**Bhubaneswar:** Senior IPS officer Sanjeeb Panda believes that cycling is not only a way to a make life healthy, but can also raise awareness on social issues and is a better way of travelling as one can truly interact with the locals of a place instead of mere sight seeing. This passion in him led him to guide a team of 12 cyclists to conquer the Manali-Leh-Khardungla (MLK) road touted to be one of the highest motorable roads of the world.
The thirteen daredevils successfully completed the cycling trip as a part of the Annual Flagship Adventure of the Bhubaneswar Cycling And Adventure Club (BCAC). The trip that started on August 2 from Manali, concluded after nine days at KhardungLa as the adventurers cycled on the MLK road, over an altitude of 17900 ft above mean sea level.
Sanjeeb Panda, Founder and President of BCAC said, “Manali-Leh-KhardungLa route is considered as one of the toughest routes of the world and rated as an extreme route by Nat-Geo Adventure. It has many extreme challenges and adventures of high-altitude in low-oxygen levels.”
The bravehearts rode on their bicycles under scorching heat, shivering cold, sandstorm and spine-chilling hailstorm, gravel and almost non-existent roads, glaciers to complete these 550 kilometers of route in 10 days.
On the way, the cyclists covered 6 high-altitude passes namely, Rohtang Pass, BarlachaLa pass, NakeeLa Pass, LachungLa Pass, TanglangLa Pass, and KhardungLa Pass.
Apart from these passes, the cyclists also covered different glacier driven water bodies namely, Raani Naala, Whiskey Naala, Brandy Naala and lakes namely Deepak Taal and Suraj Taal.
“For any person this is a highly challenging job and for every adventure cyclist this is a lifetime adventure,” he added.
This trip has also set another benchmark as for the first time a female cyclist, Sipra Hota has also successfully completed the adventure.
Founded in 2014, this government registered club has conducted flagship adventures to Bhutan in 2015, Vietnam in 2016, and Kathmandu in 2017.
“Apart from the flagship adventures, the club also conducts weekly Sunday drives and a quarterly ride to Nandankanan and back in order to spread awareness and attract more members. We also conduct a programme called ‘cycling under the stars’ every year when we ride through the Golden Triangle of Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark,” he said.
With over 150 members comprising of several government officials, IT entrepreneurs, college graduates and young students, the club has also conducted many sensitization rides, cycling explorations and heritage rides to promote culture while spreading environmental awareness.
“Our most recent ride was during Rath Yatra when we rode to Puri in order to promote the upcoming Men’s Hockey World Cup. We talked to people, gave out flyers and pasted posters for the success of the event,” he narrated.
Managing both his work life as IG of Police (Special Armed Police) and his adventure life, Panda concluded, “Cycling is a passion. And one should always find time for following his passion no matter how fine the balance between work and life may be.”
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