02/01/2024
The path was uncharted, as no one dared to race from Digha to Darjeeling on just two non-motorised wheels, till 21 bicyclists took the challenge upon themselves to try and dust it off in style â that too on the Christmas weekend when rest of the world was busy celebrating and holidaying with family and friends.
Cyclology India, a community of cyclists, which is also a registered trust, and DQuests Adventure organised Coast to Crest race â 830 km in all from Digha to Ghum â to offer a unique experience to ultra-cyclists across the world. Incidentally, this is the only race approved by the World Ultra Cycling Association (WUCA) in eastern India. Racers who could finish it within 49 hours also qualified for the 4,800-km Race Across America (RAAM), arguably the toughest ultra-cycling race in the world at present.
Participation in the inaugural edition of Coast to Crest in West Bengal â the only Indian state which is splashed by the sea as well as blessed by the snow-capped mighty Himalaya â went beyond eastern India, as racers from even Maharashtra took part in it, and finished it in style. However, neither the route was easy nor the chilly late-December weather. Keeping the threats and concerns in mind, Cyclology India tied up with National Insurance Company to cover all of the racers and their expensive bicycles. Hardly any race organisers insure bicycles of the racers, but National Insurance Company left no stone unturned to offer this to Coast to Crest racers.
But who are all these racers who have sacrificed lots of family time in the Christmas holiday season to chase the dream of a finisher of an ultra-cycling race? To put in the words of Soumyadip Mondal, a mountaineer-turned-cyclist, âI was dreaming last month each and every moment to prepare myself. The true fact is that before a month ago I never rode a gravel bike or road bike. I used to use my MTB. So the C2C race was a big challenge to me.â Besides the 17 solo riders, the race also had a team of four, Move For Earth, comprising Ajitakshya Jana, Sanjib Saha, Sudip Das and Vinay Jaju, who not only successfully finished the race but also encouraged a green initiative like ultra-cycling race. Move For Earth, an initiative of Switch On, the raceâs sustainability partner, was truly inspiring with its action, as the organisers also maintained a high level of awareness drive, water and energy consumption, mobility and transportation like using public transport, using biodegradable food catering options, and proper waste segregation and management. Switch On founder Mr Jaju himself took part in the ultra-cycling race.
Riders started from the raceâs hospitality partner Hotel Ridley International in New Digha off the beach and hit the state highway towards Contai. After a while, they were at Nandakumar to take the national highway towards Kolaghat. After crossing the Rupnarayan, they reached the other side at Bagnan where the second time station (or, control point) was set up. There, officials and volunteers wearing T-shirts and caps sponsored by Bosch, our mobility partner, greeted the racers and put the stamp of arrival on the rider book. Racers also refilled their bottle with tablets of Fast & Up, the energy partner of Coast to Crest.
One of the many challenges for the organisers was how to track racers from Digha to Ghum, a distance of 830 km meandering through nine districts and different state and national highways. Of course, organisers put 50 and odd marshals and volunteers along the route. But itâs not humanly possible to keep an eye on each of the racers all the time. Here came Creatronics with its state-of-the-art technology that is hardly used in bicycle races in India. Most of the races depend on tracking
apps for which the racerâs mobile phone has to be location enabled all the time. But it was difficult, as the mobile phone batteries will drain out in no time â it wonât last 2 days uninterrupted. Also, there was a problem of seamless mobile network connectivity, especially in the hilly terrain of Darjeeling that is also dotted with wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. To answer to uncertainties, Cretraonics came up with satellite tracking devices that each of the racers carried in the back pockets of their jerseys, intricately designed by Daily Crayon, the apparel partner of Coast to Crest. This helped race controllers to track each of the riders thoroughly for directions and deviations from geo-fenced routes also.
