Among the nearly 10,000 cyclists who participated in the Seattle To Portland (STP) Bicycle Ride this year were four Parsis, Arshish Kapadia, Viraf Gandhi, Kaizad Irani and Karl Buhariwala. The cyclists cover a distance of 206 miles (331 km) from Seattle in Washington state to Portland in Oregon state, including an elevation gain of almost 5,000 feet. Barely 1,500 cyclists who complete the distance in a single day are conferred the "1 Day Rider Badge," notes a report sent by Anaheita Kapadia. Arshish and Viraf completed the race at approximately 9 p.m. on the first day, July 13. Kaizad and Karl went past the finish line early the following morning for Kaizad suffered a flat tire just past the 100 mile mark while Karl’s tire shredded around 140 miles.
The cyclists use Fuji carbon fiber bikes that retail for around $ 2,500 apiece, Anaheita mentions. Quoting from the internet she explains that "the best road bike frames are strong, lightweight and responsive. Most serious cyclists want the strength of steel with the weight of titanium. Carbon fiber offers the best of both worlds: a featherweight frame that’s extremely durable and surprisingly stiff. Low density carbon composites can be customized to provide strength where it is needed and flexibility where it’s not, making it the material of choice for racers around the globe."
Listed as "one of the best cycling events in the nation" by Bicycling Magazine, 2013 saw the 34th edition of the annual experience. Riders went "through scenic valleys, forests and farmlands," mentioned the website: https://shop.cascade.org/content/events/stp. "STP is not a race; riders must obey all the rules of the road," stipulated the guidelines for the participants who were met at the finishing line with a festival featuring music, food, beverages, service, a massage tent, showers and first aid.
Viraf Gandhi, Arshish Kapadia and Karl Buhariwala at the starting line
"The ride started at 5.30 a.m. from Husky Stadium in Seattle with rest stops at 25 mile intervals where the cheering family members waited anxiously for the bikers to come through," conveyed Anaheita. For this test of endurance cycling teams start training months in advance. The four Parsis from Seattle trained for nearly four months, cycling on Wednesday evenings after work and over the weekend. Of the four, all born and raised in Bombay, Arshish, Viraf and Karl work for Microsoft, whilst Kaizad is employed by Ericsson.
Arshish and Viraf had also completed the STP in 2010. When asked to share the highlights of the 2013 event, Arshish commented, "Certainly crossing the finishing line after covering 206 miles in a single day stands out, but then so does seeing my family and friends at each 25-mile stop, cheering us on and waiting on us hand and foot… all memories that I will never forget." Arshish has been in the US for the last 20 years. After completing his Masters in Computer Science from the University of Texas, he worked in several high tech companies in Austin, before moving to Seattle with wife Anaheita and daughters Freyana and Sanaya, both in middle school. Working as principal engineer, he manages an extended team of developers working on Microsoft Project. He has "15 US patents to his name with another 10 or so pending at the US patent office," states his proud wife. Additionally Arshish is an avid double black diamond downhill skier and also enjoys his games of bridge and chess. Passionate about his workouts, he considers himself "amazingly lucky to have something I love doing all year round" — skiing in winter and bike rides in spring and summer.
Kaizad Irani, Gandhi, Kapadia and Buhariwala after the race
Viraf stated that more than the event he enjoyed "the great camaraderie I shared with my riding mates while training for this event over four months. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it wasn’t for my amazingly supportive wife" Parizad. The couple being runners, enjoy training and running for half marathons despite having to look after their five-year-old son Cyrus. Viraf did his masters in computer engineering and engineering management from the University of Florida after which he joined Motorola. Six years ago he moved to Seattle to work with Microsoft where he is currently employed as program manager in the Microsoft Windows Phone division.
For Kaizad too, "The highlight of the STP was the preparation and the hard work that had gone into the training over the weekends. The event was memorable due to the company and support that I had during the STP event." Participating for the first time in this event, Kaizad said, "This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life," even tougher than his engineering studies. He is determined though "to keep taking part in the event every year and also encourage fellow Zoroastrians to participate." Twenty-eight-year-old Kaizad graduated with a masters in telecommunications engineering from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He has been in Seattle for the last two years with his wife Karishma and is actively involved in soccer, cricket, badminton, tennis in the Puget Sound area.
Karl mentioned, "I really enjoyed my second year of biking, especially because I was fortunate not to crash on the day of the ride unlike last year. The best part of the ride was the party like atmosphere at each stop and there were very few parts where I was riding alone." Next year the bachelor hopes to "finish this ride in one day and get better at going uphill to target tougher rides." Twenty-five-year-old Karl completed an accelerated BS/MS degree in computer engineering from Drexel University before starting his career at Microsoft in the Windows operating systems group. Karl plays squash and football in his spare time.
All four of them participate in the activities of the Zoroastrian Society of Washington State (ZSWS). Founded 22 years ago by a group of local Parsi and Iranian Zoroastrians, after the founder Parsi member left for California, the Society functioned largely as an Iranian group whilst the Parsis operated separately organizing events "under a yahoo alias wsbawas@yahoo.com (ws standing for Washington State and bawas being bawas)," explained Anaheita. In 2012 the Iranian group approached the Parsis to explore the feasibility of establishing a Darbe Mehr in the Seattle area. Although the Darbe Mehr proposal was shelved when they realized that even the combined community strength would not be able to finance the structure, "it brought the Zoroastrians together." In 2013 Parsis joined ZSWS en masse and they are organizing and participating in events held by ZSWS. "Now we are working together to host the FEZANA (Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America) AGM from May 16-18, 2014," reports Anaheita.