Cyclist clocks 1 lakh km in 7 years

Anil Shet, who begun cycling as a way to keep himself fit, achieved a rare feat by covering one-lakh kilometre on his bicycle in past seven years.

Shet says he never thought that his obsession to remain fighting fit will turn into a passion and bring him so far. “I purchased my first bicycle on January 15, 2014. Though I wanted to ride six kms initially, I ended up riding 20 kms with cyclist Shabari on Day One. Though I had fever on the day one, the body pain subsided over a period of time and I rode 50 kms within 10 days. From then one, the journey continued,” he added.

He had purchased the bicycle to fight blood pressure and border line diabetes on the advice of his wife Dr Ramya, who is a dentist by profession.

“Within six months of cycling my blood pressure came to normal,” he said. The passion of cycling also helped him to reduce his weight. With the help of Godfrey Pinto, he joined MACC (Mangalore Cycling Club). The regular morning rides and long rides on weekends, helped him in achieving this target.

Bhaveesh had accompanied him on rides lasting more than 40,000 km and Dheeraj Hejmadi supported in all Club activities.

He rode his bicycle to Kanyakumari and returned back with Shamlal in February 2018. In another feat, he rode 600-km non stop with Shivanand Rao, in 33 hours, which made him a ‘Super Randonneur’ in February 2018.

“When I took the new bike home I never thought I would achieve this target of one lakh kilometers. When I completed 20,000 km in 2016, this was still a distant dream. I completed 50,000 kms in 2018 and 75,000 kms in December 2019 but I never thought I would achieve it so soon. Going forward, I will like to do relaxed rides of 20 kms to 30 kms per day in country side and guide more youngsters,” Shet said.