After Bagnan, the next time station for racers was at Kalna where some of them had lunch also following a long ride through the vast stretch of Howrah and Hooghly districts touching Uluberia, Dhulagori, Kona, Dankuni, Mogra and innumerable towns and villages. The riders also bypassed Nabadwip and Mayapur, the headquarters of Iskcon, to hit the national highway at Krishnagar. A few kilometres after Krishnagar, came the first drop bag point, also the fourth time station, near Bethuadahari forest.
Most of the time stations were located at hotels and restaurants so that the riders could take small breaks and rest, if necessary. From Bethuadahari to the next time station at Malda was a long distance during which they crossed Plassey, the historic battlefield where the last nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Doula lost to the British. They also bypassed the historic town of Baharampur to ride towards Farakka, the mighty barrage with 108 sluice gates.
Most of the riders reached Malda during night, partially missing the ruins of Gour, the erstwhile capital city of Bengal. The route from Malda to Dalkhola, the next time station, was quite flat but with critical headwind resisting them with speed. The highway works at Raiganj and other areas could not deter their spirit though as they rolled through Karandighi to hit Dalkhola T-junction under Purnea Bridge. Taking a 90-degree right turn from there, the racers began their push towards Siliguri, the last time station before the climb on the Hill Cart Road. Incidentally, the Christmas-eve morning was so sunny that some of the riders could spot the Kanchenjunga from Islampur also!
Weather could have played spoilsport during the race, as the end point at Ghum witnessed snowfall just a week ago. However, the riders were fortunate enough to not only find sunny mornings but also snow-less night during their climb towards Kurseong and on the way to Ghum station, the highest railway station in India at 7,407 ft. Also, to ward off harsh winter, Decathlon Newtown came up with special jackets as game partner of the race. Besides, the raceâs wellness partner, SkinEasi provided all the racers with chafing cream so that they did not face any problem during the gruelling 830-km ride.
At Ghum, the prize distribution ceremony was organised on the Christmas afternoon at the sprawling lawn opened exclusively for Coast to Crest by Unesco World Heritage Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), our venue partner for the finishing point. Unirox, the bicycle manufacturer from Kolkata, gave away an MTB to the most promising rider of the race, Biswadip Nag. This is also unique, as successful finishers of such gruelling endurance rides donât get bicycles as gift but Coast to Crest prize sponsor Unirox just set the benchmark a little higher. Apart from this, it also gave away gift vouchers to all finishers.
The fastest of the racers, Amit Samarth from Nagpur, finished the race in 40 hr 23 min, followed by Boswadip Nag of Siliguri who dusted it in 43 hr 52 min. Kolkata duo Debanjan De and Avisek Tunga ended closely at 47 hr 32 min and 48 hr 45 min, respectively. These four racers also qualified for RAAM. The other racers who also finished within Cyclology India cut-off time of 59 hours were Sunny Shah, Soumyadip Mondal, Anirban Das and Sachin Shaw. Several other gritty riders did not stop and completed the race but outside the time limit (OTL) were Goutam Mahata, Melwyn Pereira, Surajit Barai and Abhishek Shaw.
For three days â December 23 to December 25 â not only racers, but also more than 50 volunteers took care of the ridersâ needs on the road â from taking care of the time stations to help them find food and restrooms or even fill up their sippers.
Such ultra-cycling races are not possible to organise without dedication of such volunteers, most of them are endurance cyclists themselves. Even at the end point in Ghum, Urgen Sherpa of Hub Outdoor kept his bicycle shop open for three continuous days with coffee and snacks to help racers unwind after a gruelling and hectic race. He was also instrumental in packing the racersâ bikes in proper boxes through the night so that nobody misses the flight or train or bus back home!
After the successful finish of the first edition of Coast to Crest, race director Pinaki Ganguly said, âWe look forward to the next year and many more years to come with all our sponsors, partners and well-wishers supporting the same. Without the selfless service of volunteers and race marshals on the route, a race of such a mammoth scale would have been unfinished, and many a dream of racers would remain a dream only.â
