Khadakwasla-Sinhgad-Panshet road

When it comes to cycling around Pune, the Khadakwasla-Sinhagad-Panshet area is a favorite among the cyclists. Take a ride on these roads and you’ll know why. You’ll find many cycling enthusiasts on this road, in all seasons. The entire road till Panshet is in an excellent condition. It is the best route for road bikes, and also for gearless bikes. On this trail, you can go up to the distance you want; you can plan to cycle from 10Kms up to 100Kms.

There are a lot of restaurants, cycle repair shops on this road. Note that the shops don’t start until 8:30 AM. You need not carry lot of water or food with you. Also, expect a reasonable public transport on this road.

I usually start this trail from Karvenagar and travel via the Sinhagad road or Warje-NDA road. I prefer Sinhagad road because it is pretty straight and without any climbs. I recommend that you start very early morning when it is dark, so that by the time you reach Khadakwasla or Sinhagad base you don’t face sunlight. This will also help you to avoid the traffic on Sinhagad road. There are no streetlights at some patches near Dhayari and Nanded but they’re still safe to travel in dark.

Before travelling ensure that you raise your seat bar to a certain height. I recommend that you adjust the seat to a height where a full leg stretch is possible while paddling. For long distance cycling, a bended leg while paddling causes pain in your thigh and calf muscles. I’ve seen that many cyclists are unaware of this fact.

If you start from Rajaram bridge, it takes around 15-20 minutes to reach Khadakwasla dam. Once you reach the Khadakwasla dam early morning, you’ll feel rewarded with the cool breeze and an amazing view. Trust me it makes the cycle ride totally worth the effort.

From Khadakwasla onwards, start cycling towards Donaje(3KM) where you’ll face a diversion. The road to your left goes to the Sinhagad base (3KM) and right one goes to Panshet (20KM). Take the road to your left. After 5 minutes, you’ll reach another diversion. Here road to the left goes to the Sinhagad fort via a ghat, and the straight road goes to the base of Sinhagad fort, that is, to the destination of this trail. While cycling here, you will be delighted to listen to the birds chirping and the silence of the valley.

You’ll reach the last village - Aatekar vasti on this road, from where the trek to Sinhagad starts. There are many cars parked in this area during weekends. Feel lucky because there is no pay and park for cycles in the village. Although, at one occasion I had to argue with a villager who asked me to pay for parking my cycle J. Take a break at this point, and treat yourself with refreshing lime water (sweet) and grab an omlet if you’re hungry J. When you start the return journey, you’ll be happy to see that most of the road is a slope till the Khadakwasla dam. So, Enjoy!

Track details:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwSHWX__mzvocU9JX0VBUk5ONGs/edit?usp=drivesdk

Created by Google My Tracks on Android
Name: To Sinhagad Base
Activity type: biking
Description: Rajaram bridge to Sinhagad base
Total distance: 18.01 km (11.2 mi)
Total time: 1:01:15
Moving time: 1:00:28
Average speed: 17.64 km/h (11.0 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 17.87 km/h (11.1 mi/h)
Max speed: 28.98 km/h (18.0 mi/h)
Average pace: 3:24 min/km (5:28 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 3:21 min/km (5:24 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 2:04 min/km (3:20 min/mi)
Max elevation: 654 m (2144 ft)
Min elevation: 476 m (1560 ft)
Elevation gain: 1056 m (3465 ft)
Max grade: 23 %
Min grade: -59 %
Recorded: 5/4 05:32