[HTC]

Wow! Kudos to you and your partner for doing this trip. Cycling is like addiction. That too if you get a companion whi is into cycling, nothing like it.

Cycling slows things down. There is no rush. You start enjoying and appreciating small things in life. It could be the aroma of flowers when you pass by them or the smell of yummy food being prepared in the bylanes. And bonus is that you can eat how much ever you want as you are sure those carbs are gonna be burnt during the ride.

Looks like you guys had a relaxed itinerary.
Goa is hot and humid. But also you have amazing sea food options provided you know the local favorite spots.

Good to know your consideration towards not littering and disposing waste responsibly.

Reminds me of impromptu ride me and my colleague did from Bangalore to mysore on peak summer day in the month of May. We started at 4 am and reached mysore palace by 1.30 pm. 9 hrs of gruelling ride, but the high we got after completing is something else. I was on a hybrid and friend on btwin single gear mybike.

Keep cycling guys.

[TROOPER]

Excellent travelogue!

Cycling is one of the best ways of exploring places. You getting your precious cycles only wrapped, not fearing for damage by the baggage handlers is proof enough of how strong minded you are I can only imagine how amazing it would be to cycle along this terrain, experience the beauty and have some delicious food and chai post that.

Your trip gives me the motivation to get fitter and do the Mumbai-Goa-Mangalore stretch, once this covid crisis comes to a halt. That should be one amazing coastal trip. Can't wait.

PS: Would appreciate if you could give an insight into your experience of transporting bicycles by air. How you go about it, extra costs, safety, etc.

[samee_arian]

What a coincidence! One of my friends messaged me a link from tripoto about Konkan coast and beaches and I then got to read through your beautiful travelogue. I happen to be from this region and my village is a few kilometres walk from chipi bridge you clicked on of your pics at, but trust me you have covered more places than I ever heard about.


All I can say is Thank you for showing my native place in detail to me. You guys rock, can't fathom riding on a bike or scooter thru such terrain and you guys decided to cycle it out and completed it too. Looking forward to reading about more of your cyclelogs and exploring and getting to know other regions of our great country.

[Caadmara]

Fantastic write-up mate! Kudos to you and your better half for pulling off this adventure. How did the bikes hold up? Anything specific you did maintainence wise before/during the ride?

You have a flair for writing so please ride and write more :-)

[joe1980]

Wow! Looks like an excellent adventure! I might have missed it, but how did you map the route?

I have been into Downhill / Enduro Mountain Biking for quite some time and I'm now thinking of getting into touring and your post motivates me to go for it.

[MOUNTAINMAN]

Awesome! Now I want to cycle along Konkan Coast, or may be up hill to Mussoorie for now.

Could you please share some information / experience on the cost & process for handling cycle in luggage during air travel (Domestic & International). Thanks!

[papr23]

Originally Posted by aah78

Loved the Travelogue papr23! Haven't been there in a long time but the Konkan beaches are really nice, plus the food!.

Thanks, aah78! Food is a very important factor in the choosing the places we go to!

Originally Posted by samaspire

And I have recently taken up cycling again after many many years. You have inspired me to cycle along the coast again.

Thanks, samaspire! Glad you have taken up cycling again. Happy riding!

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

PS : The Dosa that you had at Achara seems to be the 'Neer Dosas', a Coastal / Mangalore speciality. Quite yummy stuff actually. And yes, those are no where closer to the normal dosas that we are used to )

Thanks, jkrishnakj! Right! It is neer dosa.

Originally Posted by HTC

Goa is hot and humid. But also you have amazing sea food options provided you know the local favorite spots.

Reminds me of impromptu ride me and my colleague did from Bangalore to mysore on peak summer day in the month of May.

Thanks, HTC! To our surprise, it was not much humid compared to the East coast. We generally ask the locals for places where they frequently go for meals and snacks.
Haha! Heat can really take a toll while riding!

Originally Posted by TROOPER

Excellent travelogue!
Cycling is one of the best ways of exploring places. You getting your precious cycles only wrapped, not fearing for damage by the baggage handlers is proof enough of how strong minded you are
Your trip gives me the motivation to get fitter and do the Mumbai-Goa-Mangalore stretch, once this covid crisis comes to a halt. That should be one amazing coastal trip. Can't wait.
PS: Would appreciate if you could give an insight into your experience of transporting bicycles by air. How you go about it, extra costs, safety, etc.

Thanks, TROOPER!
Haha, airlines treat bicycles like fragile items and it is carried by a designated person. Also, it does not fit on the conveyor belt that moves the baggage. Carrying on a flight is stress-free compared to a train or bus. If you are still worried you can try a rear derailleur guard available in Decathlon.

One big headache is how you take the cycle to and fro from the airport if you don't have someone with a car with enough space. I never book a flight that reaches Hyderabad in the night as the airport bus will be crowded and the conductor will refuse to accommodate the cycle. Ola/Uber anyway refuse to carry over-sized luggage.
Most airlines charge extra for bicycles and categorize it as Sports Equipment or Special Baggage. It is usually around Rs. 1000-1500.
You need to deflate the tyres, remove the pedals (spanner size 12 or 15, I don't remember exactly), change the gear such that the chain is on the smallest cog in the rear cassette. This makes the derailleur to be at the highest point from the ground. Remove the front wheel and place it on one side of the frame and tie to it using a zip-tie or with a piece of a used tube. Remove the handle using Allen Key and tie it to one side of the fork.
All airlines at Hyderabad airport asked me to get it wrapped in plastic. It costs 500-700 if I remember correctly. I took the bike without any wrapping in other airports at Leh, Delhi, Varanasi, Jaipur etc.

