#220 Ekalavya Award Winner, Nationals Medalist and Cyclopedia Founder Lokesh Narasimhachar's Journey

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In this episode I talk to Lokesh Narasimhachar. Loki, as he is affectionately referred to as, is a multiple time Karnataka State champion and multiple medal winner at Indian Cycling Nationals. He was one of the key members of erstwhile Specialized KYNKYNY team. He is the winner of the prestigious Ekalavya award from the Karnataka State government in recognition of his contribution to the sport. Loki now runs a bike store in Mysore, Cyclopedia and is actively building the next generation of riders from the Mysore district. It was a pleasure sitting down to chat with him about his journey in the sport and the work he is putting in for nurturing the future generation of cyclists. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

0:00:00 Intro
0:04:40 His start of cycling
0:08:10 Bijapur cycling hostel experience
0:09:00 Moving away from family business and taking cycling seriously
0:10:30 Getting selected for south zone cycling competitions on BSA Mac1 single speed
0:12:25 First Nationals in 2003, Bronze in U-18;
0:14:25 Asian Championships in Ludhiana,
0:15:50 His National medals as a senior after 2010, focusing on sprinting
0:18:20 Coming to Bangalore, working at Wheelsports, KYNKYNY Wheelsports, KYNKYNY Specialized team
0:21:20 KYNKYNY team, Loki and NJ at Tour of Nilgiris
0:23:00 How KYNKYNY Specialized team impacted cycling in the country
0:24:30 His Last Nationals in 2016 and start of Cyclopedia
0:25:30 Genesis of Cyclopedia
0:28:45 Building the cycling culture in Mysore, District association, MTB racing
0:31:45 Learnings from the years of Cyclopedia
0:33:30 Reason behind his hand sling/fractured wrist,
0:35:00 Upcoming talent in Mysore
0:36:20 Closing

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A bit about myself:
I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

All through my life I struggled with weight and health issues. After multiple failed attempts through the life to get fit and healthy, in 2008, I managed to lose 16kgs. My motivation was to be able to take care of my unborn son with the thought that "if I'm not able to take care of myself, how am I going to take care of my family?". When my son was 6 months old, having lost 16kgs, I picked up a bike to keep that weight off and stay fit. That became a passion and lost more weight and became better at it. I continue to train myself not just to stay fit but also race competitively in races in and outside the country. I also have been coaching a few riders to get stronger and faster at cycling since 2016.

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