Inhaling The Roads

29/12/2017

Dec 28, 2017 marks the end of my spectacular journey. This was the most adventurous and riskiest solo self supported bicycle ride in my life. I'm grateful to each and every person in my family, friends, the riding community, host families, ordinary passerby, literally everyone who were part of my journey in these 3 weeks. Today I finish my second project (first being Mumbai to Kaniyakumari) and now the second just concluded in Jammu. I'm proud of covering India from North to the South on bicycle with no support whatsoever and sincerely completing my ride with honesty. When I left at 5:00 a.m on December 8, I never knew the challenges that I would be facing ahead. Too much of calculation and strategy kills the enthusiasm for me. My beautiful companion as always was : HOPE. I only imagined to reach my target each day safely, and in no time with a lot of patience and consistency, we the cycling community have set an example that anything is possible as long as as you are ready to face the challenges. I never feared of the risks I was taking. Safety was indeed the only thing in my mind and nothing could protect me in my solo or group rides except my own presence of mind. I took some crucial decisions when to stop , and when not to stop in order to continue the momentum of pedalling for long hours. The entire safety parameters were only in my hands and I made sure I followed them throughout the journey while inhaling the roads.

A special mention and a big thank you to the beautiful roads throughout the journey. Lastly, my cycle which was my only companion 24×7. We trusted each other more than anything else. I appeal the youth to take up bicycling as a daily activity not only for fitness but also for reducing pollution and conjestions on roads. Global warming continues to be a massive threat, and it's high time we start putting into action our pro-environmental ambitions to reduce the impact on environment.

I wish everyone a wonderful new year and hope to see you soon riding somewhere in some part of the globe. Jai Hind.

Harsh (Mumbai) 🚴🏻

18/12/2017

Day 11 (Ajmer to Jaipur) 140 km

The day was beautiful riding on the 6 lane express highway from Ajmer to Jaipur. I was riding in momentum and surely didn't want to stop around 11.00 a.m. But what caught my attention was this man: Mehboob Shah (Fakhir). I stopped besides his loaded cycle to settle my curiosity.

Mehboobji is 45 years old and has 4 children. For a living, he rides 40 odd km (20+20) daily in order to collect plastic bags and bottles thrown on highways. He sells those stuff and gets around Rs. 100/- per day!!

I couldn't imagine the hardships he was going through. I wondered the education that the children would be getting with such small amount. I did speak to him in detail, and I could observe the happiness and grief in his eyes while he expressed his plight. But he was sporty enough to accept his fate and hoped of things getting better in days/years to come. I offered chiccki packets for his children, and even gave him some money which he refused to take first but later accepted to donate it in the darga of his village. He said , "Reach Jaipur an hour late but be safe". For me such small matters are worthy treasures for life.

I consider myself very fortunate for getting the best education and support from family to shape myself the way I want to. The trip is making me learn to appreciate every minute things that I'm witnessing. For me honestly, the destination really doesn't matter now. What I'm learning each day is surely transforming me into something more considerate and being grateful in life. I'm surely much more happy with what I have and don't desire to have all fancy and luxuries in life.

For me today's ride is dedicated to people like Mehboobji - the real riders on the road :)

16/12/2017

11/12/2017

Day 4 : Baroda - Ahemdabad - Gandhinagar

When you are targetting to reach Ahemdabad after being fully exhausted due to 2 flat tyres, a tube change, and a quick check up in Decathlon Ahemdabad, Gujarat, you are suddenly tracked by GPS and in the heavy traffic of the city, and find someone waiting for you with a refreshing drink !! What an awesome feeling that would be, no?

That's what happened with me today . Singh my Abvimas mountaineering mate helped me a lot. And further made me drag 30 more kilometres till Gandhinagar to his home. The whole night ride was supported and safely reached his home.

