Have you been able to run India with Doppelganger 's folding bike

Bicycle that visited over 100 countries Although it was around the world, it was a mystery that I did not travel in India. I will definitely come back to overseas once again and that opportunity will come. I ran a vast Indian earth full of strength. Because the airplane moves a lot, I chose DoppelGanger 's folding bike as a new buddy, but it ran unexpectedly.

Hello,Takuya Sudo @ circle around the world bicycle @ Charridermanis. It was a troublesome country somewhat that transportation manners were bad and I was rejected at a cheap hotel, but the journey itself progressed smoothly. For those who jump into bad news, ordinary people are very kind. This time I tried summarizing the trip of India which I ran through with a folding bike.

Indian bike trip
On 20th March I landed at the airport in Mumbai, the largest city in India.


Located in the center of MumbaiChhatrapati Shivaji Terminus StationIt is a Gothic style building that makes you feel illusion from Europe.


It was perfect for the beginning placeIndian Gate.


From Mumbai, the highway was open and I was able to run comfortably. Depending on the location, service roads may be on two lanes on either side.


For a while after leaving Mumbai, the weather has been getting stiff. As the wind blows, the muffled air heated by the asphalt will attack the whole body. Approaching Varanasi, the heat has relaxed somewhat, but if you are driving in India, it would be better a little earlier. It was dry season so it did not rain.


I had wet clothes if I had a chance so as not to collapse in this heat. In this way, the heat of vaporization will lower the body temperature, so it will be cooler as it was revived for a while.


A lot of spices mixed, the authentic curry can not be forgotten. Scoop with a spoon and put it in your mouth, shock that does not become a word runs through the whole body. However, getting tired of continuing only curry is a difficult point. In such a case, I will move away from curry for a while. In addition, as time passed, I could not forget that taste, and once I eat curry again I was touched by the eye that "eyes are like this!" I was repeating alone like a control.


A couple in a dining room that looked cute.


The Hindu temple which was crowded with the Indian who pilgrims.


The boys seem to be curious about Charlie Mann's cool bicycle.


A piece that cut off India's happy everyday life.


After the town of Indore, the highway disappeared, and to the rattling road which is hard to run.


Two people who were helping.


From Mumbai, run about 1200 km,Taj MahalArrived in Agra where there is.


I visited at the same time as the gate. People are few, so it's easy to take pictures, but if the night has just opened, the white building will also look dull. So, I had to kill time until the sun was rising.


The whiteness of Taj Mahal stands out only after the blue sky. Buildings like artworks made symmetrically were packed with strange charm that never get tired of how much they looked at. This building is a grave that the Emperor of the Mughal Empire built for his beloved wife.


Even Varanasi I was aiming for next to Agra was easy to run as the highway was completed.


This road seems to be connected to the east major city Kolkata.


Capture the children playing in the garden.


Because I was not Indian, I was scared of sunglasses, so I made a little child cry. "I do not smile, even if I shake sweetly," I am not a bad person. " I was hated. But, adults around who are watching it are full of smiling smiles. Although it was also Africa, touching with these local people accumulates memories of the trip.


On the way to school.


And it is a holy place of HinduismVaranasiArrival in. There were many Indian people who visited for pilgrims as well as foreign tourists.


Local children were swimming in the Ganges River.


From Varanasi, head north and head to Nepal.


It was healed by dazzling water and green.


Although it was only steep mountains around the area, flat land was spreading beyond the pass. The capital city of Kathmandu is located in a basin with an altitude of 1,300 m.


The bicycle journey in South Asia is over in the town called Laxoule that came back from Nepal. I wanted to secure the time to visit Bangladesh because the tires were worn and the punctures were frequent, so I used the train. When I start traveling, I am particular about self-propelledness, but it is around the end of the trip, so I have to proceed to the next one. We also had a ticket to escape India first. Although I had not examined it at all, a direct train runs to Kolkata to be lucky.

Railroad crossing.


Laxoule station.


I leave the bicycle in the freight car and get on the other baggage together.


I bought a ticket in the class called "Sleeper" in which the electric fan, not the air conditioner, moves. We were able to sleep soundly, although it was a night train, because we can secure a bed one by one. It was a process that took a week if it was a bicycle, but when it was a train, I reached Kolkata in a day. Despite having moved this much, the cost does not cost as much as 1000 yen.


Arriving in Kolkata, I headed for the inn, but even here it was punctured and being repaired while surrounded by locals.


It was a backpacker, but I will extend my legs to Bangladesh in 6 nights and 7 days.


While walking in the town, it was a country where we could talk to many people.


Flight from Kolkata to Brunei, Borneo via Kuala Lumpur.


Bikes are also packing using stick bags.


When I headed for check-in, I was told to "Please wrap the deposited baggage", so obediently follow the instructions. At 200 rupees (about 400 yen), it rolled up like Pitri. Usually I wrap it with my own saran wrap for saving, but at this time I just paid money, it was thick solid firm wrapping film.


Completion


It was a journey in South Asia that started in Egypt by entering the Maldives, but somehow we were able to go around Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and Bangladesh on schedule. It is an area where cultures and customs are common, so it was good that I could travel at a stretch.

