July and Self-Discovery

July has always been a very eventful month in my life. I’ve had many challenges come my way and I’ve turned them into achievements and adding a new dimension to myself. And, surprisingly, all of the challenges have taken me beyond my comfort zone traveling down the path less travelled. Over the years I’ve managed to replace the traumatic images from July of 2011 with pleasant experience and achievements. Here is a quick look back at the last eight Julys of my life and how I turned myself from a cyclist to an athlete.

The first challenge

In July of 2011, I underwent a corrective heart surgery to reroute an anomalous pulmonary vein that eloped to the wrong side of my heart. Post-surgery, doctors advised me against lifting heavy weights or pushing my heart into extreme sports.

No guarantees for a quality job?        

Despite charging 2.2 lakhs for rerouting the rouge vein, Doctors at Manipal Hospital didn’t give me a year guarantee on the procedure. In October of 2011, I decided to test the quality of their job by cycling 55 kms in the Loire Valley, France. A year later, I cycled 120 kms at Acadia National Park celebrating my first anniversary with my friends Paul and Stephanie.

With no quality issues, I decided to purse cycling more seriously and kicked started the next phase of my journey by participating in the CRX Ride for World Heart Day cycling 45 kms from Adyar to Mahabalipuram.

Turning a sport into vacation

“A man on a thousand-mile walk has to forget his goal and say to himself every morning, 'Today I'm going to cover twenty-five miles and then rest up and sleep.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

In July of 2014, Stephanie and I trekked along the Austrian Alps (Salzkammergut) for a week covering over 200 kms in 5 days. The Salzkammergut stretches from the city of Salzburg (birth place of Mozart) eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains. We camped by turquoise water bodies and ascended the peaks of Alphs to visit the world’s oldest salt mine of the Habsburg Monarchy (A UNESCO World Heritage Site).

Intoxicated by nature, I furthered my explorations from foot to wheel. In July 2015, I cycled along the Atlantic Coast in Portugal from Lisbon to Faro in the South covering 500 kms and reaching the southernmost tip of Europe. Not only did I discover the beauty and the history of the coastline that once played a key role in slave trade, but also tested my commitment to the sport of cycling.

Exploring National Parks and wildlife

Sometimes, endurance is more psychological than physiological and my explorations in 2016 and 2017 equipped me survival skills to be vegetarian in a fish-eating nation and coexist with animals in wilderness.

In 2016, I teamed up with my colleague Balaji and my friend Vijay for another memorable expedition to explore Japan, a stunning Island country, home to Mount Fuji, Buddhism, Arashimaya Bamboo forest, Geishas, superfast bullet trains, Sushi and many more. Over two weeks days, we crisscrossed the Island nation of Japan on superfast trains and explored cities (Tokyo, Kyoto, etc.) on foot averaging 15-17km each day totaling to 200+ kms and losing 5 kilos in 15 days.

If Japan taught me survival skills in a predominantly pescatarian nation, South Africa taught me how explore the wilderness and have a close experience with a hungry lioness, face-off with male elephant in musth and being chased by a protective mother Rhino and her calf.  Paul and I ascended a kilometer-high Table Mountains of Cape town replacing my agoraphobia with panoramic views of the breathtaking coastline, intoxicating vineyards and lush Kristenbosch National Botanical Gardens.

Conquering horizontally

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” goes the African Proverb. Along with Shivaji, I joined a trekking group to explore hillocks and beaches of Gokarna and peaks of Karnataka (Tadindamol – 1.7km in height). Among the group of 20 hikers, I managed to reach the top ahead of the rest. Somewhere along the way I asked myself why not improve my lung power and start conquering the planet horizontally?

We both registered for Bengaluru10K and trained for 2 months to complete 5K in under 30 minutes and finished at 6^th and 12 positions respectively in the 35+ age category.

What’s for next July?

Scars are not signs of weakness, they are signs of survival and endurance. ― Rodney A. Winters

As I head back to my annual medical examination this month, I’ll proudly tell my physician how I turned myself from a cyclist to an athlete and lost 8 kilos. So, for the next July story, should I aim for 10K, Ironman challenge, Skydiving, bike to Ladakh or trek in the Himalayas? Who wants to partner with me for a self-discovery and self-transformation trip?