Mysuru: Imagine covering 3,758 km from Kashmir to Kanyakumari on a bicycle in 10 days. Though, it seems impossible, cyclist Naveen Solanki, a city-based businessman and a resident of V.V. Mohalla has made it possible.

Taking part in ‘Race across India,’ an ultra-endurance cycling competition, Naveen finished the race in 5th place among 15 cyclists who took part from across the globe. The race which started on Oct. 10 from Polo Ground in Srinagar was scheduled to finish on Oct. 22 in Kanyakumari, but Naveen accomplished the feat two-days ahead of the finishing date on Oct. 20 covering the entire distance in 10 days and 15 hours (255 hours).

The cyclists passed through cities such as Udhampur, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Ambala, New Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi, Sagar, Narsinghpur, Seoni, Nagpur, Adilabad, Hyderabad, Kurnool, Anantapur, Bengaluru, Krishnagiri, Salem, Dindigul, Madurai, Tirunelveli before reaching the finishing point at Kanyakumari.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Naveen Solanki said that every day he covered a distance of about 370 km to 380 km. “I use to start at about 3 am every day and end the cycling session at 11 pm. My everyday camping was at petrol bunks as it would be easy to get refreshed in the morning. It was an easy race to finish. Having undergone training in Mysuru during which I used to cycle for about 500-600 km every week and long rides during the weekends and of course meditation sessions helped me finish the race,” he said.

Naveen, who was a footballer in his school days, took to cycling later. He has taken part in many races including 200 km and 300 km and Deccan Cliff Hanger from Pune to Goa in India and also races in Spain in past. He was supported by his crew members Likmaram Solanki, Raju Rathore, Dev Jagadish and Vinod Choyal during his race from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.