Anuradha Palnitkar turns into the primary Indian-origin girl to finish an unsupported transcontinental US journey. Jai Rawat and Samir Palnitkar develop into the primary IIT graduates to finish such a journey. 

Pune Maharashtra, An Indian origin trio of Jai Rawat (57), Anuradha Palnitkar (54) and Samir Palnitkar (58) accomplished a 3,168 (5,100 km) Cycle throughout America expedition in 52 days with over 100,000 ft of climbing. This journey was accomplished on unpowered bicycles with none assist car accompanying them.

The expedition began at 6 am US Pacific time on Aug 1, 2026 at Santa Monica seaside in Los Angeles, CA and completed on the Washington Monument in Washington DC on Sep 21, 2026 at 12 midday US Japanese time. The three cyclists traveled a mean of 65 miles (104 km) per day throughout 14 US states, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia earlier than ending the journey within the District of Columbia. From Santa Monica, they traveled on Historic Route 66, the primary transcontinental US freeway constructed 100 years in the past in 1926, as they wound their method throughout Grand Canyons, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Amarillo, Tulsa to St. Louis, Missouri earlier than heading east from Route 66 in the direction of Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Washington DC. On Route 66, they skilled the historical past concerning the progress of the cities of Center America within the twentieth century.

The trio needed to overcome quite a lot of adversities alongside the best way. They rode in excessive warmth warning zones for a number of weeks, battling temperatures as much as 119 F (49 C); on the shoulders of interstates and highways with massive vehicles passing by at 75+ mph (120+ kmph); highways with out shoulders, by means of thunderstorms in New Mexico; and in chilly climate on the East Coast. Additionally they needed to restore their bikes, cope with ferocious canines chasing them and bounce again from cycle accidents to finish the journey efficiently.

The journey took them throughout tall mountain passes, deserts, valleys, forests, countless corn fields, plains, rolling hills, parks, historic cities, devoted bicycling trails, frontage roads, highways and interstates as they made their method throughout the USA. They loved the mountain vistas of California, Arizona and New Mexico, the plains of Texas and Oklahoma, the rolling hills of the Ozarks in Missouri, the corn fields of Illinois and Indiana, the gorgeous bicycling trails of Ohio, the Appalachian plateau in West Virginia, the long-lasting, 150 mile Nice Allegheny Passage bicycle path close to Pittsburgh and the W & OD bicycle path in Virginia. They crossed the Continental Divide in New Mexico at 7,881 ft altitude and the Japanese Continental Divide in Pennsylvania at 2,392 ft altitude.

“Using throughout the nation helped us expertise the numerous terrains, the cultural range and the historical past of America in a really distinctive method. It was very attention-grabbing to journey by means of small cities that powered the expansion of America within the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We felt an exhilarating sense of freedom as we cycled by means of the countless landscapes seeing innumerable sunrises” – stated Anuradha Palnitkar and Samir Palnitkar

Anuradha Palnitkar grew to become the primary Indian-origin girl to finish an unpowered transcontinental bicycle journey throughout the USA with out a assist car. Jai Rawat and Samir Palnitkar additionally grew to become the primary Indian Institute of Expertise (IIT) graduates to finish an unsupported, unpowered bicycle journey throughout America.

“We skilled small-town hospitality as individuals chatted with us, supplied free espresso as they discovered about our cross-country journey. Automobiles drove patiently behind our gradual bicycles and store house owners regaled us with tales about their historic artifact collections. We discovered lots about how the cities of Center America made vital contributions to the nation’s progress.” – stated Jai Rawat

ABOUT JAI RAWAT:

Jai is a profitable serial entrepreneur with 33 years of enterprise expertise. He has based a number of corporations together with Zinrelo (acquired by Scaleworks), Obongo (acquired by AOL) and Mojo Networks (acquired by Arista). Jai earned his BTech diploma in Laptop Science from IIT Kanpur in 1991 and MS in Laptop Science from Iowa State College in 1993. He has been awarded 19 know-how patents.

Previous to this journey, Jai has accomplished just a few marathons, ultra-marathons and treks together with Everest Base Camp (17,600 ft), Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,341 ft), Stok Kangri (20,187 ft), Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim, Mount Shasta (14,200 ft), Mount Whitney (14,500 ft), Chadar Trek and bike journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

ABOUT ANURADHA PALNITKAR:

Anuradha (Anu) is a dietitian by occupation. She graduated with an undergraduate diploma in dietetics from Delhi College in 1993 and a Masters in Dietary Science from San Jose State College in 1996. After being a working towards dietitian for a number of years, Anu at the moment works a trainer in a college for youths with particular wants.

Anu has accomplished 3 full marathons and quite a lot of half marathons. She has additionally accomplished a (63 mi (100 km) stroll Pune to Mahabaleshwar in 24 hours. She has accomplished 31 treks internationally together with Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Circuit, Mt. Kilimanjaro, W-trek in Patagonia, Tour du Mont Blanc. She can be an avid traveler and has visited over 100 nations.

ABOUT SAMIR PALNITKAR:

Samir brings 34 years of enterprise expertise in 5 startups. He has based a number of corporations together with Zinrelo (acquired by Scaleworks), Obongo (acquired by AOL) and Mojo Networks (acquired by Arista), Ingot Programs (acquired by Synopsys) and I2P (acquired by Lattice Semiconductor). Samir earned his BTech diploma in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1990, an MS in Electrical Engineering in 1992 and an MBA from San Jose State College in 1996. He has been awarded 5 US know-how patents and is the creator of two authoritative books on semiconductor chip design.

Samir has accomplished 31 treks internationally together with Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Circuit, Mt. Kilimanjaro, W-trek in Patagonia, Tour du Mont Blanc. Samir and Jai additionally accomplished the San Francisco to Los Angeles Cycle journey in 2018. Samir is an avid traveler and has visited over 100 nations.