IIT Kanpur has a long tradition of bicycling. In early years, bicycling was the main mode of transportation around Kanpur. Trips to Lucknow, Kannauj, Khajuraho were not uncommon. Today, bicycling is emerging as a healthy carbon-neutral lifestyle alternative, a pleasant way of getting to know our neighbourhood. In today's polluted world, bicycling provides a breath of fresh-air and healthy exercise.

2009-10 is the 50th year of the founding of IIT Kanpur, and on this occasion, the bumpy trails bicycling group along with the IITK adventure club organized a rural cycling tour as part of the IIT Kanpur Golden Jubilee celebrations. On March 21, 2010, about 700 cyclists participated in two segments - a 25km or a 65km loop. The tour was also sponsored by BSA cycles, who also provided a free bicycle tune-up.

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650 riders turned up early in the morning for the ride, most of which was along the ganga canal. the 65km tour also went along the ramganga canal.

images from the ride : March 21, 2010

These images were contributed by the riders on a website created to showcase user pictures from the ride.


critical mass. energy. 650 riders gathered at the start of the 25k event.


the sun was starting to rise as the first 65k riders hit shiuli road


riders in front of VH. the route left IIT through the shivli gate behind hall 8.


the whole of the 25k route, and much of the 65k route, was along the canal.


these kaccha roads were jammed with riders.


a very "kachha" segment in the 65k run. the end of the kaccha stretch at pratappur bridge (~ 16km)


many schoolkids also did the 25k route. father and son.


riders had to negotiate kaccha roads and very bumpy brick-paths. about half-a-dozen foreigners also joined in.


wave after wave of riders; batches of 100 were released at iitk every 5 minutes. some people who had not registered also sneaked in...


bicycles everywhere at ramgopalpur, the turnaround point for 25k run. the youngest rider amid a surfeit of bananas.

behind the stage

the logistics of the tour included water and refreshment stalls at many points along the route. the district authorities had been informed and the an ambulance was sent from the district, and police stations notified. a fleet of 12 vehicles including two loader trucks were used. the iitk ambulance and the SIS jeep were also roped in. three cheers for the volunteers who worked very hard to make the event a success.


in order to make it work, volunteers had to arrive by 0430AM. the first batch of 65k riders were flagged off at 0530, and the first rider arrived at raigopalpur, along w sis jeep at 0620AM


support stations were set up at nine points on the route: kursauli, ramgopalpur, pratappur, 23k mark, shiuli, canal turn, maitha, baghpur, tikra, plus the end station - the control "desk" inside the shiuli gate, iitk. volunteers at the control booth.

BSA Hercules supplied the numbered tags. 65k riders had 2-digit numbers; the rest had 3 digits.


volunteer groups including our own riding doc l abhishek, manned the roads, along with sis staff, riding mechanics (shaqeel), some BSA-hercules riders including pushpendra shukla, and sis.


volunteers manning the stall at raigopalpur.


some twenty banners were put up along the 25k and 65k routes.


the sis staff did a great job; one person was stationed every 1km along the 25km route. enjoying with the bikes after the event.

having fun


the motto of the ride was: burn fat not fuel (click on image at left to see the ride t-shirt with the logo). riding past a village fuel store


at the weir near pratappur. climbing the ruins of a century old canal building.


people having fun, and recording it for posterity


65k riders at the refreshment stall, pratappur. many of the riders were women.


driving a tractor, and substitute oxen


the route went through many bird-rich areas. sarus crane near maitha. this flock of geese have been adopted by the villagers at baghpur.


stunts with cycles


in the fields. kid relaxing on a buffalo

Route Details (from the original announcement)

Starting from the Students Activities Center (old SAC) in IITK, both routes involved small stretches of non-road (mud / brick tracks) bicycling. The SiS from campus services, as well as an ambulance and an doctor on pedals were deployed to provide safety and support. Four mechanics, some on motorcycles and one on a bicycle doing the 65k route, attended to riders along the route.

25 km tour: Route

click to enlarge
This is a very easy, approx. 2 hour route that runs up and down the scenic Lower Ganga canal. The canal runs along the northern boundary of the IITK campus, and is very rich in birdlife.

Start at SAC, get out of the campus through the gate opposite HC and turn right (the control room will be located at this gate), and make a right onto the road going to Shiwali. After about 1.2 km on this road (5-8 minutes), make a right onto the canal path. Pedal past the village of Lodhar, a small temple, past the village of Kursauli and to the bridge. Beyond the Kursauli bridge, continue along the brick surface and some unfinished tracks past the villages of Bhaunipur and Raigopalpur and finally on to Hulkapur bridge, the official return point for the trip. Light refreshments will be organized at this point, and also at Manish Tripathi's rice mill on the canal at Raipur.

Attractions along the way include the village of Lodhar, where the NGO Jagriti runs a school (with participation from the IITK community); many bird speicies such as Indian rollers, Black drongos, White-breasted kingfishers, Pied myna (Asian pied starling), Red-wattled lapwings, Pond herons, Little egrets, White wagtails, Waterhen etc. We encourage you to sample the canalside tea shops, temples, and talk to the village children who will gather.

