Grinshina Kartik
Bangalore, India
December 27, 2020Why should someone try ultracycling for the first time?
Ultracycling is that zone where you get to be your most authentic self. There’s a Zen state you enter when you are pedaling endlessly. The pleasure is in the struggle, the challenge, overcoming the mind games, the physical discomfort. It unravels your personality like nothing can ever, it reveals who you are.
Why do you compete in ultracycling?
For fun. Curiousity to see how far I can go..
What is the single best lesson you have learned from ultracycling?
That our collective human ability to endure in spite of all odds is what makes us human. The failures in ultracycling are not something to hide away from the world, just the fact to that you dare to attempt it is going to inspire someone else to train and attempt it. It uplifting. Ultracycling is not a glamorous sport, you are going to be roasted in the sun till your skin burns, you are going to be layered in so much dirt, dried up sweat salts that keep pricking you and won’t wash away easily. You are going to be struggling long hours on the saddle due to soreness, cuts, rashes. You apply and reapply what needs to be applied on your body, you learn to keep your focus on your mind and soldier on. You are going to be in a heightened emotional state and your fears, your driving forces, show up. It’s amazing to see how you deal with the situation when you are in alien settings pushing your limits. The person beneath the layers of societal conditioning lays bare. It’s not a sport for the weak of heart or ..mind or ..body.
Attempting Paris-Brest-Paris 2019 after hearing about it just a few months before. —-Riding Thailands ISAN 2020km ride in Feb 2020 was such a blessing in year 2020 just before Covid took over our lives. The sights, sounds and food of Thailand are forever etched in my memory. The kindness of Thai people is truly something to be experienced riding a bike.
