If someone were to say cycling has no age but only grit and passion, normally it is difficult to swallow but when I came across the industrialist and educationist friend who narrated an extraordinary story of his family friend's father Kanagasabapathy I was humbled.
My friend Venkkatesh S with an extra "k" in his name who is a cofounder of a very large education institution called Saraswathi Thiagaraja College of Commerce, in the foothills of Western Ghats recalled that a friend who is also a Senior, all of 84, had undertaken a 2400 km cycling journey to Delhi in October this year. Though the senior had crossed 1900 km mark towards his goal and had a mishap forcing him to abandon his cycling sojourn of reaching the Capital of India, his feat is extraordinary without doubt
Venkkatesh was recalling how including himself many of the relatives and friends tried to dissuade the senior from his mad adventure.

"We tried our best to dissuade the senior to no avail and we ended up providing an escort vehicle to keep him safe and all the ITC dealers across the route were alerted who eventually even helped airlift him from the accident spot back to his native home in Salem to recover from the mishap caused by a road hump," Venkkatesh says.
We will be updating this post with feedback from the rider himself hopefully soon. Is he rattled by the accident? "No way" , says Venkkatesh. "Rather he is sitting on his wheelchair with all smiles talking to people narrating details of his adventure trip".
Venkkatesh runs his Saraswathi Thiagaraja College of Commerce founded in 1997 with 37 students by three families including his own having a student strength over 3000. "My only regret is that the Senior did not ascribe any social cause or goal for his journey which would have helped inspire more youth" he rues.
While we wait to get more details of the trip and the zeal of the cyclist senior, one needs to examine as to why and how Seniors over 60 years of age take to such cycling adventure with earnest the author himself of this piece who is 67 and runs www.cycletofuture.com with the idea of promoting cycling among 50 + group of people whether male or female. https://www.cycletofuture.com/50-plus-focus
Dr Kiran Seth, Professor-Emeritus at IIT-Delhi and founder of SPIC MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth) undertook a serious three-month bicycle trip from Kashmir to Kanyakumari from October 2, 2022. The Padmashree winner undertook this trip to encourage youth to join his cultural movement which is extremely popular among youth of India https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=943722611124358&id=100064598833331&_rdr

Dr Seth,in his first phase, started cycling on 15th August 2022 from Srinagar and reached Kanyakumari on 14th February 2023. He then cycled from Kanyakumari to Guwahati via Kerala, Goa, coastal Karnataka, Maharastra, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam, all along gathering volunteers to work for his SPICMACAY event. The 74 year Professor Emeritus IIT-Delhi had his goal of unifying the youth across the country taking inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi who cycled during his time to reach out to a diverse population towards the cause of Indian independence.
According to a Times of India post When he moved to Ahmedabad in 1915, Gandhiji rode the bicycle from Gujarat Vidyapith to Sabarmati Ashram. Narayan Desai, son of Gandhiji's secretary Mahadev Desai, recalls how Gandhiji used to bicycle in the 1920s. "When I was young, I remember seeing Gandhiji cycling from Gujarat Vidyapith to Sabarmati Ashram whenever he was late for the evening prayers" recalls Mahadev Desai.

But before that, when he was in South Africa, Gandhiji protested against a by-law which discriminated people cycling on the streets as they were required to wear a badge bearing the licence number that would permit them to ride the cycle by the city council. Gandhi participated in this protest against this obnoxious rule.

A quick search on the worldwide web threw up the following benefits for the seniors taking to cycling
Cycling can have many benefits for seniors, including:
Physical health
Cycling is an aerobic exercise that can improve your heart health, reduce your risk of stroke and high blood pressure, and help you maintain muscle strength and balance. It can also help prevent diabetes, colon cancer, and breast cancer.
Mental health
Cycling can help reduce stress and anxiety, and trigger the release of endorphins. It can also stimulate brain activity and help delay the onset of dementia.
Social health
Cycling can be a fun way to get outdoors and stay social with friends and family. You can also join a club or group that encourages cycling for seniors.
Immune system
Cycling can help your immune system fight off bugs by flushing out bacteria from your lungs and airways.
Low impact
Cycling is a low-impact exercise that can be beneficial for people with arthritis.
Environmental
Cycling can help protect the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The National Health Service (NHS) of UK recommends older adults averaging over 70 years of age, should exercise for at least 150 minutes a week,There is even more incentive to get riding because cycling is an excellent way to work towards that target; whatever the weather.
Thothathri Raman
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