Pedalling His Way To Leh Lucknow Mechanic Suraj Soni Maybe I Ll Go Int L Next

For 24-year-old Suraj Soni, the open road doesn’t just offer a destination; it offers a lesson of life. Currently midway through a cycling expedition from Lucknow to Leh-Ladakh, the air-conditioner mechanic-turned-adventurer is covering thousands of kilometres on a self-modified bicycle, driven by a simple mission: to celebrate life, “Mujhe bas ghumna hain, paise thhe nahin train-hawaijahaz ke toh bas cycle se chal diye.”

“Itna pyaar milta hai jahan bhi jaa raha hoon,” says Suraj, laughing. “Now, I just want to explore entire country on my cycle. And who knows? Maybe I’ll go international next time.”

Suraj’s journey is as humble as his ride,”I save my earnings, only to spend one half on my trips. To date, I have covered over 24,000 kilometres on my bicycle that I modified myself.”

His trips took off modestly, borrowing his cousin’s bike to explore every corner of the city, “Cycled around the entire Lucknow, kuch nahi reh gya sab ghum liye shaher mein. Har tarah ja chuke…”

That trip, he admits, was a turning point also his expeditions to the 12 Jyotirlingas and the Char Dham transformed him, “Sab achhe log hain. I haven’t met a single person who didn’t help me. I have always been supported wherever I stopped,” he says.

Suraj admits that his early escapades were heavy on his pockets, costing him upwards of ₹45,000. “I realised I was spending too much. Bas tab se sab cycle mein bandh ke chalta hoon—a small stove, a mattress, and I buy very little.”

The trick seemed to have work for him. As he reached Jammu and Kashmir, he was happy to find that he had spent merely ₹1,500. ‘Now, I know the trick.” Currently, Suraj is going ahead with a goal of reaching Leh-Ladakh by July. He plans to spend the month of August in the mountains, culminating his journey with the proud hoisting of the India

S Farah Rizvi writes on Bollywood, OTT, television and culture for the daily Entertainment & Lifestyle supplement, HT City.