Biking in India: the Rajasthani Road and the Coast

a) The Rajasthani Road: Camels and Monkeys

The three main things that distinguish biking in India from biking in other countries are the wildlife, the villages and people, and the roads and traffic.

The Wildlife:

Biking in Rajasthan was remarkable for the wildlife that we encountered. We passed hordes of black buffalo, humped cows and bulls, slow-moving camels, and monkeys – and to a lesser extent, parakeets, goats, donkeys, horses, .. Read More »

Indian Cities:

Biking obviously allows you to pass not only through the large cities, but also through many lesser cities, towns, and innumerable villages. I’ll talk here about some of the more interesting towns and cities that we spent time in.

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Agra, Home of the Taj Mahal:

Agra was our first stop after Delhi. Though the city has 1.3 million inhabitants, it feels like a village or small town. Its streets are narrow and windy and lined with tiny, one-room shops or restaurants… Read More »

Train from Delhi to Agra – “For the Experience”:

We had been told to travel by train at least once while we were in India – “for the experience.” Since we had already traveled the route from Delhi to Agra with Vince by car, we figured that this would be a good time to try it – “for the experience.”

I was in high spirits at the Delhi train station, excited that we would be back on the road again soon. AND very excited to see all the monkeys at the train station, walking on the railings and .. Read More »

Vincent Arrives!

My brother arrived a couple of days after us. For over two years, we had planned on meeting him in India, and here we were finally together! We couldn’t have been happier!

I was sick the first day, but it was to be expected after the first couple of days in India, and it only lasted for 24 hours. The following day, we ran all over Delhi. We shopped at the main bazaar in Old Delhi, we visited the Jama Masjid – India’s largest mosque, and we visited the Tomb of Humayun, a Wo.. Read More »

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Delhi is chaotic, unruly, crowded, surprising, and laidback – all rolled up into one. You can find anything and everything in Delhi. The muddy, potholed streets are teeming with life – men, women, children, roosters, donkeys, dogs (many dogs), humped bulls, buffalo, motorcycles, cars, and sacred cows. But above all are the yellow and green rickshaws – auto and bicycle – with their painted bumper warnings: “Keep Distance” and “Horn Please.”

The drivers of the bicycle rickshaws were skinny men.. Read More »

Will we fly?…
We spent all night packing, trying to put bags into bags, make our luggage smaller, lighter. We had 14 bags and 2 bikes – 16 items and 265 lbs.; the allowed limit was 3 bags and 44 lbs. per person. Three times the weight. It promised to be expensive. We decided to arrive early and beg for sympathy.

We were the first ones in the airport, aside from employees sleeping with their feet up. We entered through separate entrances – one for men, one for women – then packed up .. Read More »