A team of 20 (twenty) cyclonauts from Bhubaneswar Cycling and Adventure Club – BCAC led by Top-Cop, IPS, Sj. Sanjeeb Panda has recently completed a gruelling Cycling Adventure over one of the extreme terrains of India (and the world) on the route of Manali-Leh-KhardungLa (MLK). KhardungLa pass is known as one of the highest motorable passes of the world over an altitude of 17982ft above the mean sea level (MSL). Low concentration of air and low oxygen level along with many adverse climatic conditions make Manali-Leh-KhardungLa route one of the toughest and most adventurous roads of the world.
The expedition which started from 8th August 2022 from Manali, covered through six mightiest passes over a period of 10 Days. On 17th August 2022, the team pushed their pedals for the ultimate adventure of reaching the top of KhardungLa – the highest pass of the adventure and successfully conquered it. During their adventure cycling in these extreme terrains, the BCAC cyclists promoted the message of Peace and Friendship along with a pressing concern – #Only_One_Earth. As a touching gesture, the cyclists unfurled the National Tri-Colour on 15th August 2022 at the peak of TanglangLa (17582ft) and recited National Anthem along with the visitors on the pass.
The team covered six high-altitude passes during their travel of 550Kms over the Mighty Himalayas, viz: Rohtang Pass (13050ft), BaralachaLa pass (16150ft), NakeeLa Pass (15547ft), LachungLa Pass (16616ft), TanglangLa Pass (17582ft), and KhardungLa Pass (17982ft). The roads were challenging with continuous elevation profiles, mix of tarmac as well as glacier-fed kutcha roads. At some times, the cyclists have to carry their bicycles over their shoulders to cross the washed-away roads due to intermittent land-slides and mud-slides. As an un predictable terrain, the cyclists have to face three (03) seasons in a single day, and some days hit with hailstorms, severe cold waves, rains and highly UV-affected heat. In the inhabited cold desert, the cyclists stayed in their self pitched tents. There was no electricity and no telephone.
“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” says Sanjeeb Panda, IPS and President BCAC-cum-Team Leader of this expedition.
Manali-Leh-KhardungLa route is considered as one of the toughest routes of the world and rated as an extreme highway by Nat-Geo Adventure. It has many extreme challenges and adventures of high-altitude in low-oxygen levels. For any adventure lover this is a highly challenging adventure and a lifetime of achievement. This is why MLK is a route being preferred by adventure enthusiasts around the world. In BCAC, we repeat this route every 4 years and after the expedition of 2014 (10 members) and 2018 (13 members), we have witnessed a massive participation of 20 members in the MLK-2022 expedition.
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.
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