SPORTS · DELHI

Riding across India, one pedal at a time

Delhi’s Arav Bhardwaj rides a bicycle a very long way — thousands of kilometres across India with his father, to honour the country’s soldiers and freedom fighters.

By The Young Achievers2 min readSources checked 22 October 2026

✓ Verified · Age 12

Arav Bhardwaj · 12 when reported in December 2024

Filed under: Sports · Delhi · Cycling

Arav Bhardwaj receiving his national award citation from President Droupadi Murmu

Arav Bhardwaj receiving the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar citation from President Droupadi Murmu · Photograph: India Book of Records · Image source ↗

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The rides

In April and May 2022, Arav and his father rode 2,612 km from the INA War Memorial in Manipur to India Gate in Delhi, crossing seven states in 32 days to celebrate 75 years of Indian independence; the ride was flagged off by Manipur’s Chief Minister, N. Biren Singh.

In 2024 he rode 1,251 km from the Kargil War Memorial to India Gate, to mark Kargil Vijay Diwas. The ride details rest mainly on the official award list and his India Book of Records profile.

The recognition

On 26 December 2024, Arav received the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, India’s national honour for children, in the Sports category; the official list gave his age as 12. In late 2025, the Sports Authority of India reported that he had ridden more than 1,250 km from New Delhi to the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, for the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.

In the SAI release, he said: “If Sardar Patel could unite a nation, we can surely unite hearts — one pedal at a time.”

✳ A spark to explore

Arav rides to remember people who served India. If you could ride, walk or run for one cause, what would it be? That is a question from us, not part of his record.