F1 motor racing and cycling may be like chalk and cheese but come December 16, there will be something common between both. Karun Chandok, one of India's promising drivers in the F1 circuit, will be riding along with 70 other cyclists in what could be termed as “mother of all cycling tours in the country.”

“Karun (Chandok) will be riding with the cyclists on the first day of the fourth Tour of Nilgiris that will be flagged off in Bangalore,” says Sridhar Pabisetty, one of the organisers of the tours under the auspices of RiceACycle Foundation.

The event that will end at Kodanad, 46 km from Ooty or Udhagamandalam in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district, on December 23, is being sponsored by BSA.

The 70 cyclists, who will take part in the tour that will go through Wayanad, Bandipore and Mudumalai forests, include six from the US and Italy and three women. They will cover a distance of 860 km in eight days. The longest stretch of 192 km in the tour will be between Hassan and Madikeri with the cyclists scaling a higher elevation. Other areas the tour will cover are Mysore, Kannur, Sultan Bathery and Udhagamandalam.

“This is the fourth year of our cycling tour that is planned around the Nilgiris. But each year there has been some variation. We keep on modifying the tour based on road conditions, while looking for other special conditions,” says Pabisetty.

This year, the organisers have decided to make the tour a bit tough. “The tour will go to Kannur, a coastal area, before the riders go uphill,” he said.

When the tour was first introduced, it attracted 56 cyclists. The next year saw 350 people evincing interest but only 100 being picked up eventually. “Last year again, we pruned the number of cyclists to 70 because in some places, we don't get the required accommodation. This year, too, only 70 have been selected,” says Pabisetty.

The cyclists for the tour which goes through different terrains are picked based on their background in cycling. “We look at their endurance; we see if they have done any endurance rides,” says Pabisetty.

Among the 70 cyclists will be an IPS official from Karnataka, a lieutenant colonel from the Army Service Corps in Bangalore, a lawyer and even a neuro-surgeon. There will also be a corporate participant: Srinath Rajan from MyTVS.

One of the unique features of this year's circuit is that the organisers have introduced a GPS-based message service that will help them reach any cyclists in case of emergency.

“It is basically a button which pressed will transmit an emergency signal to a Web site. A 30-member call centre will keep tab of the site to attend to any emergency,” said Pabisetty.

It is just not an event to promote the cycle culture but also create awareness about pollution, preserving environment, mental strength and teamwork. “We encourage the cyclists to ride in groups. They can form groups with persons they are comfortable with,” says Pabisetty.

The tour will not be short on competitiveness either. There will be competitive sections at certain stretches across different stages to test the cyclists craft and grit. The top two will get a scuba-diving holiday package in the Andamans and BSA's Montra bicycle, which is a premium product made of carbon.

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