Cycling to spread message for the girl child

Celebrity fitness trainer Arjun Kumar cycles from LB Nagar crossroads to the Kanakadurga temple in Vijayawada

The last time he rode a bicycle was when he was in Intermediate first year, at least a decade-and-a-half ago. And he straddled a Fox cycle again on Friday.

“My sister Sandhya runs a voluntary organisation called EduPro, which works for education for girls, and in my own way I wanted to spread awareness in the society,” said 33-year-old celebrity fitness and functional trainer Arjun Kumar.

Mr. Kumar cycled about 265-odd kilometres, from LB Nagar crossroads to the Kanakadurga temple in Vijayawada. “I began pedalling at 3.30 a.m. I surprised myself because though I made a career as a fitness trainer, I was not sure if I could cycle the distance,” he told

The Hindu .

Foggy morning

“I cycled non-stop the first 100 km. It was very foggy and my support car, a Maruti Baleno, with friends had to go ahead and light up my path. Then we stopped for breakfast, I had a sandwich and half a dosa, and from then on only relied on fluids,” he recalled.

“At several places after dawn broke, people wondered what I was doing. After Suryapet, a couple of cyclists rode beside me, and later two guys on a mobike. I replied to their questions telling them about the need to educate the girl child, as they nodded their heads and zoomed away,” he narrated.

Mr. Kumar works with AdLife in Banjara Hills in the morning and the rest of the day, he freelances by visiting clients’ premises. Does he feel there is a career in fitness training? “Sure, if you are good at it,” says the man who pursued a functional trainer course in Singapore last year.

Did he feel he achieved the objective? “Not at all. But I know that in my own small way, I set the ball rolling. I plan to do more such stuff,” he said.