B’lurean finishes ultra-cycling race a second time

It’s been 12 days since Srinivas Gokulnath slept well. “Trillions of cells in my body went through the grind. I feel like I am cycling even when I hit the bed,” the Bengalurean says with a wry laugh.

It’s not hard to see why Srinivas, 42, feels like that. On June 24, he completed one of the world’s toughest endurance cycling events — Race Across America (RAAM). He rode 5,000 km across 12 American states in 11 days and 6 hours, napping only 90 to 120 minutes per day. He finished seventh in the solo category which had 30 participants, including two other Indians.

This was Srinivas’ third shot at RAAM. In 2016, he fell short of the race by 600 km. In 2017, he made it to the finish line in 11 days and 18 hours, becoming the first Indian to do so solo. “In the 43-year history of RAAM, only 370 people have reached the finish line,” the aerospace medicine physician says.

He improved his timing by 12 hours this year and he credits it to the rigorous challenges he took on in the intervening years. “In 2018, I rode across Austria in 5 days and 10 hours. In 2021, I circumnavigated Karnataka on my cycle in 120 hours. In 2022, I raced in California, covering 611.5 km in 24 hours. Every time I get on my bicycle, it takes me closer to my upcoming goals,” says the Konanakunte Cross resident.

He rode “40,000 km in the last two years to train” for RAAM 2023. It was still tough as he shares, “We started from the breezy Pacific Coast in the west, then crossed the deserts of California and Arizona, rocky mountains of Colorado, plains of Kansas, rolling terrains of Missouri, Indiana and Illinois, and the Appalachian mountain ranges in Virginia. The race ended in Maryland.”

Going forward, he wants to share his stories with people who aspire to do ultra-distance cycling and inspire them, especially youngsters from rural India. In 2019, he served as a UN Peacekeeper in South Sudan and coached 150 girls to cycle.