Guwahati, Aug 26: Ripunjay Gogoi of Guwahati is an IT guy but cycling has given him a new identity and he is glad about it.
Ripunjay has recently achieved one of the toughest expeditions in the world – the self-supported 1500 km London-Edinburgh-London (LEL) ride in 125 hours.
"It feels great to have achieved that in my maiden attempt. I was thinking of doing it for some time. I'm happy that I did it," an elated Ripunjay told The Assam Tribune.
The expedition took place from August 7 to12.
"This is a test of your mental and physical resilience. If things go wrong, it is up to you to use your skills and experience to put them right. If you are tired, or cold, or hungry, we will not rescue you! But when you make it to the next control, you are guaranteed our total support and attention," the lines written on the website of the LEL ride indicate the toughness of the event.
This time, however, the total distance to be covered was 1540 km with a total elevation of over 14400 metres and the allotted time was 128 hours but Ripunjay completed the journey in 125 hours.
"This time the distance was slightly increased up to 1540 km instead of 1520 km with a total elevation of over 14400 meters so the organisers gave a buffer time of 3 hours. But I completed it in 125 hours," he added.
And in the entire journey, Ripunjay took a break for around 33 hours out of which he slept for only 14 hours and on the last day he rode for 26 hours straight without sleep.
The 28-year-old avid cyclist had also successfully completed many long-distance events in the past. He has completed the CKB (Climb Ka Baap), a 1200-km brevet with a total elevation of over 10,500 metres. The event took place in February in 2022 and he completed it in 87 hours. He is also a three-time Super Randonneur.
"This event has inspired me a lot. I was preparing to attend this LEL as a volunteer so that I can get a confirmation in the next edition of the LEL but this event CKB helped me to get qualified for LEL. This event has also been very helpful in my preparation. It was a mixed atmosphere of hot and cold along with rain. It helped me to be prepared mentally," he added.
After CKB, Ripunjay also rode to different locations of Meghalaya in nearby areas of Guwahati for uphill training for LEL. Now he targets Paris-Brest-Paris or PBP, the oldest cycling event in the world.
"There are several plans in mind but let's see how things proceed. The PBP event is one I'm looking forward to. But it will depend on several factors," Ripunjay signed off.
Ripunjay is the son of Nirmali Chetia Gogoi and Biren Gogoi of Guwahati. He studied in Maharishi Vidya Mandir Public School, Barsajai and Army Public School, Basistha. He completed B Tech in Computer Science from World College of Technology and Management, Gurgaon.
Currently, he is working in Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute in the IT department as a network assistant.
