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.