The Tour of Nilgiris (TfN), an eight-day-long cycling expedition through 950 km across Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which took off from Mysuru on Sunday, is expected to reach Udhagamandalam on Wednesday.
The annual flagship event of Ride A Cycle Foundation (RAC-F), TfN 2018 has attracted 110 cyclists including 29 international riders from 13 countries.
On Day-1 the cyclists pedalled through Hassan, Kushalnagar, Sultan Bathery, Udhagamandalam , Kalpetta and returned to Mysuru.
On Day-4, the cyclists will climb the magnificent Kalhatti Ghat, which is among the toughest cycling climbs in the world.
On Day- 6, the cyclists will pedal from Ooty to Kalpetta covering 147 km passing through Pykara, Gudalur, Needle Rock View Point (Pakkana).
The tour also features rides through breath taking terrains across different topographies including plains, coffee and tea plantations, three wildlife sanctuaries and mountains.
‘Charity Riders’ are also part of this event pedalling for organisations namely Sita Bhateja Speciality Hospital, Bengaluru, Iksha Foundation, Bengaluru, Tons Valley Community Health Centre of Kalap Trust, Uttarakhand, Vidyodaya School, Gudalur, Kenneth Anderson Nature Society, Hosur, Tamil Nadu, and Aditya Mehta Foundation, Hyderabad to support their respective social cause.
Deepak Majipatil, Co-Founder, RAC-F, said that TfN epitomises ‘Experiencing Nature through Cycle’ and TfN 2018 will be no different.
Celebrity cyclists including Kiran Kumar Raju, current India MTB Champion, and Naveen John, former India Road champion, are part of TfN 2018.
Alexi Grewal, an Indo American to win an Olympic Gold Medal in road cycling in 1984, having pedalled TfN 2017, is volunteer ing in this edition to mentor young talented riders using TfN as a platform to achieve bigger goals cycling has to offer globally.