Interview with RIBS cyclist Rahul Kumawat, the man going from Chennai to New Delhi for a cause

Rider Rahul Kumawat who is travelling from Chennai to New Delhi

There are so many ’causes’ being promoted these days that it is difficult to keep track of each one of them. But it helps if you have a grand gesture to remind you of it.

Rahul Kumawat, a cycling enthusiast from Rajasthan has come up with RIBS (Ride Inside Bharatiya States) to champion cycling as a hobby as well as to pioneer certain common causes. Rahul currently works as a diagnostic designer at Renault Nissan India in Chennai and has undertaken on a cycling journey from Chennai to New Delhi to champion the cause of blood donation, palliative care for cancer patients and a rare condition called the Hunter syndrome.

Bangalore was part of his trip and I caught up with him for a brief chat on his notable journey.

So Rahul, is this the first long distance ride that you have undertaken?

I started cycling from last year. The previous distance that I had covered at the maximum was 800 km when I did a round trip from Chennai to Bangalore. So this will obviously be more than that and I will be breaking that record.

Tell us a bit more about this concept of RIBS. How did it originate?

I initially dreamt of cycling from Chennai to home. Then I took part in a cycling event, where I met a professional cyclist who told me about RAAMS.

I have taken the concept from other elite cycling groups such as RAAMS (Race Across American States) where they cover 5000 km in 12 days. It was started about 28 to 30 years ago and I wanted to do something similar here in India. I initially wanted to go from Chennai to Udaipur, my home town, which I had planned last March. From there I thought of covering all four metro cities. Finally, I arrived at this route where I will be cycling from Chennai to New Delhi through Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai.

Are you riding alone or do you have other riders tagging along?

Yes, as of now I am riding alone. A few riders may join from other places in between the trip. It depends on their availability and their interest in joining for the cause. It is an open journey, people are free to join. It was planned alone, but i thought that others would join from other places. There was a person called Ajay Bhura from Delhi who was planning to join, but he gave up a lot to the relief program for the Uttarakhand disaster. So, with no sponsors also joining in, he had to opt out.

So what is the team behind RIBS?

We are working together, there is a team of about 7 to 8 members who work in the backdrop and provide backend support. Each of them take care of one of the causes – one for blood donation, one for palliative care and one for Hunter syndrome. These are just enthusiasts from across the country who I interacted with, I have not met any of them, but I know all of them.

So tell us a bit more about the causes that you are riding for, especially this Hunter syndrome.

Hunter syndrome is a genetic disorder and only about 2000 people in the whole world apparently have this disease. Treatment costs are in the range of 80 lakh to 1 crore per year and the drug for this is imported from the US. The government is in talks to try and do something about this to try and bring down the cost of treatment.

Are there any organizations that are backing you? Have you enlisted the support of any body, like maybe medical organizations?

Unfortunately there are none. For palliative cancer care, AIIMS in Delhi is doing a good job in supporting patients who are affected. Maybe when I reach Delhi I will try and talk to them about it. I had contacted Apollo Hospitals in Chennai before I started, but they had some budget constraints and the timeline was a bit too short for them to commit anything concrete. But yes, they were keen on supporting it in future.

Of late we have seen many such journeys associated with a cause in the country; is this the first such ‘cycling for a cause’ undertaken in India?

There are journeys that have been undertaken for other causes. But I think this is a first for blood donation and palliative care.

Do you also take part in cycling races?

No, I am more of a long distance cyclist.

What sports do you follow?

I follow marathons, cycling and triathlon. Mostly endurance events, as for other popular sports, not so much. Once I finish learning swimming, I would be participating in probably the triathlon events.

When do you expect to complete your trip?

I hope to complete around the 14th or 15th December, but lets see, it also depends on climactic conditions.

Have you experienced any trouble so far on your trip? And what complications lie ahead of you?

The change in elevation is one of the main obstacles all cyclists have to overcome as it changes from place to place. Sometimes if the increase is very sharp, it makes it tough. Like when I was coming from Chennai to Bangalore, there is an increase in elevation, because Chennai is a plain while Bangalore has some slight elevation. The trip to Pune will again be tough as it involves a bit of a climb and then aganin downhill to Mumbai. After that it should get somewhat easier.

What are you next plans? And will you be doing it alone?

I want to cover the Golden Quadrilateral. Will I be doing it alone? Most probably yes, but let’s see.

Rahul’s companion on the ride – the Fuji Touring

What is the message that you want to convey through this journey of yours?

I would definitely like to talk about blood donation as a cause – India needs almost 70000 to 80000 units per day of which only 30% of which is met. The others who don’t get the blood on time end up losing their life. To donate once in 3 months is not so tough. There are also lots of benefits of donating, it heps lower cholesterol and increases the haemoglobin count and also improves heart functioning.

If inculcated at a young age at home and at school, especially in the age group of around 16-18 years, it can go a long way in trying and building the right message. Right now there is very little or low acceptance amongst Indian households.

A word on cycling, if you will? What are the benefits that one can enjoy through the sport?

It will help reduce congestion on the roads. In some of the busiest cities, the speed at which you can cycle is almost double that of the speed that you can reach by car.

Apart from that it is a good hobby to take up and has plenty of health-related benefits. Also, it is cost effective and people should try and take up cycling to cover short distances instead of using motor vehicles.

What’s the best way to take up cycling on a permanent note and get support in terms of choosing the right cycles and tips on cycling effectively?

The best way is to approach the respective cycling communities in each of the cities in India. The most active cities are Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai andHyderabad. They are the best guides and support groups. There is no fee, you just start participating in cycling events and you can become a member. Few of the members will also own cycling stores or atleast be able to provide good advice on it as they will have a lot of support.

So how do people go about contributing to the cause or donation? Do you have any social media avenues on which people can connect?

Blood donation is voluntary, we get close to 50,000 requests across India on average. We are posting the updates on FB & Twitter. I had initially worked with ‘I Can Save Life’ sometime ago, so people can get in touch with them. There’s also a Twitter handle called ‘RIBS_India’ and a Facebook page titled ‘RIBSBharat’. They can also get in touch by e-mail at [email protected].