Solo Cycling 3000 km to North East India | Cycle touring

So this is the plan. A round trip of 3,000 kilometers starting from Darjeeling, pedaling across Bengal, Assam, Arunachal and back home to discover the magical northeast of India. With minimum preparation, I have packed my cycle, mailed my resignation and I'm taking a flight from Mumbai to Baghdogra, Siliguri, the starting point for my tour. So let me take you for a ride. A ride of a lifetime. The set is the vast India's northeast, the stars, the people I meet on the way and the script, the open road and whatever it throws at me. First day boys. I thought of this day for like three months. Today I'm climbing up to Koshyong, must be about 40 kilometers but I'll be climbing around 4,000 feet. You know I always thought I would do this and now that I'm doing it, it feels just amazing. Oh f**k. So I have to go all the way and do you see this? This is the road. I have to climb all the way up to the top but thankfully I've made a friend. Hi Aman, is the cycle heavy? Yes. How heavy is it? Very heavy. The road to Darjeeling provides some of the best view of the Shangri-La range and Mount Kanchenjunga. The condition of the road is immaculate and surprisingly the traffic is sparse and the drivers polite, letting me go first. So I've made it to Poon, behind me is the majestic This is like a heritage you know. This is 7407 feet. I just have like 10 kilometers to go and I'm so tired man. Morning guys, I finally made it to Darjeeling and this is the view from my room today. Check that out. This is Mount Kanchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world. What an amazing day in Darjeeling. Wish you were here. I stayed in Darjeeling for a few days with my family while exploring the first MTB trail in India. Although it was good to be back home, the longing for the open road and the journey ahead kept tugging my heart. So on a cold winter's day, I reluctantly bid my family goodbye and started pedaling on. I've left Darjeeling, it's five degrees and now I'm on my way to Mongpu, to Mal Bazar actually. This is the river Tistan. The road from Darjeeling till Baro Bisha, the Bengal Assam border, cuts through numerous forest reserves and back roads with gorgeous views at every bend. Coupled with minimum traffic, the entire route is a pleasure to cycle and explore. India is very different from other places in the world. Cycling is seen as a poor man's vehicle due to class politics. So when they see me traveling on one, it draws a lot of curiosity. The walls of inhibitions are broken and new friendships are formed. When people ask me why I'm doing this, I really don't know the answer. But I love every kilometer of it. My motivation? It's the kindness of the strangers and the beauty of the wild. And my home is now the open road. What's up guys, so I've reached Boko in Assam and there isn't a single hotel to stay here. So the police have told me to stay in this place. It's a community hall, they are like these offices. So they told me to sleep in the corridor for the night. I've been following this road entire morning and on my left is the Brahmaputra. I'm 30 kilometers from Guwahati and this is a back road. It is just spectacular. It's just me, the cycle and the road. Guwahati is one of the biggest cities in the northeast and though it had a lot of things to offer, it was overwhelming and crowded for my present state of mind. So I decided to leave at the very first opportunity to the quieter destinations in Assam. So I left today morning from Guwahati at around 10 am but it took me like two hours to get out of the city. Then I had to climb a bit of a hill. On my right is Meghalaya, on my left is Assam and I'm cycling in the middle of the border of the two states. The people have no thought for cyclists and they just come overtaking you but hopefully I've reached the plateau and now it's just straight road ahead. Let's see how it goes. The problem with cars is that you just can't see inside them. It separates you from the environment and makes you exclusive and this is the reason why Indians love them. They think it makes them look better than the rest plus politics. Hello pal! It is such a beautiful place but it is so sad to see so much of air pollution. These are brick skin and they're just baking the bricks and this goes on 24 7, 365 days a year. Guess where I've made it guys? Kaziranga baby! Guys, guess what I found? Oh, hello baby! Hello! Hello! Oh, so cute! All the best, sir. Thank you, sir. Bye-bye. Wow! It's 4 45 p.m and it's already dark here and I have like 20 more kilometers to go and I'm crossing through the forest. Damn! When it rains, it pours. The traffic is too much. Check that out! How am I supposed to cross this? My god! Insane! Bye-bye! Crazy! People think that cycling with all your gear is hard. Actually, that's the easy part. It's the chains of materialism that are harder to break. We get so caught up in the rat race that it leaves a void inside and we try to fill the void by buying more stuff, attempting to buy our way to happiness and in the end, we are just living paycheck to paycheck. Back in the city, I realized I wasn't living at all but at this moment, I may not have all the money but right now, I have all the time in the world which I never had before. I've finally reached Arunachal and these hills are killing me, man. Oh, ----! But the view is amazing. Good morning, guys! I made it to Itanagar