8 ms·

India’s Mini-Craze for Bicycling Around the World

lmm 6y ago
I've never found a satisfying set of rules for cycling around the world. Taking a ship for part of the way seems to undermine the endeavour - at that point why not just go by sea the whole way? But without water transport one could at best go halfway around (Bering Strait freezing permitting - which I understand it doesn't do so much any more), and the hardest part would likely be the Darien Gap which is not really a cycling challenge per se.
- taejo 6y ago
  The rules are made up and the points don't matter.
  - Steltek 6y ago
    A permanent opener that was always presented as a joke but that's also eerily close to a rule of life, albeit on the nihilist side.
  - implements 6y ago
    I asked someone from the British Cycle Touring Club (CTC) about cycling across the USA - his advice was “The middle bit will be week after week of hard slog across endless farmland - sun, wind, dogs - you’d be better off cycling the good bits and catching a ride for the rest”. Advice I’d probably apply to riding around the world - no sense torturing yourself for ‘completeness’.
    - jerf 6y ago
      Even driving or taking a train across the middle of the US is a bit of a slog. I can't imagine trying to get up for one's thirteenth consecutive day of corn, followed by corn, followed by more corn, then a small farming town you can cycle past in about a minute, then... corn... more corn.... and you check the map and you've still got several days left to go. You'd better love cycling for the sake of cycling itself.
      - second--shift 6y ago
        imagine living here
- dTal 6y ago
  It's not like "going round the world" is even well defined either - you could just walk in a circle around one of the poles. Thing is, are you doing it because it's an amazing experience, or because you want to have satisfied some arbitrary criteria? And quite frankly, if you manage to pass through every line of longitude while lugging a bicycle the whole way, I don't give two hoots how many boat rides it took. That's heroic.
  - lmm 6y ago
    > It's not like "going round the world" is even well defined either - you could just walk in a circle around one of the poles. The traditional answer to that is that you have to pass through a pair of antipodal points. > Thing is, are you doing it because it's an amazing experience, or because you want to have satisfied some arbitrary criteria? I find having a goal makes for a more fulfilling experience, and can help me push myself a bit further than I would otherwise. I'm planning to ride around Shikoku starting in about a week, and I'm glad there's an official organisation with a set of rules to follow for that (collect stamps at these given places). Every version of "cycling around the world" I've heard seems a bit unsatisfying somehow. To the point that I think maybe aiming for Shanghai-Paris or similar might be more fun. > And quite frankly, if you manage to pass through every line of longitude while lugging a bicycle the whole way, I don't give two hoots how many boat rides it took. That's heroic. It really isn't though. If you take that challenge literally, you can just book a cruise ship and take a folding bicycle along.
    - nkrisc 6y ago
      > It really isn't though. If you take that challenge literally, you can just book a cruise ship and take a folding bicycle along. You could, but that’s not going to impress anybody when you tell them about it. People do this kind of thing for their own personal satisfaction, or to impress other people. That accomplishes neither.
    - teh_klev 6y ago
      > Every version of "cycling around the world" I've heard seems a bit unsatisfying somehow. Well make up your own version, no-one's stopping you.
- nkrisc 6y ago
  You could take a ship most of the way around but then it wouldn’t really be cycling around the world, would it? Obviously you can’t solely cycle around the world (barring a short jaunt around the poles), so you just take a boat when you must. Why must it be all or nothing?
  - lmm 6y ago
    I'd like to draw a line in a place that makes sense. A lot of round-the-world cyclists take a boat further than strictly necessary (e.g. going from Singapore to Australia or California), and I don't think that invalidates it. But skipping the hardest parts of a round-the-world journey (such as the Darien Gap) that way feels like cheating too.
- InfiniteRand 6y ago
  My little sister has done some long distance biking (not around the world but across India and a big chunk of the US) and the appeal for her seemed to be for the experience of adventure rather than a contest-like achievement with a certain set of rules.
  - lmm 6y ago
    Different things appeal to different people. Personally I've found that I enjoy audax much more than unstructured touring, so I'd like to have a similar framework for a challenge.
- bluGill 6y ago
  There are pedal powered boats. People take canoes across the ocean so it isn't impossible if you are prepared. Every pedal boat I've seen has been worthless in even a gentle breeze, but this should "just" be an engineering challenge.
  - lmm 6y ago
    Sure, but at that point wouldn't you just pedal boat all the way round the world?
- nicbou 6y ago
  If I learned one thing from long distance motorcycle travel, it's that there will always be someone who's more hardcore than you. You can try to beat that person, or you can focus on your own experience, which will undoubtedly be unique and memorable. In any case, no one is keeping score. No one will check your route to make sure it was as long and difficult as possible. Ships are inevitable. They let you avoid long detours or countries where your passport is no good, or where you must be escorted during your journey. In my case, that would be either Iran or China.
- hervature 6y ago
  As others have said, I think these "around the world" cycling things are more just about touring. For actual challenges, like Everesting or becoming a High Rolleur, there are hard cut rules.
- gnopgnip 6y ago
