He calls his adventure the ‘KKK.’ Indian-origin United Kingdom resident Jaylesh Rajani (52) is on his longest cycling trip yet, from Kanyakumari to Kathmandu, and hence the moniker ‘KKK.’
Recently, he was in Puducherry and decided to take a break at his cousin Vinod’s house. He began on January 11 and expects to take around four weeks to reach Kathmandu, covering a distance of around 3,200 km.
Mr. Rajani wants to create awareness of safety in cycling through this journey. “Wearing a helmet, visible clothing and fitting your cycle with lights are essential,” he says.
On reaching Nepal, he plans to also either cycle or trek from Lukla to the Mount Everest base camp. The adventure does not end there, however. Mr. Rajani will be cycling to Gujarat covering around 1,800 km and expecting to take around six weeks with breaks to meet family and friends along the way.
Mr. Rajani, who lives in Leicester, the U.K., is self-employed and offers plumbing services. This has allowed him to take time out on trips like this, he adds. When the weather in the U.K. does not permit cycling, he continues to keep fit by trekking and walking, he says.
On the ‘KKK,’ he is using a foldable Brompton MR6 cycle, with six gears, costing around £1200 to £1500 (nearly Rs. 1.5 lakh). Its ability to fold neatly means he can easily carry it into restaurants and hotel rooms when he stays there at nights. “This is actually a commuting bicycle. I wanted to also show that it is possible to cover long distances on it and carry luggage,” he says.
Mr. Rajani, who has been cycling for 35 years, does around 100 to 160 km a day at a speed of around 25 km per hour. His essentials kit includes spare tyres, spare parts, clothes and toiletries. On the road, the GPS on his phone and local people are his guide.
“If you plan too much, you are tied down to it. It is best to go with the flow,” he says. In the trip so far, the cyclist found the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai and the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari to be fascinating. He also managed to rescue a puppy he found along the way.
“India is in my blood. I am doing this for the third time because I enjoy it. This is really the way to see India,” he signs off.