Pune’s Preeti Maske Cycles For 3,720 KM To Increase Awareness On Organ Donation, Attempts To Set New Record

Pune, 12th March 2023: India’s top long-distance woman cyclist – Pune’s Preeti Maske – created a new cycling Guinness World Record from Srinagar to Kanyakumari, a distance of 3,720 km. She set a new record in 11 days, 22 hours and 23 minutes on cycle.

She continuously cycled, for almost 19-20 hours a day, with minimal breaks and short power naps of less than three hours a day; this was the continuous and fastest non-stop cycle expedition.

Maske attempted to set the Guinness World Record for the fastest woman cyclist while creating awareness of the ANJ Organ Donation Yatra. She began her journey on 12th February 2023 at 8:02 am from Clock Tower, Lal Chowk, Srinagar (J&K). She took 11 days, 22 hours and 23 minutes to reach Kanyakumari (24th February, at 6:25 am).

All the documentation, along with logs, evidence and proofs, have been submitted to the officials of the Guinness World Record through WUCA – World Ultra Cycling Association. The same is under process, and a certificate will be awarded in due course.

Preeti Maske is promoting a social cause of Organ Donation for ReBirth Foundation.

Jay Kularia, Director of ANJ Design, said, “The objective is to create awareness, importance, the impact of organ donation and organ pledging especially in brain dead situations. Currently, for every one lakh people on the waitlist, only one donor is available! The senior leadership at ANJ has already pledged for their Organ donation, and soon all the employees would follow”.

Preeti Maske reached the Kanyakumari beach next to Vivekananda Rock Memorial early morning of 24th February at 0625 hours. She said, “I started amidst freezing temperatures, snowfall, biting cold in Srinagar and as I moved to the plains, the temperatures were hot; managing high-temperature variations was challenging.”

Her Crew Head, Anand Kansal, said, “Preeti once cycled for almost 48 hours continuously with three-four half an hour power naps. She is physically fit and mentally extremely strong. We ensured that she ate well and hydrated adequately. She burnt almost 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day.” During the journey, she theoretically climbed a total elevation gain of 16,850 metres, almost twice the height of Mount Everest.

Preeti almost got caught in a landslide, and a few rolling stones hit the vehicles following her near the second tunnel- Chenani Nashri Tunnel in Kashmir on Day one.

“The unbearable day heat in the plains, especially after Nagpur, had been most challenging. Sleep deprivation slowed her down with frequent power naps. Though her speed came down, her spirits did not. Later we changed the strategy to taking short power naps of about one hour each, three times a day; this helped her to manage sleep,” explained Anand Kansal.

Preeti Maske (46) is a mother of two children, a runner, and a cyclist with several records in long-distance endurance cycling in India.

She is India’s only lady cyclist to set three Guinness World Records in a short span of five months in 2022:

1. Leh to Manali Cycling | June 2022 | 430 km distance | in 55 hours

2. Leh to Manali Running | July 2022 | 410 km distance| in 4 days 22 hours

3. West to East | Koteshwar- Gujarat (West most points at Indo-Pak border) to Kibithu – Arunachal Pradesh (East most points at Indo-Tibetan border | Nov 2022 | 3,955 km distance | in 13 days 18 hours

Earlier, she had done a 6,000 km Golden Quadrilateral in March 2021, an India Record.

She made this journey to increase awareness about ANJ and organ donation. ANJ Group is known as the leading Design and Build Firm in India, with several global corporates as their clients. It also has a state-of-the-art manufacturing factory with its R&D Team. ANJ has built more than 70 million square feet of office space across India.

Support partners for ANJ Organ Donation Awareness Yatra:

Rebirth Foundation: for Organ donation awareness, working since 2017.

Global Strategic Policy Foundation, Pune (SPPF), Dr Anant Bhagwat, working for peace and harmony in Kashmir.

Project 108 Ambulance: Ambulance support covers all along the route, especially in J&K, MP, Maharashtra & Karnataka.

Rotary Club of Pune, Madurai (Dist. 3000) Virudhnagar and Kanyakumari (Dist. 3212).

World on Wheels (WoW) Foundation: for volunteering as Crew support.