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pyze-guy
02-26-04, 09:12 PM
I was wondering if anyone had any info on this or any other city in India. I have the tour books, lonely planet et al., but they have very limited knowledge on biking. I am moving to Bangalore in Aug for at least one year and would welcome any info at all.
Willie Weir (http://www.willieweir.com/) has a section on touring India in his Spokesongs (http://www.willieweir.com/SpokeSongs.shtml) book. More travelog than anything else but there is a bunch of quality info. For instance he points out the most hotels listed in "the Bible" (the Lonely Planet Book) are so successful due to the listing that the quality has gone down the prices up. You can stay in much nicer and cheaper places by avoiding the ones in the bible. I recently saw his lecture on cycling in India and it was fascinating.
pyze-guy
02-28-04, 01:05 AM
Cool, thanks I will check it out. Our housing is paid for by the school so no need to worry about lodging.
Roughstuff
02-28-04, 11:13 AM
I was wondering if anyone had any info on this or any other city in India. I have the tour books, lonely planet et al., but they have very limited knowledge on biking. I am moving to Bangalore in Aug for at least one year and would welcome any info at all.
I can't beat lonely planet for their hostorical accuracy; but still, Bangalore and Mysore were once capitals of princely states and have incredible palaces and buildings to see.
Now, about riding in india: you wil love love love it. India was my FAVORITE country for cycling, and whenever i find myself wondering about whether humanity has a future or not, i remember the people of India and their wonderful countryside. (this is during the cool dry season...hahah). If you ride in the country, there are a zillion 'wild camping' places, and also alot of open air restaurant/truck stop type places, which Kipling referred to as paraos where you can get a meal, wash up completely at a small bath adjacent to the place, and sleep that night on a rope bed. Sometimes they will charge to sleep there, other times not. It might be a bit noisy if some truckers pull in. I often would camp across the street in a field where i could stretch out in my tent (the rope beds are very short, I am 6'3"). I would also be protected from mosquitos...make sure ya take your malaria medications.
On my trip thru india i came in from Lahore, went as far north toward the Himalayas as the weather would permit (I was there from Dec 15 to Feb 30), then turned right around and went all the way south tom Karnataka, riding alot in the western Ghats (Which i loved!). The I turned right around again and went to Calcutta, where I flew over Myanmar to Thailand. I stayed in the rural areas all the time...no cities for me!! You will love india for cycling and i am getting jealous thinking about it, so I must stop writing....
roughstuff