Coronavirus scare: Cyclist cuts short expedition in Mangaluru, gives Kerala a miss

MANGALURU: Rase Rajan, 49, a cyclist and media professional, who is on a mission to enter the Guinness Book of Records for the longest journey by bicycle in a single country, has decided to end his trip at Mangaluru and not cycle to Kerala due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
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Rajan, who set a target of covering 40,000km, has completed 40,700km. He started his journey from Salem on October 2, 2017 and completed this expedition in 861 days (including breaks in between), in Mangaluru on Wednesday.The maximum distance covered by hims was 217km per day, while the minimum distance covered was 50km per day.
“As per the original plan, I was supposed to travel to Kanyakumari and then to Puducherry and then head to Salem and Vishakapatnam. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, I have decided to cut short the expedition. The purpose of the expedition is to encourage people to use cycles for travel,” he said.
He has visited 573 colleges and schools from 18 states, and analysed cycling tracks, pollution control measures, traffic faults, body mass and diabetes management. He has visited districts in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and documented every aspect of the journey, including 14 times that he changed tyres, changed rims five times, changed tubes on 27 occasions, and changed the seat and pedal of his bicycle four times each.
“I applied for the Guinness record on their online portal in June, 26, 2017 and got permission for the same on August 7. Christopher, a Guinness representative, is guiding me on this mission. The total cost of this expedition is Rs 8.4 lakh, and I have already spent about Rs 7.8 lakh from my personal savings, and sponsors too have chipped in. Every minute of this ride has been documented, I have a login on their website as well as maintain a log book where I enter elevation, distance, heart rate, temperature with a GPS watch that costs about Rs 30,000. I have visited more than 1,000 police stations and taken the signatures of policemen. The journey has been enjoyable and memorable. At times, I have missed family and felt lonely. I was also attacked by a mob that stole some of my belongings in Jharkhand, “ he said.
He went beyond 40,000 km for a personal record. “I wanted to cover 48,000 km. Several clubs are following me. During this journey, I was moved by the way children prayed for me, and I have signed several autographs for them, and have been instrumental in promoting cycling clubs,” he said.