Jalgaon to Shirpur, Maharashtra

Today's plan was to take a shortcut through Asigarh hills and ride to Khargone. However, I was apprehensive about the route and was thinking to change the plan.

In the morning, I was figuring out how to get out of Jalgaon. Met Mr. Kulkarni, a police inspector. He offered me a tea and asked questions about my journey. After the tea he rode with me for short time, showing me the way to enter the National Highway towards Chopda.

Nearing Chopda, a dog started running beside me. From my experience, dogs don't like strangers in their village and I thought this dog also wanted to chase me out of the village I was riding through. But it appeared that the dog just wanted to run with me. I was cycling and dog was running. Once dog was tired, it would slow down and would catch up with me again. This went for around 4kms and the dog finally gave up when another dog on the roadside barked at him.

On the way I met two ex-military guys. We had a little chat and I asked them the way towards Asigarh hills. One of them suggested that I go through Shirpur, instead of taking Asigarh route as the route is not pleasant with chances of me getting looted. Although I was doubtful of taking up the hilly route in the morning, but after hearing from this guy, I was pretty much sure of not taking the Hilly route and rode to Shirpur instead.

It was 4:30pm and I was few kms away from Shirpur. An old man joined me with his bicycle. He was going back home after his daily work. He rode with me till Shirpur town.

At the entry point of Shirpur, three guys on one motorbike saw me, enquired what I was doing on a bicycle and commented "Aap jaise log bhi is duniya me hain kya ?". (Does people like you exist in this world?).

Ajanta to Jalgaon, Maharashtra

Rode to Ajanta caves by 9:00 am. I had been informed that seeing Ajanta caves will take anywhere between 3-5 hours. Although, tourist spots were not a priority in my travel, but just wanted to give Ajanta a try since it was off-season.

Road towards the caves from the checkpoint was peaceful and only authorized buses were allowed to pass through. I liked that fact that they also allowed bicycles to go in.

I was the first customer to reach the cave ticket counter. An archeological guide named Vishal approached me and started saying about the services he can offer. What I wanted was a safe place to park my bicycle and didn't want people to play on it. Vishal said he will look after the bicycle while I walk around the caves.

Inside caves it was tranquil and I felt the silence just penetrating into me.
"Budham sharanam gachaami, dharmam sharanam gachaami"

I had a quick view of caves by walking around for 3 hours and later, walked up to the viewpoint   and got a better view of waterfall near to caves. The local guide said that waterfall had seven steps and was nature-made. I was amazed when a local guide told me that the whole Ajanta caves were dug out from the hill. Towards the end of cave walk, more souvenir sellers came to me and I ended up buying some needless stuff.

Reached Jalgaon by evening and it was raining there. Found a lodge near railway station. The lodge owner said to have dinner "Thali" from Arya Nivas restaurant, and I found it to be second best dinner I had till now. The best was from MTDC hotel in Ajanta.

Aurangabad to Ajanta, Maharashtra

A foggy morning at Aurangabad; many people were enjoying a walk or run on the roadside. I felt like it was an ideal start for the day's ride.

Unable to locate any signboard, getting out of Aurangabad city towards Ajanta seemed to be tricky.  I rode through some pockets roads with the help of auto-rickshaw drivers, a bakery shop owner, a school security guard and many more rushing for their morning jobs.

Soon the weather changed and it started to rain. It was mildly weeping rain that lasted all day long.

With the rain never taking a break, it was wet ride through villages, with kids waving, dogs chasing, people staring and even few cows staring at me.

I was climbing Ajanta ranges. It was raining and the views were beautiful. Soon the downhill started and bicycle was gaining speed; had to apply breaks all time, to not let the bicycle go out of control.

The bicycle gear shifting was giving some problem, with the chain reluctant to fall on certain gear. Since, I didn't know how to fix it, I hoped to find a modern bicycle repair shop before it got worse.

