Cycle India 2010

We’ve had quite a lot of interest in Cycle India 2010 over the last few weeks with a few new people signing up. If you have any questions about Cycle India you can contact me at matthew@conservatoryoutlet.co.uk but in the meantime, I’ve created the following Frequently Asked Questions:

What is Cycle India?

Cycle India is a charity bike ride which will take place in January 2010. We will be cycling around 200 miles through the Southern Indian state of Karnataka, through beautiful villages and scenic countryside. We are raising money for Heal, a UK registered charity dedicated to providing education and healthcare for orphaned and destitute children in Andhra Pradesh, India.

This will be our second Cycle India. In January 2008 a group of people from the UK, US and India took part in a wonderful event an we raised over £100,000 for our charity Heal. To see videos of Cycle India 2008 click here, or for a cyclists account of the type of things to expect click here.

Are there any places left?

Yes, we are looking for as many people as possible to take part. We currently have around 15 people fully committed and a large number of ‘nearly joined’ people. We are hoping to have around 50 cyclists from the UK and USA, and a large group from within India taking part. We are also happy for people from anywhere else in the World to take part in our fundraising event.

When is the event taking place?

We intend to have the event from January 2nd to January 11th, but these dates will not be confirmed until around April 2009 when flights are booked from London to Bangalore. We cannot book the flights yet until we know roughly how many seats to reserve.

How far are we cycling?

We will be cycling around 200 miles (320 kilometers) in 4 days.

How challenging is the bike ride?

We will be cycling mostly on tarmac roads, although there may be a bit of offroad cycling through woodland etc. Approx 70% on roads, 10% in woods, 10% in coffee estates, 10% at tourists locations. The terrain will be mostly flat, but there will be a few hills. The exact route is yet to be finalised, but we will be cycling mostly in the Coorg area of Karnataka which has very beautiful scenery.

How fit do I need to be?

You will need to be reasonably fit and be able to ride a bicycle. We strongly recommend you do some training beforehand (as much as possible), but we must stress that the bike ride has been designed to be achievable for most people.

Will we meet the Heal Children?

Yes, we are hoping to give the children from the Heal Village in Guntur a holiday and bring them down to the resort in Bangalore. This will be a great opportunity for those who have taken part in Cycle India to meet the children they have been raising money for. It will also be a great experience for the children, and there will be cultural festivities, music, dancing etc.

Will there be any sightseeing?

Yes - there will be the opportunity to visit various sites such as the Palace at Mysore, the Brindavan Gardens, Chamundi Temple, Coorg, Abbey Falls, Talacauvery, Coracle ride, Byculla Buddhist (Tibetan) Monastery, and the Dubare Elephant Camp. If time permits we will visit Belur and shravanabelagola Monolithic statue.

Is there an itinerary?

A detailed itinerary will be prepared during 2009, but a very rough itinerary is:

Jan 2 - Fly from London
Jan 3 - Arrive at Bangalore, freshen up at resort and then travel to Mysore area
Jan 4 - Sightseeing and preparations for bike ride
Jan 5 - Cycling
Jan 6 - Cycling
Jan 7 - Cycling
Jan 8 - Cycling
Jan 9 - Return to resort in Bangalore - meet the children!
Jan 10 - Spend day with Heal children at resort.
Jan 11 - Fly back to UK

Cyclists from India, US and Rest of World will be required to make alternative arrangements for arriving at Bangalore to meet rest of group. Contact matthew@heal.co.uk for more information on this.

Do you have any advice on getting fit for Cycle India?

Don’t worry too much about the difficulty of the event - we work as a team. We will be adding advice on this site on the run up to the event so everyone is prepared.

How much do I need to raise?

To take part you need to pay a £250 registration fee to secure your place. You can pay on the Heal website here. You are then required to raise or pay a minimum of £2500 to Heal at least 10 weeks before the event.

For cyclists from the US, India and the Rest of the World, we ask that you pay for your own flights to Bangalore and then raise a reduced amount of £2000 each.

Do I have to pay anything towards my costs?

Heal will pay all the main costs including flights from the UK, accommodation, food, drinks, bikes etc. You will have a few minor costs to fund yourself such as your visa, travel to airport (for UK cyclists). Heal will make a minimum of £1750 from each cyclist taking part which will make a massive difference to our charity work.

Does Heal help with fundraising advice?

Absolutely. We will be offering all sorts of advice over the coming months on this website. We highly recommend everyone sets up a Just Giving web page which is a very effective way to achieve your target. But there are many ways to fundraise which we can help with. For the last bike ride some people did no fundraising and just paid the full amount, others raised the majority and then paid a small proportion themselves, others raised well over the minimum requirement.

How do I take part?

Follow the instructions on this page.

If you have any questions not covered here, please contact matthew@conservatoryoutlet.co.uk.

Thanks

Matthew