Kasargod : Gyanendra Singh from Kashipur in Uttarakhand, has set forth again, for the fifth time to criss-cross the country with an intention to spread his message of global peace to a wider audience. His major part of the past decade was spent cycling on the road. Having started from Rameshwaram on April 29, the 42-year-old, reached Kasargod on Saturday June 29.
This time around, he is cycling to spread a message against the rising crime rate in the country. “I have been a witness to many instances of crime in my own village. Some of these affected me and my close relatives. I thought this is the right time to embark on this trip,” says Mr. Singh. 
Gyanendra Singh had also undertaken a tour even when Gujarath had come under the grip of unabated violence in the past, for world peace. He had also undertaken a bicycle tour for victory of the country during the world cup tournament, and another one for the conservation of Indian culture. In 2011, he had covered six states in the months of March and April, and four more states between November 2011 and March 2012. He has also travelled to Nepal on his bicycle. That tour, which began on March 21, 2012, had covered eight states, ending on July 26 that year.
Though he calls himself an activist now, he dons many roles when he is not cycling. He has been a farmer as well as an English teacher in a public school in Uttarakhand. The first of his cycling trips was in 2002, to spread a message of peace after the Gujarat riots. Singh plans to reach the last point of his tour in his home state, Uttarakhand, in September. He pedals his bicycle during the day, and takes rest in guest houses or choultries at night.
“I cycled from Kashipur to Lucknow to speak at a conference on women empowerment. After the conference, I decided to extend it and ended up cycling for the next three months. I covered around 3,000 kilometres then,” he says. He does not follow a strict schedule and hence covers varying distances each day. “I end up spending more time at some places and so I am not sure when I will finish this. Also, some days I cover 150 kilometres while on other days it is less than 100 kilometres,” he says.
