by Nick Thatcher

Since I’ve been back from 4 weeks cycling in Sri Lanka I’ve been asked a lot about what it was like.  The answer isn’t straight forward, but it was certainly an experience and a largely positive one.

The first 2 weeks was a supported cycling holiday with Exodus – they’re very good and do various cycling (and other activity) holidays world-wide.  This gives the chance to do what you enjoy in lesser known locations with security and safety.  Exodus do cycling holidays in places like Madagascar, India, Cambodia and so on, and you get fully looked after with mechanical support, luggage carriage, guided routes, luxury hotels etc.  Having always organised my own cycling trips (throughout Europe and the UK) it was a different experience.  I thoroughly enjoyed it although it felt a tiny bit claustrophobic at times.

The cycling was a mix of back roads and main roads, rural and urban, flat and hilly, wet and dry, long and short.  I’m told there is an end to end north to south route on roads suitable for road bikes, but my experience is that the roads are variable, so the hybrid bikes provided were just the job.  Smooth (but wide) tyres and front suspension were the order of the day – think lightweight mountain bikes.

The routes varied from a 25 mile flat route on day one, a 60 mile undulating route, and a challenging ride covering over 7,000 feet of climbing in just 50 miles.  This was the highlight for me, but wasn’t easy with heavy (ish) bikes, hot and humid weather, and finishing with an 11 mile climb.  About half the group managed it, and I felt surprisingly alright at the end – but the constant supply of food and water was much needed and had it gone on for any longer cramp would have set in!

Other highlights were the Sri Lankan people who were so hospitable and friendly – always interested in what we were doing and equally happy to share their stories.  The rural scenes were beautiful too, as were some of the coastal areas and beaches which were great for post cycling relaxation.

The second two weeks were self-supported – me and a pal creating our own routes and carrying our gear.  This is what I’m more used to and it meant we saw Sri Lanka from a different perspective.  We did different routes but with the same bikes with interesting (and sometimes surprising) experiences including a couple of rides in the wilderness where roads regularly turned into gravel and mud tracks and then back to roads again.  Gone were the luxury western hotels, replaced by local hotels or homestead accommodation with home cooked food and generous hosts.  Other things remained the same though, including the surprisingly hilly interior that got up to twice the height of Ben Nevis, the chaotic traffic, the charming locals, and the unpredictable weather including a 3 hour deluge as we rode back into Colombo.  I found the traffic entertaining – it took a bit of getting used to and you have to be prepared to fight your corner and put up with some pretty grim exhaust emissions.  The traffic was a slow-moving homogenous mass, moving in mysterious ways without warning, or any obvious rules and order.  This meant that junctions and roundabouts were particularly baffling with horns sounding constant warnings, even if it wasn’t clear what he warning was for.  That said, it was good natured with little evidence of the aggression we see so often on the roads in the UK. 

So if you think you’d like something a bit different then I’d recommend cycling in Sri Lanka.  But don’t expect it to be like road cycling in Europe.  Would I do it again?  Yes I would and the mix of a fully supported holiday followed by self-supported worked well for me.  I like cycling off the beaten track but I’d probably try somewhere off a different beaten track next time, for another unique cycling experience.