Mangaluru : The Mangalore Cycling Club (MACC) organised the first-ever MACC Karavali 200-km night brevet on Saturday night.

The trip, which was the third brevet, was organised in association with Audax India Randonneurs (AIR), under the banner of Audax Club Parisien (ACP).

The brevet was flagged off from IOCL Petrol Pump at Kottara Chowki. Apart from being a night brevet on a full moon night, the trip saw as many as 33 riders registering for the event. The noteworthy aspect of the event was participation of Udupi Superintendent of Police Annamalai, Dr Ramraj and 18 riders from Udupi, Manipal and Mangaluru, who were all participating in a brevet for the first time.

The riders – fully equipped with reflective jackets, their bicycles fitted with powerful front and back lights – rode all along the NH 66 passing through the coastal cities of Surathkal, Mulki, Kaup, Udupi, Brahmavar, Kumbashi, Kundapur and Maravanthe, before taking a U-turn at IOCL petrol pump at Trasi by the Maravanthe beach, covering the distance of 200-km in the night. Out of the 30 riders who took part, 26 riders could complete the event within the cut-off time of 13.30 hours. Due to severe humid conditions, however, four riders dropped off from the midway.

Annamalai, after completing what was his first brevet, exclaimed, this was one of the best event he ever participated in the recent times.

Dr Ramraj was ecstatic after being a randonneur (a rider who has completed a 200-km event) for the first time and credited all this to his daily rides with MACC members. He said he never tried to push, but his mantra for endurance riding was hydration, nutrition – with a break after every 20 minutes for munching – and cadence. Dr Ramraj formed a group with another first-timer Danny, and both completed the ride quite comfortably in the end.

A 15-year-old Suraj Samaga, who rode along with his father, was all excited to become the youngest randonneur of the Club.

Twenty-six riders who completed the Karavali night brevet are Anil Shet, Sarvesh Samaga, Ashok Lobo, Shyam Prasad Nayak, Hare Krishna Maheshwari, Harivijay Kudva, Ravi Shankar, Mubeen, Deshnath Reddy, Dhanraj Karkera, Annamalai K, Deepak Hebbar, Barani Radhakrishnan, Ajit Cherian, Danny Simon, Shivadeep Jaideep, Shashwath Gowda, Ganesh Nayak, Ramaraj P, Raghavendra Ram, Shubanand Rao, Suraj Samaga, Pranay Kini, Smith Javiya, Zihan Mohammed and Anil Shet Raikar.