Amrita Ranjan and Dr Prabhat Ranjan Prasad are soul mates in the real sense, for, besides life, they share common interests too. Prabhat has recently been awarded a PhD degree, while and Amrita’s PhD process is in its last phase.

Both are working professionals, have interest in sports and are marathon runners. Now, into randonneuring (long distance endurance cycling called Brevets de Randonneurs Mondiaux - BRM), their latest endeavour has made them the first Ultra Cyclist couple in the country to complete 200 km, 300 km, 400 km, 600 km and 1,000 km of cycling in a season (from October 1 to September 30).

In randonneuring, cyclists attempt courses of 200 km or more, passing through pre-determined checkpoints every few tens of kilometres. Riders aim to complete the course within specified time limits, and receive equal recognition regardless of their finishing order. Riders may travel in groups or alone as they wish, and are expected to be self-sufficient between checkpoints.

They are the first couple from India to take part in the 1,200-km Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP-2019) to be held in September 2019. To qualify for it, one has to be a super randonneur - SR, (one who has successfully finished 200, 300, 400 and 600 km distances in one season), which they are.

“We finished 1,000 km cycling in 74 hours, an hour earlier than the maximum limit (75 hours) in March this year. The joy was double that we completed it together as a couple. Now, we have the ticket to PBP-2019 and we are geared for randonneuring in French conditions,” said Amrita.

A sportsperson to the core, she has played basketball and table tennis at the state level. “A few years back, I was on the bed for a year, after I was diagnosed with tuberculosis. After treatment, I started with walking and later took up running. We even participated in marathons in Lucknow and in 2017, my husband motivated me to take up cycling,” she said.

She did 200 km but missed the 300 km time limit by 20 minutes. “Then I prepared, under my husband who is also my coach, and we completed one ride after another. We did all competitive rides together except the 400 km one, which he did from Jaipur. We became SRs in January and in April, did the 1,000 km ride to become the first ultra cyclist couple,” she said.

Under the umbrella of Lucknow Randonneurs, four riders Prabhat and Amrita with Abhinav Singh and Sukanta Das started for the 1,000 ride and covered Lucknow to Bahraich, Ayodhya, Kushinagar back to Ayodhya and Lucknow and everyone finished it within the prescribed 75 hours.

Now, the challenge is to do PBP in chilly conditions. “Only 20 Indians have completed it so far. No woman from our country has completed it yet. The temperature drops to 5 to 10 degrees Centigrade at night and it’s an uphill terrain. It’s going to be challenging. We are training for it, while taking care of the visa formalities,” Prabhat said. Including them, there are six persons from Lucknow, planning to participate in the PBP, Paris.

Amrita is an assistant professor at (Sevidie Institute of Management &Technology) SIMT on Deva Road, while Prabhat works with Tata Motors.

First Published: Jun 04, 2019 16:01 IST