cycling india

[wong57]

Hi has anyone cycled up or down the west coast of India, I'm only thinking of a short section from Nagercoil to Marari but part of it takes in the NH66 ?

[simonhill]

I've travelled all the way down to Kanyakumari (bottom tip) once and as far as Thiruvananthapuram twice. Although I always took the ferries between Allaphuza and Kollam.

It was in late 90s and early 2 thous.

What's your point?

If you look on Google maps, streetview.you can see what that section of the highway is like.

[wong57]

Thanks for replying Simon, Sorry might point was I didn't think your were ment to cycle on the National highways, on Google maps though I think I could probably stick closer to the coast and avoid it.
Cheers Paul

[simonhill]

I agree you can avoid most of the Highway, but if you look at it on streetview there are plenty of small motorbikes. Also in some parts it's no more than a normal 2 lane road.

No idea about rule of no cycling but it's maybe only on motorway equivalent roads, not this (in part) 2 lane one.

If there's no cycling, then you sometimes run into problems with bridges as no other way to cross a river, but the one I looked at has a sidewalk on either side.

Carefully check out any small coastal roads as they have a habit of disappearing into a sandy track. Nonetheless it all looks pretty good to me.

[wong57]

Yeah brilliant thanks Simon it'll be fine

[AndyB1]

There are a lot of major road improvements happening in India. Last year on NH66 further North I felt safe (and was legal) cycling on the hard shoulder of a multi-lane lane dual carriageway section around Panaji which took me over a long suspension bridge. A few miles further on the modern multi-lane hiway returned to being 2 lanes each way with a drop on the side to a rough stoned hard shoulder - that was not so nice so I went off onto side roads. Luckily locals also have to travel so there is (usually) an alternative route on smaller roads.

I am heading out there again this year and plan to ride from Hubli to Hampi then West to the coast and Northwards along the coast to Mumbai - I have just started writing a Journal on CycleBlaze.

[wong57]

Thanks Andy, did you and will you be getting the Rabies vaccine for your next visit?

[AndyB1]

Rabies? I checked with my Doctor that my inoculations were up to date on things like tetanus, typhoid etc but Rabies was not mentioned.

[rualexander]

Something to bear in mind if going to India (or a few other countries) if you have a Garmin Inreach device or similar.
What about the newer iPhones which have satellite SOS capabilities?

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/sco...- ... rt-7389269

And what happens in the next year or so when the upcoming 'Direct to Cell' satellite networks such as Starlink D to C get up and running properly?
Does everyone carrying a regular mobile phone into India become a potential law breaker, or does India change its laws?

[pq]

Years ago I rode down the coast from Mumbai to Goa. From Mumbai you take a ferry across the estuary to quiet roads on the other side, so no battling out of the city. From there, the old coast road carries almost no traffic because there are no bridges across the rivers - you have to take ferries. The traffic is on a new road further inland. I've ridden in India quite a lot and for me, whether I enjoy the ride or not has a lot to do with careful route planning to avoid busy roads, so I would never simply "ride down the west coast". No doubt in places that would be nice, in others a nightmare.

[AndyB1]

As you say, between Mumbai and Goa the traffic routes further inland - on NH66. The only real ‘pinch point’ on the coast I found last year was riding further South from Panaji where NH66 comes back to the coast and seemed the only option - but did have a cycle lane / hard shoulder as shown in my photo of the suspension bridge.

Between Mumbai and Goa there are various bridges across rivers near the coast ‘under construction’, which have been that way for years. The classic one is on the South side of the river estuary North of Arambol where there is a concrete ‘motorway bridge’ that climbs up and points out over the water. It is visible on Google maps. A small car ferry makes the journey across the water so no problem on a bike.

If anyone is thinking of heading out there my Journal ‘Mumbai to Goa’ on Cycleblaze covers my trip earlier this year.

I believe that dedicated GPS units are not legal in India but most people have them built into their phones and mobile phone useage is very high so no worries there.

A photo of the ‘coast road’ MS H4 (Maharastra State, Hiway 4).

[AndyB1]

I am in India at the moment, I have a Journal on the Cycleblaze website, and a couple of things that may help others
1. I did not mean to use modern National Hiways which are dual carriageways but they seem safer than the older roads. If a section has tolls then cars seem to avoid using tit and traffic density is generally low with a good hard shoulder to ride on. I can not say it is like that everywhere but in some places India has inadvertently built some great cycling roads (OK, a bit boring if used all the time)
2. Bikes on trains. On a short haul Mumbai train I booked the bike as luggage after buying my own ticket and sat in the luggage carriage with it.
On a 15hour overnight train I booked it in a few hours before departure and had it wrapped at the station in old sacking, then collected it the next day at my destination
The Mumbai train cost £2, the overnight train £0.90! Plus a packing charge of £2. So moving bikes on railways seems possible.
3. Accommodation. There always seems to be somewhere in towns but few places in rural areas.