Today’s route was mostly plain as all the mountains are now behind that stood in my way for more than last two weeks. I was again back to my speed cycling and wanted to reach Mumbai as soon as possible. On my way came Karnala Bird Sanctuary and Karnala Fort which I wanted to visit but it was all closed due to Holi festival and guard was not letting anyone go in. I was riding fast on long endless highway. I stopped for some food but there was nothing to eat at the shop, as it was early in the morning, nothing was prepared, so I had milk and biscuits.
I reached Panvel, which is about 25 kilometers before Mumbai. I have been riding on this Edapally-Panvel highway for more than 3 weeks. This highway started from Edapally, near Kochi, Kerala and ended today. As I entered Navi Mumbai, I could see the concrete jungle around me with construction of buildings going on everywhere.
I already had my accommodation arranged with a college friend of mine who work in Four Seasons hotel. I called him up at 10:30 am after I had crossed the bridge linking Navi Mumbai and Old Mumbai. He was about to leave for his shift by 12 noon and he had to lock the flat. So I had an hour with me to cover 22 kilometers to reach Worli. I cycled seeing the shortest route on my GPS in phone, crossing few flyovers and knocked at his door after an hour. He was surprised to see that I made it directly to his flat in such a crowded place.
Now that I am in Mumbai, Phase 1 of my trip ends here. I have divided my trip in four phases myself. I cycled for more than 100 kilometers everyday from Panjim, Goa to Mumbai, Maharashtra without taking any off in between and reached Mumbai in 5 days. I have already cycled 1968 kilometers from Kanyakumari. I am planning to stay in Mumbai for 03 days and will take you around through my blog to all the heritage places and landmarks this city has on offer. Be with me as I discover “Aamchi Mumbai”.
