After maiden stint, Indian Army officer eyes an encore at 1200km Paris-Brest-Paris

Fresh from his maiden stint in the excruciating Paris-Brest-Paris circuit, Indian Army's Lieutenant General Anil Puri is keen to accomplish the feat again in the next edition of the long-distance cycle event.

The Paris-Brest-Paris is France's oldest long-distance cycling event that began in 1891. The event starts from Paris, the cyclists go up till Brest and then come back, covering a total of 1200kms.

The 56-year-old officer became the first serving general of the Indian Army to complete the event last month.

"It was a very painful experience but as every cloud has a silver lining I am very satisfied by my achievement. I learnt many life lessons and it was a truly humbling experience for me," Puri told PTI.

Elated by his performance Puri, who was unable to participate in the 2015 due to some prior commitments, is now looking to compete in the next edition with his wife by his side.

"My wife is an eye surgeon in the army. We both cycle together. Both of us are planning to participate in the event in the next edition. That's the plan for now."
"I ran out of steam playing other games so I took up cycling. It was a gift I gave to myself at 51."
"Earlier my cycle used to be kept under the staircase. Now it sits in my living room."
"I remember there was a Japanese participant who just slid from his cycle as he slept while cycling. You have to deal with everything on your own. You don't have any help available except at the control points."