Worli Sea Link is a dream for every rider to ride on this iconic stretch. However, due to safety and security reasons, two-wheelers are not permitted on the Worli Sea Link. So, this road is always a dream for every rider to ride on an iconic road.
I did get the chance to run the Tata Mumbai Marathon twice (2019 and 2020) on Worli Sea Link and the experience was just awesome. I learnt something while running on Worli Sea Link, which was that when one enters Worli Sea Link, the road has little elevation until almost halfway and then there is a descent until the end of Worli Sea Link.
Worli Sea Link – Pre-D-Day
As I am part of Cycle Chala City Bacha and working towards the initiative as Bicycle Councillor of P/North Ward, I was given the opportunity to manage Route A (Dahisar to Bandra Reclamation).
I, along with my fellow councillors started working on the plan, the moment registration was thrown open we were surprised to see traction from riders all over Mumbai.
We keep getting many calls from riders with various queries. We kept answering the queries of riders and helped us plan things better.
We had a whopping no of 1200 riders registered on route A, for us managing all riders from Dahisar to Bandra was becoming a challenge. However, the plan set by our Cycling Mayor Firoza was bulletproof.
So the plan was to start from Dahisar at 5:00 am along with all riders and join the riders at Kandivali, Malad, Goregaon, Juhu Circle, and Khar and then head towards Bandra Reclamation.
D-Day (5th June)
The morning when I reached Goregaon Sports Club at 5:40, I was surprised to see a huge amount of enthusiastic riders waiting to experience the Worli Sea Link.
My fellow councillors Manoj and Sachin joined me at Malad and we headed towards Goregaon to meet Vicky and the riders. The chain started moving towards Juhu Circle where Shane was waiting for us with riders from his ward. We all merged there and headed towards Khar where we met and merged with another set of fellow riders and we headed towards Bandra Reclamation.
The ride was so smooth, we reached the starting point (i.e. Bandra Reclamation) before time (6:55 am) with the help and support from my fellow councillors, marshall and volunteers, and of course with all the riders without them, this mammoth task would have not been possible.
Get Set Go…
Firoza Suresh, Bicycle Mayor of Mumbai, was at the start point followed by Councillors and Marshalls. We had to wait for quite some time to make sure things were in place and then flag off for a ride on Worli Sea Link.
We had a whooping 5000+ riders that day and all were just waiting to enter the Worli Sea Link. Riders of all age groups were standing in a queue, they were cheering slogans, clicking pics and selfies. All the riders were waiting for the flag-off.
Moment flag went off, riders started cheering and getting happy. People started clicking and filming and captured the entire sealink. Groups stood and clicked photos with each other and many also recorded videos. The day for them was like a picnic.
We rode on the Worli sea link and headed towards Mahalaxmi Race Course. Mahalaxmi Race Course was the end point of the event.
We were greeted by Mumbai Police and wonderful music was played by Mumbai Police. We had a small gathering of all the riders, where Mumbai Police and Firoza Suresh spoke on World Environment Day.
We all disbursed from the Race Course and headed back home after having snacks at a Restaurant in Worli. I rode about 59kms on that day to record my ride on World Environment Day.
I would like to thank Mumbai Police, Firoza Suresh, Peddle Up, Councillors, Marshalls and all the Volunteers who helped make this event a success.
Be Safe and Keep Riding
4 comments
Superb bhai… yours n c3b hard work over all…. we also enjoyed alot. Nicely narrated bhai.
Excellent write up, Ajay!
Very nice 👌👌👌👏👏👏
I missed the ride but reading this article feels like i was part of the group! Well written