BLOG

This would need a bit of preamble. I did this trip starting on 15th of June 2009. I wrote it after coming back, well almost wrote it. Initially I had a feeling this could even be publishable :P. Mailed the first 3 chapters to some publishers (we can always hope right?), who promptly replied back with, “We are not interested in this genre”. That made me just forget about the whole issue.

on the road

Something to note before starting to read: It has invariably happened that when people come to know of this, they first get flabbergasted. Then after getting to know the details, they are like, oh…that is not such a big deal. And indeed it is not such a big deal. I rode, something like 1100 km in around 9 days of riding. Comes out to about 120 kms a day average. I have seen guys who commute 80 kms daily to work. In fact recently saw a blogpost about a cyclist who did 370 km in one day. To be fair my trip was in the peak of summers, and I was always carrying around 6 liters of water + some luggage. And my bike was an MTB, not meant for such long rides. Think of this as an alternate kind of travelogue. I believe that the speed with which you travel has a direct affect on the things you are able to observe. Also your though process is different. Without further delay, here is the first day of my trip. Have a few more days written. Will definitely write down the remaining days of which I have notes, tweets etc. Thanks to Sudarshana and Shilpa for copyeditting and other related helps.
(more…)

I am back after my 15 day solo cycling trip from Delhi to kathmandu. The trip deserves a detailed travelogue, which I have started writing. What can’t wait is the space invader graffiti I saw in Thamel, Kathmandu.  Obviously by Invader , it looked the part amidst mero mobile and hotel signs. Though none of the local people knew anything about it.

Kathmandu is very cosmopolitan, must say.

[live tweets during the solo cycling trip to nepal]

http://twitter.com/kaargocult

Tha last few days have been exhausting. Not only the training I have been doing, but also planning the logistics. For training I started with around 15 kms a day, a week earlier. The next day was 35 km, 45km, 55km, consecutively. And most riding I have done is during the peak hours. Have learnt a thing or two about exerting your body for a long time in the hot summers, will write a complete post about the diet and things to do to counter he heat.

The  major problem was the logistics. Most of these things I have sorted out, but some still remain. This is the list of things I have purchased or arranged:

• Cycling tights - got it from adventure 18 dhaula kuan. Will look a little alien in rural india, but will save my butt a few rashes.
• Gel filled seat covers - again butt protection
• A local cycle carrier from Chandni Chowk cycle market - cost Rs. 70, compared to Rs 400 for the firefox carrier. Mine can support my weight while the firefox carrier could take maximum around 20 kgs. Mine is around 800 gms while the firefox would be around 500gms
• Had changed the firefox tubes to normal tubes - Difference is in the nozzle, firefox has bike nozzle by default. I am not planning to carry any puncture kit or pump. The logic being that on highways there are always punture fixer every few kms. Also it is easy to get a lift and take the cycle on a tractor or a truck to the next puncture fixer. And these guys mostly have the cycle pump, not the bike pump. I have also bought a brass nozzle with which I could pump my tyres with a bike pump. So I am pump proof, I can fill my tyres with any pump.
• Purchased a gerber multipurpose knife. I am emotionally weak towards knives :P. I can’t find my model on their site, but this is very similar.
• 2 bags - Couldn’t find any panniers that could go straight to the back of my cycle. Scoured Nabi Karim market in Karol Bagh, and actually did find something I could use. But they refused to sell only 2 pieces. They sell minimum of 6. This was after I couldn’t get any at Adventure18 and Stikage. Will do a dry run tying the bags with some stuff inside. I believe they would jingle jangle a lot, and if they do would have to get a small frame custom welded.
• A rubber mat - For naps along the way or if I stay at a dhaba to put it over the khatiya. Prevents mosquitoes biting from below.
• update (13th jun) - Bought a pentax optio 750z point and shoot camera. Pretty good interface and has manual controls, everything for Rs. 8.5k. And it is built like a rock, totally a man’s camera. This was Sweta’s discovery.

Things still left:

• Stocking up on some emergency food, salts and essential medicines.
• Shades
• A tube (for the tyre in case of no availability)

To learn more about this trip, this is the tag you need to follow - triptonepal

Feel free to take prints and put it on your office noticeboards.
hee HAA haaa hAA

sponsors are welcome.
mail at kDOTaDOTanandATgmailDOTcom