  There is at least one person circumnavigating without using any motorized transport. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-bqpGT7rVPJ-CEEdFIeTDQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-bqpGT7rVPJ-CEEdFIeTDQ They do mostly mix between sailing and cycling. With this one it is more about the interesting people and places and not just the trip, so no strict rules on land or sea travel. But they do strictly follow the rule of not using motorized transport so getting in and out of port can be interesting, often they need to get help from the locals to paddle in and out.
  - lmm 6y ago
    That's pretty cool, but if I tried to follow those rules then I'd degenerate into just sailing the whole way (which is definitely the easiest way to achieve the "objective" in a narrow sense).
- guenthert 6y ago
  Rules? I'm sure, if you want to break some Guinness Book record, they have rules for ya, but I'd think most world travelers just want to see a lot of it or partake in cultural exchange. Those don't need rules to pick their destination or mode of transportation.
williesleg 6y ago
India is a shit hole.
Mediterraneo10 6y ago
I am an avid long-distance cycle tourer myself. From time to time on cycling forums someone claims "only privileged Westerners can cycle across multiple countries, because people from the developing world don’t have the means to, or in those countries social expectations demand that young people stay at home and work hard to support their families." This article is therefore welcome proof that, even though Westerners certainly enjoy some privileges like a stronger passport, this pastime has nevertheless attracted even Indians. And for it’s worth, probably the first mention of cycle touring I ever saw as a young man, was two Iranians (!) cycling around the world and giving an interview to a Canadian newspaper about their experiences while passing through that country.
- JKCalhoun 6y ago
  > It’s not completely clear what inspired these young Parsis … but Babani believes it was their way of participating in India’s freedom struggle. “Instead of waving flags and joining demonstrations, they chose to pedal on a perilous path,” he says, “to paint for the world a true picture of India that would depict the glorious civilization, culture, and architecture of our native land.” What a beautiful idea.
- bellyfullofbac 6y ago
  But well, 98 years since they started their bike tour, an Indian's passport would be Indian and not British, and that would shut many borders (unless they can show enough financial stability to satisfy immigration authorities that they're not going to stay illegally), it would be hard to think they'd be hired for odd jobs in the western world or have the Pope welcome them, so my cheap conclusion would be, privileged Non-Westerners would also be able to do a world tour, but middle class ones? But what an adventure, it's almost like the movie Forrest Gump, with them witnessing history and even meeting characters like Mussolini.
- whydoyoucare 6y ago
  I hardly call this "proof" - the cyclists belong to Parsi community, an affluent and financially stable community in India for a long time now. Thus, they would be an exception, not the rule.
garyfirestorm 6y ago
A 100+ yrs of toxic culture with no end in sight to toxicity in immigration officials ‘They found other parts of the American experience disheartening, such as the rude and insulting immigration authorities. “The immigrant is at best tolerated and viewed with suspicion,” they wrote‘
- timonoko 6y ago
  I think they are trained that way. Correct reaction is to be somewhat annoyed but not too nervous. If you are totally cool with insults and inquiries, you are obviously a trained spy or professional criminale.
  - yardie 6y ago
    US passport holder here, IME skin tone and country of origin has as much to do with it. I've had equal pleasant and unprofessional instances with USCIS while traveling alone, with a greencard holder, or with children. I've literally had agents be pleasant to families in front of us while being unpleasant to us when it was our turn at their desk.
    - vmception 6y ago
      This reminds me of the times I’ve experienced things like that and other people’s default reaction is to invalidate my experience
- N1H1L 6y ago
  This is also the height of anti-immigrant fervor in the United States. This is 9 years after the Johnson-Reed Act (Immigration Act of 1924) [1], which basically tried to ban all immigration from Asia. There is a great Hasan Minhaj episode that showed how Asian populations in the US owe their presence a lot to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which passed during the Civil Rights era [2, 3]. References: [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1924 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1924 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_FE78X-qdY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_FE78X-qdY [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Ac...
somberi 6y ago
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35299608 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35299608
sfblah 6y ago
If the men’s faces remind you a little of Freddie Mercury that’s because he too was a Parsi.
- yazaddaruvala 6y ago
  Thanks, this triggered my nepotism and got me to actually read the article :)
- fiftyacorn 6y ago
  Ive got "Bicycle Race" going thru my head now
whall6 6y ago
Is this where the band Bombay Bicycle Club gets its name?
- whall6 6y ago
  Actually I just looked it up. They were named after a restaurant of the same name. I wonder if the restaurant got its name from this story though?
FpUser 6y ago
What an inspiring story. There are also many journals of similar cycling travels published on the amazing website of Neil Gunton - http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/ http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/

lmm 6y ago

I've never found a satisfying set of rules for cycling around the world. Taking a ship for part of the way seems to undermine the endeavour - at that point why not just go by sea the whole way? But without water transport one could at best go halfway around (Bering Strait freezing permitting - which I understand it doesn't do so much any more), and the hardest part would likely be the Darien Gap which is not really a cycling challenge per se.

