india to nepal, please advise a newbie!

[storminnorm]

Hi, my name is Laura and I'm planning a 'gap' year, now that I've graduated from University.

I am interested in cycling from India into Nepal. Having Googled all day I have only really found a route from New Delhi to Kathmandu.

Does anyone have any advice or experience, or even ideas of a bike route lasting about 2-3 weeks? Unlike most of you guys I don't have touring experience, and would prefer to do a medium intensity ride, without missing out on any sites that need visiting along the way.

I understand that a ride of this length would require alot of preparation and training. I would be going to India at the end of my gap year so i would not have a bike and woulod have to buy one out there!

Any advice you could give would be most appreciated! Thanks

 

[stephenjubb]

go to www.crazyguyonabike.com and do a search for journals of people who have done India this will give you a starting point.

Initial impressions are that you are big time jumping in at the deep end.

As an example your going to buy a bike out there. This is certainly possible but how will you know it will be suitable. Most people who undertake a tour of this magnatude know which bike they are using before they are going and have it all prepared and setup correctly.

You may find yourself with a bike totally inappropriate and does not fit, potentially ruining your tour. What will you do about bike repairs? What kit are you taking? Are you camping/hotelling/hostelling?Are you preparared to sleep wild?

what is your budget for equipment? What innoculations will you need? Have you any idea what it will be like there? Google Mark Beaumont (he cycled the world in 180 days and produced a documentary) he rode through there.

There is a lot more I could put.

In short you have the right approach, enthuiasm etc. Get the preparation right, some touring experience somewhere easy before you go and your chances will be greatly improved.

You are to be admired for attempting it, but do it right.

HTH

 

[andym]

My advice would be to buy or borrow the Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook which will give you a good idea of the things you need to think about.

I remember a while ago reading a post from someone (on here) who'd bought a bike in Goa and gone touring with it. That was an old-fashioned 'sit-up-and-beg' bike with maybe three gears - not the sort of thing you'd want for the mountains, but he had a really good time just taking things slowly. You don't necessarily have to take on a big physical challenge to have an experience to remember.

 

[storminnorm]

this is great guys thankyou

innoculations: i will be volunteering in africa, south america and india beforehand so i am aware that there are a lot of innoculations required!

moneywise i have saved (and borrowed) about 15 grand so i am very lucky that money isn't an issue.

im not expecting to tour in the way that you guys do - about 35-40 miles a day with buses or breaks when necessary - "You don't necessarily have to take on a big physical challenge to have an experience to remember" is more of what i'm going for!

I'll have a hunt for the goa bloke. and that book looks amazing! my brother is a bit of a mountain biking nut so i was planning to learn some maintainance and repairs stuff from him.

do you know anything about sponsored routes around there?

thanks guys

 

[andym]

I'll have a hunt for the goa bloke.

I meant to put a question mark after 'on here'.

In fact the post I was thinking of is this one.

 

[storminnorm]

good find. obviously another pro cyclist, but its a reassuring post. thanks!

 

[chirk2000ad]

You could try reading this as it contains a good section about the route you are proposing - of course everything will be out of date as regards places but the main thing to take is an adventurous spirit and sense of humour

by Barbara Savage

I just love this book - sometimes I just pick it up and read a few pages to get inspired and put a smile on!

I toured a bit of India in the 1990s by mountain bike and you really should just go and do it.
Be careful what time of year you go - it gets unbearable hot on the plains after about April onwards and a good dodd of your route takes in the very flat bit along the Ganges. I got heat stroke loads of times as I had no clue about not going out in the sun!!.
Wherever you go don`t rush!! Just amble along, don`t aim to get anywhere in a hurry so set really low daily mileages.

I would of thought you could buy something suitable out there as I saw loads of local mountain bikes that looked ok - you would be able to get them fixed locally dead easy.
The local sit up and beg bikes are also good - some with one speed some with three. When you hit the Himalayas I would have thought you would want mountain bike gears and thats why i flew with my marin there. Went around Garwhal (Rishikesh,Hardwar,Dehra Dun) then up to Himachal (Shimla, Manali, Dharamsala) and over to Zanskar and Ladakh(part way).

One thing I would look at if I went again and that is some way of filtering water such as a katadyn as I got really sick a couple of times. I have known other folk have giardia and other wierd bugs. When you are cycle exploring you are off the beaten track and sometimes you will have to drink loads of water (serious loads if summer) and if its poor quality you will get sick fast. Other guys on here might know more about filter systems but i would definately investigate if I was going again for a long trip.


Above all enjoy!!

