The pleasant Sunday morning got pleasanter with the arrival of three randonneurs from Hyderabad, who were returning after completing the 200-km course. The cyclists completed the course in 13.5 hours.
A long distance sport, randonneuring is cycling a set distance covering various checkpoints with a certain time limit. The three randonneurs set out at 4 p.m. on Saturday from Hyderabad with a group of 35 other cyclists and crossed Medchal, Toopran, Kamareddy, Yellareddy, Medak, Narsapur, Sangareddy and ended their ride at Patancheru on Sunday morning at about 10.30 a.m. Those participating in the sport are called randonneurs and those who complete 200, 300, 400 and 600 km in a year are called Super Randonneur.
“We started at 4 p.m. from Hyderabad and covered about eight locations in three districts in 13.5 hours. It’s a good experience,” Satishchandra Annamaneni, one of the randonneurs, told The Hindu . The cycle used by Satishchandra costs about Rs. 40,000 while those of his fellow randonneurs, Raushan Kumar and Kashyap, over Rs. 90,000. “We faced some problems as there was no street lighting at night and because of damaged roads. Sometimes, our cycle tyres get punctured due to pot-riddled roads. We move in groups so that we can help each other at times,” said Satishchandra.
