Cycle of success!

Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, April 1

In a rare feat, a 48-year-old teacher from the city has accomplished a new record by bicycling for over 100 km daily for 300 consecutive days without taking a day’s break.

One of the most active members of the Jalandhar Biking Club, Gurpreet Singh proudly calls himself a teacher by profession and a cyclist at heart. “From May 19, 2020, to March 14, 2021, I cycled 100 km to 400 km every day. I have cycled more than 32,000 km during this period. During this journey, I had faced scorching sun, dense fog of the nipping weather, strong thunderstorms and rain but never gave up. I used to cycle four to 15 hours a day come what may,” he shared his rare feat, adding that his cycling ride details have been recorded on Strava app. An international cycle manufacturing company Merida Bikes, too, has published his achievement.

His list of feasts does not end here. Gurpreet is a three-time Super Randonneur having completed rides of 200-300-400-600 km in one season. In all, he has cycled more than 48,000 km. Last year in June, he covered a distance of 3,851 km and stood first in India as per Strava June Cycling Distance Challenge. He secured second position by cycling 300 km in a pan-India event ‘Longest day Longest Ride’ organised on June 21.

Gurpreet, who has been a teacher of accountancy at Apeejay School, Rama Mandi, and has now been into private coaching, discussed that he started cycling just two years ago. “Earlier, I was suffering from many physical problems such as being overweight, hypertension and cervical. My weight was 106 kg. I used to take many medicines daily. Owing to cervical, I have even fainted many a times and the doctor had advised me to stop driving. But after I started cycling, I have shed all excess weight and I am perfectly fit now…needing no medicine.”

But the real trigger was not Gurpreet’s own health condition but that of his son. He recalls, “My son, daughter and wife, who is teaching at Kendriya Vidyalaya, had been telling me for years to take up cycling but I had been postponing it. It was a fracture that my son got in his elbow, and his wrong approach at that time, that cemented in him the fear of ride any two-wheeler ever again.”

This made Gurpreet pedal just to convince him. “I began riding every morning for 2 km or 4 km. I began enjoying the crack of dawn and the picturesque sunrise daily. Slowly, I began relishing wonders of good health and eventually turned out to become a passionate cyclist.” He got his father, who had been advised knee surgery, a gym cycle and now even he has his fitness levels upped.

Advocating more reasons on his choice to maintain the passion, Gurpreet tells, “Cycling has given me very good friends including top bureaucrats, industrialists and doctors. My friends often accompany me to shorter rides such as those to Baba Bakala, Khatkar Kalan, Kartarpur and Kapurthala. We have also gone for adventure rides such as those to Chohal Dam in Hoshiarpur and also to Kasauli using the old road with 50 km of tough elevation.”

For his consecutive century rides for 300 days, Gurpreet intends to get his record documented. “I have already applied for the entry in International Book of Records, Limca Book of Records and India Book of Records. I have been getting their queries. I have my fingers crossed,” he signs off.