Berhampur: Vedangi Kulkarni, a Guinness World Record holder of being the fastest woman to cycle from Manali to Leh, set out on a journey to circumnavigate the world on a bicycle in a record 110 days from INS Chilika in Odisha on Tuesday.
Commodore NP Pradeep, Commanding Officer, INS Chilika, flagged off 25-year-old Vedangi. She aims at completing her world tour at Chilika Lake on November 24.
Vedangi, a footballer-turned-cycler from Pune, plans to cover a distance of 29,251 km. She aims to become the fastest woman to circumnavigate the world on a bicycle to cover this distance in 110 days. To achieve this, she has to cycle 270 to 300 km every day.
An outdoor enthusiast and endurance athlete, Vedangi aims to smash the present world record in solo world tour. Jenny Graham (37) from Scotland is presently the fastest woman in the world to cycle around the world in 124 days. The previous record was 144 days.
During an interactive session before starting the journey, Vedangi shared her incredible journey, emphasising the importance of discipline and courage that resonates with the Agniveers. Her stories of resilience and perseverance were met with admiration and enthusiasm from the audience.
In her epic adventure, Vedangi will cycle through 19 countries. A seasoned cyclist, she will travel through Mongolia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Oman. After reaching Oman, she will return to India through Gujarat and head to Kanyakumari. From there, she will cycle back to the INS Chilika where she began the journey.
Vedangi, who pursued a degree in sports management in the University of Bournemouth in the UK, set the Guinness World Record for being the fastest woman of Asia to cycle through the Manali-Leh highway in 2023. Following the achievement, she decided to embark on around-the-world expedition and started preparation for it.
This is her second world tour on a bicycle. In 2019, Vedangi circumnavigated the world and finished 29,000-km distance on Christmas eve in 159 days. She was the youngest woman to pull off the feat then. Yet, she felt that she could have been a lot faster now after doing yoga and meditation every day and also doing longer outdoor rides.
Initially Vedangi planned to obtain an international coaching licence as a football goalkeeper and start a goalkeeper-specific training business in India. While in Pune, Vedangi played for the Pune FC women’s team. She began cycling in 2015 and completed her first bike ride in 2016, cycling across the Himalayas at 17. In addition to cycling, she also completed an east-to-west crossing of Svalbard on skis.
