Day 49 – Nagaur to Bikaner, Rajasthan (Kanyakumari to Leh cycling)

Geared up to save myself from heat

While cycling from Nagaur to Bikaner, I felt the real desert heat as I was heading towards the desert city of Bikaner. Sand beside long, lonely roads has its own beauty and I was quite mesmerised by it. The scorching heat of sun was felt less as I was completely involved in the surroundings and in the excitement of reaching Bikaner. I have been hearing about this beautiful city a lot from an Army officer friend of mine who was posted here four months back.

Geared up to save myself from heat
Geared up to save myself from heat

There were times when I looked back and forth and all I could see was only me in this arid region. Whenever I used to cross people on my way, they saw me as if I were an alien and I felt awkward. A few people I met thought that my cycle was automatic and when I changed gears, there was no need to paddle it. I had a hard time making them understand that it was a bicycle and needed paddling to move it. And then to some, gears were no use on a bicycle.

Way to go.....
Way to go…..

As I was about to reach Bikaner, I was cycling up a small elevation and all of a sudden, I could see this big concrete city ahead of me, springing up from nowhere in the middle of the desert.

Hot & arid region
Hot and arid

I came across the famous Karni Mata temple 31 km before Bikaner. I cycled for 117 kilometers in 6 hours and 15 minutes to arrive at Circuit House in Bikaner. I have a friend (IAS officer) posted here in Bikaner, who got accommodation arranged for me in the Circuit House, where other senior government officials stay. There was tight security of police when I reached there, as 17 April would be the voting day in the city. I feel really lucky to get to stay in the Circuit House and it gets added to my new experiences during this tour.