Cycling for a cause: 4th edition of duathlon starts on April 1

Chennai: Aalam, an NGO and the philanthropic wing of ‘We Are Chennai Cycling Group’, is organising the fourth edition of Aalam Deepam Duathlon from April 1 to 9 to support people who need cycles for their everyday livelihood.
People are invited to cycle and run individually or in teams as part of the activities being planned. The virtual event is part of ‘Humans of Cycling - donate a bicycle’ initiative to provide free bicycles to breadwinners across the city to enable them to commute to their workplace.
After the pandemic, WCCG came up with its Humans of Cycling Project to help the downtrodden commute to their office without any hassles.These workers were severely hit during the lockdown and some took to walking long distances as a last-ditch attempt to keep their jobs.
The Humans of Cycling Initiative sought to help breadwinners of families by providing them a mobility solution to their workplaces and to their daily jobs. Till date, over 150 cycles have been distributed.
Babu,72, one of the beneficiaries, who walked 25 km a day to work during the pandemic, said, “I live in Perumbakkam. My shop is in Kodambakkam. I usually travel by bus for 2 hours. During the pandemic, I walked the distance. Now I am confident I can travel 25 km in an hour on my cycle!”
As part of the duathlon, people can participate in individual or team relay categories. Team relay can include a mix of men and women so that one person runs and the other cycles. There is a 10km run and a 40km cycling event, a 5km run and 20km cycling sprint and a kids group activity with a 2km run and a 10km cycling event.
The entire proceeds of the event will go towards buying 200 cycles for people from low income families under the initiative. Among 200 cycles, 94 cycles would be donated to underprivileged children at Sevalaya’s Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School at Kasuva Village, Pakkam, a school that serves 40 villages near Thiruvallur district.