Kashmiri cyclist creates history, covers 3600 km in 8 days

An official said that braving all odds -- including rough terrains, harsh climatic conditions, traffic snarls and other difficulties -- Adil kept on riding with full energy to break the Guinness Book of World Record set by Om Mahajan, who covered the same distance within eight days, seven hours and 38 minutes last year.

“Adil, a young cyclist from Narbal area of Budgam district started his journey on March 22 after being flagged off by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole from Lal Chowk area of Srinagar,” he said.

Passionate about cycling, Adil had already set a record in his name by covering 440 Kilometres distance from Srinagar to Leh in just 26 hrs, 30 min.

Abraq Agro which supported and sponsored Adil on the cycling expedition has lauded Adil on this great achievement. Abraq Agro also expressed its gratitude to the Divisional Administration Kashmir for its support throughout Adil’s journey in setting the new record.

For Adil, Srinagar-Leh Cycling expedition turned a turning point boosting him to go for more and set eyes on breaking the World Record; however, it was not easy and needed dedication, passion, stamina and proper guidance and training.

To chase his dream of setting the world record, Adil went to Amritsar where he went under rigorous training for 4-5 months.

Adil, a fastest rider from Srinagar to Leh, did his training for cycling, at Gurunanak Dev University at Amritsar under coach Rajesh – H.O.D cycling Department.

He was trained at different levels, while in JNDU (University) trained for 10,000 kms of endurance and 20,000 kms. This training helped him to take up Kashmir to Kanyakumari Challenge. He was amongst the top 10 in the National Championship in the fixed Spring finish. In the beginning of the pandemic, it was very difficult to arrange bicycle parts and due to the ban on imported parts but with the support of sponsors everything was managed.

Staring his journey from Srinagar, Adil pedalled through many states including cities which included Sanant Nagar NH44, Qazigund, New Tunnel Banihal, Nashri Tunnel, Lakhanpur, Pathankot, Jalandar, Ludhiana, Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Gutti, Banglore, Madurai and finally Kanyakumari.