In a narrow alley, you are caught between a massive cow and a directionless autorickhaw. The cow, albite its intimidating appearance, is in a deep state of meditativeness even to acknowledge your presence;the autorickhaw on the other hand is capable any unpredictable maneuvers including swirling,swaying,wiggling and making an abrupt U turns in 2 seconds flat!; And of course there are rules to be followed, especially if a cop is watching! If you are an Indian, there is nothing unusual about it. Otherwise, welcome to the fine art of city driving!
The question is do you want to do it alone, or in a fun filled batch?
Of course the bicycle tour is not about trying your driving skills in negotiating between the cow and the rickshaw. As part of the MYCycle tour, you would be wriggling your bicycle through similar situations. That's just one dimension, albeit a thrilling one, of the cycle tour.
The tour takes you deep into the localities where the traditional communities live, unheard of heritage sites, novelties known only among the local population, historic landmarks gone into oblivion, and a ton of trivia about this city. Rest assured that you'll not find any of these things on the internet, leave alone those guidebooks. That's because the trails and destinations are not at all on the tourist map. The cycling tour is basically a walk through along the living part of the city - some of it even a few hundred years old. You'll experience it raw and first hand.
You can follow the Lonely Planet, or any other guide for that matter, with a biblical zeal. That's perfectly alright. This cycle tour is about getting out of the fixed norm. Go a bit exploratory.
The ride starts early in the morning (6'ish) from near Hotel Palace Plaza ( located between the Viceroy Hotel & Opera Cinema ). If you are staying near the palace or bus stand locality, it is a short walk to the Sri Harsha Road. The misty morning adds a special charm to the tour's background.

Typically the ride starts with a brief by Vinay and Stephen, the founders of MYCycle. You'll need some time in doing the pre ride preparations like selecting your bicycle, get a feel of it, adjusting the seats for your height etc.
The bicycles are fitted with a basket in front. By the way travel light. Carry only a light day pack that you can put comfortably in the basket while riding. Bring a cap along which you'll need during the later part of the tour when the sun rays gets harsher. And of course don't forget your camera.
At the end of the ride you would have covered some 10-15 km (6-10 miles) in about 4 hours time. The whole tour is split into some 6-10 laps. Each lap is followed by a 5-10 minutes narration, that also acts like a short break. Baring a few busy stretches you'll be mostly on the traditional localities. So don't worry much about the motor traffic, though still you've to negotiate those autorickhawas, cows and the pull carts (in that order of complexity!) .
You'll experience each destinations as much as the path you have taken to reach it. The circuit is a pleasant blend to experience the history,lifestyle,traditions,architecture and even a bit of culinary delights of the city. It's guided, at the same exploratory. That's the charm of the this tour.
So where is the catch?
The cycle tour is not for the lazy. You should be reasonably fit and of course be comfortable in riding bicycle.
Unlike the heritage walk, you can't take little children for the tour.
The tour is operated only on the weekends, though you can check out with MYCycle for the possibilities of customization.
This is not a substitute for the typical sightseeing of the city's attractions. Baring a few, the tour takes you to places that is not in the tourism itinerary. So don't expect the MYCycle tour to be an alternative to your sightseeing itinerary.
You've to call and book well in advance as there are only limited number (say about 10) of bicycles per tour. For details see www.royalmysorewalks.com or www.facebook.com/MYcycle

For Bookings contact Vinay or Stephen +91 96320 44188 or mail tours@mycycle.co