February 10, 2025
Murud to Mumbai
I rode on NH4 from Murud to Mumbai, on smooth fast tarmac with few hills, so an easy ride. Except for the traffic which was terrible for the last 15 miles. The road was much smoother than last year but traffic density was much greater. Build a road and someone will use it.
Further South the road had dogs sleeping on it and even rolling around scratching their backs. The traffic would slow and avoid them. No dogs on the road today, they have learnt to stay away from the traffic.
I met a young Nepalese cyclist who had been on the road for 3 months, cycling around India for peace and then heading uphill back to Nepal. He was camping out in police stations or temples. And then a Brit who had bought a £150 bike in Mumbai and was heading slowly South to Goa.
When I have time I will write more about NH4 as it epitomises how India is rapidly changing.
At Mandwa Port I could not find the jetty for the small passenger ferrys that go to Fort near where I am staying in Mumbai so I took the M2M (Mumbai to Mandwa) car ferry. This is a much bigger boat. It was only as we left that I saw the jetty for the smaller passenger boats.
The trouble with the M2M car ferry was that it docked 3 miles away from Fort. And those last 3 miles at 3pm on a Monday afternoon were not pleasant. My first technique was to ride as fast as I could so the speed differential for overtaking vehicles was as small as possible but I then caught up with an Indian cyclist who looked like he rode there everyday so I shadowed him at a much slower speed until I reached Hotel Broadway where I had started from 953 miles earlier.
A wash and tidy up,and a celebratory Masala Dosa and Lassi in a nearby tea shop.
I just need to locate the cardboard box which I used to send the bike to India…….
Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 953 miles (1,534 km)
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