Cycling around Marive Drive

The breakfast route is a 16-km stretch, making it an easier option to start with than the 25-km midnight event. The two-and-a-half-hour ride is well paced out. We make two closely-placed pit stops at the start before picking up speed. Weekends at Marine Drive get hectic, but we stop for a group picture and a game. The game acts as an ice-breaker for our 10-member group — an important step considering how riders later look out for each other on the road. Over-enthusiastic about sight-seeing, this writer often found herself tailing the group. It was reassuring to have Chaudhary and the other experienced participants slow down to check up on us and ensure we didn’t get lost.

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By the time we hit the Chowpatty stretch to Flora Fountain, the sun begins to bear down, but it’s manageable now in November. While the team recommends carrying a cap, water and a snack, we suggest adding sunscreen. It’s this last sunny stretch that makes the breakfast at the end at Madras Cafe taste even better. 

Akshay Shetty instructs participants at the starting point in Colaba. Pics/Ashish Raje

While the route is pre-planned, there’s room for flexibility as Shetty judges the pace. “On one trip, when we reached Marine Drive, we got off our cycles and joined a Zumba group,” he recalls, adding, “We come for the experience, not the schedule.” Shalini Acharya, who has experienced the midnight ride, shares, “The breakfast ride is easier than the midnight ride that starts at 11 pm. Both offer different experiences of the city than we’re used to.” Cycling at these hours does help slow down the weekend from escaping, and not just because you feel the ache of every motion as you pedal.

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Pedal away

1. Cycle through paddy fields and coconut groves in Alibaug.
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2. Join a 35-km midnight cycling heritage ride in SoBo.
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3. North Mumbai bicycle tour from SGNP to Gorai Beach.
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