How to plan an all-India cycling tour?
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to planning a cycle tour across India. The size, colour, look and feel of the gloves you are going to wear, you have to decide for yourself. Ask most cyclists who have cycled India or even sections of it, how their planning worked for them and all of them will tell you the same thing. Throw your plans out of the window and work on your reason for travelling.
Most people who intend to backpack on a cycle do it with a theme. Most of their plans are impromptu and improvised based on a ton of factors. The plans are always subject to the place of stay, weather at the place during the visit, if one has found the right company and many other factors that are not under the traveller’s control. If the theme is of enjoying the landscapes of the destinations being visited, every plan that is made on the move has to revolve around the idea of sightseeing. One can not make plans to visit the 1000-year-old temple close by, followed by finding the best place for local food, and also do an adventure trek 10 Km away. If this is the case one may never be able to complete a tour. Even if they did, they wouldn’t be satisfied with all that they missed!
The answer to how to plan an all-India cycle tour is: choose a niche you enjoy, make the niche the central theme of your travel and plan everything only around the theme.
In this article, I’ll try to address how to choose your theme of travel wisely.
Ask yourself the question why do you want to travel across India?
Meditate on this question till you find your answers. You could be the person who plans the local trips with your friends because you enjoy their company. Or you could be the person who plans the trips because you enjoy a couple of days off from your hectic schedule and intend to relax in nature’s nest. Every travel has a reason and you need to find yours.
In my case, I enjoy travelling as I get to meet people everywhere I go. The idea of speaking with people from different cultures gets me up on my toes all excited. Being reared a Bangalorean all my life, I have only set foot out to one another place in my life which is Mysore only 150 Km away from home. I had the time of my life studying at Mysore for my Master’s degree as I got the opportunity to face a different culture I wasn’t used to. During my doctoral studies which I did in Bangalore, I enjoyed the company of people from all fronts of life from all corners of the country. This was the spark I needed to ignite my will to explore the nation for the various cultures that have shaped people here to be the way they are. What would I know how the life of a tea seller in Rajasthan is like? Or the school teacher in some remote location in the northeast?
I wouldn’t! I feel like a caged bird who hasn’t seen other birds with different feathers.
India is a land of heritage. It can provide answers to seekers with all questions in their minds. Architecture, food, traditions, history, breathtaking sights, wildlife, and maybe even introspection, could all be apt themes for your tour across India. If you have none of this in mind or a bit of all of this, define your journey that way. Maybe you intend to take it as it comes to learning whatever comes your way. Stick to your theme and do not deviate.
Why tour India for one specific reason over many?
As I mentioned earlier, it is impossible to cover everything in one go. It is extremely important to come back feeling fulfilled and rejoiced about the solutions you found to the questions you set out seeking answers for. After all, this is the reason you would want to set out on a journey unless you want to live a life of a wanderer. In my case, I’m very sure that if I’m provided with an opportunity to go river rafting at the best rafting place in the country or sit with an old lady and chat with her about her life, I would choose the latter within the blink of my eye. I don’t want to return home thinking I couldn’t spend enough time with people, while I was busy enjoying all the pleasures that came my way outside the questions I left seeking the answers for.
Having your theme set will allow you to plan and execute your next move only based on your interests and not your immediate pleasures. Make it an exercise to ask yourself the question, ‘is this what I want to do throughout my tour’ when an unplanned event takes place. If your answer is yes, you should most certainly choose to do it throughout.
Do some research based on your theme of travel
If you figure out that food is the central reason you want to travel entire India, try to make a list of all the ethnic food you shouldn’t miss while travelling. The same goes for sightseeing or architecture. There are certain traditions/events that take place only at certain times of the year. Have the list ready and plan your route and time of travel accordingly. Not everything may go as planned. Even if you have 50% of your plans covered that’s a good reason to head out on the tour.
Educate people
No two people look at the same thing the same way. Even when two travelers cross the same place, the two will have different stories to share. While one traveler observes the view from the bridge atop, the other observes the bridge itself. When the two come back you don’t get to hear about the same thing. Everyone wants to know the story of an adventure. After all, it is a human tendency. Document your travel from your point of view without adulteration. Maybe somebody would want to hear it on your return.
Sharing on the move if it is affordable also allows you to build a community of people with similar interests in the theme of your travel. The positive feedback from these people should help you mend yourself better in your journey.
“Experience, travel – these are an education in themselves” ~Euripides
Have fun when things don’t go as planned
If you realized that the place you travelled to for 100 Km to see that one museum, was closed down due to maintenance, maybe it is your day off. Put your foot in the air and relax. Go around and look for something fun to do. Riding the bike for having your reason to travel covered should not turn into a taxing job. Always remember that the reason to travel was to have fun in the first place. If you are not having fun with what you are doing, you need to rethink the travel.
Alongside knowing how to plan your all-India cycle tour, it is also necessary to learn how to do it the safe way. Read my blog: How can I plan a safe all-India cycle tour?
I am a 31 year young PhD graduate who has decided to travel the length and breadth of India on my cycle, to document the journey of meeting a vast array of people. In my journey, I intend to understand the characteristic features of the people of this nation and categorize them based on their demographics, age, profession, gender, traditions, and cultural differences.