Geetu Vaid
Dhruv Bogra cycled solo for 14 months — from Arctic to the Andes, covering 15,000 km. On the way, apart from enjoying breathtaking views and wildlife, he got an opportunity to peep into the culture and lives of different communities
What would be your thoughts while driving on one of the highest and most treacherous roads in the country, the Manali-Khardung La highway, on a bike. Well, even for die-hard adventure fans, the thought would be to how best to negotiate the next turn or to enjoy the breathtaking views on the way. For Dhruv Bogra, however, it was an ‘aha’ moment in which he vividly saw the image of him travelling different continents on a cycle. “My friends and I, led by our guide, Ian Teunion, undertook a mountain biking expedition on this highway in 2012. Ian had toured with all his gear on this road and his pictures from an earlier expedition fired me up and the thought germinated into an idea,” said Bogra. However, it took him four more years and another adventure in Alaska to turn it into a reality. The footsteps of an approaching sixth decade of his life served as a trigger.
“By 2015, as I moved closer to 50s, I realised that my entire life had passed by and I longed to explore and experience the raw beauty of the remotest parts of the world and its indigenous cultures. So one day, soon after a trek into the Chugach mountains of Alaska, I took the decision to walk away from the system and plunge into the unknown….and cycle solo and unsupported from the Arctic to the Andes,” he recollects.
Bogra had an adventurous streak right from his Sherwood College days in Nainital, where he would indulge in trail running and small hikes. He was a regular in rafting and skiing courses organised by the Army Public School. However, work commitments of a high-pressure corporate life did take him away from his passion for a few years till he rekindled his love for the outdoors with treks to Hampta Pass, the Chugach Mountains in Alaska and cycling trails and many small expeditions in Sikkim, Western Ghats, Ranikhet district, Kangra and Narkanda.
The preparation
A solo trip on a cycle from the Artic to the Andes may sound glamorous, but it can stretch one’s limits, physically and cerebrally. And Bogra, being fully aware of it, undertook rigorous training and preparation drills to complete his dream run across ten countries. “I started a dedicated planning process eight months before, even though I had no idea if I would ever have the funds to undertake this journey. I had to first decide on the route to take — should I go with the Trans Siberian route across Russia to Turkey, or the Old Silk Route from China into Central Asia? I chose the Pan American route, from North to South America, one of the most geographically diverse and challenging routes in the world.
“Next, I had to buy maps, study cycling blogs, and track my route on the maps over many weeks after office hours so that I could estimate how much time it would take, estimate my costs and establish ports of entry to apply for my visas,” he recalls.
Besides, he had to thoroughly research about the equipment he needed carry for a self-supported journey for over 18 months. The most important being the bicycle frame, tyres, wheel rims, gears, lights best suited for the hard rigour of a 15,000 km long journey. “I had to plan for specialised bags, in which gear could be loaded onto a bicycle (panniers), cooking gear (stove and pans), camping gear (tent, sleeping bag, mat), water filtration devices, the right clothing for each type of terrain and weather, medicines, bike repair tools and, most importantly, food, for the areas where no supplies were available”. All equipment arrived and the bicycle was assembled just four months before the planned date of the expedition — June 21 2016, as most of it had to be acquired from stores in the US and the UK.
To be physically ready, he trained in the sweltering heat of Delhi with 40kg of gear on the bicycle. He trained hard for a few months in the lower Himalayas as well and even went to Chopta in January 2016 to train at sub-zero temperatures.
Ask him if there ever was fear or apprehension about the success of his adventure, and you see glint of confidence wrapped in a halo of positivity in his eyes. “I trusted in the power of the Universe and positivity to endure and find joy, and chose not to be driven by the 'target' of reaching Ushuaia in Argentina.” By the third month on the road, Bogra had realised that in the other world that he had left behind, he was only chasing missions and goals and that one's entire life was dictated by the pressure to achieve. “So I abandoned that concern and decided to savour each day of the journey,” he shares.
Why solo?
“I chose to go solo for a few reasons. The first was that I wanted to travel at my own pace and explore the continent in all aspects — people, culture, food and terrain. The second was that I could not find a partner with the right temperament to spend more than a year with and who was willing to cycle out of Alaska in June. And lastly, I wanted and needed solitude to reflect on many of the life’s questions that we are faced with — what is the meaning and purpose of my life? For me this journey was a search for many answers and in fact I named my bicycle ‘Quest’ and she became my companion.”
High points of the trip
It goes without saying that the journey was not only full of adventure but also with memories that can be cherished for a lifetime. Each day in a different place, meeting new people (and sometimes wildlife) are clearly etched in his mindscape. “Sightings of many black bears on the Cassiar Highway in the Yukon territory in Canada, especially one black bear that circled my tent almost the whole night looking for food,” he recalls. Another highlight was the 15th century San Juan Church of Chamula in Southern Mexico where the indigenous Maya people (who were converted to Christianity by Spanish missionaries) still follow their indigenous rituals of nature and worship inside the Church. “They combine practices such as the sacrifice of chickens, a floor covered with hundreds of incense candles and chanting ancient prayers inside the church that are totally alien to Christianity,” he said. In Peru, he fulfilled a childhood dream (amongst many) of taking to the skies and seeing the famous and ancient Nasca lines from the air. These are still mysteries to the world of archaeology and there are many theories why they were made. Some say they were the landing strips of spaceships from an alien civilization, a theory made famous by Erich Von Daniken in his book Chariots of the Gods.
A lone man cycling with a backpack through their city may not be an uncharacteristic thing for people, but they were amazed when they heard his story. “Most people that I encountered on the way first expressed disbelief, awe, and then admiration and happiness. Many invited me to their homes to spend the night, or treated me to a meal or a coffee, cooked for me and some in Mexico and Central America said I was ‘Loco’, meaning crazy in Spanish.”
Besides the beauty and the charm, he also witnessed the effects of disturbing climatic changes from the Arctic in Alaska to the Andes in Peru. And not only that, he also realised the need to preserve the tradition, culture and languages of indigenous people/tribals. His major takeaway being that the key to a happier life lies in embracing struggle and hardship with a smile. It builds character, grit, endurance, compassion and kindness. “The poorest in countries like developing countries like Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua had the happiest smiles and were the friendliest,” recalls Bogra.
Though his journey was triggered by a quest for adventure, it was important life lessons that he drove back home with at the end of his 14-month ride. “This experience has made me more resilient, sensitive to the environment and awaken me to the fact that we are not the citizens of a country but humans co- inhabiting a planet and we need to work together to make it a better place for ourselves and future generations,” he says, sounding like a monk who rode a cycle.
Penning it down
Completing the journey was not enough for Dhruv Bogra as soon after his return he started penning down his unique experiences. “Each morning I would step out to a quiet café shop to write in peace and solitary silence.” Soon enough his jottings and reminiscences took the form of a book. But getting a publisher was not a cake walk. “I went to many publishers with my manuscript but each one turned me down saying that no one would be interested in reading about a bicycling journey. Finally, after months, I connected with a graphic designer, Neena, in Mumbai who put me in touch with Manish, my literary agent and publishers, The Write Place (a division of Crossword). They loved the manuscript and decided to commission the book”, says Bogra while remembering his journey to becoming an author. Grit,
Gravel and Gear — is the book that chronicles the adventure of this pedal pusher.
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2vsNvmA
via Today’s News Headlines
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