Rajasthan is quite a fascinating destination for cycling. Firstly the state has really well made roads and secondly the bike tour allows us to experience the varied charms of the state at slow speed on our bikes.
This tour group was a total of 8 riders plus my wife who was to accompany us in the follow vehicle.. We arrived in Jaipur on the afternoon of 4th Dec 2021 by flight. Soon we got to assemble our bikes and make it road-ready for the long 700 kms tour ahead.
Our plan was to start by sunrise every day and start riding in the morning chill and reach destination by late afternoon.
Day 1 – Jaipur to Sambar Lake and Phulera
Beginning the tour, we started riding in the morning chill from our Jaipur hotel. We got our first glimpse of the smooth Rajasthan roads soon. We rode on the awesome Jaipur Ajmer highway. The road was so smooth that riding here was effortless in the morning chill. The riders were loving their time on the saddle.
After about 35 kms, we turned towards the famed Sambar Lake. The road to sambar lake was a typical rural road, passing thru fields, villages, and countryside. We had the whole road to ourselves as there was very little traffic on this road. We had a lot of time and opportunity to take pictures, eat breakfast at a local dhaba and generally spend time here.
The sambar lake is a huge lake of salt. Fully white and solid. We could ride on Salt Lake and take lovely pics. We spent an hour or so on this lake. Then we rode to and settled into Phulera, a small town with a lot of local food shops and typical small-town looks.
Day’s ride – 90km
. 
Day 2 – Phulera to Pushkar
As usual, the day ride started early again at 7 am. The early morning chill, sunrise and music on the bike handlebar was perfect to enjoy the lovely rural roads. We rode thru the sambar lake road once again. It was amazing a wide variety of different birds, animals and many peacocks around
the road. A truly fantastic experience.
After about 2 hours of riding, We stopped at a village dhaba for Tea and breakfast. The riders were very hungry. But the only thing available at this place was the famous hot kachoris of Rajasthan and chai. With no other choice, all riders relished the local food with chai.
With good amount of distance covered in next couple of hours, we were near Ajmer at lunchtime. We stopped at a big highway dhaba – famous for its daal baati.
Today the afternoon heat was a bit too strong. The Last 35 kms were a bit difficult after the lunch. Finally, we reached our destination – Pushkar at about 4 PM. We were going to be staying in Luxury tents here. As soon as reached, We dived in to the freezing cold swimming pool to cool down.
The tents were very spacious, comfortable and allowed us to have a different stay experience.
Day’s ride – 117 kms
Day 3 –Pushkar to fort Khejarla
We started in 6 degrees cold. So, Fingers were frigid. Most of us had worn Jackets, face buffs, skull caps and thick socks. yet the chill was quite pervasive till the sun came up strongly at about 9-10 AM.
In fact, We took a detour from the main highway to explore smaller paths. As expected, we passed many small villages, rural roads, dusty, crater-like roads and some well-made amazing patches of roads. These are some of the true flavors of Rajasthan.
But The detour increased the total distance by 30 kms. But it was a welcome change. Once we hit the main highway, We could hit high speeds and sprint to our heart’s content.
We reached Fort Khejarla at about 5 PM. This is a beautiful fort – turned into a boutique hotel. Amazing place to stay. We settled in and immediately came out to explore the fort in the fading sunlight. A lovely experience. Dinner was a special occasion with the hotel setting a seating for us in the fort’s main lawns.
Day’s ride – 138 kms
Pushkar was a bit cooler than other places.
Day 4 – Fort Khejarla to Jodhpur
We started from fort Khejala on a lovely stretch of well-made village roads and cool weather. All of us were so content to ride slowly on this stretch. We saw some peacocks and had some nice photo ops.
Then we joined a national highway and sprinted a big part. We entered the city by 1 pm. The ride was about 20 kms to the heart of the city. It seemed to be quite a lot of traffic and a noisy city in the old part of Jodhpur.
