THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 22-year-old cyclist has started out from Kanyakumari with no cash of his own, to spread a message on environment conservation. Abhay Velayudhan, during his long-distance cycle journey, is determined to keep away from disposables of all kinds and tell everyone on the way, why. Since he decided not to buy packaged food, he is in a bit of a fix, with the Nipah Virus scare. Moreover, he will have to think of an alternative to crossing Kozhikode, he says.
"As I am cycling, my body will be weak and more prone to infection. I won't be able to cut through Tamil Nadu either as the conditions are not favourable now. I am thinking of a plan B," he says. A board on his cycle which reads, "travelling cashless, Kanyakumari to Leh, 3800 km," attracts a lot of attention. On the second day of his journey, when he reached Thiruvananthapuram, he said, "So far, I have been like the tortoise and the others on the road like rabbits. Two-wheeler riders would turn around and look at me, just like the rabbit.
Many would come back and inquire about my journey. Before reaching Thiruvananthapuram, I made ten stops to talk to these bike riders."
One of the persons who stopped their bike was a Christian priest on his way to write MSc Yoga exam. He offered Abhay water and good wishes. A small roadside eat-out which Abhay stopped at was serving food in disposables, presenting a perfect opportunity for the cyclist to talk.
It was another 'cashless' cycle journey which motivated the 22-year-old to try this out."For a long time, this was a dream. After I heard about Amit Raj Kapoor who cycled cashless from Manali to Kerala from my school senior Dinesh Reghunathan, I was inspired. So after the biomedical engineering exam, I set out," says Abhay.He left Thiruvanan thapuram on Friday. He started with Rs 1500, medicine kit and a few other things. While he is willing to do anything to earn money for his journey, no one has offered him any job so far. He spent Thursday night at a petrol pump.
