When it comes to women endurance cyclists in Goa, the names that stand out are Dr Belinda
Viegas Mueller of Carmona and Anuradha Guglani of Porvorim. The total
kilometres of tarmac covered by these two inspirational women could easily
match multiple, Kashmir to Kanyakumari road trips.
The credit of popularising endurance or
long distance cycling across the world goes to the French, who call it the
Brevet des Randonneurs Mondiaux (thankfully, BRM in short!). Presently the
Audax Club of Paris runs this sport across the world through many Audax clubs.
There is an Audax club in Panjim.
The Audax clubs worldwide typically
organise BRM rides of 200kms, 300kms, 400kms, 600 kms, 1000kms and 1200kms
annually. Cyclists who complete any one of these rides within the stipulated
cut-off times earn the title of ‘randonneur’ (endurance cyclist) and riders who
complete four rides, ranging from 200km-600kms in one calendar year earn the
title of ‘Super Randonneurs’ (SR).
The BRMs are not for the faint hearted.
They are self-supported rides, where the rider has to take care of the bike and
herself/himself. The organisers do not help you. The cut-off times are also
challenging. If the 200kms has to be finished in 13.5 hours, the 600 kms has to
be completed in 40 hours, which means riders have to manage on very limited
sleep and often ride on lonely highways in the middle of the night.
Given this background, it is easier to
appreciate the feats of the two champion women endurance cyclists of Goa.
Belinda, a practising psychiatrist and the
senior of the two cyclists, is a trekker to begin with, but shifted to cycling
after her German husband Richard took to BRMs in 2012.
Today, Belinda is mentioned in the Limca Book of Records for
being the only Indian woman cyclist to have completed three 1200km rides in one
calendar year, which is a stupendous achievement, considering that the cut-off
time is 90 hours to complete the distance.
Belinda recounts her first 1200km ride: “After we finished our
first SR in January 2014, Richard decided to go for the Daal Baati 1200km BRM
in Rajasthan. On a whim, I decided to go too. At the briefing, I wondered what
I was doing there. The others riders were all young, strong men on roadies and
I was the oldest, the only woman and on a hybrid cycle. We had very poor
weather too. Hailstones in Jaipur the night before we started and very strong
headwinds on all four days.The conditions were so bad that by 4pm on day two,
there were only four riders who made the control point.
“The toughest point came when Richard had a mechanical failure
that we were unable to fix. It was around 2 am that I continued the ride alone,
which was a difficult decision. The headwinds made things really tough. There
is absolutely no respite for burning legs from headwinds. On the last day,
around 3 pm, the Sun was beating down and I was cycling at only 18 km/hr on
slight downhills.
“I was ready to give up, but decided I would soldier on till the
cut off time of midnight. I found myself cycling on the shoulder of an
eight-lane highway and though there was still a strong headwind, I was lucky to
get the draft. It was mesmerising, hearing the trucks continuously whizzing
past. I had to keep telling myself that I could not afford to doze off or I
would be dead. Luckily for me, there was total discipline and not one truck
crossed the shoulder line.
“I managed to make it to the Red Fox hotel in Jaipur (the
finish) with only 15 minutes to spare. What a feeling that was. When we landed
at the Goa airport, members from the ‘Cycling Goa’ team were there with
garlands, banners and TV crews. That was a welcome I will always treasure.”
Belinda went on to complete two more gruelling 1200km rides in
early 2015, barely one month apart from each other, thus walking into the Limca
Book of Records.
Like Belinda, Anuradha Guglani, a practising architect, had a
similar beginning when she successfully completed her first 200km ride in 2014.
She did a few more 200km rides in the next few years, till a major surgery in
October 2017 put her out of action for one full year.
Hence, when she did return to the saddle in November 2018, she
quickly signed up for a 300 km BRM ride with Audax Goa, a distance she had
never attempted before. But lo and behold, her grit and perseverance carried
her through the four challenging rides of 200, 300, 400 and 600 kms in the
winter of 2018-19 and again this year, 2019-2020, earning her a double SR
title.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Anuradha has signed up for the
1000kms BRM ride from Goa to Puducherry (cut-off time-75 hours) scheduled to
take place on January 16, 2020.
Anuradha recollects her cycling endeavours post the surgery: “I
asked the Audax Goa team to register me for a 300km ride in November 2018. This
was a big jump after a full year of zero exercise and I had never attempted a
300km ride before.
“However, when I successfully completed the 300km ride, the
feeling of success was so special, that I immediately registered for the 400km,
which led to the 600km ride. During the 600, I had a few scary moments as I
found myself alone on a long highway in the middle of the night. Thoughts of
someone accosting me prompted me to pick up speed to join other fellow riders.
Later, I made sure to ride with my male counterparts through the night.”
It is clear that cycling is central to the lives of these two
special women. Belinda, when asked, explains it this way, “I got into cycling
in 2012 only because my hubby, Richard, had given up trekking and started
cycling. But once I started, I was hooked. In cycling, one appreciates the
landscape just as much and can cover greater distances. One of my best cycling
memories is cycling up the Karmal Ghat in Canacona at midnight with the full
moon and no traffic to mar the peace.”
Anuradha
on the other hand says, “Till I feel good doing these rides, I shall test
myself. The more endurance cycling you do, the more you get used to them and
the more easy they become.”
