A 20 Year Journey To The Hippie Trail

Somehow, after working on and helping organize TDA Global Cycling tours for the past 20 years, the stars never aligned for me to travel to India, nor participate on TDA’s Hippie Trail tour.

At long last, 2027 will be the year I get to join the tour! I’ll be there to help our staff team as needed, meet the cyclists participating on the trip, and experience the sights, sounds and culture of India.

There are many aspects of the Hippie Trail that I’m looking forward to, and I thought I’d share a few of them here.

Getting to meet up with staff persons Baba (left) and Ezhil (right), who are the backbone of our India tours. They’re a pleasure to work with and their care and concern for our participants is well known by all who’ve been fortunate enough to cycle on a tour they’ve worked on. Perhaps even a quick visit to their home city of Bangalore before the trip will occur!

Chef Miles at work on the 2006 Tour d’Afrique

Indian Cuisine. Having worked in restaurant kitchens and as a Chef on TDA tours, food has been an integral part of my professional life for decades. The opportunity to delve into the diverse regional cuisines of India is something I’ve wanted to do forever! There’s no better way to learn about a culture than through its food. As a lover of spice and heat in my food, as well as mutton, the Rajasthani Laal Maas curry is a particular dish I’ll be on the lookout for.

The historical and architectural journey. There are few nations on earth with a more rich and diverse civilization. The ebb and flow of empires across its land have left distinct ways of being as well as a dazzling variety  of distinctive architecture, from the Taj Mahal to the Victorian Gothic design at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (above). My university survey course on the History of India is somewhere in the recesses of my brain and I’m keen to get those neurons working again.

The cycling. This is certainly a given for most who are joining the Hippie Trial, but for myself I rarely cycle on our tours while I’m working on them. Though being a long-ago competitive cyclist myself, most of my cycling these days is confined to the city limits where I live, with the occasional longer rides. I can think of no better country to delve into cycling on our trips than India, with it’s hectic and beautiful nature, bountiful colours, and curious and hospitable locals upon our routes. The Hippie Trail is a full-on embrace of the nomadic cycling lifestyle and a deep cultural immersion unique in this world. Can’t wait!

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