Tamil Nadu - Udhagamandalam   

Tour of the Blue Mountains on cycles

– Photo: M. Sathyamoorthy

Riding high: Members of a cycling expedition in Udhagamandalam on Tuesday.

Udhagamandalam: With the twin objectives of promoting cycling and savouring the natural beauty of the Blue Mountains forty persons from various parts of the country including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Kochi, Chennai and the United States of America participated in the ‘Tour of Nilgiris.’

They were in the age group of 11-50.

The participants who embarked on the week long tour on Christmas day at Bangalore passed through Udhagamandalam on Tuesday.

Speaking to The Hindu some of the cyclists said that the 919 km tour was organised by the Ride a Cycle Foundation, a not-for-profit advocacy group which promoted sustainable transport, responsible travel and environmentally and socially responsible bicycling opportunities.

It was supported by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC). Among the places it passed through were Maddur, Mysore, Somwarpet, Mercara, Virajpet, Sultan’s Battery, Gudalur, Udhagamandalam, Coonoor, Kotagiri and Masinagudy. Inter alia the tour helped sensitise the participants to the dangers of environmental degradation.

Stating that the Nilgiris was an ideal place for cycling they said that they would be back in Bangalore in time to welcome 2009. Ravi Ranjan, Managing Trustee of the Ride a Cycle Foundation hoped that the tour would encourage others to make cycling their favourite mode of transport. He also hoped that the event would become part of the national games.

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