Kolkata: Jaipur’s solo cyclist Ankit Arora had started his all-India journey to make it to the Guinness World Records for traversing the country in 150 days, but mesmerised by the cultural diversity, he has managed to visit half of India in 1573 days, build a self-sustaining village, learn organic farming and many more things
Coronavirus pandemic has changed the world and the plans of almost every single individual on earth, in their respective lives. But the historic pandemic could not deter Ankit Arora, a solo cyclist, from continuing his journey. The 32-year-old chartered accountant, as well as journalist, is on an all-India tour on his bicycle for 1541 days now. In 2017, Ankit was 28-year-old he decided to leave his journalistic job and embarked on an all-India tour with hopes of making it to the Guinness World Records by traversing the country in 150 days. However, till date, despite the pandemic, he has visited 15 Indian states and eight Union Territories so far.
Sacrificed many things including girlfriends
In the last 5 years not only Ankit, the youngest brother among the three has stayed away from his family, but also had to end his relationship with his girlfriend. He fell in love once again while journeying, it did not last more than four months.
Opium smuggler and hair chopper
On two occasions, Ankit faced serious problems. First, when he had started cycling from Rajasthan. On entering Barmer area, some people took him as an opium smuggler as generally such bootleggers use a cycle for trafficking of narcotics. “Villagers thought I was smuggling opium. They checked my backpack to confirm that I wasn’t one. In Kashmir’s Sophia village, I was mistaken as the one who chops women’s hair. Because of this rumour, I was held by the locals and later I had to throw away my scissors,” the traveller said, while sharing his experiences with eNewsroom.
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