Day 21-22 August 4-5, 2017 Surat to Vadodra to Shamaljee.
Distance- 100 kilometres and 230 kilometres.
Duration – 6hours and 14 hours.
Sunita set out a little later than usual at around 7:30 am from Surat to Vadodra. She was a little tired and felt sleep deprived. Though she had decided to sign off early the previous night , just as she was ready to hit the bed a group of fans and well wishers contacted her for a felicitation ceremony organised in her honour. “Every wish and support is important for my mission”,said Sunita as she agreed to meet her fans.
Today too Sunita met lots of people from all walks of life. “Faith in what you believe can make you take on difficult challenges“. She came across a group of pilgrims who were walking barefoot to Baba Ramdev temple in Pokhran Rajasthan from their village in Maharashtra..The temple is a symbol of national unity as it has devotees from different religions caste and creed paying homage. Such is the power of faith that people not only drive themselves but also their cattle to places of worship- Sunita met a family on the way who with their two cows and two calves were walking a distance of a few hundred miles to a temple to seek the blessings of the divine- and this she was told was a yearly ritual in the family.
Sunita was at Vadodra by 3:30 pm. As she settled down in her room hosted by a family who were friends of her family friends she reviewed her itinerary. As per plan she had to reach Shamaljee which was a whooping 230 kilometres from Vadodra. She mentally prepared herself to break her. journey on the way after 160-170 kilometres.
Day 22
All of us who were keeping track of Sunitas whereabouts through updates from her whenever she took a break had some really anxious moments today. After speaking to her at 6:00 am there was no contact with our cyclist the entire day. Her phone was unreachable and there were none of the routine calls she makes everyday during her breaks. To add to the uncertainty we were not sure of the place where she would break her journey or the exact route of the day. Finally when there was no news till 7:30pm the police station at Chilwada was contacted. Just as the police got on to the task of tracing the whereabouts we get a call from Sunita saying that she has reached Shamlajee after covering an unbelievable distance of 230 kilometres. Our first reaction was a feeling of relief and a thank you to God Almighty for keeing this brave heart safe. It was much later that the enormity of the distance she had covered today sunk in. Hats off to the endurance , stamina , determination and mental strength of this Everester- Sunita Singh Choken.
