An Everest-ing effort by a Goan cyclist

It is something quite remarkable, cycling half the length of the Everest. Ok, let us get a little clearer. Cycling up a hill several times to equal a distance that is half the length of the tallest mountain in the world makes a ery impressive achievement And yes it was done by a Goan cyclist in Goa.  Prince Ralph Colaco of Velim accomplished this feat by riding the Chandeshwar Hill. 18 times non –stop on last Sunday. The amusing bit about all this is when he set out on the run it was essentially a practise run for the Xaxti 200 km ride scheduled to be held later in the month on the 22^nd. Prince completed this arduous task over 12 hours. It required him to cycle continuously without taking rest. The concept of the Everesting Challenge is extremely simple but brutally tough. It requires a sportsperson to run or cycle up and down a hill until they reach the total or half vertical elevation equivalent to the height of Mt Everest (8,848 meters/4424 meters) in a single activity. Colaco clocked 5,108 meters, he said “I initially planned to do 15 loops but then I decided to push a bit and complete the challenge.” Professionally a marine engineer and Merchant Navy officer, he is now at home after spending ten months on board and is expected to go back sometime later next year. This athletic feat is quite a turnaround for someone who was a studious student while at school and college. He I fact won gold medals while passing out of college. Now a member of the Xaxti Riders cycling club Colaco began cycling a few years ago to keep fit. He said “ As I got fitter, I began doing longer and tougher rides, I started off cycling 10-12 km a day and now  complete around 35-40 kms every day. I do longer distances on weekends”. Colaco expressed his admiration for Dr Srinivas Gokulnath, India’s first solo-finisher of the Race Across America (RAAM), perhaps the toughest cycling challenge globally. “I also admire our own Dr Belinda Viegas-Mueller, the only Indian woman to finish three 1,200 km cycling rides in a single calendar year,” says Colaco. “In addition, I have high regards for Sameer Nadkarni, president of Xaxti Riders who keeps motivating and encouraging all.” Asked what he intended to do in the future, he smiled and said he hoped to complete the Everest challenge sometime next year.” As any athlete will vouch there are two aspects to the event, the physical and the mental. Prince said “Ninety percent is mental and the rest the physical act. I start three or four days in advance. I visualize the entire event and me crossing the line. I keep repeating it doing this exercise a couple of times during the day and it helps me tremendously.” Once a week he runs five to ten km to ensure he stays in shape. Goa will hope he achieves his target of reaching Everesting heights.