taejo 6y ago
The rules are made up and the points don't matter.
- Steltek 6y ago
  A permanent opener that was always presented as a joke but that's also eerily close to a rule of life, albeit on the nihilist side.
- implements 6y ago
  I asked someone from the British Cycle Touring Club (CTC) about cycling across the USA - his advice was “The middle bit will be week after week of hard slog across endless farmland - sun, wind, dogs - you’d be better off cycling the good bits and catching a ride for the rest”. Advice I’d probably apply to riding around the world - no sense torturing yourself for ‘completeness’.
  - jerf 6y ago
    Even driving or taking a train across the middle of the US is a bit of a slog. I can't imagine trying to get up for one's thirteenth consecutive day of corn, followed by corn, followed by more corn, then a small farming town you can cycle past in about a minute, then... corn... more corn.... and you check the map and you've still got several days left to go. You'd better love cycling for the sake of cycling itself.
    - second--shift 6y ago
      imagine living here
dTal 6y ago
It's not like "going round the world" is even well defined either - you could just walk in a circle around one of the poles. Thing is, are you doing it because it's an amazing experience, or because you want to have satisfied some arbitrary criteria? And quite frankly, if you manage to pass through every line of longitude while lugging a bicycle the whole way, I don't give two hoots how many boat rides it took. That's heroic.
- lmm 6y ago
  > It's not like "going round the world" is even well defined either - you could just walk in a circle around one of the poles. The traditional answer to that is that you have to pass through a pair of antipodal points. > Thing is, are you doing it because it's an amazing experience, or because you want to have satisfied some arbitrary criteria? I find having a goal makes for a more fulfilling experience, and can help me push myself a bit further than I would otherwise. I'm planning to ride around Shikoku starting in about a week, and I'm glad there's an official organisation with a set of rules to follow for that (collect stamps at these given places). Every version of "cycling around the world" I've heard seems a bit unsatisfying somehow. To the point that I think maybe aiming for Shanghai-Paris or similar might be more fun. > And quite frankly, if you manage to pass through every line of longitude while lugging a bicycle the whole way, I don't give two hoots how many boat rides it took. That's heroic. It really isn't though. If you take that challenge literally, you can just book a cruise ship and take a folding bicycle along.
  - nkrisc 6y ago
    > It really isn't though. If you take that challenge literally, you can just book a cruise ship and take a folding bicycle along. You could, but that’s not going to impress anybody when you tell them about it. People do this kind of thing for their own personal satisfaction, or to impress other people. That accomplishes neither.
  - teh_klev 6y ago
    > Every version of "cycling around the world" I've heard seems a bit unsatisfying somehow. Well make up your own version, no-one's stopping you.
nkrisc 6y ago
You could take a ship most of the way around but then it wouldn’t really be cycling around the world, would it? Obviously you can’t solely cycle around the world (barring a short jaunt around the poles), so you just take a boat when you must. Why must it be all or nothing?
- lmm 6y ago
  I'd like to draw a line in a place that makes sense. A lot of round-the-world cyclists take a boat further than strictly necessary (e.g. going from Singapore to Australia or California), and I don't think that invalidates it. But skipping the hardest parts of a round-the-world journey (such as the Darien Gap) that way feels like cheating too.
InfiniteRand 6y ago
My little sister has done some long distance biking (not around the world but across India and a big chunk of the US) and the appeal for her seemed to be for the experience of adventure rather than a contest-like achievement with a certain set of rules.
- lmm 6y ago
  Different things appeal to different people. Personally I've found that I enjoy audax much more than unstructured touring, so I'd like to have a similar framework for a challenge.
bluGill 6y ago
There are pedal powered boats. People take canoes across the ocean so it isn't impossible if you are prepared. Every pedal boat I've seen has been worthless in even a gentle breeze, but this should "just" be an engineering challenge.
- lmm 6y ago
  Sure, but at that point wouldn't you just pedal boat all the way round the world?
nicbou 6y ago
If I learned one thing from long distance motorcycle travel, it's that there will always be someone who's more hardcore than you. You can try to beat that person, or you can focus on your own experience, which will undoubtedly be unique and memorable. In any case, no one is keeping score. No one will check your route to make sure it was as long and difficult as possible. Ships are inevitable. They let you avoid long detours or countries where your passport is no good, or where you must be escorted during your journey. In my case, that would be either Iran or China.
hervature 6y ago
As others have said, I think these "around the world" cycling things are more just about touring. For actual challenges, like Everesting or becoming a High Rolleur, there are hard cut rules.
gnopgnip 6y ago
There is at least one person circumnavigating without using any motorized transport. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-bqpGT7rVPJ-CEEdFIeTDQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-bqpGT7rVPJ-CEEdFIeTDQ They do mostly mix between sailing and cycling. With this one it is more about the interesting people and places and not just the trip, so no strict rules on land or sea travel. But they do strictly follow the rule of not using motorized transport so getting in and out of port can be interesting, often they need to get help from the locals to paddle in and out.
- lmm 6y ago
  That's pretty cool, but if I tried to follow those rules then I'd degenerate into just sailing the whole way (which is definitely the easiest way to achieve the "objective" in a narrow sense).
guenthert 6y ago
Rules? I'm sure, if you want to break some Guinness Book record, they have rules for ya, but I'd think most world travelers just want to see a lot of it or partake in cultural exchange. Those don't need rules to pick their destination or mode of transportation.

