Personal Narratives

Reading Time: < 1 minuteRace Across America, 2017. Who will be the first Indian solo finisher ever? Today, many have begun to ask this question as Amit Samarth and Srinivas Gokulnath are battling it out between the two coasts of the US. Thankfully, they have crossed what accomplished cyclists claim is the toughest section of the entire race—the Appalachian … Read more

Reading Time: < 1 minuteSrinivas Gokulnath has done it!  Just a few minutes back, in Annapolis, Maryland, on the east coast of the US, Srinivas’s front wheel of the bicycle went past the finish line, thus making him the first Indian in history to finish the Race Across America. He took 11 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes to … Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutesIf Dr. Srinivas Gokulnath does it, can Dr. Amit Samarth be far behind? On Sunday, the 36-year old doctor (he has Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, USA) from Nagpur became the second Indian to conquer Race Across America. The race is considered the toughest test of human endurance. Close on the heels … Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe last leg of the 3144 miles-long race has begun. The equation is getting tighter. Barely 45 hours left and 440 miles to reach the target- Annapolis in Maryland. When Amit Samarth and Srinivas Gokulnath—the two young Indian doctors started about 244 hours ago, they knew what it takes to conquer Race Across America (RAAM), … Read more

Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn less than 18 hours today, Dr. Amit Samarth and Dr. Srinivas Gokulnath are all set to create a history. They have already put behind 4800 km in almost 269 hours of non-stop cycling. For the last 11 days, they have exercised supreme control over their bicycles—showing symbolically what ultra-endurance is all about. Why is … Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutesDr. Amit Samarth (Nagpur) and Lt Col. Dr. Srinivas Gokulnath (Nasik)—two doctors in their mid-thirties, are right now fighting their worst nightmares and chasing their wildest dreams. For years, they had worked hard to translate these dreams into reality. On June 14, Amit and Srinivas joined the most competitive cyclists in the world as they … Read more

Reading Time: 4 minutesWe had just completed two 200 km and one 300 km brevet in the past few months, learning the ropes along the way. This time, we aimed higher: a 400 km ride. On a Sunday morning, I set off on my most ambitious challenge yet—a 27-hour, 400 km bicycle ride starting and ending at Zero … Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes300 km. This time I had set the bar a bit too high. The task was to complete an18-hour-long bicycle ride on Sunday that was to start before dawn and would end almost at the stroke of midnight. The route—Asian Highway 46, Nagpur-Deori (Gondia district)-Nagpur was challenging enough to test both the muscle and the … Read more

Reading Time: < 1 minuteA 50-km solo ride that began from Sevagram. As I cycled past 13 villages during the ride and as the sun began to set, I discovered fascinating people interacting with each other during their Wednesday bazaars. This is Dindoda village, 12 km south of Sevagram.

Reading Time: < 1 minuteBhavana and I became dadi- dada again! An angel arrived at our home today morning. A baby girl was born to Shaily and Ashwini – bringing us indescribable joy and happiness. “A grandchild brings along with it the child in the grandparents,” so goes an adage. Bhavana and I couldn’t agree more with this line. … Read more