Long rides on pedal power
Cycling
Expeditions
Multiple long-distance cycling trips across Tamil Nadu — from the coast to the temples. Slow, tiring, and completely worth it.
2
trips featured
2006
first ride
Tamil Nadu
terrain
Pedal power
the bike
Trip one · 2006
Chennai → Pondy
East Coast Road, early mornings, and a bike loaded with just enough stuff. Pre-dawn start from ECC Apartments in Chennai, rest stop at SRM University, then the long, flat drag down to Pondicherry. First long-distance ride — the one that made the rest of them possible.
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Trip two · 2009–2010
Chennai → Thirupati
North this time, out of Chennai toward the Seshachalam hills and the Tirumala temple. Flat for most of it, then the climb at the end that makes you question every decision you've ever made. Worth it by the top.
Photos coming soon
Digging through old hard drives for the Thirupati trip photos. They'll land here once I find them.
Why pedal power
A different kind of pace
A motorcycle compresses distance. A bicycle stretches it out. You feel every kilometre, every headwind, every hill — and that's the point. You show up at the destination having actually crossed the space between it and home.
These trips were also cheap, quiet, and required nothing more than a working bike and a water bottle. A good reminder that adventures don't always need big machines or big budgets.
Full gallery
Frames from the rides