Forced on health grounds, cycling doc’s passion now

Minna Zutshi

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 11

City-based Dr Pawan Dhingra has been exploring India on bicycle. “Life is full of surprises. In my life the change came during the middle phase. A medical problem prompted me to modify my lifestyle. I started cycling two years ago for fitness purposes which later developed into a passion. I joined the Audax Club Parisien in May 2017 and started doing brevets that are long-distance, free-paced cycling events.”

Today, at the age of 49-plus, he has to his credit four national records and one world record in audax endurance cycling. He travelled on his bicycle across 15 states and Union Territories, around 20 major national highways with a host of sub-highways, around 300 cities and 18 Audax India clubs. “I passed around many heritage and religious places, such as Shirdi, Nanded and Ajanta-Ellora. The people of different cultures experienced different weathers and terrains. I made new friends across India and tasted various types of food. I believe that India is shining and that it is fast transforming into a developed nation,” says Dr Dhingra.

Talking about his Audax India Club journey, he says he joined Audax in May 2017 and did series of 200, 300, 400, 600-km brevets on an MTB, with a total of 4,500 km from May 2017 to October 2017.  From November 2017 to October 2018, he made one world record and four national records and also did two 1,000 km, one 1,200 km, one 1.400-km rides.

But his Audax journey had its share of ‘not-so-pleasant’ experiences. Absence of separate cycling tracks, commuters’ non-adherence to traffic rules were some problems that he faced. “I had a total breakdown of my carbon bike once at NH 1. During a ride near Beas NH 1, I was robbed of my cash and mobiles by some miscreants at gunpoint,” he says. However, the journey has given him the gift of ‘resilience’. It has made him physically fit and mentally strong to tackle any difficult situation. And he has lost around 18 kg weight in the past one and a half years.

4 national records

At the age of 49-plus, he has to his credit four national records and one world record in audax endurance cycling. He travelled on his bicycle across 15 states and Union Territories, around 20 major national highways with a host of sub-highways, around 300 cities and 18 Audax India clubs.