◆ Folding bike
"Suddenly the frame broke while drivingMy new Doppelganger, worried about from around, "Are you OK?" "Please take care!", But for now it's running without problems. Since I knew the case of frame rupture before purchasing, since it is supposed to be built firmly as much as there are people using it, the popular model "202 blackmax" is selected. Because I did not have the stock, I bought a different color "200-WH whiteback", but I think that it is doing well for a folding bike of 20,000 yen range. I exchanged most parts except the frame, but ... ....

When deciding to continue the journey a bit more, I could not release the bicycle. However, because it will be many movements by plane, if it is mountain bike so far, I am afraid to be charged an excess fee, I decided to buy a folding bike. It is a budget decided to be 50,000 yen, but the folding bike you get with that amount is also not good for the parts used, it is not enough to run a long distance. I decided to build it by myself, holding "cheap frame" as a cheap frame. Customization is "I modified Doppelganger 's folding bike to make it a partner around the worldThis article summarizes.

Although I was running in India like this, since it would be an unsupported usage by the manufacturer, I pay close attention to safety.


It was a daypack that had been carried all the time, but it was successfully installed on the handlebag when devised. The back is great with the heat, the shoulder by the weight, and it is more comfortable not to carry anything while driving.


GPS is attached to the handle. When you compare your current location with the map, you will not get lost, as the distance to the destination and altitude also comes out, it is one of the items indispensable now.


I wanted to increase the handle position, so I installed the end bar. For Indian mountain bikers, it is a dish that is always wearable. It is an affordable price of 80 rupees (about 160 yen).


My bicycle, which has 32 gears on the front gear, 9 gears on the rear sprocket, 20 inches on the wheel, was a standard of 15 km / h in flatland. If the speed exceeds 20 km / h, the pedal becomes too light, the load does not go up and the speed does not rise. There was a time when speed did not come out for several days, but when I check it the shift of the rear derailleur did not go well. It is a bicycle that makes it a strange ride because the wheel also turns pretty much with one revolution of the pedal. Since the bottom bracket and the drive system were replaced with parts of Shimano on front and rear hubs, resistance has also been reduced and it is a light running.

With full luggage, like this.


Although it is a pania bag which gained by giving priority to light weight, it is cheap and there is difficulty in durability. If it breaks, you must sew with needle and thread.


· Puncture repair
I was confident that Schwalbe's marathon would be fine. Bicycles packed with luggage were bad for tires with no puncture prevention layer. I was punctured to the extent that I do not want to recall myself. I have to puncture for two days lucky, if it is a terrible time I repair the puncture twice a day. When I was running in the Caribbean Sea and the Middle East, I was not satisfied, but it worsened in Sri Lanka, and it seems to happen frequently in India.

I step through the picture.


When the puncture is out of the air at once, let's put the air in before putting the tire off and let's apply water. Since the sound of the PSP is heard and the location of the hole is easily understood, there is no need to remove all the tires, and the puncture repair is also smooth.


I processed a waste tube and sandwiched it between a tire and a tube to the extent of too much puncture. I thought it was good for several days, but after that it did not change much.


Supplies
Because it was a situation not proceeding to such a progression, I sent Kurkata from Japan to send the package with EMS. Although I was worried, I arrived in only 6 days. I have been arranging for my parents' home many times before, so I have to do this last.


I only use about 4000 km, but the tread of the tire has also worn out. The casing also broke, the tube protruded like a rice cake and it punctured. As a first aid, I was afraid that it would not tear, although the tire piece falling on the roadside was clamped between the tire and the tube.


I am also sending patches for 100 puncture repairs that are evenly distributed. The patch I got in India seems to have been pasted and seems to have been fixed but suddenly peeled off while driving, the air leaked out, I could not master it.


Due to the large number of puncture repairs, I got a new glue stick, but in Japan it is an extra large size.


As it was everyday like this puncture, I changed to a new tire before the flight. It is the same Schwarbe, but we will replace it with a new tire with a puncture protection layer between the tread and the casing called "marathon plus".


In addition, I exchanged the chain, the bicycle which became new feeling.


I was using the binding shoes I got on a low budget when I temporarily returned home ... ...


With the one in Sri Lanka, the other at the beginning of India, the groove fixing the cleat was broken, running without running the shoes on the pedals. It was a small pedal on the tread surface, so efficiency was bad. This also sent me new shoes. For shoes new, Shimano selects as emphasis on the manufacturer.


Thanks to this new tire, Borneo Island, which ran about 1000 km, never punctured. The new binding shoes are also comfortable, accurately tell the pedals the power to step on and advance with increasing speed and speed.

I could not grasp it before going on a trip, but I can run overseas even with a 20 inch folding bike. India and Nepal ran about 2,500 km. From now on, I'm planning to go around the Pacific Island Countries like New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji as a base point from Australia. Here also a folding bike trip is also a break. I wish I could run without anything.

(Sentence / photo: Takuya S. Narou Charriderman
Cycling around the world for a bicyclehttp://shuutak.com
Twitter@ Shuutak)