Day 3 - Cycling in SW India - Wild Haven

Today's trip took us through the National Park, and after all the wildlife we saw last night it was a bit of an anticlimax. The through road isn't open until 9 and by the time we arrived in the Park most of the animals had gone into hiding.  So we didn't get to see any more elephants despite being briefed on what to do if they charged (leave your helmet and bike on the floor; the elephant might stop and attack them instead of you giving you time to get away).

My bike

Day 2 - Cycling in SW India - Bandipur Jungle Lodge

Amazing treat today and unbelievable really..... we saw a tiger!  It was totally unexpected and a massive bonus but yes, we saw one.

A tiger in the wild

Day 1 - Cycling in SW India - Mysore

Heading the wrong way into the early morning Mysore traffic was an exhilarating, but a slightly scary introduction to the joys of cycling in India - still I survived and actually enjoyed it.  Vish, the tour leader, says 'give way to everything', but can't mean it because if you did, on these mad crowded roads, you wouldn't get anywhere. The alternative rule seems to be 'whatever you do, keep moving'.

Back from India

After two weeks in India, 10 days cycling 500kms and a wonderful blast of warm sunshine, I'm back to the gray skies of England in February.  Brighton Pier has changed its shape, but apart from that, and a lot of headlines about floods, it seems like I have never been away.  Shame I didn't stay in India for a month.

It was a great trip with lots of truly memorable moments.  The best thing however was the welcome we got from the people.  Lycra clad, not exactly youthful cyclists, attract huge amounts of very friendly interest in India and that alone made the trip a real joy.

I took pictures in a very lazy and slightly dangerous way as I was cycling along and, towards the end of the trip, some of them actually worked.  I'll be publishing my diary over the next few days, but as a taster, please have a look at the attached photo stream and let me know what you think. It's too long I know, but stick with it, it gets better at the end.

Cycling in Kerala

And now for something completely different; I'm going cycling. This could be a mistake. Although I've got a bike, it rarely gets used. I've never gone further than 50km (did that for the first time last week) and the 50km a day schedule, I'm about to embark on is definitely a big 'step' into a physical unknown. I'm going to cycle in Kerala in India, a 14 day trip with Exodus. Christine, who has had about the same amount of bike time as me, is coming with me. After a month of gales on the south coast I can't wait to get some sun and, after last year's trip to Kashmir, I can't wait to get back to India.

The schedule looks fantastic. It includes 10 days actually in the saddle, averaging 50km per day with one day involving a 1600m ascent (36 hairpin bends). Billed as an 'exploration of India's tropical south' it covers a lot ground. Starting in Mysore we cross the Western Gnats and then head all the way down the coast almost to the southern tip of India. It could be amazing.

Accommodation will be hotels.  Maybe I'm being optimistic, but I'm hoping for WiFi. If the WiFi works I'll publish every day, otherwise it could be a couple of weeks before I can let you know whether or not this was a good idea.

A Guide for the GR1 Sendero Histórico

Europeans have access to great walking right on their doorstep.  It's the continent for 'easy walking' - where walkers can travel long distances through wild, varied and remote countryside, and find at the end of the day a warm bed and great food.  Even in Europe however, Spain is special.  Spain was the last country in Western Europe to experience rural depopulation. The ancient infrastructure, built for a population where everyone walked, is still there.  The GR1 Sendero Histórico follows paths and trails that, until the 1960s, were the main way people and their animals moved from village to village.  Although sadly, the days when every village had a bar, Cantina or Hostal have now gone, there are still just enough to make walking from place to place the best way to travel.

Back on the GR1 Sendero Histórico - September 2013

I'm committed to writing a guide on the GR1 Sendero Histórico for Cicerone.  Great fun but a lot of work and just a bit of rescheduling in terms of the trips I plan to do.  So last September instead of going to France and walking around the Ecrins circular, I went back to Spain and another two weeks on the GR1.

It was happily a great trip.  Good thing too, as it would be a bit late to discover that I didn't like the GR1.  It was great to walk the route at a different time of year.  I'm already looking forward to my next and hopefully final trip next April to its eastern end before completing the guide next summer.