This may not be the 'Tour de France', but the 'Tour of Nilgris', an eight-day multi-terrain bicycle endurance event (from Bangalore to Nilgris), is sneaking its way slowly into people’s agenda as well.

The event is organised by the Bangalore-based RideACycle Foundation (RAC-F), to popularise cycling as an alternate mode for commuting, leisure and as an agent of social change. This year, the fourth edition of the annual event, to be flagged off from Bangalore on December 16, will see 70 participants taking part in the 860 km endurance trail.

The Foundation's awareness campaign to promote cycling has resulted in the Bangalore Municipal Corporation (BMC) agreeing to create a dedicated cycle track for 43 km, along the city’s select urban road network, besides getting dedicated cycle parking stands at the famed Lalbagh Botanical Garden.

“For those who had participated in the annual French event, the Tour of Nilgris (TFN) may not be as big. But, from the user perception and branding, Tour of Nilgris is the most highly regarded among such cycling challenges in India. And our endeavour is to make it an event to watch out for in South East Asia,” says Sridhar Pabbisetty, co-founder, Tour of Nilgris.

RAC-F’s initiative is essentially aimed at bringing back the culture of cycling by creating awareness in society on the benefits of using bicycles. “How do we bring back cycling into our regular lifestyle? To get there, we had to focus on multiple initiatives including cycling expeditions,” says Pabbisetty.

According to him, unlike the past three years, the participants for this year’s event – BSA TFN 2011 – had to go through a pre-selection process based on their past endurance achievements in cycling, including expeditions and the extent of cycling they do per month. “This became necessary as this year’s event will be more tougher in terms of elevation they reach,” he said.

Starting from Bangalore, this year the participants will pedal through the un-even plains of Mysore and Hassan, before ascending to Madikere and touch Kannur in Kerala, and then moving on to Sultan Battery, Ooty, and finally to Kodanad View Point. “The ride from Kannur to Ooty/Kodanad is going to be tough three days, as they will be climbing a maximum height of 2,240 metre,” says Pabbisetty.