Journalism of Courage
Pune’s ace ultra-cyclist Preeti Maske is unstoppable. The 44-year-old holds the record for the fastest woman cyclist on the Golden Quadrilateral (6,000 km) and is now attempting another World Ultra Cycling record by pedalling from Leh to Manali (480 km) within 60 hours. Mother of two, Preeti says age is no barrier to exploring one’s passion.
The ride, planned for June 22, will be at 3,600 metres above sea level. “I am training hard for this Leh-Manali non-stop high-altitude expedition,” Preeti told The Indian Express.
“I recently participated in another high-altitude cycling event in Uttarakhand in May cycling at 3,400 meters on the Indo-China-Nepal border, a women’s cycling expedition Tour-de-Kailash,” she said. Preeti was the lone woman cyclist from Pune invited by the Uttarakhand government.
She admits that the most challenging part of Leh-Manali is sleep deprivation as it is a continuous, non-stop ride to be completed within 60 hours.
The second challenge will be to manage the extremely low temperatures at high-altitude passes, especially at night. “I am quite enthusiastic about the ride and have dedicated it to the Border Roads Organization (BRO) which has been doing amazing work. (BRO develops and maintains road networks in India’s border areas and friendly neighbouring countries).
The expedition includes a crew of six persons. “I will have to be at Leh at least ten days before the ride to get acclimatised to the high-altitude terrain,” she said. On the nutrition front, Preeti said that she would mostly have a high-protein liquid diet for quick and continuous energy replenishment. Preeti has several records, including covering the Srinagar-Leh-Khardungla top in five days last year.
Last year, she completed the Golden Quadrilateral route — Pune-Bengaluru-Chennai-Kolkata-Delhi-Rajasthan–Mumbai-Pune — in 24 days and six hours. The ride had the approval of the Guinness Book of World Records, which had set a time limit of 30 days for the cyclist.
Cycle ride to Pandharpur on June 11
Preeti, along with three other cyclists — Nilesh Misaal, Shankar Gadve and Sunil Kukde, has set up an NGO `World on Wheels’ and is organising a 230-km cycle ride from Pune to Pandharpur on June 11. Around 50 cyclists will participate in this day-long ride, Preeti said.
