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      Vignesh VP tells us the story of living his dream as he went cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari on a single speed cycle, with luck and humanity on his side. He started this ride on the 28th of August in Jammu and ended it on the 22nd of October in Kanyakumari.


      Vignesh Cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari
      Vignesh, the bike and the road. The three protagonists of this tale

      Cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari

      Every one of us has dreams. To go somewhere, do something and build memories. Stories which you will reminisce about with your grandchildren (or others’ grandkids if you don’t have your own!) till they get bored of you and run away…

      More often than not, work, finances, family and life gets in the way of chasing your dream. It takes a mountain of courage to let go of our insecurities and push in that one direction of desire.

      Vignesh VP from Erode, had one such dream, of cycling the length of the country. He talks about the challenges, joys, difficulties and gastronomic disasters as he was cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari.

      Vignesh VP
      When you get off the saddle, get onto someone else’s…

      Laying the Foundation of Insanity

      The cycling bug bites young and it never lets go. Even after decades when someone throws a leg over a cycle, the smile of satisfaction cannot be wiped off their face.

      In 2002, Vignesh was enrolled into the ‘school of bike’. He learnt to ride, but for the next 5 years was left despondent as he didn’t have a cycle and his family couldn’t afford one.

      The silver lining on this dark cloud were the visits to his grandparents in Krishnagiri, where he would rent a cycle and pedal his heart out.

      Back home, as the Beatles’ album Yellow Submarine said, he could get by with a little help of his friends. He borrowed their bikes whenever he could.

      On 17th December 2007, a date Vignesh cannot forget, he got his first cycle. It was a gift from his granddad. An Avon Tycoon, a cool looking bike for its day.

      But being gifted a bike isn’t the same as buying your own, and in 2015, Vignesh gifted himself a Raleigh for his birthday. He bought an old roadster from a scrap dealer for just 450 rupees. After which he set about stripping it down and then rebuilding the bike to look like new!

      Why an old rusted Raleigh we asked? Vignesh was greatly inspired by octogenarian cyclist Dr. Nandakumar, who had a vintage Raleigh. He is indeed inspiring and requires a whole separate article about his fitness, cycling, motorcycling and the mean machines in his garage!

      Vignesh with his Avon MTB

      The forever inspirational Dr. Nandakumar with Vignesh at Krishnagiri

      Practice Makes Perfect

      To do a ride of this length, one needs to be physically prepared. More importantly the correct temperament is required, without which long distance cycling can get nasty.

      Vignesh used his trusty Raleigh to ride from his hometown Erode to Coimbatore and back. Covering 200 km and building his confidence.

      Shiny new cycles are always attractive and Vignesh bought a road bike and did the same Coimbatore stretch on it. Unfortunately, the road bike was one size too large for him and he had to sell it off and return to the Raleigh.

      Which wasn’t a bad thing, as he used the Raleigh to do his first ‘proper’ ride from Erode to Kanyakumari, soon to be followed up by a ride to Chennai from his hometown.

      The two rides giving him the legs and the mental strength to set out on his dream.

      Reaching Kanyakumari for the first time on his Raleigh

      Chennai on the Raleigh

      Work-Life Balance and All That!

      How does one take leave from work for a two month ride? One doesn’t. One throws the job out of the window.

      Vignesh worked for a couple of years after college in a finance company and even for 6 odd months in a bank as a business correspondent for a meagre salary.

      He didn’t take a high paying job, because once you get into that, it is difficult to quit. What with everyone in our country worried about careers and job security, you get sucked into the rat race.

      Cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari
      Children love cycles…

      Inspiration for Cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari

      Vignesh is a motorcyclist and dreamt of riding to Khardung La on his motorcycle like every other Indian biker.

      That couldn’t be brought to fruition as it was working out to be too expensive to ride up there on a motorcycle. He had the time to ride, but not the money. A quandary which most of us find ourselves in.

      Vignesh had heard of some cyclists from Kerala who were planning rides from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, some in groups, others solo. But all of them on geared cycles.

      Which was one of the reasons he wanted to do it on a single speed. Since he was habituated to his Raleigh.

      Along the way, people helped

      To J or K To K!

      Vignesh wanted to ride from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, like everyone else. But with a single speed bike, riding from either Srinagar or Leh, would have been difficult. There would have been very little riding and mostly pushing involved.

      He looks at the silver lining. Not having ridden in Kashmir or Ladakh, he has a good reason to go back and finish off what he had started.

      Cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari
      Board as important for trucks as it is for cyclists. But what does one do on a single speed!

      Single (and Ready to Mingle) Speed

      Jammu to Kanyakumari is an arduous ride on any kind of two wheels. Doing it on a bicycle is a million times more difficult than motorised wheels. And on a single speed is a billion times harder.

      Vignesh wanted to go the difficult way. He chose to use a single speed for this ride. Since he believes it is near impossible to go back to a single speed after riding around on a geared cycle.

      For his future rides, he will use a geared bike. In Nagpur itself, during this ride, he made the decision as he pedalled his single speed.

      Cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari
      Vignesh in Delhi at Rashtrapati Bhawan

      Not Ready to Mingle

      Riding solo has its charms and challenges and as Vignesh says, “To ride solo, one needs to have a lot of self-confidence. Much more than what you would require while cycling in a group.”

