CHAOTIC traffic near the finish line might have irked him as he could not complete his ride in the ‘desired’ time. But Dr Amit Samarth was a contented soul when he touched Zero Mile, the geographical centre of India to create a world ultra cycling record! City’s famous ultracyclist Dr Samarth added another crown to his already overflowing cupboard on Sunday when he rode 1,035 kms in 39 hours and one minute to rewrite history books and etch his name in golden letters. The ‘Bicycle Mayor of Nagpur’ Dr Samarth started from India Gate in New Delhi at 1 am (Saturday) on a cold night and reached Zero Mile in Nagpur inside 40 hours (39 hrs 1 min) on Sunday around 3.30 pm weathering difficult roads, hot conditions in the day time and several unwanted ‘breaks’.

 

 

 

Dr Samarth was given a hero’s welcome at Zero Mile with his fans and well-wishers dancing to Bhangra tunes celebrating his new record. The details of Dr Samarth’s IndianOil XtraGreen Mile by Mile Mission Zero Mile 1,035 kms ride will be sent to the World UltraCycling Association in the US which will ratify it and certify his world record in a couple of weeks. “It’s unbelievable. The past 39 hours were too fast, too intense. I have no words to express it,” Dr Samarth summed up his ride. Dr Samarth, who already has a World UltraCycling Record of cycling 6,000 kms on the Golden Quadrilateral Highway in 13 days 9 hrs and 50 mins, was a tad disappointed for not completing the ride inside 35 hours of which he was confident. “I wanted to complete 1000 kms in 35 hours. But when the distance got revised to 1,035 kms due to route, we had to add a few hours,” said Dr Samarth who wants to promote cycling in Nagpur and trains over 300 cyclists in the city. There was a moment when Dr Samarth thought that he would not complete his ride in the stipulated time due to the hilly route, especially in Madhya Pradesh stretch.

 

“The stretch of around 120 kms from Narsingpur to Lakhnadaun (in MP) was very hilly with big ghats. I lost a few hours on this road. Once, I thought that I would not be able to complete on time but my crew did well to keep me motivated and updated throughout the ride,” said Dr Samarth. Dr Samarth said the vast difference in temperature in the morning and in day time did hinder him but he was kept hydrated and was given a proper diet during the course which helped him create the record. “When I started at 1 am it was cold in Delhi. Even in the middle of the night, the traffic was heavy. I changed my cycle and rode on a different one until I reached the highway. The afternoons were hot as the temperature rose drastically. My crew did a great job in keeping me hydrated and also took care of my diet. The change in temperature also forced me to change my cycling outfit. That resulted in losing around 15-20 minutes every time I took the ‘break’,” narrated Dr Samarth, who is doing a fund-raising for India Pedal Cycling City Nagpur Project. Dr Samarth had set small targets to achieve the ultimate one. His target was to start fast and ride 750 kms in 24 hours. But due to heavy traffic on the route, he managed to ride 687 kms.

 

“I started at a brisk pace. My target was the complete 750 kms in 24 hours. My team and I decided to pedal for 200-300 kms at a brisk pace. I managed that in 10 hours. But due to traffic, I lost a few hours,” narrated Dr Samarth, Director of Miles N Milers Endurance Sports Academy, actively involved in training people for marathon, triathlon, cycling and ultracycling across the country. During his ‘solo’ ride, Dr Samarth had only one partner to talk with-- his Scott Plasma 6 RC cycle which is one of the fastest and technologically advanced cycles in India and is a triathlon-specific bike. “Yes, I talk with my ‘partner’ during my ride. I generally do it. The pep-talk motivates me in my journey,” said Dr Samarth. Dr Samarth’s trained crew members included Mukul Samarth, Milind Pariwakam, Sheetal Kolhe, Bhushan Deosarkar, Vivitt Walve, Adwait Yamsamwar, Dr Rajasi Sengupta, Arushi Nayak, Dr Sudhir Baldota, Bhavesh Patre, Vishwas Naitam, Dilip Warkad, Atul Bhojraj and Ravi Paranjpe and Jeetendra Nayak who was the Ride Director. Dr Samarth was felicitated by Indian Oil Corporation at its Samvidhan square outlet. NMC Commissioner Radhakrishnan B; DCP Gajanan Rajmane; Rajesh Jadhav, GM Western Region, Indian Oil Corporation; Anjali Bhave, GM, Corporate, IOC; Nitin Rodge, Regional Manager (Nagpur); Manish Nangle, Akshat Gangwal and others were also present.