The Blog
Race reports, training insights, gear guides and stories from the ultra-cycling world — written by Bharat and fellow riders.
18 articles · 4 categories
“Pain is an indication for introspection and correction; It is never a reason for shying away from the target.”— Bharat Pannu
What a Cycling Coach Actually Does for You
Most people think hiring a coach means buying a training plan — that is the smallest part. What you really pay for: periodisation, objectivity, adapting to real life — and an honest look at whether a coach is worth it for you.
Indoor Cycling: Training Indoors Without Losing Fitness
I took an international podium riding entirely on an indoor trainer. Used well, it is one of the most powerful tools an Indian cyclist owns — how to set up, beat the heat, beat the boredom, and make every session count.
How to Train for Your First Super Randonneur Series
The 200, 300, 400 and 600 km brevets are a rite of passage. A practical, first-hand guide to base building, pacing to the clock, fuelling, sleep management and the mistakes that end most first attempts.
The Mind at Kilometre 3,000: Pain, Sleep and the Long Dark
Somewhere around 1,750 km a race stops being about fitness. What carries you the rest of the way is the mind — pain, rationed sleep, and the long dark.
Racing India's Extremes: Heat, Cold and Altitude
To race long distances in India is to race in several countries at once — a freezing pass by morning, suffocating heat by night. Riding the extremes.
Chaffing and Saddle Sores — Solved
In every race, saddle sores were the enemy. They stopped me sitting comfortably and cost me time. Here's how I systematically solved the most common problem in ultra-cycling.
My Weekend Routine
A fit rider winning races looks effortless from the outside. Here's what the weekend looks like when you're training for RAAM — the meals, the mileage, the discipline, the rest.
Fuelling the Ultra: How I Eat Across 1,000+ Kilometres
People assume ultra-races are won on the climbs. In my experience they are won and lost at the stomach. How I fuel across thousands of kilometres.
The Everyday Plate: What an Ultra-Cyclist Eats Off the Bike
Race-day fuelling gets the glory, but the everyday plate builds the engine. What an ultra-cyclist eats when no one is watching.
Not 5,000 — Just 25: What the Race Across America Taught Me
On the TEDx stage I told a hall full of students the only arithmetic that got me across America: never ride 5,000 kilometres. Ride 25. Then ride 25 again. The full lessons of RAAM 2024.
My Cycling Quest: From a Late Start to the World Stage
I found my calling at thirty-three, on a borrowed sort of enthusiasm and a mountain bike I had no business riding the way I did. The full story — from a Raleigh in Jammu to the Armed Forces Cup.
Anatomy of a Record: The Crew Behind the Certificate
My name is the one on the certificate. The record belongs to a team whose names you never see on it. Inside the Team Pannu machine.
Tribute to the Coaches Who Shaped Me
You can tell your coach the goal you've set, but the path has to be set by them. Every world record has names behind it that never appear on the certificate.
Behind the Bums
First you watch others do it, then you try it, then you can't quit. Jyoti Tripathi — the crew chief behind K2K, Leh–Manali and the Golden Quadrilateral — on what it really takes to crew for Team Pannu.
Piston Jam — Top of the Nandi to You
The very first time you do something is the time you truly do it for yourself. Every subsequent time becomes for something or someone else. A long-standing Nandi Hills dream, finally ridden.
From Noob to Super Randonneur: My Cycling Journey
The intervening night of June 22/23 was different in more ways than one. Instead of the cool confines of home, I was out under the hot and muggy Delhi sky — and it was only the beginning.
Ultra Spice Race — 2021 (Unsupported)
Ultra distance races in India are rare. Accentuated by the Covid crisis, finding a decent race to set targets around had become harder than the race itself. Until Ultra Spice.
Ride with us — write for us
Have a race story, training insight, or cycling adventure worth sharing? Team Pannu welcomes guest contributions from riders at every level.
From the saddle to the stage
Beyond the records, Bharat is a TEDx speaker who shares the mindset behind ultra-endurance — discipline, resilience and the belief that it is never too late to start. Available for keynotes, corporate sessions and motivational talks.
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