Finally after the long covid pandemic I felt ready to get back on the bicycle and see if this old body can hold up for another long distance ultra-light cycle tour. I had to get to Nepal by early January (visa reasons) so I really planned on a direct ride up through the Deccan plateau, Bijapur, Nagpur, Jabalpur, Allahabad, and all the places in between. I didn’t have any idea that the highways for the most part would be in such a good condition. It may be sometimes boring but there is something to be said for the smooth and wide. Not that there weren’t some horrific sections of roadworks and even some rain and mud. The toughest days of the whole trip were the first day, up Anmod ghat with a terrible stretch of road before Khanapur, and the last two days in Nepal, also mostly because of really terrible road conditions. There is no doubt though that the most challenging was often in the towns and cities when after an exhausting day’s cycling the noise, traffic and potholes can really tax the nerves. It only took me 21 days, around 2500 kms. from home in Goa to Pokhara. . I averaged 115 kms. per day with no rest day. My pattern is pretty much the same now. The day before I plan the next day’s route, usually aiming for 80 to `120 kms. I do want to end up at a town that is big enough to have a lodge. I like to be in that town or city by about 3,4, or 5 o’clock. Then, if I don’t immediately see any lodge I just ask any rickshaw guy hanging about where I might find one. They are always most helpful, and I might add also for giving advice on directions (the traditional method in India before gps came along). When I find a lodge, or even like in Nagpur, a hotel (I am not fussy), I of course speak in Hindi. The reason for this, besides it being the lingua franca wherever you go, except T.N., is the bloody “C:” form, the curse of cycle tourists in India. I have a Maharashtrian drivers license and that makes all the difference in the world. I did not have to show my passport once in all of my travels. Any tourist though that doesn’t have an adhaar card or any other Indian photo id has to fill out the c form. Lodges usually don’t have these or do not want the hassle of filling them out and sending them to the local CID office. Instead they say to the foreigner who just wants a bed for the night that the lodge is full. When will this useless, anachronistic colonial-era regulation be done away with?
Experiences on the road
Very often while cycling along a highway a motorcycle would come up alongside and start to chat, or of course anytime I stopped for snacks, water, or food. Loneliness on the road is impossible. The questions are usually the same- where are you going to, coming from, which country, and above all how old are you. It is all very friendly and just curiosity. Maybe because I am cycling alone I always enjoyed the chitchats. Whether it was Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh or Uttar Pradesh, even after seeing that I was a foreigner I was always addressed in Hindi, except the hotel in Nagpur. And, if I hadn’t been able to read the word “lodge” written in Devanagari script it would have been more difficult to find a place to stay for the night.
My first requirement on finding a lodge for the night, and I never bothered to inspect the room before registering, was warm water. As any Indian will know, warm water for baths is always provided in the mornings but i needed it after a long cycle ride. And even if it was a 300 rupee a night place it was always provided. After that depending on the time, I did some map/app reading, and after that- what has become an essential part of my cycling day,- finding a cold, strong beer. I never like drinking or eating in my hotel room and instead like to go out and find these dirty, seedy dark places, usually not even bars, but rooms behind wine shops. From what I can tell they don’t seem to vary much from state to state or maybe that is something that requires more research.. In these dingy places usually no-one pays much attention to me and that suits me fine. Getting drunk quickly is the task at hand.. It is fun to observe, sometimes have a chat, and of course I am also there for the same reason. After that it is time to find a place to eat. I like non-vegetarian for dinner and I always find a decent place. Below are some photos of a particularly good rustic family run eatery somewhere in Maharashtra. Better food could not be had at any 5 star restaurant.
I didn’t meet any other cycle tourist along the way, but some morning cyclists were very friendly, Yeotmal, Nagpur and Nepal. Some other smart-ass cyclists- I can’t remember where- couldn’t even be bothered to say hi. Somewhere along the way in a small city unaware to me my phone had fallen from its holder. About 100 meters up the road 2 guys in a rickshaw pulled ahead of me and held out my phone. What angels. It would have been a disaster to have lost it.
Nepal
In Pokhara I didn’t cycle very much. i was there to visit with Deepak and his family. I love that small city and the quality of life there. I did some mountain biking but mostly just relaxed. After a week we headed south along the same road I had taken coming up to Pokhara visiting the relatives along the way. It is always interesting but in the terai where Deepak’s mother and other relatives live it was very foggy and cold. We eventually made it to Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) for a flight to Mumbai.
Mumbai to Goa
I decided to cycle down to Goa from Mumbai, the same as I had done in 2019. I didn’t take the same route but some roads seemed familiar. Cycling down from Mahim to Gateway in rush hour traffic, then getting on the ferry, and the cycle ride to Alibaug is a pretty fantastic way to set out. The roads have improved dramatically from the state they were in 4 years ago, especially the stretches of SH 4 that is part of the route. In Murud (Raigad) I was refused a place in the inn because of the “C” form I had mentioned in the previous post. Luckily another place up the road had no problem. Last time I had missed Harnai, instead going straight to Dapoli. That was a mistake. Harnai is an interesting place. Besides a beautiful beach there is a fish auction that is supposed to be very interesting. There are enough stretches of bad roads and areas where there is really limited places to stay. I stayed in a real dump in Jaitapur because I was just so exhausted. Along the way I caught up with another cycle tourist, then another and another…….There were 49 with YHAI from all over India on hybrid bikes and support vehicles. They were a very friendly bunch and I enjoyed their company for a couple of days. Then, also going in the same direction i came upon Chris and Haz, from the U.K., on their non-fussy cycle ride down the Western Ghats to Kochi and then southeast Asia. We met up somewhere after Ratnagiri and spent the next couple of days meeting up along the way, dinner together in Malwan and eventually spending the night in Porvorim (Goa) at good friend Sylvano:’s place. Next day I headed for home and they spent a couple of days in north Goa. They came here to my place, spent a couple of days and then after breakfast in Karwar we said goodbye. It was pure pleasure spending time with them. Their blog is excellent.. Here is the link https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3d2&doc_id=24772&v=Ai. Haz also made a very nice youtube video of their Mumbai to Kochi ride https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUKshNwQxp0&t=7s
This coastal route between Mumbai and Goa is spectacular for cycling. There is a lot of climbing, stunning views, completely un-commercialized beaches, very little traffic, and a feeling of remote rural Maharashtra. For navigation I got some good advice from the YHAI guys and locals. Although I love the magic of GPS I use it very little for navigation these days. Part of the way arrows had been painted on the pavement, remnants of some previous event. Thanks to whoever- sometimes that was very useful. The second day of my tour, from Murud to Harnai I have rated as probably my best day of cycling ever. The countryside was beautiful, roads great, no traffic, What more can you ask for? The route I took this time had 4 ferry crossings and in total took me 6 days. One thing I did differently this time was from Malwan, instead of going down through Vengurla, I took a beautiful road east and caught NH 66 at Kudal. From there it may be a boring 4 lane road but sometimes that is nice too. .
