Two cyclists Jagadish Kulal, 24, and Shrinidi Shetty, 26 covered a distance of 3,500km in 26 days! They both travelled from Karnataka to Kashmir, to raise awareness about the environment and organ donation. Jagadish and Shrinidi are mechanical engineers, working as production executives in a multinational company.
On October 1st, they departed for their cycling journey from Kuala in the port city of Mangalore. After a 26 days journey on the two wheels, they both reach the ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir on October 26th, 2022.
Kuala said, “After crossing eight states and riding 3,500km over 26 days, finally we are in Kashmir." When asked about the awareness campaign, he added, “We need to go green before all greenery is lost. We must also encourage organ donation as life is a gift, which should be passed on, and not many people realise it.”
A challenging journey facing the weathers different moods, the environmental crusaders added, “We started from Karnataka amid heavy rainfall. Besides, we had to face extreme temperatures – Gujarat and Rajasthan were extremely hot, while Kashmir is too cold for us.”
When asked how they decided to set out on the cycling expedition, Kulal says, “We planned the trip two years ago. We initially decided to travel to Manali-Ladakh-Khardungla and completed the 500-km ride last year. The journey comprised high-altitude travel as we crossed five passes, which gave us the confidence to set out on the 3,500-km journey.”
With the help of an NGO who arranged their stay and with setting up of meetings with locals. And upon asking how they both decided on their cycling expedition, Kulal says, “We planned the trip two years ago. We initially decided to travel to Manali-Ladakh-Khardungla and completed the 500-km ride last year. The journey comprised high-altitude travel as we crossed five passes, which gave us the confidence to set out on the 3,500-km journey.”
“Despite different religions, cultures, and languages, the people of India are one. Throughout the journey we received both moral and physical support from numerous strangers and the best part of this ride was listening to their beautiful stories. Exploring the food and culture of eight different states was also fantastic,” Kulal says.
India needs more enthusiastic people like Jagadish and Shrinidi to understand and spread awareness the need and urgency to go green.
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