All stories tagged with "self-supported cycling"
Cycling the Sach Pass - 2.0
At 4,420 meters Sach pass is not among the highest ‘motorable’ passes in the country, but it is certainly one of the steepest and one of toughest to bicycle across. A couple of years ago, Punit and I failed to cycle across it (read about the last attempt to cycle across the Sach pass here. What are the chances that I’ll do better on a solo attempt?
It is a little after 4:00 pm and it has already been a tough day of cycling.
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12 minute read | 2547 words
#cycling, #adventures, #featured, #cycle touring, #cycling in the himalayas, #himachal pradesh, #saach pass, #self-supported cycling
Which is the best cycle for touring the Indian himalayas?
People often ask me what is the best cycle for touring the Himalayas. It is a hard question to answer, mainly because different people define ‘touring’ differently.
For instance, cycle touring may mean cycling hundreds of kilometers self-supported where the rider carries a tent, sleeping bag, cooking gear on the bike, and has the option to stop and camp wherever she fancies. However, many of the well established Himalayan routes can also be toured ultralight, by eating and sleeping in teahouses (dhabas).
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5 minute read | 1008 words
#cycling, #featured, #cycle touring, #cycling in the himalayas, #self-supported cycling, #cycling in india, #manali to leh
Cycling across the Sach Pass, Himachal Pradesh
Perhaps more appropriate to say ‘trying to’ cycle across the Sach Pass. And failing. We did our best, under the circumstances, and failed. No shame in that!
15 odd kilometers short of the Sach pass we had to turn around . The trail (can’t call it a road, even though it was wider than a typical single track) was so steep, and so full of slush that our bikes had no grip.
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2 minute read | 308 words
#cycling, #adventures, #cycle touring, #cycling in the himalayas, #himachal pradesh, #saach pass, #self-supported cycling
Storming of the Indorie Qila
We finally raised the PedalYatri flag on the Indorie Qila (Indorie Fort). Of course it was a notional one on wikimapia, but it felt special because two of our previous attempts of finding and reaching it had failed.
A very eventful ride with more than it’s fair share of punctures, dynamite blasts, tumbles, scraped knees, nicked & bruised shins, un-rideable terrain with boulders fields & deep undergrowth, and traffic jams too.
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3 minute read | 607 words
#cycling, #cycle tour in india, #self-supported cycling, #bicycle adventures, #cycling in india, #adventure travel, #indorie fort, #wilderness, #yashwantrao holkar
Why do I cycle?
First published in Times of India on October 29, 2010. Nice to be featured in the ‘Just4Her’ section of ‘What’s Hot’ ;-).
If you can afford to ride a motorcycle or a car, then why ride a cycle. Its a question that often gets thrown at me, though not always explicitly. More often than not, when I ride, locals mistake me to be a foreigner. Despite the colour of my skin, kids will shout out ‘angrez’ and adults will try to start a conversation in English.
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3 minute read | 500 words
#cycling, #cycle touring, #self-supported cycling, #bicycle adventures, #cycling in india, #adventure travel, #wilderness
Musings on self-supported cycle travel
I like the idea of self-supported cycle travel. It gives you a feeling of freedom, almost liberation from the constraints of ‘tourism’. Or at least that is what I thought. To put it to test, the first order of business was to acquire pannier bags (the bags that hang on the sides of the cycle). And then a pannier rack, on which the bags are attached. Once I had mounted the bags and done a couple of short local test rides, I felt I was ready for a real test ride in the mountains.
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4 minute read | 684 words
#cycling, #adventures, #cycle touring, #self-supported cycling, #bicycle adventures, #cycling in india, #adventure travel