 

[storminnorm]

the main thing to take is an adventurous spirit and sense of humour
Above all enjoy!!

all your comments have been really reassuring. i think that ambling along and taking it all would be perfect.
im really keen on this now, and i know where to start looking for routes and ideas.

the only think is now to try and convice someone to go with me!

thanks again

 

[Kirstie]

There's a book called something like 'cycling in the himalaya' which has just been published last year. I know the author of one of the chapters, and if his experience is anything to go by, and the quality of his writing, it will be a good book to get.

If you want to read my friend's journal his name is Peter Quaife and you can search for him by name on crazyguyonabike - his trip across Tibet is posted on there.

 

[chirk2000ad]

the only think is now to try and convice someone to go with me!

And if you can`t make sure that you go on your own - chances are you`ll meet someone doing the same route.

Or if you end up doing a sizeable chunk on your own have a much richer experience for getting out there and going for it!

 

[Rollon]

I havent cycled in India or Nepal but have been to the latter twice trekking. You have to go with the flow in these places and realise they do things differently to us, do not try to fight against it, it is a different culture and they have ways of doing things that may seem totally allien to us. However somehow they manage, and it works. When you stop to visit places, dont be surprised when kids surround you and offer to mind your bike (for a few ruppees) even though you may have a long security cable, take up their offer or you may have flat tyres or something else wrong with it when you return. Pay the money when you return to your bike, not before and they will look after it like it was their own.
Dave

 

[ad441]

I spent a couple of months cycling in the Himalayas earlier this year - though in India to the east of Nepal, mostly around Sikkim and the hills of West Bengal. I highly recommend it, though the hills would be near impossible on a local bike - you can get mountain bikes with proper gears in some of the larger cities in India, but bringing a bike with you is probably a much better option. British Airways will still fly bikes to India for no additional charge, though transporting bikes on Indian trains can be hard work.

The book mentioned earlier is Himalaya by bike by Laura Stone http://www.amazon.co.uk/Himalaya-Bike-Laura-Stone/dp/1905864043
It's well worth getting - she gives good advice on routes around India, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet and also on purchasing a bike suitable for this kind of riding.

People around Sikkim couldn't have been kinder - living in London it took a long time to adjust to being able to leave my bike unlocked outside. Never had any kids offer to 'mind' my bike in that manner - though you do have to get used to people fiddling with gears and brakes just because they're interested in how they work. People are quite bewildered as to why anyone would want to cycle in the mountains - particularly when you're assumed to be rich and bicycles are considered a mode of transport for people too poor to go by car/jeep. On the other hand younger people tend to have seen 'extreme' sports on tv and so can be quite excited by anything resembling a mountain bike.

Anyway, even if you've not much experience, I'd say go for it - I was pretty unfit when I started, but with that many hills you have no choice but to go slowly and you toughen up quite quickly. Main thing is to set yourself a relaxed schedule with plenty of days to rest/acclimatise inbetween cycling.

My journal:
http://adriancyclingtosikkim.blogspot.com/

 

[storminnorm]

yet more helpful and encouraging comments

this may be a bit naive, but i'm a 22 year old girl - is it really safe for me to be going around and potentially camping out alone?? i don't mind the solitude at all (actually it might be a bonus, going to my own agenda) but im not sure how wise it would be. any advice?

 

[chirk2000ad]

this may be a bit naive, but i'm a 22 year old girl - is it really safe for me to be going around and potentially camping out alone?? i don't mind the solitude at all (actually it might be a bonus, going to my own agenda) but im not sure how wise it would be. any advice?

Its a very good question and I think you need to think very carefully about it before you go. I have had many female friends and both of my sisters travel alone in India without any problems. You have to act very assertive and independent. In the more remote places the males only experience of a western woman is what they see on screen from Hollywood (or bollywood) and what they see in magazines and I suppose now what they see on the internet. As sex tends to dominate our culture it is hardly surprising that they have an over sexual impression of western women.
Directly confronting any man that tries to stare for any length of time that is inappropriate or tries to touch will probably be enough to embarras him away. Don`t put yourself into any trapped position with anyone and in my experience India is too crowded for camping out (except in the really high himalaya). You will find guest houses and inn in all places even the smallest villages and these will be cheap enough to stay in. If you cycle between towns you should be ok. Be careful not to get caught out after dark, but I woud extend that advice to anyone travelling Indias roads and not just females. The trucks and buses still travel at night riduculously fast and i was even on one bus where the driver turned off his lights!!

Carry your own padlock so you can lock yourself into rooms etc.

Of the travel stories I have heard from friends as a female you will be welcomed in by the local women as you move along and this would be a priveledged experience


regards chirk