Kids younger than sixteen are welcome to join the 25km ride, but should be accompanied by an adult. (see below for links on family bicycling near Kanpur).

65km tour: Route

IITK-(canal)-Biroh-Shiwali-Maitha(canal2)-Bairi-IITK (63km). Click on image to see the nine control stations.

Follow the route as in the shorter tour above, but you carry on past the Hulkapur bridge. The road is still kaccha, and you cross the village of Purajasu and then a waterworks on the canal, beyond which are the ruins of a canal outpost. A couple of kilometers further and you are at the bridge at Pratappur where you turn left onto the Chaubepur-Shiwali road, going through the village of Pratappur (if you are lucky, you may encounter their adopted local flock of geese). Then it's 12 km past a couple of small canals and the Pando river (which is one of the fresh-water sources for Kanpur city). Traffic on this stretch and the next road is sparse, the occasional motorcycle or tempo, with very few trucks. The road is metalled, but the surface is not as smooth as may be desired. At Shiwali, you cross the crowded market area with greasy teashops and temples and a couple of schools, and then the road surface deteriorates a bit. In 2km, a highway to Rasoolabad will go off to the right and 3km further you come across the Ramganga canal (5km from Shiwali).

Turning left here, you go along the canal on a nicely surfaced new road with almost no traffic. During this stretch, expect to see some more birds - may be some wagtails and larks. After 8km, at the Maitha-Bairi road where a bridge goes right into Maitha, make a left, and continue for 5km till the small junction of Bairi. Here you hit the Shiwali-Kalyanpur road; turn south. Go past the left turn for the famous Shobhan Mandir. Five km further is the town of Baghpur, which also has its own flock of geese. At this point you are 13 km from IITK and usually, it should be an easy run back.

Start time:

Infrastructure, Safety

Participants wishing to go on the longer tour will need to demonstrate some level of fitness and experience in riding longer runs. For this purpose, we will be organizing a training run on 14th March. The shorter run is open to everyone. Also, participants in the longer tour must travel in groups where each group would have a mobile phone through which they can connect to the control room. Every group will have an experienced volunteer who knows the route.

Every participant must register at the registration page (to be opened here). All participants registering by 14 March will be given a T-shirt and a number which must be prominently displayed front and back, outside any other clothing.

With an expected participation between 200-350 people, two bicycle mechanics will travel with the tour on bicycles and motorcycles along with the full emergency repair kits. The mechanics will also include spare parts and other support provided by BSA.

The tour will also be supported by two vehicles, which will carry water, nourishments, and first aid facilities. Support vehicles will be stationed at key points on the road, and will patrol the stretches IITK-Kursauli, and also the Pratappur-Shiwali-Maitha-Bairi-IITK segment, and volunteers on bicycles for the Kursauli-Pratappur stretch of the canal road.

The district authorities have been informed about the tour and suitable precautions will be taken. Top officials have also been invited to themselves participate in the tour.

Volunteer Stations

There will be volunteer stations at the following points along the trail:

Direction stations: IIT gate, Kalyanpur Shiwali Road. Canal turn Refreshment stations: Kursauli pool, Hulkapur pool, Pratappur bridge, Shiwali, Ramganga canal turn, Maitha, Bairi, Baghpur.

Each station will have two volunteers, who will be re-deployed to other locations after all the tour has gone past. A total of 20 volunteers, including the control room, are envisaged.

In case of bicycle failures or other problems, some participants may also be picked up by the support vehicles. An ambulance will be stationed at mid-route (initially at Kursauli, later at Shiwali), to be dispatched from the control room.

We remind participants that this is not a race, and we urge you to travel in groups, and to take breaks for beautiful birds or curious children, or whatever catches your fancy. However, in order to manage the logistics of travel in the city at large, we will request participants to adhere to a 4 hour upper limit for the 25km tourh and an 7 hour limit for the 65km tour. We will provide vehicles to pick up those who do not feel they are able to complete the tour. BSA-Hercules has expressed eagerness in sponsoring and helping organize the tour. The mechanics and many other logistic matters may be supported by them.

Alternate (Rain) routes

In case of rainy weather on the days before, the muddy patches on the canal road will be hard to navigate. Under these circumstances, the following routes will be adopted:

  • Long route: IITK-Shiwali-Maitha-Bairi-IITK 63km
  • Short route : IITK-Kursauli pool-Tikra-IIT : 23km

    Registration

    Registration: IIT Kanpur students : Free IIT Kanpur campus residents: Rs. 50 Alumnus and Others: Rs. 200 The registration procedure will be put up shortly. For further information/ queries, please contact jdutta [at] iitk.ac.in. Registered participants will need to pick up their T-Shirt, route map and directions, and number tags on 20 March, Saturday, between 4 and 7 PM at SAC, IIT Kanpur. During this time, a free bicycle checkup will also be organized. All participants need should report to the SAC desk the following day at 6 AM, with their bicycles. Participants for the 65km tour will start at 6AM, and those for the 25km tour at 6:15.

    IIT Kanpur bicycling links

    joydeep dutta, amitabha mukerjee, saumyen guha. mar 2010 mukerjee [at] gmail