We much preferred cycling in southern india generally, everything was more relaxed, less hassle from people when we were on the road. We found people in the north of india on the roads to be more interested in us and so we felt more hassle.

We went ‘up’ – which seemed psychologically like a good thing, but then we were trying to get to Khatmandu – but i suppose equally the same could be said for going ‘down’. The terrain along the coast of Kerala was flat so it wouldn’t matter which direction and there was little impact from wind in November. Mahrashtra was incredibly, steeply hilly – really tough riding there.

We set off from southern Kerala in late Oct and arrived in Mumbai in late Nov – which was an amazing time of year to be there, it was the tail end of the rainy season – we witnessed a couple of big rainy moments, but mostly it was clear, not too hot and generally plesant (although we had come from the desert in Iran – so our heat tolerance was relevant to our situation!)

Doing it alone – I don’t see why not. We enjoyed having the company of eachother, but we also met other cyclists on the roads occasionally and it was easy to find food, shelter, water and a friendly face in India – there’s accommodation everywhere – personally we wouldn’t camp there as there are so many people, it’s hard to get away to somewhere where it might feel safe.

Hope that helps – anymore q’s just ask!
Liz

See you at the Trust!