We were staying in an old haveli converted into a homestay. Also, we had a rest day tomorrow. This was time to wash clothes, reset snacks and other supplies if needed and of course, time to see the beauty and the grandeur of Jodhpur fort and other tourist attractions.
Day’s ride – 86 kms
Day 5 – Jodhpur Sightseeing
We left to see the Jodhpur Palace in the morning and spent a good 2-3 hours there. It was a very well-maintained palace with lot of history to it. After an elaborate lunch, We saw some other attractions before settling into our hotel for drinks and dinner in the night.
Day 6 – Jodhpur to Kotri
We started in 8-10 deg chill. It was quote cold till about 10 am. Then we took the NH 67 highway for a long stretch. Breakfast was a lavish menu of Parathas, Omlettes and Poha with chai. So
on after this, we turned into small rural roads. There were some bad patches due to road works. But largely very sparse traffic. Then we had properly tarred decent and empty roads till Kotri – our next destination.
We stayed in an old haveli, converted into a hotel. The rooms were the typical old-fashioned ones – with antique beds and of course lot of space. The bathroom was the size of a room in a modern apartment building.
The staff were very warm and courteous. They prepared a great dinner for us. It was a wonderful property to stay for the night. For a change, We had an awesome breakfast at the hotel itself before we started our ride to the next destination – Kumbhalgarh.
Day’s ride – 138 kms
Day 7 – Kotri to Kunbhalgarh
Our start from Kotri had rural roads with lovely fields on both sides. We passed many villages. The morning sunlight in the Rajasthan early morning chill was so enchanting. Soon we were on the road to Ranakpur. This is a busy tourist destination. So numerous hotels and resorts lined up on both sides of the road.
The Ranakpur temple was beautiful and very well preserved. The temple authorities are doing a magnificent job, running the temple as a tourist spot for hundreds of people who visit it through the year.
After the temple stop, started the climbs to Kumbhalgarh. The roads in some stretches was pure gravel and stone. There were very steep and long climbs. All of us had to walk couple of kms as our tires would not get road grip due to loose gravel, stones and sand on steep sections.
We climbed for about 3-4 hours. Overall, about 1000 mtrs elevation in just 20-25 kms – on horrible roads. Infact The entire road from Ranakpur to our resort in Kumbhalgarh was quite bad. The climbs were omnipresent till the hotel doorstep. Infact the Hotel gate led to another steep climb till the main building.
We had covered only 60 kms at 3 pm till the hotel. In the same time, We rode 138 kms yesterday.
Day’s ride – 60 kms
Day 8 – Kumbhalgarh to Udaipur
Kumbhalgarh is at a height. So, it was really very cold. Wisely we started a bit late at 8 am due to the cold. We started with full gloves, fleece pants and jackets as it was 6-8 degree cold. After a small bad patch, we got one of the best roads of the trip. This was supposed to be our final riding day and we got this lovely tarred, winding road – mostly going down. A long, fully tarred rural road, winding through fields and villages was sweet music to the touring cyclists.
Again, a princely breakfast on the way was a great experience. Overall a great time, riding today. Perfect for cycling. We reached Udaipur at 2 pm. Out hotel was in the heart of the city.
Our main tour ended here. This tour was a spectacular experience in terms of riding, local people, stays at various places and the local food of course. Overall a superb experience. We got exactly the experiences that we wished for a Rajasthan tour. Which is good roads, rural country riding, local foods, experience local cultures and explore heritage palaces, forts etc.
Day’s ride – 82 kms
Day 9 – Udaipur city ride
We met the local cycling group called Bindaas in Udaipur. Led by the one-handed Govind, They took us a spectacular and scenic ride around Udaipur lakes and a small hike up Bahubali hills. We got some jaw-dropping views at the top.
The Udaipur fateh lake has a lovely cycling track and the entire lake road is a good 10-15 kms loop. A cyclist’s delight.
Day’s ride – 29 kms
Complete photos link – Click Here
Route map
