Bicycle travel, how safe/ practical is it?

xealot

Thanks for the advice and encouragment Jens, I certainly won't be sleeping in tents no.
And yes you will definetely get to hear all about it ... eventually.

Travelingbhat

The drive from Ranakpur to Kumbalgarh to Udaipur is very scenic, lush and interesting. The roads are hilly, mountainous and narrow but the scenary is gorgeous and people are very nice. Maybe you can bus from Jodhpur to Ranakpur and then bike??? Just a thought. I recently did this route in a car and havent really biked myself but I went biking in Myanmar and this section of the trip reminded me of my biking trip.

bijapuri

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tnog

Hi Xealot,

I stumbled on your thread about bicycle touring in India. I recently finished a three week solo bicycle tour through Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Started in Calicut, rode down the coast to Kanyakamuri and finished in Trichy. My first time bike touring ever, and a short trip overall at about 1000 km.


I've written about some of the experiences that I had in my blog: http://www.giantcamera.net (look under the bike trip links)

Though the entries are nowhere near complete. Mike Vermuelen's? website was an excellent resource that I used for my trip:

http://www.mvermeulen.com/oneyear/india.htm

If this hasn't been mentioned in the previous posts:


My recommendation would be to purchase a proper bicycle at home, ride it for a few months and get used to it. Try riding a few days a week, start small like five miles, then work your way up to ten, twenty, thirty miles.

Myself, after my experiences, I'm not really sure that I would have tried riding around India on a one-speed Atlas! But then who knows?

If you enjoy riding a bicycle long distances at home, then when you get to India it should be a snap. You'll be familiar with your bike and know it's quirks.

For example, I pretty much thought I knew my bike inside/out, and I was used to long distance 80-120 km rides.

But when I rode 80-100km a day for four days in a row, and threw in the odd 140-160 km day, I discovered that the bike didn't quite fit me as well as I had thought and the consequences were painful!

It's like shoes. Would you set out on a hiking expedition somewhere and purchase your hiking boots after you arrive? Er...o.k. even if they have the right shoes, in your size, would you want to break them in hiking through the middle of nowhere? Or what if you arrive and go to the local shoe-store and all they have are flip-flops?

Probably wouldn't be the best idea? And there are far fewer moving parts in shoes.

As far as the solo female thing goes, sorry, I can't really say (I'm a dude), but the south seems a little more laid back than the north in general. Kerala is a pretty progressive state in many respects. It has a high literacy rate, and unlike the north, many working class people speak some basic English.


I never once felt like I was ever in a situation where I was threatened. Neither by man or beast. Though there were some incidents with annoying young guys on motorbikes. Otherwise the overwhelming majority of the people I met were kind and warm. In fact, my arm got sore from waving back at people who waved at me!

If there were ever any instance where I was in a jam, (or even seemed like I was in a jam). Someone would always stop (more often a crowd of people) and they would offer their help.

Of course, you get frustrated. And it's difficult too. But that's India. Of course there are some videshi folks who get all flustered crossing the street in Connaught Place. But then, you know, maybe they should've stayed home in the first place.

But allright, I digress. If you have any specific questions about touring please feel free to ask...


cheers,

Tak

machadinha

Reading about something completely different I stumbled across this, forgive me for not checking to see if it's been brought up before: A Brief Guide to Bicycle Touring In North India + Nepal, check the homepage too by all means. (Actually I was looking for the Cycle Federation of India which appears to exist but not to have a website. A Google search on it will yield a couple of relevant results though, the site mentioned has contact details on them.)

The International Bicycle Fund also seems worthwhile for general info.

Lonely Planet's India guidebook has a pretty good if necessarily short few pages on bicycle travel actually.

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xealot

Thanks Machadinha (for your wonderful ongoing assistance) and Tak. I hadn't seen that Breif guide before, its quite nifty.

Tak I'd love to talk to you about your trip! do you have msn? otherwise I'll just hassle you with PMS here (private messages that is .. i'm not going to get all hormonal and anrgy at you :P)

Cheerio all

xealot

Lol I just came back to bump my thread and ask some more qs (I'm difficult to satisfy I know ) and re-reading my last post I'm starting to worry it scared people off!

Travelingbhat... I have decided to include the area you suggested, and it's surrounds "The drive from Ranakpur to Kumbalgarh to Udaipur is very scenic, lush and interesting." in my trip (thanks for the suggestion )

I was just wondering if you had travelled enough in this area to be able to give a rough estimate of typical distances between towns (town = any habitated location where i will be able to find safe/dry accomodation and something to eat) If I go ahead with this bicycle trip I will carry food and such with me but I don't want to be forced to ride stupendous distances between towns as I don't feel safe about the idea of sleeping outside .... and if I have to ride large daily distances I want to be prepared for it

All comments very much appreciated ... thanks again

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xealot

2cents... I'm planning to start in Tamil Nadu and then go up the coast of Kerala, so your comments are reassuring Any tips for good ares to cycle through in Kerala? ... I'd like to go off the beaten track so any map/road/village reccomendations would make my day

durian

I definitely agree with williaam. Some drivers are incredibly aggressive and will pass cars/trucks even when there is oncoming traffic. That oncoming traffic could be you. I experienced today many situations where the oncoming traffic had to brake and a couple of times where the oncoming traffic had to go to the shoulder.

I have also seen drivers come up to 2-wheelers and cyclists and tap the horn. I am not sure why they do that - there seems to be enough space to pass them. I have also seen drivers beep at cyclists as they are passing them. Amazingly these two-wheelers and cyclist just ignores the drivers beeping the horn. I guess the rule is that if you don't acknowledge the driver behind you, then there is a chance you didn't know they are there (even though they are beeping you), therefore you don't have to sweve off the road to let them through. This, however, will only make the driver hit the horn more frequently in the hopes that you will eventually notice them.

From what I have seen, cyclists and 2-wheelers are constantly beeped at, squeezed and sometimes forced off the road.

I have only been here for 5 days and have already seen two accidents on Hosur Road - one with a pool of blood on the road.

rahul1000

well, i feel too hot to go on a bike at this time, add motor to it and then i nfeel its worth. For a female treveller it can be little difficult but its ok. Adventure should be a part of life, dare it. best of luck.