The human spirit continues to amaze me. We all have what it takes to reach our full potential. We all have what it takes to be more today than what we were yesterday. And we even have that capacity when we have been denied the same start as everyone else.
Mr. Dharmendra Sachan is a shining example who shows me exactly that. Dharmendra was a victim of an accident when he was 9. His left leg had to be amputated from below the knee. Today he cycles all over the places alone or with his cycling groups every day including long drives in weekend. What stands out while talking to him is that even though what he undertakes as a cyclist is a time-consuming affair, he seems more focused on other things happening in his life. So, I get the impression that humility is a huge thing for him.
On the other hand, speak to him about his role as General Manager at India Exim Bank and you immediately notice his energetic enthusiasm. He enjoys explaining what the government and the Bank are doing at the ground level. He shares that India Exim Bank has been facilitating trade between developed and developing countries for the past 42 years. Through the Bank’s Grassroots programmes, rural Indian artisans are receiving support for product improvement and market access. Thousands of handloom artisans are being given opportunities to showcase their work at Exim Bazaars — leading to spot sales, repeat orders and brand building. The initiative has now expanded to direct participation in major festivals as well. The Export-Import Bank of India is associated with the Kala Ghoda Festival currently taking place in Mumbai. With over 7.5 million visitors expected, the platform gives artisans valuable exposure, strong sales opportunities, and a chance to build long-term market connections — something Dharmendra speaks about with visible excitement.
I try to get him to return to talk of his passion for cycling and to get to know his background. Dharmendra grew up in Uttar Pradesh, India and was in the 3rd standard when he had his accident. He did his schooling in U.P, completed his college upto post-graduation in Jaipur and joined the India Exim bank in 1997. He says that at the age of 42 he realised that he had started to pile on the kilos and tried to find ways to move his body more often. He walked regularly and has even walked in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon's Dream Run (6.4 kms), in what's now known as the TMM (Tata Mumbai Marathon) for 13 years. But, for obvious reasons, walking is not the best sport for him. At some point, he started thinking of taking up cycling. Like most smart and economically conscious Indians, he rented a cycle first for a month to see if he would stick to actually using the bike and sticking to a routine. He would ride from his South Mumbai residence to Marine Drive for 1 hour every day. After that month, he invested in a Rupees 5000/- cycle and started doing around 40 kms regularly. As and how his passion grew, his cycling and his health improved so much that the kilometres seemed to fly past, that was when he traded his cycle for a Firefox Road Bike which cost him Rupees 25000/- He then heard of the 'Brevets Randonneurs Mondiaux' or BRM which is held by an organisation in France since 1921. The BRM offers cyclists 'qualification times' for different distances. For e.g. a 200 kms distance would need to be completed within13 hours and 30 minutes for the cyclist to receive a validated brevet card. In a Chapter of BRM that took place from Borivali to the Border of Gujarat, Dharmendra was able to complete 200 kms in the specified time and that was his first longest ride.
Now consumed by the sport, Dharmendra started doing a 100 kms weekend ride and 40-50 kms every day before going to work. In 2018, he decided to change his bicycle again and invested in an imported French bike 'Lapierre' which was a considerable investment at 1 Lakh Rupees. With this bike Dharmendra started doing 275-300 kms per week. In the year 2024, he started his year thinking he wanted to achieve 20 century rides, so that meant riding 100 kms at a stretch 20 times in the year. By the month of May '24, he had already accomplished this goal and so he extended his goal to 50 century rides and that was completed by the 24th of December in the same year. His friends joked and said that a year has 52 weeks so maybe he should aim to do 52 centuries the coming year. But Dharmendra covered another 200 kms over the next two days. Very soon, Dharmendra set another goal of riding 5 centuries in 5 days. Green tick obtained. Thus, the man did not just meet his goals but kept greatly pushing their limits. If this is not by itself praiseworthy, remember that unlike other bikers Dharmendra cannot wear shoes adapted to get fixed into the cleats on a racing bike pedal. Cleats allow the rider's foot to be stuck to the pedal throughout the pedalling movement and thus avoids any loss of energy if one lifts their foot up and presses it down again. It helps a rider considerably with both comfort and speed.
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| the glowing beauty |
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| featured in a newspaper |
I would like to take a moment to pause here and think about how the high of an achievement can make one forget the early wake up schedules of 2:30am and can fuel the flame that one needs to keep burning as we're setting out to achieve our targets. The highs truly can get us through the hardest moments of sweat, doubt and pain, and yet the moments of high are themselves ephemeral. They're here now and gone in an instant. That's what makes this man's goals truly awe-inspiring!
Dharmendra now has 17 years of cycling behind him. He continues to ride with his cycling groups in Juhu or in South Mumbai, notably Fast & Furious, CACG, Life recycled and Buddy Riders. Besides cycling he also swims and plays table tennis. At home his wife is also a fitness freak and is into yoga and health goals. They both recognise the good it has done their family to be health-focused and are aware of the huge ripple effects they have had in the lives of their children and everyone around them.
As a man, a sportsman and an incredibly high achiever, Mr. Dharmendra Sachan has raised the bar of excellence for me. I can see myself taking away lessons on humility, learning how to take both life and success in one's stride and striving to constantly expand one's wings from this man's way of life. What about you?
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