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.

Any advice you could give would be most appreciated! Thanks

 

[Bowkes]

Hi,
Not sure whether you got any further with planning this trip, but if its of any interest I'm heading out to India soon to cycle from Manali up to Ladakh and maybe spend some time cycling through Spiti. Would be looking to hook up with other cyclists en route for some moral support!

Steve (UK)

 

[storminnorm]

Hi,
Not sure whether you got any further with planning this trip, but if its of any interest I'm heading out to India soon to cycle from Manali up to Ladakh and maybe spend some time cycling through Spiti. Would be looking to hook up with other cyclists en route for some moral support!

Steve (UK)

hi steve,
haven't done much planning yet, but i wont be out there till end of the year 2010 - guess you will have been and gone by then? would be good to meet other cyclists though. good luck with your planning and have a great time in india!

 

[Thylacine]

hi steve,
haven't done much planning yet, but i wont be out there till end of the year 2010 - guess you will have been and gone by then? would be good to meet other cyclists though. good luck with your planning and have a great time in india!

I've backpacked that exact route, so I guess I might be able to help.

I'll start off by saying I wouldn't cycle this route. It's a heavy backpacking route and it's mayhem basically. I can't remember the scenery being that interesting either.

One thing the route has got going for it though is the whole Agra, Taj Mahal, Amber Fort, Varanasi thing. There's some good attractions along the way and as with all of India, you'll never be bored.

Actually, the more I think of it, the more I think "why bother?" There's a million other places I'd rather ride a bike lol

 

[swampy1970]

There's probably quite a few organised Tours available. I know there were quite a few that were organized in England about a decade ago that'd take crazy routes around Nepal up some insane mountain ascents that were geared for someone who was hardcore into mountain bikes. There were a few easier trips too. The 'odd' thing was that they said they'd have guys with guns accompany the riders... Nice!

Personally, if I was a just graduated from Uni gal, I'd shy away from somewhere that you'd bring a nice randsom... If you must end up providing some 'adult entertainment' against your will, I hear that Tijuana pays better and has less chance of death than New Delhi, Janakpur or Kathmandu...

I'd rather take a tour through South America, the Alps or even just taking a trek across from the Rockies in Colorado, through Moab and down through the Grand Canyon towards Vegas... after a few nights of debauchery, head up through Death Valley and up through the Sierras uptowards Kings Canyon and Yosemite...

Thylo - I know Australia has got a million miles of outback - but are there any really interesting places to go treking/riding?

 

[Thylacine]

Thylo - I know Australia has got a million miles of outback - but are there any really interesting places to go treking/riding?

I'm not the expert here because I've only just MTB'd within Victoria, but I know there is the Tassie Trail which goes the length of Tassie (bbp has done it, looks awesome - but its an MTB trail), as is the Mawson Trail, which is nearly 600kms long and starts in Adelaide.

This is a good thread on longer rides in Oz. Might be worth getting in contact with Audax, too.

 

[swampy1970]

I'm not the expert here because I've only just MTB'd within Victoria, but I know there is the Tassie Trail which goes the length of Tassie (bbp has done it, looks awesome - but its an MTB trail), as is the Mawson Trail, which is nearly 600kms long and starts in Adelaide.

This is a good thread on longer rides in Oz. Might be worth getting in contact with Audax, too.

Thanks. I'll save that info just incase I ever get chance to use it...

 

[Grace Johnson]

Laura, you might want to consider buying a bicycle in India. Price of a bicycle - India Travel Forum | IndiaMike.com Than you wouldn't have to cycle in and out of the overcrowded Indian cities such as Delhi or Varanasi. You could leave Delhi by bus, than in a small town, buy a bike and off you go. Than when you are finished, just sell the bike back to a bike shop.

We have cycled along the Nepalese Terai - and we really enjoyed it, see: Impressions from bicycle travels

 

[Sebastian Wever]

It is the worst part of India, don't do it. It is not good for cycling. There is so much more. The mountains in Himachal and Uttar Pradesh are very beautiful. Very cold in winter! Terai in nepal is easy (flat) Take a left to Tansen, Pokhara, is a nice road with good views. Also the old King's road (Rajpath) from Hetauda to Daman and then down again is very nice.

osmosno

 

[worldtourjon]

Hi Laura

I am also planning a world trip at about the same sort of time. I'll be in India from 5th Nov 2010 for about 3 months. My initial reaction was to do the same thing however re the luke warm reaction on here and elsewhere the alternative to train across is probably the better option. I didn't initially think about going to Nepal but for some reason I was attracted going to Everest...just because I can

I would quite like to do some form of organised cycling in India though, however I'm not sure how the logistics would work. Would be interested to chat see if you've come up with anything though.

As part of my trip (which I'll post elsewhere) I'm planning on cycling across the US when I get there. Fly to LA up to San Francisco and then cycle over to the East coast. Organising this is...difficult to say the least Now I am not naive enough to think it will be plain sailing and perfectly safe, but my young, gung ho attitude is compelling me to rely mainly on cheap motels and camping in the wild. Something I'd love to do in India but...it just doesn't seem as plausable...does anyone else have experiance of this?

Anyway laura please message me if you want to discuss cycling in India and we can see if we can trade info and dates

Jon

 

[boagy]

Laura did you end up doing this trip and if so how did you go as I am thinking of doing something similar this year thank you.

[email protected] Frank.