Cycling in India

[pankajm]

Hi, I'm looking to go on a cycling tour in India for about 2 weeks. Any suggestions/recommendations would be highly welcome.

~ REC

 

[kikyyy]

Suicidal...especially for a person who has never been on Indian roads.
1) We do not have separate lanes for bicycles).
2) The rule on Indian roads is "Big rules, Small peopel stay out of the way" - hence lorrys rule Indian roads and bicyclists are expected to keep out of the way
3) Dangers - fast lorries, buses and cars. Chances of accidents = high. Presence of road patrol = low

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Contact the user Ramjam. You should climb from manali to rohtang pass or leh. If you dont have a bike you can rent a mtb(Trek) at old manali.

 

[ramjambunath]

To be honest, it's not the best time to go cycling in mid summer. I'm sure you're aware of that, so if you're going in the near future, within a couple of months, I'd suggest only hill stations in the northern most parts (can't stray south and have a tourist ride around this time, not in the heat and humidity anyway). Sikkim is a very good place to ride, but safety will be a bit of an issue on those winding highways. Manali's definitely the safest bet for a decent route. Though riding 500km all the way to Leh at altitude will be proper taxing. As Zam says, MTB bike, don't want to test out the failure of expensive road bikes.

Another suggestion, a rather obvious one, would be to avoid urban India. The roads are too busy for bike tourism.

Riding in India isn't suicidal by any means, not if the eyes and ears are on the road and not the Ipod.

 

[ramjambunath]

To be honest, it's not the best time to go cycling in mid summer. I'm sure you're aware of that, so if you're going in the near future, within a couple of months, I'd suggest only hill stations in the northern most parts (can't stray south and have a tourist ride around this time, not in the 40C heat and humidity anyway). Sikkim is a very good place to ride at this time of the year, but safety will be a bit of an issue on those winding highways. Manali's definitely the safest bet for a decent route. Though riding 500km all the way to Leh at altitude will be proper taxing. As Zam says, MTB bike, don't want to test out the stress failures of expensive road bikes.

Another suggestion, a rather obvious one, would be to avoid urban India as far as possible. The roads are too busy for bike tourism.

Riding in India isn't suicidal by any means, not if the eyes and ears are on the road and not the Ipod.