Karnal woman pedals 550 km to Khardung La

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 28

The passion for cycling took 31-year-old Preeti Taneja, a resident of Karnal, to the highest motorable road in the world — Khardung La, which is situated at a height of 17,982 ft.

She cycled 550 km from Manali to Khardung La in eight days; she had started the journey on June 26.

Back home in Sector 7 here, Preeti told The Tribune, “During eight days of rigorous cycling, I traversed Rohtang pass, Baralacha, Tanglang La, Nakeela pass, Lachungla La and many other places in heavy snowfall and hailstorm. It was a challenging and adventurous trip.”

She started cycling around five years ago. “Initially, I cycled for 15-30 km daily. Gradually, I built my stamina and started covering longer distances,” said Preeti, who works in a company dealing in renewable energy.

She has completed several 100-200 km Brevets de Randonneurs Mondiaux (BRMs), rides of fixed distances that are to be completed within specified time limits.

“I completed some of the rides before the fixed time,” she said.

Preeti comes from a service-class family. Her father has retired from a cooperative bank as a senior manager, while her mother is a housewife.

She loves travelling and meeting new people, which, she feels, are a challenge for her as a woman. She wants to see more women contributing to India’s growth and take on the responsibility in the male-dominated society.

Next on her bucket list is the Everest base camp. “Reaching the Everest base camp has been a long-time wish,” added Preeti.