23-07-2025
Riding high on life: techie cycles from city to Srinagar during Indo-Pak conflict
Poets, saints, travellers and even mythical rulers across centuries have made the journey mapping the length of this country – people who were in search of adventure, knowledge, spiritual clarity, or perhaps the feeling that comes when you are alone with yourself, confronted by all that you are, all that you fall short of and all that you wish to be.
It seems to be the latter for Vivek Anandan, a techie who recently bicycled 3,200 kilometres alone from Bengaluru to Srinagar as a part of a mission to reclaim his life after quitting alcohol.
Anandan recounts the hurricane raging inside his mind as he traversed cities, forests, and deserts, saying, 'I was carrying a lot of resentment inside me, especially towards my family, who had suggested rehab. I could not accept that they did it for my sake, so that I could be a good human being, father, and husband. I was quite emotional. Sometimes I would cry on the road thinking about everything that had happened. The trip was a cathartic experience.'
The catharsis started at a rehab in 2024. Anandan left the centre in October, determined to turn things around. With unwavering support from his family, he returned to his long-time love for bicycling. 'Since 2008, I used to cycle to work every day and was a part of riding communities. On weekends, we used to ride over 100km to places like Nanjangud, Nandi Hills and Hoskote. I even did a peninsular ride through major places in South India,' he says.
Things came to a head during the Covid pandemic's work-from-home shift when he started drinking more. 'Alcohol started consuming me,' he smiles.
With time to reset and reboot during rehab, he began to long for the joy of riding again. Once he was out, he started training regularly. 'My wife motivated me, reminding me that cycling is my happy medicine. I started cycling every day on scenic roads, sometimes 70 km and sometimes 100 km. My best was 230, much more than my drinking days,' he says, adding that he would end up covering 1,000 to 1,500 km each month.
