Joseph Periera became the first solo cyclist from Mangaluru to conquer the Deccan Cliffhanger Ultra Cycling Race, covering 643 km in 33 hours and 45 minutes on Sunday.
Starting from Pune, the Cliffhanger is claimed to be a gruelling race of Ultra Cycling, with the 643-km race passing through some humongous climbs of Khandala Ghat on NH 48, 21 km of vertical ascent to the top of Panchagani, followed by Pasarni Ghat, and the rolling terrain from Satara to Belagavi. Then it passes through the Chorla Ghat, Ponda to culminate at Bogmalo Beach in south Goa.
Having seen teams from We R Cycling (WERC), Mangaluru, participating in the earlier editions, Mr. Periera, fresh from the recent Super Randonneure success, expressed his desire with WERC to ride Cliffhanger. WERC connected him to mentor and coach Gratian Govias.
WERC’s Ashok Lobo became the lead crew to support Mr. Periera in the race.
While Mr. Govias reached Mangaluru from Chennai, the team left for Pune on November 17. Mr. Periera said he was flagged off at 5.30 a.m. on Saturday and there were 12 racers in the 50-plus age category.
Mr. Periera crossed one milestone at a time. While many were racing, he was following his coach’s advice that the racing would start only at the 350-plus km mark.
With support from the crew and guidance from Mr. Govias, he began leaving behind those who had crossed him earlier.
The team completed the adventure in 33 hours 45 minutes touching the finish line in Goa at 2.30 p.m. on Sunday. The support crew included Shivanand Rao, Nithin Mohan, and Brijesh Balakrishnan.
By completing the Deccan Cliffhanger race, Mr. Periera not only became the first Mangalurean to complete the solo race but also qualified for the Race Across America (RAAM) too.