Pedrollo Mountain Bike Challenge by BAC
Despite the immense popularity of mountain biking among the youth, our hilly regions are not yet frequented by local bikers for many reasons. But such an opportunity presented itself to cyclists when Bangladesh Adventure Club (BAC) organised "Pedrollo Mountain Bike Challenge" at the Halda Valley Tea Estate in Chittagong's Fatikchari Upazila.
Marking the announcement of 2015 as the United Nation's International Year of Soils, and World Water Day, BAC arranged a two-day programme at Halda Valley on April 10 and 11.
The event – comprising of a 30 km mountain bike challenge, a 12 km half marathon for men and 7 km for women, and a clean-up programme – took place on the narrow trails of the tea garden.
All the participants and organisers along with volunteers gathered at the venue one day prior to the event and spent the night in tents set up at the valley. It took extensive labour for the organisers to prepare the trail for biking and making a route map through those lanes.
The first day's programme included "Pedrollo Mountain Bike Challenge" where 32 cyclists pedalled their mountain bikes at the maximum possible speed through the narrow trails to win the title. The trail was divided into two lapses, each 15 kms.
The race began at 11am and continued till noon until all the bikers crossed the finishing line. There was adequate preparation for first aid and two ambulances were stand by at the trail.
Bikers from Dhaka and Chittagong mainly participated in the event. Mizanul Azam, a member of Chittagong Adventure Club, won the title, while Dhaka-based cyclists Abul Bashar and Jahidul Islam became the first and second runners-up respectively.
The next event was "Halda Valley clean-up programme" with the participation of students from local schools.
The prize giving ceremony was held later on the day followed by a vibrant cultural programme. Three winners of the contest received a Giant mountain bike each as prize.
Managing Director of Pedrollo nk Ltd, Nader Khan, was the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony, while Alisio Frankitto, a representative from SPA Company, Italy attended as special guest along with Chief Corporate Officer of Airtel Bangladesh, Ashraful Haq Chowdhury; Assistant General Manager of Uttara Motors, Shahidul Alam; Managing Director of Cycle Shop BD, Sadat Monayem; and BAC General Secretary, Moshiur Khandakar. Mountaineer Nishat Majumdar was also present, among other distinguished guests.
On the second day there was 12 km half-marathon trekking competition for men and a 7 km one for woman. The numbers of participants were 30 and 15 respectively in the two categories. Faysal Mohammad became the champion in the male category while Kazi Saharia Shampa bagged the champion's trophy in the female category.
The idea of camping, trekking and mountain biking is relatively new in Bangladesh but with time, adventurous activities like these are becoming popular among the youth. Bangladesh Adventure Club is a leading sports and tourism promoting organisation which always comes up with fun outdoor activities and raises awareness on the conservation of environment.
The event also marked 30 years of service of Pedrollo in Bangladesh. The Daily Star was the strategic print media partner of the event.