Cycling along the Bangalore Nilgiri road through the centre of Mysore city is a hairy experience.
In the midst of the tooting and honking tuk-tuks, cars and motorbikes careering towards each other (and you), there are cattle grazing in the kerbside dust and suicidal dogs on a mission to nowhere.
‘This is worse than cycling down the Euston Road!’ jokes a fellow London cyclist in our group of travellers riding around 550 km (340 miles) from Mysore down to the southern coast of India.
There is a method to the Mysore traffic madness – just keep on going with the grit and determination of a city commuter.
This city stops for no man, woman, child or indeed sacred animal.
Yet it is a really fun experience – even if roundabouts do make Paris’s Champs-Elysees circle look like a Sunday stroll.
‘Selfie, please!’
The cityscape soon gives way to calmer highways which then ease into quieter villages where you are treated to the kind of welcome worthy of a Tour de France champion on a victory lap. Grinning children shout ‘hi, hi!’ as they race to the roadside, and men and women working in the rice fields wave enthusiastically. We have now passed through dozens of villages and nothing but joy greets us – and the obligatory ‘selfie – please!’ photo request.
There are so many sights to behold on this journey from the 96,000 bulbs that light up Mysore Palace powered by hydroelectricity for just 30 minutes once a week (on a Sunday at 7pm), to the luscious hillside tea plantations and the elegant saris worn by women everywhere doing everything.
‘There’s a tiger within metres’
There are also plenty of tales to tell here, and in the jungle environment they need no embellishment. A day after tigers had failed to come to tea – or early breakfast – in Bandipur ‘Tiger’ Reserve, we are walking through jungle land when our guide casually says ‘There’s a tiger within 300 metres of us’. The accompanying dogs had heard it roar. So what did we do? Run? No, we had a game of shot-put with a boulder and then retired to local man Kumar’s home for a nice cup of tea and cake (which incidentally was once visited by a leopard who snarled his dog on the doorstep, he tells me with his toothy grin). Our drama is their matter of fact.
So, back to the safety of our safari lodge for the evening? Not exactly. After dinner a wild elephant with three-human kills to its name pops by for a midnight feast. Standing the other side of the electric fence to him, I asked a guide from another group what would happen if there is a power cut. He says the elephants know their boundaries adding ‘of course, there was the time, the elephant disabled the fence by throwing a boot over it. Do not underestimate their intelligence’. I didn’t sleep too well that night.
But seriously, we are safe in the expert hands of our wonderful guide Safi, supported by Vipin and Michael, who are all incredibly knowledgable, friendly, and, crucially, love a laugh – largely at our faces when they tell us of the next schedule of hills. The first two are professional cyclists but don’t let that put you off – they don’t make you go fast, but are road-safe.
One of most challenging rides so far was up Ooty hill, which is around 13k with an average gradient of about 12 per cent [cycle geek talk for v steep] and a mere 36 hairpin bends. En route a Buddhist monk and motorcyclist stopped to give me words of motivation. Where else do you experience this? I smiled through the pain and at the passing traffic – and summited.
This two-week trip is organised by Exodus travels
Matt
3 Apr 2016I would love to see cattle on the Euston Road! Might chill the drivers out a bit, all we seem to get is headless chickens. And I’m hoping nobody needed to call the free mortuary van!!
Sounds like a fantastic adventure though.
FlaviaMunn
4 Apr 2016The mortuary van was not needed, fortunately, but it’s good to know it’s there as the 4th emergency service 🙂
Rebecca Thomas
3 Apr 2016Ooh exciting stuff! I was thrilled to hear a moose in Canada but I think a tiger within earshot beats that 😀 enjoy xx
FlaviaMunn
4 Apr 2016Yes, no sightings of tigers but they’re shy. Also it was raining when we were in the reserve itself and I don’t think they like getting their fur wet 🙂
Charlotte
4 Apr 2016I liked the bit about our drama being their day to day x Charlotte
FlaviaMunn
4 Apr 2016Thanks. Yes, but they don’t think it’s a drama – they just laugh and smile, as they do at most things! X
Lucy
4 Apr 2016Sounds fab, Flav! Love the mental Indian cities! Keep pedalling and I look forward to the foodie post 😀😀
FlaviaMunn
4 Apr 2016Coming soon … I’ve taken lots of pics and went to the cookery course today – and even have some recipes! 🙂
Ben
4 Apr 2016Did you have to make a trunk call to upload your blog #obligatoryelephantjoke
FlaviaMunn
4 Apr 2016Brilliant! No but I needed an elephant shower after the stress of uploading 🙂
Fabs
4 Apr 2016Sounds fab Flav, even the gradients and the hairpin bends! Keep enjoying x
FlaviaMunn
4 Apr 2016Thanks – it is! Yesterday was my worst day due to the heat but even that is bearable in such surroundings x
Erin
4 Apr 2016Sounds amazing flavs!! Think I would be tempted to just jump in a tuk tuk through the busy bits. And the hills. And maybe the rest too…but you are built of tougher stuff! Keep us updated xx
FlaviaMunn
5 Apr 2016Haha! We’re all tempted by the tuk tuks too but unfortunately there weren’t any on the 36 hairpin bends. It’s nice to know you’re following my travels xx
Daren Morley
12 Apr 2016I hope you were more kind to the man offering you encouragement than you was to me at Welsh Castles with the big hill at the end 🙂
FlaviaMunn
13 Apr 2016Haha! That was a race this was more of an endurance activity… Anyway sometimes tough love works 🙂