MTB Rides in Delhi…
There are a lot of green areas in Delhi , but unfortunately most of them are covered by thorny shrub, which results in lots of flat tyres. There are fairly nice trails on the Ridge for instance, but you'll soon be very frustrated because of all the flats. Anyway, that area also isn't that big so it's more suitable for running than for biking…
However , there are two areas that are a bit larger and – more importantly – where you won't be frustrated by flats: (1) the banks of the Yamuna river, and (2) the fields in the Noida – Greater Noida areas. I wouldn't say these areas are great (Himalayan foothills or so are much better of course), but at least you can have some fun with your MTB there, and I use them for regular training. Now, what are we talking about?
• The banks of the Yamuna river
I live in Chanakyapuri, and so I don't take the car to go for a ride. I just bike up along Shantipath, up to the Presidential Palace, and then on to Rajpath, around India Gate (yep, busy place, but no so much on Sundays, and it's actually kind of fun to chase cars with a fast bike…), right turn onto Shershah Road, another right turn onto Mathura Road and then immediately right again onto Bhairon Marg (just take a decent city map to see where I am now and what roads I am talking about), then along Mahatma Gandhi Marg (yes, awfully busy, but we are almost there), and then – there we are - on the Nizamuddin Bridge across the Yamuna.
Now, immediately past the green fence on Nizamuddin Bridge (yep, that high green fence that prevents people from jumping in the river, but can't prevent them from throwing their garbage over it…), you get OFF THE BRIDGE. Yep, that's right, just get off the bridge on that little sandy downhill! Just do it !!!
So down and left under the bridge (see map hereunder).
There is a very green area there, nice, with fields and huts and all that (and a few nasty dogs, I have to admit, but just grawl back and they'll leave you alone – or at least they won't bite you…).
I won't go into details on the small tracks and trails there (because I have no map), but just explore them and don't worry if you end up in a wet rice field, because that's supposed to be part of the fun, isn't it?
To be frank, if there is mud there (after a rainy day for instance), then it's one of the ugliest muds you'll have ever seen in your life: sticky and extremely slippery, no matter what tyres you use. So don't do if it has been raining a lot because, after all, fun in the mud and ‘fun' in the mud are two different things…
After a bit of exploring (a nice word for getting stuck or lost from time to time…), I am sure you'll manage to get all the way across to the fields to the DND Flyway (see the second map hereunder). However, because it's really very very muddy near that Flyway, I actually don't go all the way to the DND Flyway itself: at some point, near the toll bridge, I turn left, out of the fields and onto the UP Link Road (marked as Dadri Road on the map for a reason I don't understand but then I am not that smart…). Then I cycle on this road (yes, busy, but it's only 1 km or so, even less…) a bit further to the red lights just past a dirty stream under that road (see map).
At those red lights, I turn right onto a nice tarmac road that crosses the Delhi-UP border, and which takes you right next to the toll bridge (or the DND Flyway as they call it). Just follow that road and it will take you UNDER the toll bridge, right in front on a fence. Just go around that fence (it's nice they sealed it off, so there's no traffic anymore now…) and continue. Beautiful views on the right (bird reserve).
The road continues, about 5 km I would think (I should invest in a GPS, or at least a decent cyclo computer…), and then you can just turn back or else… go for a real long ride onto Noida – Greater Noida, which is what I usually do, but that takes a bit of stamina, especially in the hot season… More on that in section 2 of this totally useless write-up…
Noida – Greater Noida
1. Road racing
This is actually the best ride, I think. See the map below for the starting point: Okhla Barrage. Yeah, I know my drawing looks pretty complicated but just give it a try. You see I've clearly marked the Okhla Barrage over the Yamuna. Unfortunatey, you won't find this area on the Eicher map, so I have no alternative for this drawing…
The road along the Bird Reserve I've been talking about in the section above is also there and comes onto it (Do you see it? Good ! You are very smart !). Now, if we take that road as point of departure (I've marked another fence on it, just before it comes onto the big road… Again, you can take your bike around it, but no cars or mo-bikes…), what you have to do is turn left, onto a bridge (basically an extension of the barrage), and then immediately right, across the road divider, onto a small road on a dyke wedged between a very big road - which would take you to the all the building and development that is going on next to the Noida-Greater Noida Express Way if you would take it… In fact, you can take that big road as well, as long as you make sure you get onto that dyke after a while (see drawing).
Now, that road on that dyke has been renewed recently so it's actually suited for fast road biking. It will take you about 20 km to get to the end of it, and back that makes a nice 40 km ride… There's a bit of trafic on it, basically trucks getting sand from a few sand-pits next to it, so that's not that pleasant but it's not that bad…
So just speed up and down there if you're into road biking… You'll like it. If you come by car, there's plenty of space around there to park it (parking on the Nizamudding Bridge – in contrast – is a no-no…).
2. Now for a real ride…
But, ladies and gentlemen, all the stuff I wrote above is basically bullshit. If you really want to use your mountain-bike for what it has been designed for, then you just follow that dyke but don't go all the way. You stop somewhere in the middle (see second drawing – with the start/finish markings), and you go for a nice circuit ride onto a much rougher road on another dyke…
[I know none of you will be able to understand that second drawing with the circuit below but getting lost there is also fun, so don't worry too much… Again, just go for it… That's how I found all this stuff …]
The start/finish point is on a small bridge over a very dirty little stinking stream about halfway that nice tarmac road on that dyke that starts from Okhla barrage. Immediately after that bridge, turn right on a brick road on another dyke, and just follow that dyke all around. The maps speaks for itself (if not, well… as said, just get lost there and find out for yourself… - or give me a call or an e-mail).
Most of that circuit is brick. Some parts are sandy and very bumpy. You'll have more fun with a full-suspension bike than with a hardtail - but then you want to do the real thing, don't you?
I've made this drawings for FireFox, because they want to organize a ride there… If they do, they should organize a waterpoint, on the spots I marked. Because all in all, it's only 30 km but that's heavy enough for beginners, especially when it's hot…
Now get on your bike and move it ! Good luck !
Jean-Louis Van Belle
Mobile: 9818686270
E-mail: jeanlouisvanbelle@yahoo.co.uk
PS: Even if I said you shouldn't get flats, take the essentials with you: a small toolkit, tyre levers, and 2 spare tubes. You also need water (at least 1.5 liter, so two cans) and some sugar (something salted is good too…). So either take a few candy bars, or mix some Gatorade with the water…
