A former body builder and presently an officer with the Indian Railways Kishan Bangera has been riding daily since the beginning of this year and clocked 10,000 km on May 18 and is adding an average 60 km every day thereafter. Mr. Bangera has decided to ride all the remaining days of the year to set a rare record.
Mr. Bangera plans to launch the next big initiative — Guru-Shishya Training Programme — where he will adopt a specific number of disciples and train them for about 45 days from July.
A founding member of the Mangalore Bicycle Club (MBC), Mr. Bangera, who began riding since four years to regain his fitness, is regarded as “guru” by many newcomers. A passionate sportsperson, he got into body building at 17 and became the university champion at 18 besides gaining several awards in the field.
Mr. Bangera, who joined the Railways in 1988, is now the Chief Ticket Inspector and Deputy Station Manager (Commercial) at Mangaluru Central Railway Station.
His interest in cycling developed after he watched the Tour de France in 2013 and began riding continuously thereafter. Besides own rides, the cyclist has been encouraging many to climb the saddle. Donald Menezes, president of MBC, is Mr. Bangera’s regular riding partner and both, besides encouraging one another, have been inspiring others to ride.
72 km a day
At the beginning of 2017, Mr. Bangera, now 51, set a target for himself of riding everyday and lived up to it. On an average, he rode 72 km everyday to clock 10,000 km on May 18. He is the first from MBC to qualify for MbC Ultra Distance Club 2017 while completing the annual target of 10,000 km in just five months. During the process, Mr. Bangera also lost 14 kg, he told The Hindu , while gaining total synchronisation in his personal, work, and fitness space through a disciplined approach.
For May 2017, he was ranked first in India for the Gran Fondo challenge and ranked third in India on distance challenge launched by Strava, fitness App. All these were possible with cooperation from his wife Sushma Bangera and son Ansh Bangera, he said.
