5 cyclist from Pune plans 2700-km bicycle expedition to Khardung La pass in Ladhak

Pune: Five cyclists from Pune will ride from here to the top of Khardung La pass, in Ladakh, to promote the use of cycles and non-motorised transport.
The five cyclists are 55-year-old Ulhas Joshi and his wife Gayatri Joshi, IT professional Sunil Chatekar, interior designer Arjun Doshi and Udayan Walvekar who is a student and a budding cyclist. They will start on Thursday.
They will cycle from Pune to Chandigarh, covering about 1,900km, in eight days, which is nearly 200km every day.They will cycle via Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh. From there, they will reach Manali, where they will halt for two days.
They will continue to Leh, the most difficult terrain with six mountain passes, all above 14,500ft above sea-level. Before reaching there, they will cycle up Tang Lang La pass, which is at 17,500ft. On the last day, they will cycle from Leh (10,500ft above sea level) to the top of Khardung La pass (18,380ft above sea-level).
All members have achieved the feat of cycling up Khardung La pass at least once. Ulhas Joshi and Gayatri Joshi have cycled up seven times, while Chatekar has cycled up KTop four times. Arjun and Udayan, too, have cycled up once before.
This expedition is special to Ulhas though, as it will mark his decade long stint of cycling in the Himlalayan mountains. He said they had received help from various people to deal with logistics and other issues.
Five cyclists from Pune has planned 2700-km long cycle ride from Pune to the top of Khardung La Pass. The expedition will leave on Thursday to promote use of cycles and non-motorised transport.
The members include 55-year old Ulhas Joshi, his wife Gayatri Joshi who is also a cyclist, IT professional Sunil Chatekar, interior designer Arjun Doshi and Udayan Walvekar who is a student and a budding cyclist. Joshi has been part of various cycling expeditions in Himalyas for last 10 years. The expedition will mark his decade long straight of cycling in Himlalayan mountains.
The team will be cycling from Pune to Chandigarh, covering the distance of about 1900km in 8 days covering nearly 200km every day. They will travel via Mumbai , Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh. From there the team will reach Manali where they will take a halt for 2 days.
The further cycling will continue to Leh on the most difficult terrain with 6 difficult mountain passes all above 14,500 ft above sea level. Before reaching Leh, they will cycle up Tang Lang La pass which at 17,500ft. On the last day, they will cycle from Leh (10500ft above Sea Level) to the top of Khardung La pass (18,380ft above sea level).
All members have achieved the feat of cycling up Khardung La pass at least once in the past. Ulhas Joshi and Gayatri Joshi have cycled up the pass 7 times, while Chatekar has cycled up the KTop 4 times Arjun and Udayan have cycled up Khardung La once.
Joshi said that the expedition has received help and support from various people to deal with logistics and other issues.