Bengaluru’s bikers pick their favourite bicycling destinations in and around the city

From hills to lakes, the city offers routes with varied landscapes

Bengaluru’s ‘bicycle mayor’ Sathya Sankaran reckons the bicycling community here is no less vibrant than the ones in other cities. As a hobby, biking has been fast-growing in Bengaluru especially since the pandemic. If you recently started biking and are wondering where to ride, we got you covered. We asked Bengaluru’s expert bikers to suggest their favourite destinations in and around the city.

The Hessarghatta Road in the North-West of Bengaluru is one of my go-to routes for riding. Once or twice a month, on a Saturday or Sunday, I start from Sanjaynagar at about 6am – this way, you can escape the sun and the traffic. Depending on where you want to go, the distance can range from 60 km to 100 km. If you are doing a 60 km ride, you can return by 10-10:30am. The best thing about this road is that it leads to some beautiful water bodies like the Madhure Lake and the Hessarghatta Lake. These are excellent destination for birders. I sometimes go there with my camera to photograph migratory birds. This route also has many tree-lined back roads that take you to some quiet fields and farms. You have small-but-good eateries along the way. Having ridden along Hessarghatta for the last 10 years, it also made me realise how quickly the water bodies have shrunk and the city has sprawled. If urban planning continues to be poor, we will not have these destinations in the next five to 10 years. 

Sathya Sankaran, the ‘bicycle mayor’ of Bengaluru, is a part of BYCS, a Dutch social enterprise that promotes cycling. If you have any cycling-related queries, you can reach out to him via Twitter @bicyclemayorblr

Nandi Hills would be among the favourite destinations of 99 % of the cyclists here, including me. For the same reason, however, Nandi Hills has started to get crowded after a point. So, about six years ago, my friends and I decided to look for routes near Kolar. We stumbled upon Antara Gange Hills. We went there for the first time on New Year’s Day in 2016. Ever since, it has become a ritual: We go there on the first day of every year. Antara Gange is shorter than Nandi Hills but offers a superb vista. It is a great spot for trekkers and cyclists. You can also check out the Antara Gange temple there. We usually start from the Vishnu Bhavan restaurant in Hoskote early morning on weekends and return by 10 am or 11 am. The Chennai highway we take is pretty good, ensuring a smooth ride. Once you reach the hill, however, it gets a bit steep.

Venkateswara Rao aka Bikey Venky is a cycling coach and race organiser. You can reach out to him via his Instagram page @bikeyvenky

The route we usually take these days is the Airport Road just by the virtue of convenience. From Central Bangalore, if you want to go up to the toll gate and return, you get a good 50-60 km ride. It is a straight, smooth road. You have plenty of eateries along the way, if you want to grab a bite or use the restroom. We also go beyond the toll gate and head for Nandi Hills. The tree-lined road with a hill-view is beautiful to ride on. On the weekends, many people do the ‘Nandi Darshan’ when going uphill. While returning, they can have breakfast at Nandi Upachar. Of late, it has become a bit too crowded. So, now we go there on weekdays mostly. There are also many backroads that lead you to some interesting spots. During one of our explorations, we found a quaint, picturesque railway station called Nandi Halt. So, if you want to do a bit of off-roading, you can make a detour to the railway station and spend some time there.

Vidya Chandran runs an all-women cycling club called SpokesWomen. You can get in touch with her via Instagram @spokes_women