“She started running behind me, with her tail wagging and hope in her eyes. That is when I decided to adopt her…..”

It was a moment that would change everything. On a dusty stretch of highway near Delhi, a young cyclist named Sonu Raj had just pulled over to help a wounded puppy lying in the middle of the road.

Like he had done for more than 50 stray dogs during his journey, he intended to move her to safety, nurse her briefly, and carry on. But fate, as it often does, had other plans.

As he resumed pedaling, thinking he’d left her in good hands, the little dog sprang up—limping but determined—and began trailing behind him. “There was no turning back after that,” Sonu recalls, smiling.

Today, Sonu and that once-injured pup, now affectionately known as Charlie, are inseparable. Together, they’ve become the internet’s favourite duo, cycling across the length and breadth of India with nothing but a second-hand cycle, a heart full of compassion, and a shared spirit of adventure.

A boy, a cycle, and a dream

Sonu Raj is just 20 years old. Born in the heart of Nalanda, Bihar, he spent most of his childhood with his grandparents while his parents worked as master masons in Chennai. He was in the third year of college when he decided to quit—trading books and benches for wheels and roads.

To fund his dream, Sonu did everything from delivering newspapers to giving tuition. Eventually, he saved enough to buy a second-hand bicycle, and in 2023, his journey began—first on foot, walking 400 kilometres to Ayodhya for the Ram Mandir inauguration, then on wheels toward Ladakh.

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“We all have that perception that you need a lot of money to travel. But I learned that if you have the will, people along the way will help you. You just have to be okay with the harsh conditions,” he says.

From the snowy slopes of Khardung La to the temples of Ujjain, Sonu has now traveled over 14,000 km, covering 15 states and three union territories.

A chance encounter with Sonam Wangchuk

One of the defining moments in Sonu’s journey came when he reached Ladakh — after walking 500 km through mountainous terrain where cycles just wouldn’t roll. There, he met renowned environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, who inspired Aamir Khan’s character in 3 Idiots.

“He was impressed that I cycled all the way for the environment. He gifted me a new cycle in support,” Sonu says, his eyes gleaming. “It meant so much, not just because of the cycle but because someone I respected believed in me.”

That moment wasn’t just validation—it was fuel. It inspired him to dream........

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