It was wet and cold outside Hotel Savera, on Radhakrishnan Road, Chennai, the starting point and finishing point of the TANKER Foundation Cycling Rally 2022, Sunday, November 13, 2022, but there was so much of warmth inside the premises.

The bikers, 230 of them, streamed in at different times, and were greeted enthusiastically by the TANKER team with claps and loud cheers.

The DGP of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Sylendra Babu, agreed to do a cycle marathon for 100 kms to raise funds for the TANKER Foundation project of donating electronic BP machines for all police stations in the State. This would enable the police personnel, frontline workers, keep a tab on their blood pressure and take corrective action if there was any abnormality as uncontrolled BP is one of the causes for kidney diseases.

After the rally, TANKER Foundation Founder-Trustee, Dr. Georgi Abraham, announced that the DGP was a “fit man” as his BP was normal.

ENJOYABLE RIDE

All the bikers we spoke to had only one thing to say. Though it was pouring during the rally, all the bikers said they enjoyed riding in the rain. Except for a short time when the rain was blinding and they had difficulty seeing the road, otherwise it was like ‘what rain?’

THE UNEXPECTED

Candidates undergoing training at the Vision Defence Institute, who participated in the cycle rally, were thrilled to bits about the experience. What about the rain? “We are trained to expect the unexpected,” grinned one of the bikers. Mr. R. Jayamurugan, director of academics at the institute, who was part of the team, said they all rode 50 kms and were happy for it. What one of the bikers said still rings in our ears: “When is the next event? We would like to be part of it.”

ENDURANCE TEST

The 17-member team from Wheels India, a private company, must have been the largest contingent in the rally. Twelve members of the team cycled for 100 kms while the others did 50 kms. “We have this bikers team in Wheels India and we cycle every week. It is called Long Endurance. We are used to cycling regularly because of this,” said Mr. Sathiyakumar and Mr. Balachander, who did 100 kms Sunday and seemed full of beans even after the tiring trip.

AGE NO BAR

The Wheels India team introduced Mr. Sampath, who is all of 73 years but is an unstoppable biker. He cycled 100 kms Sunday. He was smiling ear-to-ear after riding in the driving rain.

PULLING AT HEART STRINGS

Mr. Anuj Dhingra cycled for 100 kms and was full of enthusiasm when he came to collect the certificate at the end of it. When asked what he thought of the cycling rally, he said: “Won’t miss it for anything. This Foundation is close to our heart.”

GREAT LENGTHS

Young Mr. T.R. Karthikeyan had gone to great lengths to join the rally. He does not belong to any cycling group but is a cycling enthusiast. He stays in Gummidipoondi and works in a private company near there. His boss alerted him about the TANKER cycling rally and he decided to take part in it. How did he make it to Chennai so early? “Oh, I brought my cycle to my friend’s house in the city yesterday and joined the rally this morning. I cycled for 100 kms and enjoyed the ride very much,” he said.

A couple of cyclists stayed at Hotel Savera overnight to take part in the rally. There was one gentleman who came cycling from Selaiyur, Tambaram, to take part in the ride and he cycled back to Tambaram after the rally!

BONDING

The TANKER Foundation Cycling Rally brought together cycling enthusiasts, who exchanged greetings and notes. There were many women among the bikers like young Sanghavi and Sangeetha, who did 25 kms. “We do not belong to any cycling group. We just joined some friends and had fun,” said the occasional cyclists.