For some, riding a bicycle might simply entail a quick trip for urgent errands, but for avid cycling enthusiasts and professional bikers, it represents a chance to discover concealed and unexplored places embracing the joy of pedaling.
Over the years youth have been seen participating in Downhill Mountain biking and it is gaining the attention of adventure lovers as the valley is the perfect place for this adventure.
Among the adventurous mountain bikers is Mir Daniyal Nabi from Bandipora who has been mountain biking since 2018.
Notably, he is the first cyclist who cycled the 80km hilly terrain from Bandipora to Gurez on a bicycle in 2018. Following his ride on the cycle he later took a group of 20 cyclists to Gurez. His Gurez adventure has attracted some local boys towards adventure cycling.
Mir, an enthusiastic cyclist, has gone to many off road unknown places like Datewass Trek, Alpine Lake in the foothills of Harmukh Mountains, Sonmarg, Gulmarg, forest areas in Bandipora and many other places.
He pedals daily and goes on off-road Downhill Mountain biking once a week. He treks to different unknown places and uploads videos on social media for adventure lovers.
Mir said that the mountain bikers have played a pivotal role in tourism promotion of Gurez and Bandipora. He said he also assists mountain bikers who visit Bandipora and Gurez.
“Cycling is very important for physical and mental fitness. It makes one strong and one gets to see the places which one can hardly see in life,” he said.
Mir has done the longest hilly mountain terrain cycling of 120 kilometers from Basoli to Bhaderwa some two years back which was then organized by Tourism Department Jammu.
Mir who is a self-taught mountain biker said most of the youth who are participating in off road biking have learned it by themselves and there is no such institute that can train youth.
“Many youths have come to Bandipora and they have discovered new trails. The cyclists of Path Finders including Dr Shariq Masoodi also come here for biking,” he said.
Mir has a Masters in History and is a nature lover who loves to explore places. For him, Kashmir is a unique place for adventurists. He cycles to almost all the spots of attraction around Bandipora and hill stations with toughest terrains.
“I have seen that many people say Gurez is the toughest but I found Doban in Bandipora the toughest of all, as the terrain is steep,” he said.
As per the cyclists off Road Mountain Biking is extremely dangerous and needs professional guidance at every step. In Kashmir, many youth are making their way to mountain biking which was not seen before and are setting a trend.
Jaleel-ul-Mushtaq from Bijbehara area of Anantnag is a solo mountain biker and has been into mountain biking for some eight years now.
“I have visited almost every part of Kashmir for mountain biking. The off road trails I remember are Baitaab Valley, Doodpathri and others,” he said.
Mushtaq, who is married and has children, said in most places the youth are taking part in mountain biking at the individual level and it is yet to be made institutional as it is popular in foreign countries.
Mirza Mehdi, another biking enthusiast, and owner of a travel agency in Srinagar. Two years ago, his friends encouraged him to delve into mountain biking. Previously, he had a passion for cycling, using it as a means to burn calories and for recreation during morning and evening hours.
He mentioned that the idea of downhill mountain biking captivated him after watching videos of the late Fhzal Wani, a talented and young Mountain Terrain Biking (MTB) cycling star from Kashmir who tragically passed away in 2020.
A resident of Aharbal Shalimar, Mehdi said once, he along with his friend went to Shankar Acharia to explore the trail (often functioning as a viable corridor in mountain biking) which was already made by Fhzal Wani. They started training themselves on the same trail.
“We tried from there and used the internet to learn about mountain biking. We developed more interest in it and tried to explore it. We upgraded our cycles to full suspension and used shockers for the same. Mountain biking needs a full suspension bike which has strong shockers in front and center which can take out the hardest of the jumps,” he said.
The 30-year-old enthusiast, along with his friends, initiated their mountain biking endeavors at Shankar Achayria, engaging in the activity for an extended period. Subsequently, they accomplished a 12-kilometer downhill biking session at Branwar Chadoora, and later, tackled Affarwat mountain in Gulmarg. These experiences significantly boosted his confidence in the sport.
Mehdi who is also a taekwondo player said mountain biking is a new sport and no such training is given here that is also a reason why youth do not go for it. “We trained ourselves and learned the basics. Now we want to take this unique sport to other youth,” he said.
He said in India there are a few treks for mountain biking that include at Pune and in Disco Valley in Ladakh where competitions are held and international players take part.
Mehdi along with his friends have done Downhill Mountain biking at Drugdolan Yusmarg, Chiranbal Kulgan, Branwar Budgam, Gangbal Ganderbal, Mahadev Dhara and Toshamaidan.
Manzoor Rather is another mountain cyclist from Srinagar who has been mountain cycling over the past one year and has gone to many places for the same.
“I have been into basic cycling for a long time but mountain cycling is quite different. I started this a year ago,” said the 30-year-old, who runs a bicycle shop.
Rather said Kashmir has many benefits when it comes to mountain biking or cycling and there are countless downhill mountains which are essential for mountain biking.
“But till date, mountain cycling has remained unexplored. In foreign countries there is a huge scope for this kind of sport and it could be easily developed here” he said.
Rather said he has not received any formal training however his friends, who also go mountain cycling, have helped him to learn the basics and he applied the same.
Similarly, many students have also developed interest in mountain biking. But they say due to the lack of training in the valley they train themselves and learn from friends.
