Ever since the coronavirus pandemic, the world has lost its true color and tranquility around. The busy streets ended up with business shutdowns, umpteen deaths, and inevitable job losses. This has resulted in work-from-home as the new normal till things settle down in the air.
However, amid tough times, a few employees opted for a staycation (stay and vacation) to celebrate work and life together. And so, just like that, these three friends from Mumbai suburbs – 37-years-old Allwyn from Badlapur, 36-years-old Ratesh from Kalyan, and 31-years-old Bakcen from Ambernath have taken cycling trips every day and never missed attending their work, at least a day.
Isn’t this a wonderful way to revive from all the havoc that’s happening around you before you get back to your workspace? Speaking to the Life Beyond Numbers, the trio have shared their bicycle-expedition story with us.
On A Voyage To Work
Bakcen George has always been an adventure enthusiast. Every day, he used to cycle for about 1-2 hours and get back to his work-from-home office tasks. Previously, he had traveled from Mumbai to Goa and Manali to Khardungla (Ladakh) on cycle, and both were 600km+ distance. But Bakcen wanted to take it to the next level.
That’s when Bakcen George came up with the thought that they can continue cycling but in the direction of Kanyakumari. But instead of 2 hours, they decided to cycle from morning 4 am to 11 am and then get back to their regular office work.
The route taken was NH44 covering Pune, Satara, Kolhapur, Belgaum, Hubli, Davanagere, Bengaluru, Salem, Madhuri, and Tirunelveli. The three have traveled a total of 1687 km on their bicycle. Daily they used to hit 80kms on-road and even more during weekends.
“While heading back, we traveled by train. The total cost of the entire trip was 25,000 per person, for 26 days and above. There was no celebration as such because the day we reached Kanyakumari was a working day, so we had to find a hotel and start our work” added Bakcen.
Although, the trio didn’t find any hassle in finding a lodge. “Lodging was available at a discounted price because of the pandemic. There were only a couple of hotels which didn’t allow us due to the pandemic”, asserted Bakcen. However, the majority of the lodges welcomed their stay.
One Hell Of An Adventure
Being adventure enthusiasts, the trio tried to use this work-from-home opportunity effectively by cycling. They started their journey on 21 November and ended on 14 December – a 24-day journey, of which 22 days involved cycling. Yes, sure, they had their share of challenges.
“We did face the expected tire punctures and a few cycle repairs. In terms of climate, we faced almost all weather conditions hot, cold, and even rains due to cyclones that hit Tamil Nadu”, professed the trio.
This is one hell of a ride and a memorable one for anyone who goes on such an adventurous trip. For that, one needs some kind of motivation or reason to do it – and for Bakcen and his two friends, Ratesh and Allwyn – it was the frustration of sitting at home idle that made them take this valor step to explore the world in a whole new direction.
“Just that we got frustrated sitting at home. We have always been adventure and travel enthusiasts and just got frustrated with the lockdown and we wanted to change that so thought of doing this”, concluded the trio.
Balancing On The Ropes
Moving forward, traveling by cycle to a far place is not an easy-breezy task for any. To manage the pressure, they took it slowly and cycled at their own pace without any benchmark or set time limit. But they used to set daily goals according to their capacity and daily workload.
As cycle touring is more than a physical thing and having the right mindset and a positive attitude, the trio carried their journey by supporting each other.
Amid a month-long ride, Bakcen has shared one of his exhilarating and liberating moments. He said, “One of the most valuable things was I got some personal time for myself to reflect about my life which we normally don’t do or get in normal daily life. The beautiful place we came across during this journey was Muppandal wind farm.”
Down the line, they haven’t thought of any future rides as such.