10/12/2017

Day 3 : Surat to Baroda

The day started on a very negative note. Inspite of being ready to leave by 6.00 a.m, the fog made the whole scenario unthinkable to ride. I had to wait till 7:15 to start for the day's ride. It went very bad for the initial 15 kilometres, but later it improved a lot. The entire stretch of Surat - Baroda highway was broad and safe to travel . I tried to cover around 100 km by lunch time.
Whole day I saw more than 100 odd trucks with army men heading towards either Ahemdabad or Baroda due to Gujarat elections. But the best part being to meet ample army personnel who were heading for Jammu & Kashmir. Their encouragement was so boosting that it made me pedal fast for few more kilometres. The support on roads is enormous. I'm fortunate to be hosted by my cyclist friend from Baroda : Uttam Singh.
Tomorrow the plan is to reach Ahemdabad by afternoon and get the cycle serviced. Day 3 over.

All set for hitting Ahemdabad tomorrow as per plan.

09/12/2017

Inhalingtheroads Day2 (Bhilad to Surat)
december 9, 2017 by Harsh

Inhalingtheroads is an initiative to raise awareness of climate change, and urging people to reduce carbon emissions at domestic and commercial level. There are ample vehicles on the roads, and the industries emitting abundant green house gases is slowly but definitely raising the earth’s temperature. What do we want in years to come? Floods? Can we control them? NO

What can we do now? Inviting suggestions through message/comments/or email

Day 2 summary: (from Bhilad to Surat 135 km)

I start at 5:15 a.m from Bhilad and I was fairly confident of going ahead with the day’s target of hitting Surat: 135 km. The whole plan was to reach by lunch so that I could rest from afternoon till next morning. But little did I know that it was going to be tougher than day 1.

Vomiting in the morning due to some headache since previous night. It faded off eventually. No worries. I started the ride in the dark with lights, keeping safety in mind. Later by 7:30, it was amazing to meet fellow Cyclists from Valsad. Wonderful riders and a quick chat session, cup of tea did wonders. A special thanks to Harshil from Valsad. He’s a wonderful rider with tremendous expertise. His advice is well acknowledged.

I soon realised that I was running short of my target. Hence I tried to speed up a little. But what I least wanted, happened! A flat tyre! Again it consumed a little time. Hate them.

I continued till Navsari and the heat became problematic. The lunch in Navsari was the typical Gujarati thali. Still 40 km more to go, I tried to cover up by speeding a little. But in few kilometres, roads narrowed further due to the ongoing construction. Too risky it became. Finally, I reached Kamrej (Surat) and checked-in into the Jain temple. It’s nice and very positive with three aligned temples of Shiv, Simandhar Swamy, and Krishna. The aura is positive, and exactly what I wanted after the ride. The food served is delicious too.

The day’s riding experience was troublesome especially with the fog which disturbed early in the morning. The elevation too was more than day 1 making the climb a little tougher. The ample vehicles ply on the roads, two wheelers are in abundance, and very rarely I saw people wearing helmet. Not to forget the careless behaviour of riding from the wrong end. The approach of people needs a lot of change.

Tomorrow’s plan is to leave a little late to start the ride in the day light, wanting to avoid the risky under-construction road on which I’m located now. Day 2 : Inhaled with slight trouble.

Day3 target : Baroda

08/12/2017

Once I finished the packing last night, all I wanted was a good couple of hours of sleep. The mind was unstable and full of anxiety, and I could sleep only for 3 hours. Still when I woke up at 3:45 a.m, I was all excited to begin my second project on this special day. I had some food and a glass of water for a perfect start to the day. Two cyclist friends came to see me off. After bidding adieu to my family, I began at 5 a.m as planned.

Nervousness was momentory and I tried to calm my mind by riding very slow, keeping safety aspect the top most priority. I started from Ghatkopar suburb in Mumbai and planned to continue riding till fountain hotel on Highway: a crucial junction for heading towards Ahemdabad. While crossing Vasai bridge, I preferred to ride on the footpath. Trucks where approaching in large numbers. I continued riding taking breaks after every 30 km. This self discipline was the key for today's ride. During break fast, I ended up eating stale idly and hence had to complement it with hot tea to curb any follwing effects on my stomach.
Around 11:30 when I approached charoti town, I found a nice Highway side dhaba and took a hydration break. With a large water container found on the corner, I ended up washing my head with cool refreshing water. It was very rejuvenating. Next, a nap was necessary for 10 odd minutes on the typical khatia placed in most of the food points on highways. I did miss out visiting few Jain temples enroute due to time constraints, but I still managed to take a quick pics.

