The dates of his mission, Republic Day and Martyrs’ Day, are not accidental. “This is my tribute to the martyrs of Mumbai terrorist attacks,” said Punamiya, international cyclist and hero of the mission that is aptly titled ‘Wheel to Heal’.

Punamiya was practising for over a year to beat the Banglore-Chennai Shatabdi Express, which covers 500 km in 7 hours and 15 minutes, when Mumbai witnessed one of the worst terrorist attacks. The attack forced him to change his plans.

Incidentally, Punamiya has a penchant to race with fast trains. Two years ago, in March 2007 he beat the Pune-Mumbai Deccan Queen by 25 minutes. And he cruised at 120 km per hour to achieve that. “If the roads are clear then it will not be a problem to race at 120 km/hr, if we encounter traffic then it will be a modest 80-90 km/hr,” he said.

He plans to reach Surat by the end of his first day, covering 325 km. On the second day, his stop will be Himmatnagar in Gujarat after clocking another 320 km. “The third day will see the most arduous part of journey, in which I will be navigating some 300 km of hilly terrain to reach Chittorgarh at Udaipur, Rajasthan,” said Punamiya.

And he will be reaching Jaipur on the fourth day. “I will be conserving my energy for the last leg of 272 km from Jaipur to India Gate. I plan to reach there at 1.30 pm. A meeting with the President is scheduled in the evening and I don’t want to be late for it,” he said.

Punamiya will be escorted by a team of 20 persons in five vehicles, including a fully-equipped ambulance with doctors. A committee headed by Loksatta Editor-in-Chief Kumar Ketkar had, a few weeks ago, chalked out a detailed plan to assist Punamiya complete his mission. Express photographer Deepak Joshi, who is the implementation co-ordination head, will also be part of the team.

His coaches, Kerman Frana and Kamlakar Shende, will also be accompanying him. Shende is a former national cycling champion.