[Secretariat]

Lovely. There is a romance to cycling trips, especially if they are off the beaten track, where time moves slower. Green, fresh, with the smell of rain, it is a different world. Takes away all that lactic acid that is killing the legs on climbs !

Nice photos. Tempted to follow your footsteps.

[Abbas]

Lived all my life in Vizag. Recently moved to Gujrat. Araku is what Alibaug is to Mumbaikars. Your travelogue brings back great memories. Inshaallah, shall be back to these Hills soon.

[puntOOs]

What a breath of fresh air in these times! What an adventure! I hope they don't overdevelop these pristine regions.

[thepilgrim1424]

That's an awesome feat! Travelogues like this is an inspiration for many enthusiasts like me who have always wanted to do long distance cycling trips but ended up with a 100km trip. I see you have packed light. Can you tell us what went into the luggage bags? And, did you carry a spare tyre as well?

[venkatt1800]

Super effort Papr23. Nice to get a travelogue of the deep interior of the Eastern Ghats ! wonderful pictures and detailed logs. Thanks !

[mallumowgli]

Awesome feat. So tempting looking at the wonderful locations. But I've not touched a bicycle after school

Rated 5 stars

PS : One doubt - what exactly does an agency area mean?

[Harjot37]

Really, a wet dream for a Northie! :P
I finished servicing my bicycle just yesterday, and BAM! A bicycle travelogue right in my face on visiting T-BHP! WHY?? Can't even go out on a ride, not before everything gets better.
The rains in the North are a relief, this year. In fact, the only relief during this pandemic for me (I love rains!). Although I am nowhere close to being a seasoned cyclist like you are, I'd love an opportunity like this, to go on cycling for 100s of kms for days on end. I love the South, and I miss my time from my stay there.
\Rated 5 stars\ \Lovely travelogue\ \Jealous\

[RaceHorse]

Wow! wonderful travelogue of Eastern ghats, in fact I am reading a first bicycle travelogue on Eastern ghats.

Nice write up and beautiful clicks of Araku area. superb effort, I can actually call this is an adventure.

PS : One doubt - what exactly does an agency area mean?

The term “Agency area” comes from the British law passed for the Madras presidency Ganjam and Vizagapatam act 1839,
which is popularly known as the Agency act. Areas under these act are called Agency Areas.

[nischaltopno]

Thanks papr23 for sharing your travelogue. Lovely pictures and equally good narration - i get excited on any travelogue around Sileru.

This route is very close to my heart, especially the Mothugudem, Donkarayi and ya Sileru. I've immensely enjoyed this route throughly whenever I have done this trip (in a car though).

Getting accommodation is a challenge, though we managed to get once in Sileru, but now I think there are some private accommodation available as well in Sileru - not sure though.

I've missed the Forebay reservoir - didn't know actually there's a way. Thanks for letting us know .

[Arjun Bharadwaj]

Can almost smell that fresh air through your photos! Very beautiful. Is this route accessible through bikes? Asking because I see temporary bridges in some places. Dont have the stamina to do 500kms on a bicycle!

[Nvrao]

Beautiful travelogue and awesome pictures. Love to travel to the region....unlikely on bikes.

Thanks for sharing.

[papr23]

Thanks folks for all the kind words! I am thrilled to inspire some of you and bring back memories
Thanks for the rating too!!

Originally Posted by thepilgrim1424

That's an awesome feat! Travelogues like this is an inspiration for many enthusiasts like me who have always wanted to do long distance cycling trips but ended up with a 100km trip. I see you have packed light. Can you tell us what went into the luggage bags? And, did you carry a spare tyre as well?

When things get better, plan for a 2 day tour. That would give a lot of confidence to go for multi-day tours. Good luck!
Things that I usually carry:

• 2x lycra shorts
  2x dry fit t-shirts
  3x dry fit inners
  1x gloves
  Helmet or a hat
  1 short + t-shirt for night wear
  1 pair of super light weight clothes for bus or flight journey. Also useful on a sightseeing day.
  1 pair of medium hard sole sandals/shoes for riding
  1 pair flip flops
  1 sleeping bag
  Jacket if required
  Small mouth wash bottle. I would rather enjoy an apple to clean my teeth than carry a brush+toothpaste
  
  All the above will be wrapped in a plastic cover (rain proofing) and they go into the left pannier
  
  Right pannier has all the spares:
  2 tubes
  puncture repair kit
  Small air pump
  Allen key
  Chain cutter
  1x Chain's magic link
  Few spokes
  1x Brake cable
  1x brake pad
  Spare batteries for the lights
  Mobile charger
  BSNL SIM
  Swiss knife
  Spanner to remove pedals
  Spare tyre based on existing tyres age or terrain to be encountered
  First aid kit
  Backup food. Usually nuts & theplas.
  Packing material for transport if any

There will be some space left in the right pannier to carry any fruits that I find on the way.
Camera bag sits in between the panniers for easy access. A lot of times I just get off the saddle and stand over the crossbar to take pics.
Sleeping bag is a life saver. It helped me sleep in a lot of dingy lodges.

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

PS : One doubt - what exactly does an agency area mean?

Agency Areas are dominated by tribal communities. They were exploited by the landlords which resulted in a lot of rebellious movements in the past. These areas were also under strong Naxalite control for few decades.
They have special laws like what J&K had during Article 370 days. This is the reason why Chintapalle which has a population of 20000 does not have a single hotel. You have to be a tribal to start a business there I believe.

Originally Posted by Arjun Bharadwaj

Can almost smell that fresh air through your photos! Very beautiful. Is this route accessible through bikes? Asking because I see temporary bridges in some places. Dont have the stamina to do 500kms on a bicycle!

Thanks Arjun Bharadwaj! The exact route is doable on a motorbike.
I could see a lot of roadkill. Especially snakes and slow movers like chameleons. So please be vary of it.

[VijayAnand1]

What a ride mamah! The pictures were extremely soothing to the eyes, nontheless, the vistas and the cycling itself. Kudos.

Cheers!
VJ

[ampere]

To be frank, its been sometime, I have seen a new facet of our country's geography. That was the first thing which blew me away!

Your ride was just an icing on the cake!

Brilliant !

[sandeepmohan]

Thanks for sharing. The remote East Coast hills are indeed beautiful.

I got back into casual cycling just about a year ago and took up a short trip over the last weekend. Its called the Remutaka Rail Trail and the path way is of an abandoned railway line from the late 1800's. It is a fast journey that covers about 18km, one way. I did it both ways as I had to get back to my car. It was on the return that I realized how unfit I was. The grade isn't as high as what you did but steep enough for me to be almost gasping for breath, so the return took almost 3 times longer. You climb about 275m in a distance of 7km. In railway language, the grade is known as 1:30. Special steam locomotives were used to go up and down this line. The engineer behind the design was Englishman John Barraclough Fell. Similar to the rack railway we see in The Nilgiris but a lot harder to design and implement as it has two horizontally opposed wheels gripping a center rail. I am not sure how they managed to get traction on this sort of an arrangement but it worked for a good 50+ years!

What defense or protection methods did you carry for animal attacks?