It was evening and still raining. Reached the entry checkpoint to Ajanta caves, but didn't go further as it was closed for the day. Took a room in an MTDC budget hotel. Had tasty chapattis and vegetable curry for dinner.

Tomorrow, I will ride to Ajanta caves.

Beed to Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Morning ride to Aurangabad was hectic, with many trucks and cars honking at me and I had to get off the bicycle now and then.

At the beginning of the ride, one guy on motorbike who saw me while riding in opposite direction, took a U turn and came to me. He was curious if I was cycling with any message, religious or anything else. I said that my cycling journey is the message; I share my story with people I meet on road and I wish I could inspire them to follow their heart to fulfill their own dreams.

A soon as I left the Beed town limits and entered into the villages, I was treated with wonderful views of little green hills.

In between, a motorbike guy near one village junction stopped me and inquired about my bicycle trip. Soon a kid came to me asking for a test drive on the bicycle. I was hesitant to give the bicycle, but the people gathered around forced me to do so. The kid took a round, followed by an adult taking the bicycle to spin around.

Met two teachers on motorbike, 30km ahead of Aurangabad. We had a chat while riding and they left wishing me good luck. Soon, a marketing executive working for a fertilizer company said hello to me and invited me for a cup of tea. He was curios to know, if I have been interviewed by any news media and was about to call his friend working for a news channel. I said that I'm not doing this for any media attention.

Met couple of engineering students at the lodge I stayed for the night. They asked me lot of questions about the bicycle journey. They said about their plan for a Ladakh ride on motorbike, but ride on a bicycle that long was unthinkable for them. One of them took a picture along with me.

For most of the people I met on road till now, doing a solo ride was unimaginable, once they analyze the risks on road. But I had turned off the risk analysis part in my brain before this journey.

Today the bicycle crossed 1000km, I guess a  milestone for bicycle and me.

Barshi to Beed, Maharashtra

It was 7:30am and the rain had calmed down a bit. I decided to start from Barshi towards Beed, without waiting anymore for the rain to stop. Soon I was riding in heavy rain. I decided not to get off the bicycle this time and enjoy the ride in rain. I should say, riding in the rain was awesome.

Till 2:00pm, I had a job in hand i.e. tackle the pothole while riding in rain. By far, this was the most adventurous ride in my trip till now.

Jerky ride through the potholes, along with the lubrication provide by the rain, had made the rear rack strap slide down and it was now resting on the disc brake unit. Once the rain stopped I had to re-adjust the rear rack, for the second time in this trip.

20km away from Beed, I got my first excitement of a downhill ride on a bicycle. With speed more than 50kmph , I was learning how to tackle the turns in a downhill.

The downhill came to an end and I was greeted by two guys named Vijay and Amol on a motorbike. They had come to visit a waterfall over there. Being youngsters, they were very much thrilled after hearing about my trip.

Few kms later, I entered Beed town, took the road towards Aurangabad and stopped in front of the Bus station to find a lodge for night stay.Couple of guys on scooter stopped near me, asking to take a picture along with them.

Ahead I met a group of police guys. They helped me in locating the lodge and wished me good luck for my trip. Soon an auto-rickshaw driver gave me 50 rupees, asking me to keep it for "Chai-paani"(for tea/water). I denied to accept the money, but the people nearby said to take it. I guess they were thinking that I was a pilgrim and helping me is a good deed. 

Before sleep, I went to the hotel below the lodge to get some water. Had a chat with the middle-aged hotel manager, who was settling the account for the day. He asked me where I was from and why in Beed. I said about my journey and soon he shared his bike ride to north India during his youth. He offered me a tea and we spoke for some more time.

Riding through the villages today, one particular thing that struck my mind was the number of Swami ashrams on the way. Seems like villagers are very much affectionate to Swami ji's.

