Vedangi Kulkarni: 5 Things I Learned From My Record-Breaking Himalayan Ride

In this special guest post, exclusively for paid subscribers, endurance athlete and writer Vedangi explains what she learned from her recent gruelling cross-Himalayan mission.

Back in 2016, as a 17 year-old, cycling from Manali to Drass (via Leh and Khardung La) was my first ever big cycling adventure. I covered nearly 750km on my bike. I was cycling by myself and would meet my parents at pre-determined points along the way. That experience was meant to be a one-off cycling adventure. I thought, someday, I’d go tour across another country or two but nothing crazier than that. Little did I know back then that cycling would become such a huge part of my identity.

In 2018, I circumnavigated the globe on bicycle. I was 19 when I started, 20 when I finished. Next year, I plan on undertaking this challenge again, only this time, I hope to do it in the fastest women’s time. So it made sense to come back where it all started, back to the Manali-Leh route, and build some confidence and sharpen the ‘mind’ muscle by challenging myself this way.

I spent a month in Leh training for this. I had access to an indoor trainer, which meant that I could focus on very specific aspects of riding, and work on that. But majority of my training was done outdoors.

“The overall route was 471km long with 8500 metres of elevation gain. The passes along the way were between 4000m and 5300m.”

To me, this route takes you from the foothills to the heart of the Indian Himalayas. The average elevation of this route was well over 3000m. My support crew included my father Vivek Kulkarni, my friend and mentor Sumit Patil, a Ladakhi friend called Faisal Qadir, and a driver that we hired from Manali called Mangal.

According to my Strava activity, it took me 51 hours, 49 minutes, 52 seconds to cycle from Manali to Leh along Rohtang Pass, Baralacha Pass, Nakeela Pass, Lachulung La, and Tanglang La. I broke the record by over three hours.

Here are five things I learned from the experience: