We Tried Cycling All The Way From South Mumbai To Bandra At Midnight

Spend your Saturday night biking across the city instead of hopping bars with Mumbai Rangers, a group that organises midnight bike rides, treks & other adventure getaways.

When you’re riding your bike under the moonlight, slow seems slower, quiet seems quieter and the air, cooler. Well, that may be true for most cities, but not Mumbai. Traffic is still bumper-to-bumper, and the streets are crawling with nocturnal Mumbaikars.

That’s not to say that the experience was anything but refreshing. Led by Girish Pandagre, we began our 25 km journey from Regal Cinema in Colaba at 10:30pm, along the coast, towards Bandstand. After dodging a few buses and kaali peelis at Causeway, we crossed the beautifully lit Gateway of India before making it to Marine Drive. With the city lights reflecting off the waterfront and a straight 4 km stretch up ahead of us, we set off, slowly but steadily, and made it just in time to place the last order of the night at Hali Ali Juice Centre.

After a 15-minute break, we hopped back onto our bikes and continued towards our destination, crossing Worli Sea Face and Siddhivinayak Temple. The night was one of revelations – Dadar does, indeed, have a quiet spot. We stopped for another breather at Dadar Chowpatty beach at around 2am, where we were treated to a mesmerising view of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

Finally, at around 4am, we reached Bandstand, before making a quick uphill detour to Mount Mary Church.

Mumbai, in the wee hours of the night, offered us a new look at its palaces, forts, temples and gardens. A lot of fun ice-breakers were played, as we hopped from one point to the other. It’s a great way to meet new people in the city too {who enjoy cycling as much as we do}. It’s not all fun and games though – 23 kms on a cycle isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But we loved how fit and challenged we felt post the ride.

#LBBTip: Mumbai Rangers provides geared and non-geared BTWIN cycles, helmets, refreshments, first aid and mechanic support throughout the journey.

The experience of cycling almost 25 kms from SoBo to Bandra was thrilling yet exhausting. After a few tired yet enthusiastic smiles for the cameras at Bandstand, we dropped off our bikes and headed home with weary eyes, sore limbs and a night worth remembering. We are already thinking of signing up for another, and we suggest you do it too.

Price: INR 750