Originally Posted by samee_arian

All I can say is Thank you for showing my native place in detail to me. You guys rock, can't fathom riding on a bike or scooter thru such terrain and you guys decided to cycle it out and completed it too. Looking forward to reading about more of your cyclelogs and exploring and getting to know other regions of our great country.

Thanks, samee_arian! We all tend to ignore our neighbourhood!

Originally Posted by Caadmara

Fantastic write-up mate! Kudos to you and your better half for pulling off this adventure. How did the bikes hold up? Anything specific you did maintainence wise before/during the ride?

You have a flair for writing so please ride and write more :-)

Thanks, Caadmara! In this trip, we took the bikes to the hotel bathroom and cleaned it with the bum jet on 2 or 3 occasions to remove the grime and sand from the wheels and chain and lubed it every alternate day.
We had to fix a slow leak once in Shiroda. That's it, no other issue!

[papr23]

Originally Posted by joe1980

Wow! Looks like an excellent adventure! I might have missed it, but how did you map the route?

I have been into Downhill / Enduro Mountain Biking for quite some time and I'm now thinking of getting into touring and your post motivates me to go for it.

Thanks, joe1980! We just wanted to be as close to the coast as possible and the locals helped us with the route! We had Google offline map anyway as a backup. We did not plan much as we are not fit anyway to take the stress of reaching a pre-planned destination.

Originally Posted by MOUNTAINMAN

Awesome! Now I want to cycle along Konkan Coast, or may be up hill to Mussoorie for now.

Could you please share some information / experience on the cost & process for handling cycle in luggage during air travel (Domestic & International). Thanks!

Thanks, MOUNTAINMAN! Riding in the hills is fun IF you are fit and Mussoorie is a wonderful place!
We haven't ridden outside our country. We had a plan to tour the Dolomites in August riding through Munich->Salzburg->Innsbruck->Verona and take a train to Rome but ...

[Zed]

What an adventure! While cycling holidays are quite popular here in Europe, this is the first time Ive come across an adventure like your's in India. You've inspired me to get my bike out of the cellar tomorrow, give her some TLC and go for a ride

[TROOPER]

Originally Posted by papr23

Haha, airlines treat bicycles like fragile items and it is carried by a designated person. Also, it does not fit on the conveyor belt that moves the baggage. Carrying on a flight is stress-free compared to a train or bus.

This comes as music to my ears

All this while I was wondering whether a bike bag/box would be required. Nowhere on the internet is it mentioned that bicycles are given such decent treatment by airlines, that too Indian ones. Good to know. This just makes life and planning trips much easier.

[am1m]

Absolutely awesome! Thanks for sharing!

Amazing ride, kudos to you and your wife! Love the Konkan coast, have done a few trips along this stretch, but on a motorbike, don't think I'll have the endurance to do it on a cycle like you guys. But it looks like the best way to travel for sure - low impact, slow and beautiful!

[Aditya]

Lovely travelogue. This travelogue will go a long way in helping others planning similar trips. You have done a great job of explaining everything in detail and the images compliment the write-up really well.

I love the way bicycles fit anywhere in our country's landscape. They are probably the best way to see the country as you can take them on the narrowest of streets without a worry.

I am a cyclist myself and have wanted to start touring on my bicycle for a long time. Sadly, that has not materialised due to various reasons. Just last year, my riding buddies were thinking of Mumbai - Goa ride, but that fizzled out. Now the outbreak of the pandemic has made everything impossible for at least another year. Still, I keep hoping for the best.

[Biker Ram]

It's always refreshing to see a bicycle travelogue. Enjoyed the read! Liked the fact that you guys not always had advanced booking or a pre-set plan. It adds to the adventure as long as things are safe.

Few questions: the elevation profile pic you shared, how did you get it? Was it from the GPS data AFTER your trip? While the net elevation gain/loss is easy to find from maps, I thought it's not possible to find the total gain and loss between any two points.
What tools/spares did you guys carry? Did it include spokes and spoke wrench?
Since the bikes are not put on the conveyor belt, is there a different way airlines deliver such luggage?

And a suggestion. Bicycle helmets are not overrated

[2himanshu]

Nice one mates, enjoyed it very much! Can you please share the route or tracking app details if possible as it is on my bucket list but not yet materialised. Your route will help me plan properly

Be safe & Keep riding

[silverado]

What a travelogue, and i should really congratulate you for completing this wonderfull trip and for excellent pics that you have shared with us.

Also appreciable is for your wife to accompany you on such a trip. Konkan in general is very safe.
I have taken to cycling since last 2 years and cycling in Konkan is one of my dreams. My village is just 60 kms from kolhapur and i someday dream to do a similar trip.

How was your luggage plan for bicycle and which brand are those lovely panniers?
And i do hope someday we bhpians ride together on such a trip.