      To ride in a group, you need complete cooperation, understanding and group decisions. Without which, there is disappointment, misunderstanding and arguments.”

      Enough reason to ride alone!

      Central India was gorgeously green after the monsoons

      A Cyclist Pedals on His Stomach…

      Good grub is important, as Vignesh learnt the hard way.

      Vignesh had zero experience of surviving on North Indian food. The first couple of days when he started from Jammu were fine, but it was downhill from there.

      He suffered from indigestion, fever and dysentery all the way from Punjab to Jhansi. Longing for home food with nothing in sight.

      It got so bad in Jhansi, that he considered taking the train from there to Hyderabad. Fortunately he was talked out of this plan by his well meaning friends.

      Fortune favours the brave and Vignesh slogged on as the tide turned. He spotted a truck with a Karnataka registration number driven by a Tamilian.

      Jawahar, the trucker, cooked rice, rasam and chicken gravy for Vignesh. He went on to take his number and guide him to good places to eat and stay throughout his travel south.

      Having learnt an important lesson, Vignesh proceeded to stop and ask for food from all the trucks with a south Indian vehicle registration plate. Giving a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘food truck’!

      From thereon at least one meal a day was had with truckers of South India. A set of truckers not only offered him food, but also gave him a lift through thick Madhya Pradesh forests at night. They took his phone number and have promised to take Vignesh along on their next truck journey.

      Cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari
      Step 1: Hijack a Tamil Nadu truck

      Step 2: Cook up some awesome South Indian food. (Notice the cycle parked outside the windscreen up front)

      Step 3: Eat and then chill with the truckers!

      Mind Your Language!

      One big deterrent to travel is language.

      Even though Vignesh is trilingual and speaks fluent Tamil, Telegu and English, he lacked the one language which would get him by in North India, Hindi.

      That barrier didn’t deter him and he learnt along the way. He could have a regular conversation by the time he reached Delhi. Enough to explain his travel to curious bystanders.

      The conversation would end with, “Bhaiya mera Hindi thoda thoda maalum“.

      After which the questions would stop and the photo sessions would start!

      Cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari
      Cycling solves language problems!

      Meeting up with 4 cyclists from Kerala who were riding to Khardung La

      Ups and Downs

      No experience is ever complete without a handful of negative experiences.

      People you interact with make or break your ride. And Vignesh met one such person in Hyderabad. The person used Vignesh for self-promotion and even caused misunderstandings with other cyclists. After Hyderabad, he was always careful about what he shared with strangers.

      Even after this Vignesh believes, “Humanity is there in this world. But 1 out of 100 people will let you down.

      There is a proverb by Thiruvalluvar in Tamil,

      Theeyinaar suttapun ullaarum aaraadhae naavinaar sutta vadu
      The wound which was burnt by fire may heal, but a wound burnt by the tongue will never heal

      A Sea of Support

      ‘No Man is an Island’ wrote John Donne, what we need is a sea of support.

      Support came aplenty for Vignesh to live his dream. From the wonderful folk of ProBikers in Chennai, who sponsored his cycle. To Fantom Cycles which serviced his bike as he was cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari.

      Max Riders, a motorcycling community based in Chennai also unconditionally helped out Vignesh in his endeavours including getting him kitted out for the ride.

      Vignesh’s granddad who had got him his first cycle, also pitched in with funds for the ride. Members of the motorcycling and cycling community also pooled in resources in cash and kind to make his ride that much more pleasurable.

      During the ride, Vignesh ended up spending less than 12000 rupees to get from Jammu to Kanyakumari in 56 days.

      Engine capacity doesn’t make you a motorcyclist and the number of gears doesn’t make you a cyclist. What does make you one is courage!

      Cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari
      Vignesh got a lot of Trac(tor)tion as he was cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari

      No Records for Touring

      Vignesh made a conscious decision of not using any GPS/ phone app for recording his rides.

      He was out to travel and record memories, not to cover and count kilometres. Focusing too much on data takes the enjoyment out of life, he believes!

      An important lesson which can be implemented in our everyday lives. Far too often we focus on numbers, from our school days to our work. Eventually forgetting to have a good time along the way.

      Cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari
      Whilst cycling from Delhi to Agra…

      His family came to meet him along the way at Salem

      Single Speed Again?

      What is the fascination of cycling on a single speed cycle? Why do cyclists make it even more difficult than it already is?

      Vignesh enjoyed his time on a single speed. But his future plans involve a few gears!

      Successfully finishing off one adventure has only grown his appetite for more. He plans to ride from Khardung La to Kanyakumari via the coastal route the next time around.

      He also has plans to ride to Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Andaman islands.

      Vignesh without his bike, but with the Taj Mahal!

      Why, You Ask?

      We have only one life to live, and we need to live it happily. That is why I call myself OneLifeHappyVignesh

      You can find Vignesh on Facebook and Instagram.

      Cycling from Jammu to Kanyakumari
      Kanyakumari at last!

      His dad reached Kanyakumari to welcome him to his destination

      After ending the journey he switched steeds!

      This and the Cover Image by Subramani NM


      Like this adventure? Read more:

      Single Speed Touring with Sorav Gahlot and Cycling from Mumbai to Kanyakumari with Chidambram.

      #3573
      Kaushalpohekar
      Member
        • City: Pune

        Awesome ride Vignesh . Would be happy if we get to ride together someday.

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