Pune's Preeti Maske, a mother of two, created an ultra cycling world record by becoming the first woman to cycle solo from Leh to Manali in 55 hours and 13 minutes.
Officials claimed the 45-year-old has fulfilled the requirements of the Guinness World Records after covering the 480 Km stretch.
She holds the record for the fastest woman cyclist on the Golden Quadrilateral comprising a distance of 6,000 kilometers, they said.
Expressing happiness about her achievement, Preeti said age is no barrier to exploring one's passion.
Preeti said, "To overcome illness, I started cycling at the age of 40. If I can overcome my fears, then any woman can." Preeti started the ride on June 22.
She was flagged off by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) from Leh at 0600 hours by Brigadier Gaurav Karki, Chief Engineer BRO at Leh, the officials said.
At Manali she finished the ride at 1:13 pm on June 24 in the presence of Col. Shabarish Vachali, Commander, BRO.
Experts said the route was very tough with a 8,000 metre elevation gain. Guinness World Record had given her a window of 60 hours to complete this challenge, they said.
"Twice I had to take oxygen enroute due to breathlessness at high passes", she said.
Preeti holds several records in long-distance cycling.
Anand Kansal, her crew member said, "Preeti had to cycle in harsh varying climate on all the high altitude passes fighting the sun, strong head winds, snowfall and freezing temperatures." Mr Kansal said that this couldn't have been possible with the support of BRO which had deployed two support vehicles with a satellite phone and medical assistant.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Border Roads Organisation Invites Applications For 466 Positions, Details Here 70 Rescued After Heavy Snowfall In Arunachal Pradesh Border Roads Organisation To Fence Major Portion Of India-Myanmar Border: Top Official MK Stalin Asks Centre To Recall Tamil Nadu Governor In Row Over Anthem Drone Footage Of Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar's Last Moments Released By Israel Watch: Harris's Witty Reply Stumps Hecklers Backing Trump, Crowd Applauds Harris, Trump Barnstorm Key State Michigan, Where Polls Say They're Tied 2 Brothers Found Dead Amid Rituals In Chhattisgarh: Cops Israel And Iran-Backed Foes Hamas And Hezbollah Vow More War Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.