Pune : Pune based endurance cyclist Aashish Joshi recently completed the 1001 Miglia Italia cycling event spanning a distance of 1001 miles (1600 km). About 12 endurance cyclists from India participated with Ashish Joshi the only one from Pune. Navigating the difficult terrains with long climbs, harsh gradients, descends, mishaps and re-routings Aashish Joshi completed the distance in 142 hours. The time allotted was 134 hours with six finishers completing in time and three finishers completing out of time one of which was Aashish Joshi.
The 1001 Miglia, a cycling event requiring great physical effort, was conceptualised and started by Fermo Rigamonti . Over the course of a decade six editions have taken place with international cyclists from more than five continents participating in large numbers. The elevation is about 16000 km which is the biggest challenge. About 700 cyclists took part this year from 16-22 August 24 .
An Interior Designer by profession and endurance cyclist by passion, 50 year old Aashish Joshi, said that the event is one of the most extreme cycling events. It is all about crossing the finish line without any external support and testing your will power, endurance and emotional quotient to the limit. Apart from harsh terrains, it was a holiday season, so with empty towns and villages resources like food and water, cycle repairs were sparse. The challenges were compounded with harsh weather like cold rains, night temperatures which would feel much colder, hotter day temperatures of about 36 degrees and with lesser network connectivity in mountainous terrains, it was difficult to find right paths and I had to reroute a few times.
The organisers presented Aashish Joshi with a medal for finishing the distance and displaying extreme endurance and resilience.
Prior to this, Aashish Joshi had participated in London -Edinburg London (1535 km) in 2013, 2017, 2022 and completed the distance in stipulated time in 2017. He has also participated in 1235km long distance cycling event Paris- Brest – Paris .
