KOLKATA, India (AP) — It took 68 days for Satyen Das to laboriously pedal his rickety, self-remodeled bicycle rickshaw from the seaside Indian city of Kolkata to the roof of the world — a 5,369-meter (17,600-foot) Himalayan pass. His goal: to promote the vehicle as an environmentally sound travel option.

As he pedaled toward the top of Khardung La on the world’s highest motorable pass, he remembered the words of his wife and 9-year-old daughter: “You must complete this mission.”