Mangaluru gets a Super Randonneur

Mangaluru: Meet Chandramouli Shenoy M, Mangaluru's own Super Randonneur (SR). The 43-year-old is back home after clocking 600km in 40 hours on a bicycle in Gurgaon-Rajasthan, earning him this tag. So what is Randonneuring? It is a non-competitive endurance cycling sport that originated in France but rode to popularity in India only in 2011. It's called Brevet and Audax in the UK, Australia and Brazil. Here, participants have to finish a 200km cycling course in 13.5 hours, 300km in 20 hours, 400km in 27 hours and 600km in 40 hours in one brevet calendar year. The calendar year is from November 1 to October 30. Shenoy says he was inspired by a 63-year-old from Chennai, Sundar Rajan, who became an SR last year. Shenoy attempted his first brevet of 200km on the Mysore-Suntikoppa-Mysore stretch last November. In October this year, Shenoy successfully completed 600km brevet in Gurgaon. "As Mysore-Suntikoppa was my first brevet I registered with the Mysore Cycling Club and got registration tag which I must use for all my future events. The next successful brevet was 300km in Chennai and 400km on a rolling terrain in Mumbai," he says. Shenoy completed the 600km Gurgaon-Rajasthan-Gurgaon brevet called 'Secrets of Rajasthan' in 40 hours, on his third attempt. The two previous unsuccessful attempts only emboldened him, he says. Shenoy is the third generation of a family that runs a wholesale fruits distribution business. But his wanderlust led him to set up a travel and tourism business. "I would like to promote cycling, sports and adventure-related events and see more people from Mangaluru pedal for good health and fitness,'' says Shenoy, who owes his brevet success to family and friends. The India cycle In India, Audax India Randonneurs (AIR) is the all-India organisation of randonneurs, recognised by Audax Club Parisien (ACP) for conducting and overseeing all Brevets de Randonneurs Mondiaux (BRMs) and Audax events in India. Currently there are 15 clubs in 13 cities across India. -TOI