williesleg 6y ago

India is a shit hole.

Mediterraneo10 6y ago

I am an avid long-distance cycle tourer myself. From time to time on cycling forums someone claims "only privileged Westerners can cycle across multiple countries, because people from the developing world don’t have the means to, or in those countries social expectations demand that young people stay at home and work hard to support their families." This article is therefore welcome proof that, even though Westerners certainly enjoy some privileges like a stronger passport, this pastime has nevertheless attracted even Indians. And for it’s worth, probably the first mention of cycle touring I ever saw as a young man, was two Iranians (!) cycling around the world and giving an interview to a Canadian newspaper about their experiences while passing through that country.

JKCalhoun 6y ago
> It’s not completely clear what inspired these young Parsis … but Babani believes it was their way of participating in India’s freedom struggle. “Instead of waving flags and joining demonstrations, they chose to pedal on a perilous path,” he says, “to paint for the world a true picture of India that would depict the glorious civilization, culture, and architecture of our native land.” What a beautiful idea.
bellyfullofbac 6y ago
But well, 98 years since they started their bike tour, an Indian's passport would be Indian and not British, and that would shut many borders (unless they can show enough financial stability to satisfy immigration authorities that they're not going to stay illegally), it would be hard to think they'd be hired for odd jobs in the western world or have the Pope welcome them, so my cheap conclusion would be, privileged Non-Westerners would also be able to do a world tour, but middle class ones? But what an adventure, it's almost like the movie Forrest Gump, with them witnessing history and even meeting characters like Mussolini.
whydoyoucare 6y ago
I hardly call this "proof" - the cyclists belong to Parsi community, an affluent and financially stable community in India for a long time now. Thus, they would be an exception, not the rule.

garyfirestorm 6y ago

A 100+ yrs of toxic culture with no end in sight to toxicity in immigration officials ‘They found other parts of the American experience disheartening, such as the rude and insulting immigration authorities. “The immigrant is at best tolerated and viewed with suspicion,” they wrote‘

timonoko 6y ago
I think they are trained that way. Correct reaction is to be somewhat annoyed but not too nervous. If you are totally cool with insults and inquiries, you are obviously a trained spy or professional criminale.
- yardie 6y ago
  US passport holder here, IME skin tone and country of origin has as much to do with it. I've had equal pleasant and unprofessional instances with USCIS while traveling alone, with a greencard holder, or with children. I've literally had agents be pleasant to families in front of us while being unpleasant to us when it was our turn at their desk.
  - vmception 6y ago
    This reminds me of the times I’ve experienced things like that and other people’s default reaction is to invalidate my experience
N1H1L 6y ago
This is also the height of anti-immigrant fervor in the United States. This is 9 years after the Johnson-Reed Act (Immigration Act of 1924) [1], which basically tried to ban all immigration from Asia. There is a great Hasan Minhaj episode that showed how Asian populations in the US owe their presence a lot to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which passed during the Civil Rights era [2, 3]. References: [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1924 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1924 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_FE78X-qdY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_FE78X-qdY [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Ac...

somberi 6y ago

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35299608 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35299608

sfblah 6y ago

If the men’s faces remind you a little of Freddie Mercury that’s because he too was a Parsi.

yazaddaruvala 6y ago
Thanks, this triggered my nepotism and got me to actually read the article :)
fiftyacorn 6y ago
Ive got "Bicycle Race" going thru my head now

whall6 6y ago

Is this where the band Bombay Bicycle Club gets its name?

whall6 6y ago
Actually I just looked it up. They were named after a restaurant of the same name. I wonder if the restaurant got its name from this story though?

FpUser 6y ago

What an inspiring story. There are also many journals of similar cycling travels published on the amazing website of Neil Gunton - http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/ http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/