How Indian biker John Gwite trained for Poland's toughest ultracycling race

Mint

a day ago

At the peak of the pandemic, John Gwite discovered the joy of riding a bicycle. Short rides around his neighbourhood in Delhi kept the mind fresh. A few weeks later, he hit the highway towards Dehradun and once he was back home, he realised he had pedalled 250km, solo and self-supported. 'I really enjoyed the freedom, the freshness of the outdoors each time I sat in the saddle. I was hooked on long distances," Gwite, 48, says.
That journey culminated in his longest ride in June—the Race Around Poland, a 3,600km course with a staggering elevation gain of 33,000 metres that runs through the wilderness of the Tatra Mountains. Gwite, who moved from Manipur to Delhi two decades ago, finished fifth in the men's under-50 category in a time of 9 days, 21 hours, the fastest time recorded by an Indian rider. 'The main target was to finish and then if I could push, I wanted to do it in 10 days. I could have been a lot faster, but I'm quite satisfied given the problems I encountered," he says.
Building on the distance was a gradual process for Gwite. Though riding solo was what he enjoys most, he became a familiar face during the brevets organised by Delhi Randonneurs, starting out with his first 300km ride in November 2020 and pushing it to 1,200km over the next year and a half. In 2022, he finished the London-Edinburgh-London (1,500km) ride and the following year, the Paris-Brest-Paris (1,200km) event. In August 2024, he got his first taste of self-supported racing in India at the Kodagu 650, which he won in a time of 30 hours, 32 minutes. By October, he had signed up for the Race Around Poland.
'The distance alongside the elevation gain makes it a tough ride, so I knew I wanted the experience," Gwite says.
The day job with a consultancy firm meant that he could dedicate about 10 hours over six days of training. Most of his workouts were planned indoors to efficiently manage time. Three days of cardio revolved around power workouts on an indoor cycling trainer and spot sprinting with a weighted vest of 15-20kg. On alternate days, he would take on strength training sessions. Most of the endurance work was done during brevets on the weekend, ranging from 200-1,000km. It was also when he honed his climbing skills during a few rides towards Mussoorie and Nainital.
'The big difference while preparing for this race was the increase in intensity and maintaining continuity of the workouts," Gwite says.
He put his training to test in December last year when he rode the 830km Coast to Crest from Digha to Darjeeling, winning the race and bettering the course record by around five hours. Then in February, he took first place in a stage race from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, finishing the 3,600km distance in 135 hours. The following month, he took on some serious climbing on a 1,200km route between Delhi and the Atal Tunnel near Manali that featured a total elevation gain of 13,000m. In April, he hit a peak monthly mileage of 2,000km. 'After the big rides, I ensured that I didn't take a long break. I would get back to training in a couple of days, though a lot of it would be low intensity work," he says.
Gwite got off to a smooth start from Warsaw on 28 June, but in a couple of days, he experienced freezing nights due to strong winds that he was unprepared for. Worse was to come, his race in jeopardy when he broke his pulley on Day 4. Given the climbs on the route, it was evident that he wouldn't be able to ride on a single gear. After informing the organisers, he travelled 40km to the town of Bielsko-Biala to locate a spare and fix his bike, losing 12 hours before he could finally get back to racing.
Rested and recharged, a determined Gwite pushed hard on the continual steep inclines between 900-1,800km. But fatigue and sleep deprivation caught up around the 2,500km mark when he experienced hallucinations and decided to take a long sleep break in Lublewko.
'I felt like someone had manipulated my navigation device, forcing me to take on a much longer route. It messed with my mind and I informed the organisers about it. They are all experienced riders and instantly figured that I was tired, advising me to get rest," Gwite recalls. On the last leg, Gwite made steady progress in a heavy downpour, until he realised it wasn't worth risking his body or his bike in the poor visibility. He decided to take shelter at a bus stop to wait out the weather. By the time the rain eased off, his wife informed him about two riders who were catching up. He sped off, breezing through the final 143km.
'At the finish, they couldn't quite believe how fast I had gone over the final section. But for me, it was just relief to get across the finish line," he says.
Shail Desai is a Mumbai-based freelance writer.