marla, Dr Rajesh Hukkeri, Joshua, Mithil, Mukesh Rao, Mukund Shet, Ramrathan Naik, Sharath Alva and Shiva Shankar Achar.
Ganesh said a rolling trophy would be handed over to the winning team during the launch of the Club's website. He said a special mention has to be made of three riders, who rode bicycles on all 16 days of the challenge. They are Dr Pritam from Cyclomaniacs, Dhanraj from Easy Riders and Maxim from Old Kranks.
"This challenge has brought momentum to the cycling trend in the city and also helped newcomers to start become active," said Ganesh. Based on the overwhelming response received from riders for the MbC Gang War, Ganesh said season II will be launched in October 2016.