Cycle touring in India has it’s extremes, from the most enjoyable to the damn right frustrating. India offers everything, coastal palm fringed pathways, high altitude mountain passes, tropical forests & off course, mass cultivated open flat plains.
The biggest problem you’ll encounter is knowing what particular area will bring the best quality of good cycling. This totally depends upon what you want from the trip. National Highways are to be avoided, unless you fancy going 10 Rounds with a TATA truck !! The driving mentality is the worst in the world, you’ll see many accidents on a long trip, but allways remember the one law of indian drivers, "might is right".
I’m not about to explain what particular states & areas offer varying degress of scenery, or what planning is needed, for this can be found in any typical toilet paper, er, guide book.
A short note, regarding drinking water though, bottled mineral water is available throughout India, though the term mineral is heavily misused, as most of it is just treated tapwater. In remote areas, off the tourist scene, generally bottled water is not available, theres no point, as the locals just drink well & tap water. It’s a good idea to take iodine purifying pills or a good quality water filter, (remember..filters only generally remove pathogens, such as guardia & NOT bacteria) Iodine kills everything. Glass bottled soda water is sold at every road side kiosk, for just 4 to 5 rupees. It may not be chilled, but a refreshing fresh lemon soda is a good alternative to self treated water & it makes a good stop off to meeting the locals, ( or should I say been watched by them) as the more mechanically minded will fathom out & ponder how a geared cycle works, something rarely seen.
Prepared to be stared at constantly. Women cyclists should not return staring glances, indian men may class this as a come on. Everyone will want to know where tour going & why on earth your doing it on a cycle. To be bluntly honest, India is not the easiest of countries to cycle around, due to the people factor & many cyclists sum up India with the words "never again..", though yet to say, the warmth & generosity of the people will bould you over.
Hope you enjoy it…
A quick note regarding road maps. To put a fine point on it, all so called detailed maps available in & out of the country are "shite". They can be trusted for only major highways & main roads & are NOT intended for K conscious cyclists. It’s as if the publishes link the main towns & cities in the morning, drop a few tabs of acid in the afternoon, then have a good old laugh drawing in the local roads to fill up space. Also take all info regarding distances on local roads with a pinch of salt.
TTK fold out state maps are available in major towns & cities & Lonely Planet also publish a travel atlas. Both don’t really provide the info you need. The only sure way is by asking the locals.
BUS
Getting your bike on top of the bus is easy. Go on the roof & make sure it’s well secured personally, even lock it to the roof frame if your a paranoid bastard, like myself. Whatever transport charge is asked, offer half or what seems reasonable & be prepared to argue.
TRAIN
For most journeys on passanger trains (starting & ending at any station), your bicycle can be booked in as luggage & will be placed in the luggage carriage. Arrive at least 1 hour before departure, where you will be asked to fill out a form & the transport cost is generally half of a 2nd class ticket adult ticket. For Express trains, this is slightly more complicated, as from our experience, your cycle can only be booked into the luggage carriage, directly from the originating station. This is due to the luggage carriage been sealed. You will need an identification board (about the size of an A4 paper), with name, frame no, starting & ending station. A word of warning, transporting your cycle by train is when it will suffer the most damage, allways protect the seat & gear shifters at a minimum. Do not take any shit about it being "our responsibilty now", as you see your loving cycle been physically thrown into the carriage. Loading porters have no concept of delicate. I’ve had tyres gashed, ripped seats & damaged de-railers.
