As the summer climbs to troublesome temperatures, Ramakant Mahadik often packs his cycle into the local train to Karjat. The outskirts of Mumbai offer the 72-year-old a chance to cycle in peace. But unlike others who might spend an hour on their bike, Mahadik (right) opened 2026 with six other cyclists on a 3850-km-long expedition across four countries.

Cycling is his second love. Mahadik has been a mountaineer since 1982, and completed a Diploma Course in Mountaineering as an engineer. “My first winter expedition was to Gangotri in 1982,” he recalls. Soon, he would summit Bhagirathi in Kumaon, Suli Top in Uttarakhand, and later was a member on a civil expedition to Kanchenjunga in 1988.