Solapur to Barshi, Maharashtra

As usual, I started early to escape the traffic in the town. People were moving to their offices for their daily job. On the way, a fellow cyclist rode with me to show the road towards Barshi from Solapur town.

Moving ahead, I met Mr. Boghle, a police inspector. He was incharge of the checkpost from Solapur to Barshi. We spoke as he rode his motorbike, keeping in pace with my bicycle. He asked me to stop at the check post ahead, for a cup of tea. Mr. Boghle who started speaking to me in Marathi and then in Hindi, was now deliberately speaking in english after knowing my education background. He offered me tea and also entered my name in the check post register just to commemorate that a "Traveller on bicycle" had passed through his check post.

I started from checkpost thanking Mr. Boghle for the tea. Further, I was stopped by a bunch of police guys. They asked me where I was going and wished me good luck.

Around 5 km from the checkpost, couple of local guys on motorbike slowed down by seeing me. Hearing my story, they invited me for breakfast at a dhaba in a vilage named Gunvanchi, few kms away. I was about to reach the Dhaba and I saw them waving at me. Mr. Chandrakant Rauth, as he introduced himself, asked me what I want for beakfast and said that the Dhaba belongs to his brother-in-law. As I waited for the breakfast, Mr. Rauth said "It's amazing to meet peope on road whom you might meet only once in a lifetime".

Cycling ahead through the villages, many motorbike guys rode along with me asking me similar set of questions which I was getting used to now, like, "Where I am from?" "Price of the bicycle?" "Where I was going?" "Why cycling alone?" "Where I sleep during night?" "Where I will have my food?"

Road towards Barshi had many potholes, but the views were excellent. As I was cycling through the villages, I could see farmers enagaged in agricultural activities, with their farms having vegetable, banana and sugarcane cultivation. One farmer invited me for lunch at his farm.

I reached Barshi by 4:00pm and stopped near the town entry, seeking help to find an accomodation. The people near by gathered and asked me about the bicycle trip. They helped me in locating a budget lodge for the night stay.

Normally I keep to myself, but now I was feeling great while getting attention from people. Altogether I felt that people in Maharashtra were more curious and welcoming. I enjoyed their hospitality.

During night, it rained in Barshi. It was "Angry rain" and poured so heavily for hours that the town was almost flooded. I could get the smell of sewage as it rained all night.

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"When it rained, the towns smelled like sewage and villages like cow dung."

Bijapur, Karnataka to Solapur, Maharashtra

It was a late start from Bijapur. Not much of views in the beginning and the road was busy with trucks.

Couple of motorbike guys stopped me and few others passing by joined in, wondering what was happening. Again, it was a story telling session for me. By seeing the bicycle, they were asking about its different components. Some of them were very eager to play with the cycle gear, wondering what would happen. Some said I could have rode on motorbike, instead of a bicycle. I just smiled back.

An old farmer on the road side smiled at me and asked if I was coming from outer space. Seemed like, with a bicycle helmet and a raincoat on, I resembled an astronaut.

Clouds were just hanging around in the sky. It was getting hot and I wished for a rain, but it didn't happen.

Entered Solapur town by evening. Stopped to have coconut water. A young boy was selling the coconut. He couldn't believe that I was cycling from Bangalore. I was very tired and my bums and back were in lot of pain. Asked direction towards the Railway station, to find a cheap accommodation for night stay.

Solapur is pretty much a developed town. I was cycling towards the railway station and was stopped by few auto-rickshaw drivers. After having a chat with them, they directed me to the best place for the night stay within my budget.

It was time for another heavy dinner and I refueled myself with a  delicious thali along with few vada pav and bananas.

Prior to the sleep, I was getting a burning sensation on the top of my palm; seemed like it was heavily sunburned from past few days of riding under the sun. A hand glove could have helped to avert the sunburn, but I didn't buy one, thinking that it's of no use.So another piece of lesson learned on importance of hand glove.

Today was also the end of Karnataka ride and beginning of Maharashtra.