The NH48 was simply stunning post the Vasai Virar belt. Few ups and downs but the broadness of roads and a bit of disciplined riding made the first day's ride go fairly easy. The interaction with people right from truck drivers to the hotel owners to the kids who would sorround the bicycle continued. Some where happy to note down the project website for further communication.

The temptation of visiting beautiful Jain temple finally got fullfilled as I visited one in Nandigaon, the first town in Gujarat. I'm too excited to witness a lot many rich temples in architecture in Gujarat and Rajasthan, the states that have numerous temples to their credit. Today's accomodation is in the same temple premises. We call it as Dharmashala.
Tomorrow plan to leave a little early around 4:30 a.m to reach Surat by lunch time.

Skipping the afternoon heat ride is all I crave for. Road inhaled. Dust too! Face tanned already. A lot more to happen.
Global warming is a threat. Climate change is real. Avoid using private vehicles. Use public transport as much as possible.

08/12/2017

The Day Arrives! I finally leave my comfort zone to meet the roads!
Be hooked to the page to receive daily updates of solo journey on new lands with my cycle!

07/12/2017

I shall commence my solo ride tomorrow, will begin from Ghatkopar, Mumbai to reach Jammu, pedaling more than 2000 kms. Hope to see you all soon

December 8, 2016 was a special day for me since I commenced the maiden solo bicycle ride from Mumbai to Kaniyakumari covering 1650 km over a span of 14 days. It was a memorable journey riding in 5 …

05/12/2017

Tentative route : 🚴🏻

Dec8 Fri : Mumbai to Bhilad 156 km

Dec9 Sat : Bhilad to Surat 132

Dec10 Sun : Surat to Baroda 154

Dec11 Mon : Baroda to A'bad 111

Dec12 Tue : A'bad to Modasa/Ratanpur 132/145

Dec13 Wed : Ratanpur to Udaipur 120

Dec14 Thus : Rest

Dec15 Fri : Udaipur to Deogarh/ Bhilwara 128/148

Dec16 Sat : Deogarh/Bhilwara to Ajmer 145

Dec17 Sun : Rest

Dec18 Mon : Ajmer to Jaipur 135

Dec19 Tue: Rest

Dec20 Wed : Jaipur to Sikar 115

Dec21 Thus : Sikar to Sadulpur 145

Dec22 Fri : Sadulpur to Fatehabad 125

Dec23 Sat : Fatehabad to Barnala 111

Dec24 Sun : Barnala to Harike 112

Dec25 Mon : Harike to Amritsar 60

Dec26 Tue : Rest

Dec27 Wed : Amritsar to Pathankot 122

Dec28 Thus : Pathankot to Jammu 106

05/12/2017

Hello ! My environmental initiative ​Inhalingtheroads​ starts from the 8th of December 2017.

I'll be riding solo from Mumbai to Jammu & Kashmir 🚴🏻 over a span of 3 weeks covering more than 2000 Kms.

To know more about the initiative please visit: http://inhalingtheroads.com/

Inviting fellow riders to join me during my rides wherever possible. Any help/suggestions welcome. My Whatsapp no: 9769813826.

​Climate change is real​ / ​Global warming is a massive threat​ and I sincerely believe that my contribution would be like a drop in an ocean but with a collective effort of people like ​you​ who also believe in such a worthy cause, we shall together be able to save our planet from the disaster 🌎 It's time to act now. Share my posts on social media to make the campaign successful!

You can follow each day's progress on my facebook profile and a special page on fb : ​inhalingtheroads​

Instagram ID :
​Harsh_inhalingtheroads​

Hope to see you soon riding/supporting me :)

Harsh S
Ghatkopar, Mumbai City