Dattaraj Lawande completed a grueling cycle ride of 1200 km and is among 17 riders to have completed this feat. Rahul Laud reports
Thirty-nine-year-old, Dattaraj Jaiprakash Lawande, is a married businessman – a member of the Global Chamber of Saraswat Entrepreneurs born and brought up in Panaji, Goa. Dattaraj who is into his family business of Renting out Power Gensets across Goa, Lawande Power Rentals chose to take a long bicycle ride – a 1200kms LRM ride organized for Audax India Randonneurs (AIR) that Represents Audax Club Parisien (ACP) under the able supervision of TriGoa Randonneurs representing Audax India. This 1200kms LRM ride started at 6 am on 26th January’2024 from Probyk, Goa’s favorite cycle shop, and had to complete the entire ride within 90 hrs I.e. by midnight on 29th January.
Dattaraj managed to finish the ride by 5:45 pm on 29th January which was within 84 hrs. This 1200kms TriGoa Atal Sethu to Ram Sethu LR ride had 22 participants, and 17 have managed to finish the ride and they are awaiting results for who all have been granted the LR Title! He was seated on the saddle for hours together, pedaling at a steady pace, with saddle sores, muscle cramps, and body fatigue, managing on sleep with limited time to Eat and sleep he completed the ride, Dattaraj pointed out.
He is inspired and fascinated by his friends at Panjim Cycling Club, Goa, and FIT Swaggers Club, Goa, especially Ganesh Pai Vernekar (Bhushan Bhai) and Mr. Prasad Pangam who played key roles, his parents, wife, and daughter are his strongest support and the mental support from a rock-solid group of close friends. Since his childhood, Dattaraj reminisced, he always loved “adventure”. He has been riding on bicycles during school and as he grew up fascinated by cars and bikes as any other average kid would usually be. He was an average student in studies and sports when schooling but had a liking for adventure and high-risk sports and he was sure about trying himself in each area when life would permit him. His parents encouraged and supported him consistently, he said.
He took up motorsports as a sport, participated in state and national off-road competitive events, and managed to leave his mark there until the year 2018! He got into cycling as a sport a few months before the Covid pandemic when his friends introduced him to Audax events, BRM, SRs, and LRs. He managed to participate in most cycling events across Goa. He has completed 2 each of 200, 300, 400, and 600 km BRM rides in one single year and was granted double SR title in the single year 2023.
BREVETS DE RANDONNEUR MONDIAUX (BRMs) are rides of fixed distances that are to be completed within specified time limits. Randonneur events are 200 km, 300 km, 400 km, 600 km, 1000 km, and 1200 km. The longer events are held over multiple days.
Dattaraj says, “ Cycling makes me happy, and keeps me fit physically and mentally. It increases my physical strength and makes me feel good. Cycling gets me into the company of good inspiring friends and makes me a part of a community. Above all keeps my mind busy.”
A randonneuring event is called a randonée or brevet (pronounced breh-VAY), and a rider who has completed a 200 km event is called a randonneur. The most common type of event is a brevet, referring to the certificate or card (called brevet in French) the participant receives signifying completion of a particular distance.
Randonneur events are 200 km, 300 km, 400 km, 600 km, 1000 km, and 1200 km. The longer events are held over multiple days, he stated. Along the course, you check in at various places to show that you completed the entire course. During longer events, sleep breaks are planned at intermediate points. In the end, you get officially homologated and have the option to request a medal if you complete the course within the time limit. If you like going fast, there usually is a group who try to see how quickly they can complete the course, Dattarj explained. But the results are listed alphabetically, and everybody gets the same medal, so it is not a race. Here long rides are challenging for anybody, but every finisher is a winner, with a sportsman spirit he concluded.