Sobhapati Samom
IMPHAL, July 18: A software professional from Manipur presently working in Bangalore has become the first Indian to ride and complete the 7000 km long in Trans Am Bike Race in US.
The professional was a software developer in Oracle India Pvt Ltd, Thoudam Opendro Singh, a native of Thoudam in Manipur’s Thoubal district, had settled down in Bangalore in 1999 with his wife and two children.
He used to cycle 18 km (to and fro) every day as a means of commuting to school. His passion for cycling had developed when he became a part of a cycling community called Bangalore Bikers Club back in 2010.
Things changed when Bangalore Brevet organised rides of various distances within a cut-off time. He bought a road bike in April 2011 and since then he has done 600 kms in 2011, 1000 kms in 2012. He was also the lone finisher in a touch 1240 kms brevet in 2013. He was also part of a team that crafted a much tougher 1200 kms brevet through many mountains in 2014 which came to be known as Bliss in the Hills. He rode the route himself and was one of the 4 finishers out of 76 riders.He didn’t believe himself to be a super human and wanted to prove that ultra distances can be ridden with simple preparations and equipment. Trans Am came about just then and it fit his bill. It is about 7000 km long race along a typical touring route through high mountains, dense forests and country roads connected by bits of highway and small towns, on solo, all on self support, i.e. avail facilities, help and support that is available commercially along the route.
Due to unexpected heat or rain or headwind, running out of water or food still happened in spite of planning. At around 2500 km, he almost quit due to severe stomach upset. But he felt better after about 30 hours of rest and decided to continue. There was no looking back since then. Then he picked up pace gradually in the second half of the race, finishing the entire 7000 km in 27 days and 7 hours, a week more than his initial target.
“Taking more days, resting in the comforts of motels often, riding at slow pace made me feel like I was on a vacation and it took away some pride from the hard work. But it is any day better than quitting which I was about to at the initial stage. I’m satisfied with the completion”, Opendro said. He finished 30th out of 67 as per the live tracking with final results pending.
