The Tour De Rotary cycle rally organised by the Rotary Club of Madras Midtown is nearing completion on the 9th of December at Kanyakumari. This 4800kms route saw the riders cover more than 10 states with multiple pit stops at cities where welcome and flag off events were organized. All the events at the city pit stops had awareness talks and interactions on Swachh Bharat and Swachh Vidyalaya campaigns with School students.
The riders reached Chennai on the 2nd of December and met the media at a press conference held at the city on the 3rd of December during their rest day. The press conference was attended by representatives from the Rotary, TI Cycles and the riders themselves. Talking to ChooseMyBicycle.com, when asked about TI CycleÛªs partnership with this rally, Mr.L. Ram Kumar, Managing Director, Tube Investments of India Limited quoted Û÷ÛªWe are happy to have been associated with the K2K Tour De Rotary via Track and Trail as the platinum sponsors. We have previously supported cycling events with Rotary for Polio awareness but with this event at a much larger scale we are confident that not only will the social awareness initiatives reach the public and benefit them but also cycling as a medium of transport and a sport will gain more popularity and we hope all the public who have interacted with the riders at this tour will get inspired to take up cyclingÛªÛª
We also had the opportunity to interact with one of the riders, Krithika Chidambaram a techie at Zoho Corp who also happens to be the only female rider at the K2K Tour De Rotary. Talking about her experience so far during the ride Ms.Chidambaram quoted saying Û÷ÛªThe ride was both physically and mentally challenging but thanks to our great support staff and my co-riders I felt comfortable conquering the distance. I also had the opportunity to interact with school students at our pit stops where we spoke about the clean India mission.ÛªÛª
One of our team member and Cyclist Anahita Sriprasad had the opportunity to ride with the K2K Tour De Rotary riders from Bangalore to Chennai and here is her experience in her own words: Û÷Ûª I rode with the K2K riders on the Bangalore to Chennai stretch. Having left from MG road, the route for day one was 200+ km to Vellore. The riders took the Chittoor route and touched another state, Andhra Pradesh, on the way. Amidst really strong head winds and heavy rains during the last 70 km, the riders rode into Vellore with full gusto and determination. The Vellore Chennai leg was a rather quick ride of 115km, with the riders completing by mid-day. We were flagged down by members of the rotary and many others gathered at Poonamallee High road in Chennai.ÛªÛª
Anahita also was part of the flag off event in Chennai on the 4th of December where the riders gathered to head to Pondicherry for their next stop. Here are a few words from Anahita on the flag-off event Û÷ÛªThe sight of many cyclists gathered and in conversation greeted me when I reached Eliot's Beach. The Swachgrahis were leaving Chennai and making their way to Pondicherry, on Sunday. Many cyclists from Chennai had come by to flag off and accompany the K2K riders as they rode out of Chennai - fresh, after a dayÛªs rest in the city. At the flag off, and accompanying the riders out of the city was Johnty Rhodes, cricketer and Montra's brand ambassador. The Swachgrahis and accompanying riders were flagged off after a felicitation ceremony organized by the Rotary Club of Madras Midtown.ÛªÛª
