Ireland to India on bicycle

DeanMcMenamin

Hi,
I'm thinking of cycling from Ireland to India this summer and I'm looking for advice from people who may have cycled this journey before especially the countries they traveled through.
I was thinking of heading towards Turkey and then into Iran, Pakistan and then India.
I know Pakistan borders can be closed at times into India and was wondering if anyone has experienced this before.

awec

I personally doubt whether this is possible in that time frame. 10,000km according to google.

Cavehill Red

At the recommended 120 Km per day, you're talking in the region of 80 days at least to cover the 9386 km (google maps) from Dublin to New Delhi riding every day without any rest days.

2 Wheels Good

This guy tried it Crazyguyonabike and this woman did it in the 60s/70s Full Tilt

As I think of it, a friend of mine did it by bus too, and that took 3 months give or take so sounds like a challenge if you're on a schedule

jiffybag

Check out Cycle to Oz on Facebook . Two Tyrone lads currently in India after cycling most of the way to there . France , Italy , Croatia , Greece , Turkey , Iran etc so far on their journey . Looks like they are having great craic too.

DeanMcMenamin

Thanks for the reply, I hope to start this summer but my time frame extends on past the summer months. Thinking of taking 6 months out which will leave me time to explore India and do some hiking.

spokesman

You should get Mark Beaumont's book "The man who cycled the world", from what i remember from reading it, he went through Pakistan, and had a police escort for most of his cycle through there.Best of luck.

sungear

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

This guy tried it Crazyguyonabike and this woman did it in the 60s/70s Full Tilt

As I think of it, a friend of mine did it by bus too, and that took 3 months give or take so sounds like a challenge if you're on a schedule

I remember full tilt being a good book, her suprise at the ease of getting licenced on a .30 cal revolver and then having to use in her defence on wolves in Yugoslavia, shame i left it behind on a plane seat..

DeanMcMenamin

I have watched the television show about his trip around the world, and yes he did require a police escort, and also from what I have researched a lot of insurance companies wont cover you in Pakistan so I may need to find a creative way to bypass.

Thanks for the reply.

jmoore50

https://www.into.ie/ROI/MembersArea/SolidarityandTravelArticles/DublinToIndia_June10.pdf

One of the teachers in my kids local primary school did this himself a few years back and wrote a book on it.

DeanMcMenamin

jmoore50 wrote: »

https://www.into.ie/ROI/MembersArea/SolidarityandTravelArticles/DublinToIndia_June10.pdf

One of the teachers in my kids local primary school did this himself a few years back and wrote a book on it.

Thanks a million for this, the journey looks amazing.

tomc

Check this out, similar story and a good read http://www.amazon.co.uk/Youve-Gone-This-Time-ebook/dp/B004L62DJU

ustazjoseph

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

This guy tried it Crazyguyonabike and this woman did it in the 60s/70s Full Tilt

As I think of it, a friend of mine did it by bus too, and that took 3 months give or take so sounds like a challenge if you're on a schedule

Dervala Murphy did it on an old 3 speed in very different times - great read

sungear

ustazjoseph wrote: »

Dervala Murphy did it on an old 3 speed in very different times - great read

Yes, she was able to cycle through Afghanistan and I think Pakistan also, bit more difficult these days to try that

blorg

I did it as the first leg of my current tour in 2010/11 although I had to overfly Pakistan. I had originally planned on riding through Pakistan (I got the visa in Dublin before I left) but met a French girl just after Istanbul who was also cycling to Kathmandu and she didn't want to go there (and couldn't get a visa anyway.) So we went down to Bandar Abbas, ferry to Dubai, rode to Muscat and then flew to Mumbai and continued from there.

Pakistan is probably in a worse state now than it was two years ago so not sure whether it would be the best idea. As others have said, you would need to take a police escort. Essentially this means you stick your bike in a jeep for both Iranian and Pakistani portions of Baluchistan, and I think some other provinces in Pakistan also. If headed to India you don't get to cycle much in Pakistan at all.

I am still on the road; continued on through Nepal, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, with side trips to Myanmar and the Philippines. (I also had to overfly Tibet, also for visa reasons.) Not in a big hurry to come back to be honest, it is an easy life here. I'm still cycling but taking extended breaks on the way. 20,000km so far.

I blogged the European section of my tour but haven't got around to putting any more up yet: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/index.html?doc_id=7459

It's possible in three months, I guess, but it would be very very tough going. Give yourself longer if possible. Also bear in mind it will be unbelievably hot in central Iran if you are there in mid-summer. Risk to your health/life hot, especially if you feel you 'have' to cycle 100km+ every day. I got heat stroke in Northern India, had a fever for a week and ended up having to go to hospital.

The main thing though is just time and the will to do it. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

lg123

I done this by car a few years ago. As outlined above, Pakistan will be the problem. We had a police escort for 90% of the Pakistan part and just blitzed it because of that, a few days were 24hr escort. We started in sept and left India late dec.

Have you looked at the weather/season for the Middle East for your proposed time of year?

You will need visas for Iran, Pakistan, and India before you depart.

Keep Nepal in mind too, some great hill training up there. Liked Nepal a lot more than India.