KOCHI: On last Saturday morning, T P Salim Kumar was riding his bicycle when it overturned near Ponnurunni rail overbridge. He suffered a hairline fracture on his left wrist in the accident. But he continued his journey before completing the 200-km-long ride in the evening.
Kumar, the general manager of Supplyco, was one among the 174 participants in the BRM (Brevet de Randonneurs Mondiaux), a long-distance cycling sporting event organized by Cochin Bikers Club.
It was as part of the centenary celebrations of the first BRM held in France in 1921 that Cochin Bikers Club organized the event. “We had been conducting the BRMs in Kochi since 2013. We have conducted 53 BRMs so far,” said Cochin Bikers Club president Shagzil Khan.
It was for the first time that Kumar took part in a BRM. “I have been taking part in various marathons like Mumbai marathon and Cochin marathon for almost a decade. I started cycling last year. I suffered a hairline fracture on my wrist as my cycle skid near Ponnurunni overbridge. But I wanted to complete the event at any cost. On returning to Kochi at night, I went straight to a hospital and the x-ray conducted there showed that there is a hairline fracture on my wrist,” 53-year-old Kumar said. “I dedicate this achievement to the Supply co staff whose hard work saw supplying Onam kits to every families on time,” he said.
Simy Thomas, a software engineer from Irimbanam who works at Infopark, also had to face hardships. “One of the tyres of my cycle got punctured near Vyttila. I got flat tyres again and again at Aroor and Vyttila. Still, I completed the BRM in time after mending the tyre thrice,” Simy, who started cycling just a year ago, said.
Simy, who started off the ride from JLN stadium at 8.27am completed the BRM by 6.15pm. As per the norms, the participants should complete 200km in 13.5 hours. “It was during the last year’s lockdown that I started cycling. I am very glad that I could successfully complete a BRM within a year,” she said.
The event started and ended at Jawarlal Nehru Stadium at Kaloor. The route of the BRM was via Kaloor-Vyttila-Aroor-Vyttila-Aluva-Thrissur-Peechi dam.
