Congratulations to the Octowomen team of: Meera Velankar, Zainab Shoaib, Preeti Maske, Tasneem Mohsin, Sowmya Chandran, Priya Narayan, Sushma Swamy, Anjana Sudeendra for setting 12 new WUCA world records.

Distance Event Kilometers Time Avg Sp (Km) Avg Sp (Miles)
100 Kilometer 03:23:29.90 29.48 18.32
200 Kilometer 06:50:13.59 29.25 18.18
300 Kilometer 10:14:41.97 29.28 18.20
500 Kilometer 17:38:26.76 28.34 17.61
1000 Kilometer 1:12:24:57.04 27.46 17.06
Distance Event Miles Time Avg Sp (Miles) Avg Sp (Km)
100 Mile 05:29:34.22 18.21 29.30
200 Mile 11:02:41.28 18.11 29.14
300 Mile 16:59:01.00 17.66 28.43
500 Mile 1:05:28:26.18 16.96 27.30
Timed Event Miles Kilometers Avg Sp (Miles) Avg Sp (Km)
6 Hour 109.115 175.603 18.19 29.27
12 Hour 218.475 351.602 18.21 29.30
24 Hour 410.178 660.118 17.09 27.50

 

Overall Ride Report

 A pioneering and unique attempt by Octawoman on Kolar road starting from Vishubhavan a 50km loop covering overall 1000 kms.  All 8 women riders are from different walks of life, most of the endurance cyclists are professionals, a yoga- pilates coach a few are runners newly exploring cycling most being mothers, age ranging from 37-45 yrs. All riders took around 5 turns of 30 to 20 kms on the route and attempted riding in Zone 4/Zone5 for about 45 – 60 mins. Weather on that particular weekend was a mix of drizzles and clouds. Cross winds & head winds were experienced at different times of the day. We had officials in the follow car monitoring the progress of every lap and this is recorded in three forms, as follow car data, rider to rider pass data and manual entry by officials. We had local cycling club VeloKofi supporting us to shuttle riders for their respective turns. TourdeMalnad was our main sponsor. Heini were our official apparel sponsor , we also had a technical team from Wheel sports for  bike mechanical issues stationed all the time. We also had the official car sponsor KIA epitome who offered to use KIA Seltos. In addition we had a team of physiotherapists and Zeeeefit as our recovery partner. Crooze app was on board to reward our mileage by giving energy Yoga bars. Promise sports entertainment also provided cash support and  was our official support for the ride. The ride was executed on a busy highway connecting metro cities.

The ride went successfully by taking efficient passes in relay style . It is an A game played by 8 strong women and their supporters. We had cyclists and families coming to the loop to wish and cheer us during the attempt, keeping us further motivated.

Rider Narratives:

Zainab Shoaib 

 Ride of my life…….

1000kms, 36 hours, 8 Women on cycles What a fantastic experience..nothing like any I have had before. The 8 of us were practically strangers at the beginning of this …I now feel I have known them all my life.

It was a fantastic and very unique experience. More a test of our spirit and minds than our bodies. We just willed each other on. This proves yet again that the spirit and mind are stronger than our bodies and the power of WE. I would like to especially thank each and every of my co-riders and I am especially grateful to the support crew, family and friends who were with us to motivate and inspire us to achieve this. The magnitude of our achievement is yet to sink in. I would like to end this  – I have experienced all or at least a lot of what life has to offer over this 1000km.

Tasneem Maske

 It was an absolutely enthralling experience of riding in a relay with seven strong women cyclists on the Kolar Highway attempting the 1000km Wuca ride with great timing, as the team Octawoman. I am Tasneem Mohsin a practicing architect-interior designer, mother of two, love travelling the more adventurous way, trekking and painting-sketching. Coordination, faith, pushing our limits and love of cycling were a few elements which made it successful. I have achieved my Super Randonneur title in the last two consecutive years and have done a LRM of 1200kms recently. Endurance Cycling has been my joy and passion from the last couple or so years, exploring the countrysides and less travelled roads. Hope to and dream of cycling more distances in varied cities, countries and continents!

