PANAJI
“Sharing adventure means enjoying those 100 per cent more”, says Aniket Shenai, one of the founding members of Coastriders.Goa, a non-profit, cycling club which has taken shape recently with an objective to venture into adventurous rides and explore the beautiful places across Goa.
What binds this group together is the camaraderie of exploring the scenic beauty and architectural brilliance of the beautiful State, often referred to as the "Pearl of the Orient", which is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty as well as historic temples, cathedrals, forts and other heritage structures.
Cycling is one of the shortlisted disciplines for the 36th National Games in Goa and in recent years, there’s been a huge boom in the cycling industry with many taking up cycling as a fitness mantra.
“We have seen groups of 4-5 amateur cyclists, cycling around the cities every day and hanging around at a particular spot. Each group has their own plan and location. That’s where we came up with this idea. Why not the same experience and adventure is shared with the ones who wish to do short rides and also explore Goa?” adds Aniket, a sports management graduate, who cycles regularly for fitness.
Shashank Desai, a co-founding member, calls Coastriders.Goa “a bunch of crazy cyclopaths taking the wrong turns in the right direction”. Kaustubh Natekar, another founding member, complements him. "You are just a ride away from a good mood. Stop thinking and just pedal away,” he says. Joining Aniket, Shashank and Kaustubh are Sheldon Remedios and Mahendra Audi to form a strong five-member founding team.
Last week, on October 25, the inaugural pilot ride was organised where Coastriders.Goa journeyed to Keri village in Sattari taluka. It was an adventurous experience which saw cyclists from Mapusa and Panaji loading their cycles on car racks and meeting other cyclists at Sanquelim, the starting point of the route. Total 12 cyclists from Mapusa, Panaji, Bicholim, Aldona, and Sanquelim participated in this adventurous ride which began at 6.30 am, and concluded at 10 am, covering a distance of 35 kilometres in all.
For Coastriders.Goa, the aim is to give the riders a complete set of experience wherein they get to enjoy the ride along the scenic routes and locations traversing through villages, cities and lesser-known territories. This apart, riders can get to meet new people and achieve overall fitness goals. Adventurous journeys of 40-50km are planned over the weekend and part of the objective is also to connect with local cyclists from the villages.
Those interested in joining this group can follow them on their Instagram and Facebook handles where ride details get posted. This Sunday, the group plans to join other riders to Chapora Fort and explore the tranquillity and nature along the route.
