Early this year, in January, an early morning ride from Panaiyur, East Coast Road to Puducherry was Sundar Moorthy’s first long-distance cycling endeavour.
Little did he know that he was cycling to the Hall of Fame. At 29, he had became a Super Randonneur.
Of the 19 participants in the 600 km randonneuring event held last month in Mumbai, Sundar was the only one to finish the event under the stipulated time of 40 hours, to become a Super Randeonneur. He finished the course in 38 hours and is among the few to became a Super Randeonneur (SR) in just four months.
Sundar finished first in the 200 km randonneuring event held at Trichy in February.
Sundar is an event manager by profession and a racer by passion. With about three years of experience in track racing, Sundar shifted gears to cycling as injuries forced him to quit competitive biking.
A friendship with avid cyclist John Kennedy, fondly known as ‘Bad Boy who rides Fat Boy’, during his tenure in the accounts department at the Raj Bhavan exposed him to cycling. On seeing John’s fame, Sundar took up cycling.
“John sir is a close friend,” says Sundar. “In fact, he is my mentor and guide in cycling and I used his bike for the ride to Puducherry.”
Sundar doesn’t take credit for any of his achievements. He says he became a Randonneur and Super Randeonneur because of his friends and colleagues who believed in his abilities.
“The cycle I used for the event was sponsored by Pro Bikers. My friends from school and college took care of my travel and accommodation expenses. My colleagues made sure tI had all the necessary gears for the event and ezoneIndia the company I work for, took care of the registration,” he says.
His next goal is to complete a 1400-km randonneuring ride.