Bhubaneswar: A 20-member Bhubaneswar Cycling and Adventure Club (BCAC) team, led by police officer Sanjeeb Panda, recently completed a gruelling cycling adventure covering one of the toughest terrains on the route of Manali-Leh-KhardungLa (MLK).
The cyclists, who started from Manali on August 8, went through six high-altitude passes during their travel of 550 km in the Himalayas — Rohtang Pass (13, 050 ft), BaralachaLa pass (16,150 ft), NakeeLa Pass (15,547 ft), LachungLa Pass (16,616 ft), TanglangLa Pass (17,582 ft) and KhardungLa Pass (17,982 ft).
On August 17, the cyclists pushed for the ultimate adventure of reaching the top of KhardungLa – highest pass of the expedition and successfully conquered it.
During their journey, the BCAC team promoted Peace and Friendship along with a pressing concern — #Only_One_Earth. The cyclists unfurled the National Tricolour on August 15 on TanglangLa (17,582 ft) and recited the National Anthem with visitors on the pass.
It was very challenging expedition as the roads were challenging with continuous elevation profiles, mix of tarmac as well as glacier-fed kutcha stretches. At times, team members had to carry their bicycles on their shoulders to cross the washed-away roads due to intermittent landslides and mudslides.
The cyclists faced three seasons on a single day — hit with hailstorms and severe cold waves at one stage, then rains and even highly UV-affected heat.
In the inhabited cold desert, the cyclists stayed in self-pitched tents with no electricity or phone.
“As a citizen of the state and a stakeholder transforming Odisha, it’s a matter of immense pleasure to popularize cycling in the state through this adventure cycling in the Himalayas,” said IPS Sanjeeb Panda, president of BCAC and the expedition team leader.
The successful BCAC team
Sanjeeb Panda, Ajay Nanda, Sibasis Mohanty, Gangadhar Nayak, Srinivas Sahu, Bibhu Prasad Kar, Manoj Kumar Prusty, Manas Ranjan Gauda, Udaynath Mahakud, Harish Chandra, Siba Sankar Senapati, Dr. Akshay Kumar Sahu, Dr. Ranjan Pattnaik, Ranjit Kumar Sahoo, Pravasa Ranjan Chinara, Ramesh Kumar Sahu, Kumar Devadutta, Akshaypadma Mohapatra, Sandeep Das, and Santosh Kumar Rout participated in this Cycling Adventure of BCAC in the 3rd edition of MLK in 2022.
