It was the first of a series of expeditions planned by the corporation in seven places in Tamil Nadu this year. The cyclists were of varying ages and included women. They covered the 82 km stretch in around five hours and returned by the TTDC coach. The event was held under the joint auspices of the TTDC, Tamil Nadu Cycling Club, Ti Cycles and Star Health and Alliance.

Flagging off the trip, TTDC’s managing director A.C. Mohandoss said the corporation planned to conduct a ‘Tamil Nadu Cycle tour’ from December 25 to 31. The first tour will cover Coimbatore, Mettupala yam, Paraliyar, Coonoor and Ooty covering 90 km. The tour: Ooty, Doddabetta, Kothagiri, Gobichettipalayam (130 km) would be held on Dec.26, Gobichettipalayam, Bhavani, Salem, Yercaud for 120 km on Dec.27, Yercaud, Athur, Namakkal, Mohanur and Karur for 130 km on Dec.28, Karur, Dindigul, Sempatti and Vathalagundu for 110 km on Dec. 29, Vathalagundu to Kodai-kanal for 60 km on Dec.30 and Kodaikanal, Palani, Udumalai, Pollachi and Coimbatore for a distance of 170 km would be held on Dec.31, he said.

The Tamil Nadu Cycling Club is a non-profit association involved in promoting cycling as a means of sustainable eco-friendly mode of transportation and eco-tourism for better health.

The trip commenced from Island Grounds and traversed through Marina, Ad-yar, Guindy, Tambaram, Chengalpattu before reaching Vedanthangal. Singer Anuradha Sriram, Ti Cycles India general manager N. Shankar, Star Health and Alliance chief financial officer S. Ramaswamy, GVK chief operating officer Srivatsan Raghavan and TTDC managers N. Ravi, T. M. Karthikeyan and others participated.