Team We R Cycling hosts Seminar on ‘Ultra Cycling’- a Long Distance Cycle Race!
Mangaluru: Namma Kudla, which is always bubbling with some or the other kind of cycling activities, it was an opportunity to know more about ULTRA CYCLING, when ‘Team WE R Cycling’, in association with ‘Inspire India’ organized a seminar on Ultra Cycling in Mangaluru on October 5, 2017.
ULTRA CYCLING, is a long-distance cycling race, covering distances of more than 600 km which is required to be finished within the race qualifying time limits or earlier. Considering the safety of the riders and the tough race qualifying time requirements, it is mandatory to have support vehicles and crew along with the racers at all times during the race. These races are categorized into Solo and Team. Solo racers ride the entire distance, while their crew provides them with full support whereas the team event is a relay, in which team members take turns riding, while others rest in the support vehicle and move up the road. Teams have the freedom to decide how often riders are swapped, how long each member rides and how much distance each covers.
In India, one of the first and most popular ultra races is the Deccan Cliffhanger, which is an annual 643 Km (400 Mile) Ultra Cycling Race from Pune to Goa, organized by Inspire India. The Solo Race is a RAAM (Race Across America) Qualifier and the Relay event is RAAM style. This event is on the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) calendar, the leading international organization dedicated to ultra cycling.
Majority of cycling community of Mangaluru which came together to hear from the head of Inspire India, Ms. Divya Tate who is on a mission to spread the awareness on Ultra Cycling with a series of seminars across the major towns of India, was spellbound to know more about the race planning, preparation, the costs involved and other nitty-gritty elements of Ultra Cycling. The talk was not only limited to races in India but also covered international events like Race Across America, Race Across Austria amongst others.
This year, nine riders from Team WE R Cycling would be representing Mangaluru in the 5th edition of Deccan Cliffhanger. It was an apt moment when Divya Tate launched the WERC Team Jersey for the Deccan Cliffhanger. The entire team along with their crew was showcased to the gallery of cycling community from Mangaluru. Under solo category, Dhanraj Karkera would be racing. Under the team category of 18-35 years, Dr.Koushik Sargod, Krishna Kumar, Shashank Pal, Nithin Mohan and 35-49 category Shyamprasad Nayak, Sarvesha Samaga, Brijesh Balakrishnan and Ashok Lobo would be racing respectively.
Welcoming the delegates and the cycling community, the club president Sarvesha Samaga shared how the cycling community in Mangalore has grown from strength to strength from casual rides, weekend-long rides, tours, Audax BRMs to the Ultra Cycling Races. Club Vice President Shyamprasad Nayak felicitated the Rider Dhanraj Karkera, who recently completed the 1200km Brevet held in Bangalore, in which only 2 riders completed the event out of 17 riders. Club Treasurer Brijesh Balakrishnan delivered the thank you note. The event was coordinated by the Club Secretary Sudhir Albuquerque.
WE R CYCLING is a non-profit organization, registered under the society’s act, encouraging a culture of competitive cycling, among the cycling community with a goal to elevate talented local cyclists to the national and international cycling stage, and participate in races, brevets, tours, etc.
For more details and contributions about the club, readers may please visit the web page at www.wercycling.com
