Pune cyclist creates record, paddles 480km Leh-Manali stretch in 55 hr, 13 mins

Forty five-year-old Preeti Maske, a mother of two, has created an ultra-cycling world record by becoming the first woman to cycle solo from Leh to Manali in 55 hours and 13 minutes.

Through her feat, Preeti, a resident of Pune, is said to have qualified for entry into the Guinness World Records after covering the 480km stretch.

She holds the record for the fastest woman cyclist on the Golden Quadrilateral comprising a distance of 6,000 kilometers, officials said.

Speaking to the media, a jubilant Preeti said age should never be a hindrance in chasing one’s passion.

“To overcome illness, I started cycling at the age of 40. If I can overcome my fears, then any woman can,” she said.

Preeti started the ride on June 22. She was flagged off by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) from Leh at 0600 hours by Brigadier Gaurav Karki, chief engineer BRO at Leh, the officials said.

At Manali she finished the ride at 1:13 pm on June 24 in the presence of Col. Shabarish Vachali, commander, BRO.

Experts said the route was very tough with an 8,000m elevation gain.

Guinness World Record had given her a window of 60 hours to complete this challenge, they said.

“Twice I had to take oxygen en route due to breathlessness at high passes,” Preeti, who holds several records in long-distance travel said.

Anand Kansal, her crew member said, “Preeti had to cycle in harsh varying climate on all the high altitude passes fighting the sun, strong head winds, snowfall and freezing temperatures.”

Kansal said that this couldn’t have been possible without the support of BRO which had deployed two support vehicles with a satellite phone and medical assistant.