Cycling around pune

Raireshwar is a historic fort. It was always on my biking list ever since I bought my MTB. This fort has a 12KM plateau at top with an end to end running trail. I’m proud to say that we were the first ones to try this on cycles. There are three Plateaus close to one another Mahabaleshwar, Koleshwar, and Raireshwar. Mahableshwar is the largest one whereas the other two have 10-15km stretch. Koleshwar is the least known fort but it has very good trail at the top. Note that there is no motor able road to reach to the top of the Koleshwar fort. Raireshwar is definitely not a trail that one should do alone. There are many reasons to it. I went there with a group of 5 people, three of whom decided to try the mountain biking and two were ready to walk behind us just for fun. There are two ways to reach Raireshwar. If you want a good dirt track, then you can come from Bhor village. If you need a tar road till top then there is good road from Wai. The road that come

Panshet dam is 40km away from Pune. Its scenic backwaters have beautiful and silent trails, which take you through the entire backwaters and circle back to the wall of the dam (That’s known as a Parikrama J ). The trail that I took starts from the right side of the Panshet dam wall, near Panshet boating resort point. You can carry your cycle up to this point in your vehicle, park your vehicle anywhere on this road, and start cycling. The first few kilometers from boating resort point take you past a few farm houses and resorts.   It is safe to park your vehicle around them. My plan was to start from Panshet boating club and go all the way till end of the road, to a point where Kokan starts. There is a village at the end named Ghol where this road ends; it is around 30Kms from the Panshet dam wall. The entire road goes alongside the backwaters to your left and the hills to your right, thereby making it very scenic. There are many fresh water streams on this road that con

Rajmachi is an all-time favourite trekking destination for many cyclists. It is a part of the Lonavala region. Lonavala needs no explanation for Pune or Mumbai trekkers. I myself have done this trek more than five times in various seasons. To reach Rajmachi, you must travel to Lonavala either by own vehicle or by the train. From Pune you can catch the local train and carry your bike in the train. Once you reach Lonavla, there are two routes from where you can start your trek. The first one is from Khandala. This road goes from the adventure club resort. The second one and my personal favourite is the one from the Tungarli dam. It is the closest route. You can park your vehicle at Lonavala or at Tungarli village. The benefit of parking at Tungarli village is that you don’t have to climb the peak of Tungarli village on bike. I planned this ride during peak monsoon, and intentionally, on a weekday to avoid the crowd. If you plan this trek on any weekend

Nilkantheshwar is a scenic cycle route with beautiful water bodies and mountains throughout the trail. The entire trail is adjacent to the Khadakwasla dam backwaters. It’s the route that goes from the right side of the dam towards Panshet. Many people prefer the road which goes from the left side of the dam (from Donaje-Khanapur), so you will experience traffic on this road. The road from Nilkantheshwar is usually vacant, traffic free and very quiet. After the first 10km you see very few houses and vehicles on the road. I recommend that you carry some vehicle repairing tools and an emergency first aid kit. You can start this trail from Khadakwasla. If you have car, then you can park it near the NDA gate or the Peacock-bay. There is a temple near the Peacock-bay gate, where you can park your vehicle and start cycling. The first few meters of this trail, after you cross the temple, go through a very dense and beautiful forest patch. It is followed by a few villages where some stray