The Executive Director of Thiagarajar Mills, Hari Thiagarajan, also appointed Chairman of CII-TN earlier this week, recalls how as a child, he would cycle around in the Kodai hills during summer vacations. When he bought his first cycle in Chennai, he often took it to the beach there. And after Decathlon set shop in Madurai, he bought a new-age gear cycle and followed his passion with more regularity. That was about five years ago when he started riding along the smooth road from Thiagarajar College of engineering (TCE) to the Madurai airport, taking in the scenic views of paddy fields.
“Apart from being a good physical exercise, it is a great stress-buster. I continue to cycle on the 20 kilometre stretch at the break of dawn, at least two to three times a week or whenever I am in Madurai,” says Hari. Most days, he pedals alone and sometimes, is joined by like-minded friends.
Around the same time, in another part of the town, Kutti Muthukumar took to cycling because he wanted to lose weight. He lost 20 kilos and also gave up his job as a distributor in a private company. “I became obsessed with cycling. The geared, sporty ones of today fascinate me no end,” says Muthukumar. He opened a bicycle store and also launched the City Cycling Club in 2015. Over the years, close to 500 cycling enthusiasts joined him and some of them have also turned pros and cycling brevets.
The humble bicycle thus saw a rebirth in the city and it also timed well with the entry of sports shop Decathlon. The store established its own Cycling Club with its band of dedicated customers around the time, another association of youngsters got together to establish Madurai Pedallers Club in 2016. “We were a small group of about a dozen cruising on the city’s familiar routes around the Meenakshi Temple, Race Course ground, the Vaigai Bank or the hills every morning to get and remain fit,” says businessman and cycling enthusiast Shenher Lal. Today, they are a group of 60 and are drawn from different professions to cycle for fun, fitness and friendship.
It was around the middle of the last decade, that cyclists became the new ‘minority’ in the city attracting the gaze of onlookers with their stylish and colourful helmets, hand pads, reflective neon-striped T-shirts and sports shoes on bicycles equipped with speedometers, gears, loaded handlebars, powerful head and tail lights and what not.
When the city’s marathon scene picked up, with the fourth edition of the annual Madurai Marathon attracting 5,000 runners in January this year, Hari decided to call out to all cyclists and celebrate the spirit of the city. “In the last few years, I saw many of my friends buy the stationary cycle to exercise indoors, but nothing beats the energising outdoor experience,” he says and adds, “On every ride, you discover a new path and new elements en route.”
Hari came up with the idea of a public initiative to cycle for a social cause. “Since March 8 was co-incidentally chosen as the day to kick-start the cyclothon, we thought of pushing people to think about women’s health and in particular, breast cancer, given its high incidence,” he says.
And so ‘Pedal for a Purpose’ was conceived as a concerted campaign to help women understand how to manage breast cancer. Under the banner of TCE, the cyclothon has already received 750 registrations online. “This is a good number from our city, marking the beginning of an annual flagship event,” says Muthukumar, who along with the other cycling groups joining the event, hopes the efforts will revive cycling culture in the city.
“Cycling has always been a friendly community and we want to take it beyond a hobby,” adds Hari. “We do not want to make the event competitive but want people to enjoy the sport and feel a sense of accomplishment while raising awareness about a health issue.”
The Hindu is the print media partner for the event.
Bring your own bicycle to participate in the first TCE Cyclothon 2020 on March 8.
Assemble by 6 am at TCE grounds and collect your kits (containing T Shirt, cap, energy bar and water).
Registration fee (includes breakfast after the event): ₹300 for men, ₹150 for women and ₹100 for children (above 12 years) to college students.
On-the-spot registrations will be allowed depending on the numbers
The cyclothon will be conducted in two categories: 20 kilometres for men and women and 10 kilometres for students
Participants from outside Madurai city can drop their bicycles at five collection points that will be operational from Saturday evening — at Decathlon store, Ulaganeri; Pandiyan Hotel, Alagar Koil Road; Green Trends Salon Bypass Road; New Jail Road opposite Madura Coats and Thiagarajar College of Arts, Teppakulam. The cycles will be brought to the venue by the volunteers on Sunday morning.
A lucky dip will decide five random women who complete the cyclothon as recipients of health insurance policies with one year premium paid.
The District Collector, the Commissioner of Police and the Corporation Commissioner have been invited to flag off the cyclothon
Oncologist Dr K S Kirushna Kumar of Meenakshi Mission Hospital will give a talk on cancer awareness at the end of the event
