Neville Wadia is a born and bred Bombayite who will be riding his bicycle from Bangalore to Bombay to raise awareness and funds for the Health Awareness Center, which treats terminally ill cancer patients with diet and exercise. He will be contributing to the bpb blog while on his journey.
The Bangalore to Bombay route has been done by bicycle by numerous groups escorted by cars and caravans, but to our knowledge no one has attempted this ride on the NH4 solo, with no car back up, caravan or TV crew, etc. I wanted to do something out of the ordinary so it would turn heads, get people's attention and make them take notice of the hardships and suffering that a cancer patient and their family face every day. That’s pretty much why I chose to do this grueling 1000 km. ride along an Indian highway with just me, my bike and a backpack.
The centre in Mumbai caught my attention because they do things differently and they challenge science by treating terminally ill cancer patients only with diet and exercise, no drugs and no surgery and it has been working in the US and in India, with numerous instances of the disease being reversed. This centre needs the funding and the publicity to go ahead and treat the needy.
So, all I am carrying is a small backpack that won't weigh more than 9 kg, as that’s all my carrier can hold. My back pack will hold some toiletries, a towel, a pair of slippers, t shirts, riding jerseys, shorts, and yes the most important accessory - padded cycling shorts. These things look hilarious but they are your savior when you plan to sit on a seat that is little wider than your palm for 6 hours a day. I'll carry 2 water bottles, a hand pump, some extra tubes for the tires and my companion all the way, my ipod.
The cost of my ride from Bangalore to Bombay has been very kindly sponsored by friends and associates. Rest assured that any donations you make will go directly to the TRUTH trust that funds this centre, and I can assure you your contribution is going into good hands, to people committed to making a difference. All cheques can be made out to 'TRUTH' and sent to me or I can get them collected. We are trying to see if they can get a paypal account setup so foreign donations can be made as well. Also their bank account details will be mailed out so direct deposits can be made. All donations will receive an 80g certificate for tax exemptions.
Thank you for supporting this cause, hopefully we can meet when I ride into Bombay on the 23rd of Dec to say hello and celebrate the great work we've done together. Details about location time etc will follow.
Cheers,
Neville
