I have always had a passion for adventures. Setting out on a 100km Bi-cycle ride with practically no prior experience was no less than an adventure for me. Atlanta foundation gave Cognizant an opportunity to go not only on a Bi-cycle ride but also on an escapade that will be remembered over the lifetime. The very moment I knew about this, I promised myself that I would not miss this opportunity at any cost.I was eagerly waiting for the day to arrive and finally it was 26 of January, 2010, a real big day for all the riders. I set out with lots of determination.

Before the ride commenced I was pondering over my cycling experience. The outcome was my realization that I just used to cycle for a maximum of 1-2 km during my schooling and that I never undertook a ride of this magnitude. I didn’t know if it was my passion, my determination or the encouragement given to me by my friends and Cognizant but, subconsciously I felt ready for the ride of a life time. With the said belief I started off on a simple Ladybird cycle without gears. I began my ride with my friends but within minutes everyone was out of my sight. The first 10 km were the toughest for me to drive probably because I had not utilized the required muscles (thighs and calf) extensively over years. Then I found two riders joining me. I regained my perspective and started riding, however in a few minutes even they were out of sight. To compound things I did not have the route map, couple that with my misplaced sense of routes. To put it mildly, I was lost. After a while a Cognite by name Kiran joined me. I explained my predicament to him. He encouraged me and I was at it again. Till we completed the first 20 km we were slow but then from the 20th km we were unstoppable. The first rest station where we paused for a while was at the third one directly. We made sure that we paused for only a conservative time of 2minutes per rest station subsequently to make up for lost time.

I take this opportunity to appreciate the thoughtfulness of the companies who sponsored of the rest stations, without whom it would have been impossible for most to survive the arduous ride. The last rest station where we paused was the Deloitte one. By 1.00 pm with Kirans encouragement, I was at the 80th km. I completely enjoyed the ride. I was taking zigzag paths. I was riding with my hands free to soak in the atmosphere better. The 80 km ride was so joyous. The ecstasy and fun was worth the effort. At the 80th km my friend Kiran had to quit because of personal obligations but I was in no mood to quit. So I said to the volunteers that I would go alone if someone could help me with the route. But our coordinator Arut didn’t want me to go alone and so a guy named Prakash was asked to tag along with me for the rest of the race. He was extremely supportive and was really helpful in showing me the route despite the fact that we took a totally wrong route.

To complete the remaining 20km we were to take the Tellapur route, pass Aliens space station, Gachibowli, Lingampally and reach Kondapur. We were directed to take the lane bang in front of the Gandipet reservoir to go via Tellapur. So, I started asking the local folks for the Gandipet reservoir. In our search for the reservoir we rode past CBIT, MGIT, Ocean Park, Mrugavani National Park and from there we reached some temple. The temple was almost at the end of the road. There was a road in front of the temple, which we took. If I am not wrong that road must have been the Nehru Road. We proceeded for some time and then we hit a diversion. A sign board over there said, one road leads to Nanakramguda and that road was via Wavecom building. We ignored the former and chose the latter, which prolonged our travails. That road took us to Gachibowli junction after an arduous ride and from there we went directly to Kondapur, on our way to Novotel. Though we completed 80 km by 1.00, ironically it took another 4 hours for us to reach the destination, all thanks to one wrong route.

The moment I reached Novotel was definitely a moment of Euphoria for me. I will cherish that forever. In a nut shell the whole experience was truly breath taking. Thanks for adding another moment of bliss in my “Forever Moments” kitty.

Thanks to Atlanta Foundation and Cognizant for making me feel elated at the end of the day with all their support. Thanks to my friends Archit and Karthik who motivated and encouraged me to go for the ride, guided me to take proper protein food before the ride and picked a proper cycle for me. Thanks to my companions Kiran and Prakash who guided and supported me all through the ride.