yesterday night very late. I pushed the bike for like about 4 kilometers at the end and it was really dark but thankfully, I met my friend's friend Dilito who came to pick me up. I'm planning to stay here for a couple of days, just get my strength back because I rode about 105 kilometers yesterday so I'm really tired because zero is a long way and I don't want to take any chances. So, let's see two days in Itanagar, get my batteries charged and head on. So, this is my room I'm staying. Itanagar is a peaceful settlement, a little less than a city, a little more than a town. Lito took me to the taxi stand to inquire about the road and if there were any settlements along the way to zero but we were left disappointed with their lack of knowledge. With Lito's words of encouragement, I picked up some new SIM card for emergency, registered myself in the police station since I was cycling alone and finally, I decided to visit the Itanagar monastery for some divine blessing. And next morning, at the crack of dawn, I left for zero. So, these are the roads, my god, insane! From the time I have left Itanagar, I have been meeting less and less people with each passing kilometre and for the first time, I feel truly alone. There is something here that is truly vanishing from the world and that is the wilderness. I'm so tired, this is like the 100th time I have stopped. So, I've been riding since 7 in the morning. So, basically I have to go down this road and then just over that hill. I think I can make it as long as I have enough water to drink and 11 o'clock and I have another five more hours before it gets dark. So, I need to reach Yazura today. Anyhow, it's kind of in deep sh!t. So, I climbed all the way, turn and now from here and we keep going ahead. Guess what guys, I just made it to the summit and now it's 20 kilometres of pure downhill to Yazali where I'll be staying tonight. These are the mountains I'll climb tomorrow which will take me to zero. Man, it was so tiring. So guys, this is where I'm staying, this is the inspection bungalow in Yazali. I kind of reached just now, it's about 6.30 pm. I've got another 45 kilometres to go from here. I'm really tired, I have nothing to eat. I got six eggs, I ate five already on the way. I'll just have one more egg but what a day. I don't think so I'll forget this day very soon, you know. It's amazing. Today was a good day, so far so good. The further you go away from the city, you not only experience new things but the people get more friendlier and genuine. Places that are still untouched by materialistic greed and pseudo-westernization. I'm 10 kilometres from zero. This is like the craziest climb but check out the view man. Insane. Yep, that's my new friend. Zero is a small town in Arunachal which is famous for paddy fields, kiwi plantations and the zero music fest. It is still untouched by modernization and people live here like the old days. I stayed with a lovely local Koga family in their homestay but I left in a few days. The desire to move was far greater than standing stationary. So for the first five kilometres there has been no road, it's just like gravel. So I had to climb all the way up, all the way and now I'm going ahead climbing up but look at the road. After that gravel road, this feels like heaven. I love tarmac. I love tarmac. I cycled out of Arunachal to Assam from north Lakhimpur and started heading to the largest river island in the world, Majuli. So this has been my road for the last half an hour. I don't know if I've made a wrong turn or my map is not showing it well but I'm just walking by the banks and there is no road. It's just sand and I'm walking. In the middle of nowhere I found this amazing crazy bridge. It just goes over this river. The sun is just setting now. Check that out. This is insane guys. Majuli is currently listed as the world's largest river island in the world according to the Guinness of World Records but it is losing land every year by water erosion due to global warming. More importantly it is home to the dying art of mask making that started in the 16th century. Although students from all over the world are accepted yet there are hardly five apprentices. It takes years to master the art form and the present fast food generation just doesn't have the patience to grind it out. With the last guru Mr Pradeep Goswami getting old by the day, it is sad to know that his death could also mean the end of 400 years of mask making and art lost forever. My last destination was Shiva Sagar, home to the Ahom dynasty, the fathers of modern Assam whose traces go back to Thailand. And this was the perfect setting for my journey from where I would turn around and cycle back to Darjeeling. But just before I headed back, Assam had a surprise for me. My solo cycle journey was covered by a couple of state newspapers and so with renewed energy I started my ride back home. So what did I learn from this trip? Well for starters, cycle touring is hard but not impossible. A smile can win you a friend but a smile and a cycle, now that can win you a nation. Have faith in the world, it's not as bad as people say it is. So let's take a chance because adventure isn't about climbing mountains or traveling the world. Adventure in its purest form is simply knowing what makes you happy and having enough courage to take that leap of faith. So go on that adventure and may you always have clear skies and strong tailwinds.