Ten thousand. This five-numerical figure has fascinated people for a long time. As an example, Sunil Gavaskar’s 10,000th run. I can vividly recall Gavaskar nudging a quick single through the slips to become the first cricketer to reach 10,000 test runs. I had watched that moment on TV—the fourth test match against Pakistan at Ahmedabad in March 1987. As soon as the ball went past the sole slip fielder, Gavaskar—his head slightly lowered, mid-single—raised his bat in both triumph and celebration. Throughout his career, Gavaskar never looked at the scoreboard but that day as he moved from 57 inning score to 58 he was visibly anxious—and conscious—of the historical importance of the occasion.
After all, it was a milestone. And he was to become the first test cricketer to achieve that.
On October 21, 2020, on a sunny and breezy morning, as the clock struck seven, and my cycle landed right in front of Vinobaji’s Pavnar ashram, the Garmin on my wrist signalled that I had met the target I had set my eyes on. Ten thousand kms of cycling. After 533 hours on saddle and 441 sessions of biking on roads around Sevagram and Nagpur.
Undoubtedly, professional cyclists might consider this milestone too small and too trivial to be even talked about. Hundreds of thousands of cyclists are faster and quicker. I have watched cyclists climbing steep hills effortlessly and pedalling passionately through the challenging terrains. In the Brevets I participated in, I have admired their speed, energy and commitment to do long-distance cycling. Yet, for me, the joy of accomplishing a self-imposed challenge—biking 10,000 kms and achieving a milestone—is indescribable! That feeling doesn’t permit me to wear a facade of false humility. Audacious although it might sound, the occasion is just right to celebrate an accomplishment that I had initially thought nearly impossible.
A few years ago when I took to cycling, I didn’t have an inkling that a cycle would pedal my life. Not only did the cycle do that, but also it showed me a path less treaded by.
Now that I am done with the mission, what next? Twenty thousand kms! Cycling cannot have a starting line and a finish line. To bike, or not to bike: that cannot be a question!