Maharashtra: Setting the new record of the fastest bicycle journey across India, a 17-year-old boy from Nashik, Maharashtra has pedalled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in eight days and seven hours. The journey is approximately 3,600 kilometres.
The boy named Om Mahajan broke the record of Indian Army’s Lt Col Bharat Pannu as he reached Kanyakumari in eight days, seven hours and 38 minutes. Mahajan became the fastest cyclist to reach from Srinagar to Kanyakumari.
Mahajan’s uncle Mahendra holds the existing Guinness World Records for the fastest bicycle ride from Srinagar to Kanyakumari. But the record was broken by Lt Col Bharat Pannu after he completed the journey in eight days and nine hours. However, young Mahajan broke Pannu’s record before it could be entered in the Guinness Book.
“I was always into cycling, but it was more about sprinting. I began to dream of endurance cycling and taking part in the Race Across America (RAAM) after the lockdown began. About six months ago, I began training for the qualifier ride for RAAM which was to happen in November,” Mahajan was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The pandemic, however, delayed his departure to the United States, where he has also taken admission in a sports management course, the report said.
Mahajan started his journey last week on a chilly winter night from Srinagar and passed through several states to reach his final destination, which is a tropical temperature place.
Mahajan also had to cycle through rain somewhere in Madhya Pradesh and got only a few hours of sleep during his entire course of the challenge, the report mentioned.