Preeti Maske

 I am Preeti , I travelling for this record attempt from Pune , I enjoyed riding in Bangalore on Kolar highway with other strong women , Riding on highway in 50 km loop with sharp turns and passing batten to other enjoyed ride following all rules of WUCA , I am already record holder for fastest GQ ride in India and have covered 6200 plus kms in less than 25 days . This relay style record was very interesting . In future I wish to attempt solo as well as  other  challenging WUCA group records.

Sowmya Chandran

I am regular into randonneuring and I have two SR s in the last  2 years , also have earned podium in fast races like local ITT , it was great experience to be part of Octawoman team and also to share my bike with another rider Meera . All of us have enjoyed the weather and did our best , many of us clocking our ride splits at 28-30 km/ per hr average. It was good show of immense teamwork and I had super exciting time on Kolar highway attempting this unique record.

Sushma Swamy

WUCA 1000 X8 relay record attempt was a lifetime experience for me. The whole event was a great experience. The ride was well planned by Meera and executed extremely well by all riders. My name is Sushma Swamy, a Software professional and a proud mom. Am outdoor person interested in trekking, running and cycling. Have been cycling for more than a decade, love to explore interesting places on my bike. Been planning and executing cycling tours with my husband for the past 5 years. Have completed Super Randonneur twice and cycled 12,000km this year. Am a marathoner, Started running 6 years ago, participated in various running events across India.

Priya Narayan

Our attempt at 1000 kms ride in relay style

We, 8 women connected by our common passion for cycling wanted to attempt riding 1000kms in relay style under 40 hours. After many days of preparations, the D day finally arrived and we gathered at the venue on the early morning of 13th Nov. All of us were excited and there was some apprehension in terms of weather as Bangalore had witnessed heavy rains in the preceding days.

The ride was flagged by veteran cyclist Meera at about 6:05 AM and we also had friends, well wishers ,sponsors and family gathered to support us in this attempt.

We had prepared our schedule well ahead and each of us knew the sequence of our rides and the rides went smoothly with all of us finishing strong and faster than our expected finish times.The weather Gods were kind and we rode in fine weather with just a few drizzles on our way. The experience was surreal for me and the memories will stay with me for the rest of my life. It was my privilege to have been associated with all the wonderful women who were part of this journey .

Anjana Sudeendra

When the idea of attempting the WUCA record in relay style was presented to me, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I agreed because of its uniqueness. 

I strive to find work/life rhythm and prioritize health and wellness. I have been a runner and cyclist for over a decade. Between managing corporate life and parenting two kids, cycling on the weekends gives me balance.  

It was truly a privilege to join these amazing and strong women and attempt the 1000km relay. There were many unknowns like the traffic and weather conditions but the event was executed flawlessly. We motivated and supported each other throughout the way. I enjoyed every lap and was so thrilled to ride strong paces. My favourite lap was the one I rode at 3:50 am on the second day, November 14th. With barely anyone around, it was beautiful and mesmerizing. It reminded me of the quote, “When the rhythm and night ride, no heart can hide.” 

We had great support from our friends and family. I’m so proud of what we accomplished and look forward to more such rides. This event will forever remain as one of the humbling experiences of my life.

Meera Velankar

It was my dream to attempt the WUCA record for the last one plus year, due to the complexity of having a support car and crew, I was not able to apply for the same for my other long distance attempts last year. When I saw the 1000 km relay option I was excited and I had 7 other strong woman cyclists who liked this idea. I did enjoy conceptualizing and visualizing this ride. We had 8 very strong riders. One of us was on a hybrid bike doing 26 to 28 km /hr speed. All the riders took efficient passes and it was all flawless team- work. During the process we all 8 had our family challenges, one rider travelled from another city, social challenges when 8 women try to do something new. We also had help from cycling tours companies, cycling groups, rider support and sponsors. I in future look forward to being an active member of WUCA and will try to be part of many such attempts. I feel extremely proud that we have set this trend on a global level.