About
Barnowl Adventures grew out of a habit: a group of friends who kept disappearing on self-supported bike tours because it was the best way they knew to see a place. The tours got longer, the roads got better, and eventually people started asking to come along.
We like to travel. We have a penchant for the hills, can't stand the highways, and love riding on country roads. We love good food, the authentic local kind, and it is a big reason why we travel. And we think cycling is possibly the best way to experience all of it.
That is the whole idea behind Barnowl Adventures: a travel experience that blends pedalling along scenic rural routes with the culinary and cultural discoveries that come with them.
Barnowl Adventures is an offshoot of The Bike Affair. Back in 2008, Krish and Anil ventured out on their first week-long self-supported bike tour to south India. That tour changed Krish's perspective on travel, and it rubbed off on his colleagues. Over the next few years more self-supported tours followed. We were hooked. Travelling on a self-powered bicycle lets you experience a place at a level that simply isn't possible any other way.
Over time many of us moved to faster road bikes, which made the support vehicle a necessary evil. That produced the first supported tour: five days from Hyderabad to Bhadrachalam in December 2015. The first international tour came in December 2017 in Sri Lanka, riding from the north of the island to the southern coast over a week.
We may share similarities with other bike tour operators, but we are meticulous about what we deliver. It generally takes multiple weeks and many visits before we launch a new destination. We spent more than a month in Meghalaya in 2021 before we thought we were ready for our first tour in the North East. In 2022 we did the same in Rajasthan.
For every road you end up riding, there are several more we scouted and rejected. We don't just pick the best hotels. We handpick the rooms our riders get. And if we stop for a coffee or a snack en route, the place has already been tried and approved.
Mae Hong Son loop · our first tour in Thailand, 2018
The archive
Fifteen years of riding, mostly self-supported, mostly with friends. This is where the tours came from.
The team
Nothing is outsourced to a local operator. The people who designed the tour are the people on the road with you.
Tour designer
A traveller, nature lover, and foodie, with cycling being just an excuse to connect his three hobbies. The roots of Barnowl Adventures trace back to the self-supported tours between 2010 and 2014, when Krish began leading week-long tours across South India. As our tour designer, Krish takes each tour from concept to execution. He meticulously plans the routes, selects the accommodations, and even chooses the café stops.
Technical support lead
Sampath is the talent behind the Barnowl Adventures website. He is also the technical support lead for our tours. Depending on the tour, he could be the one who helps you set up your bike and keeps it in top shape through the week. On the rides you'll often find him at the back of the group, offering tips and support. If you approach a long climb he may just disappear, but he will most likely come back and tackle it with you again.
Coaching and accounts
A seasoned cyclist and marathon runner, co-author of the cycling book "Escape Velocity" and co-owner of The Bike Affair. As a cycling coach he has guided athletes of all ages to their goals. Alongside shaping the tour experience, Gokul oversees our accounting.
Local lead, Goa
Melvin has been part of Barnowl Adventures since our inaugural tour in 2020. He left the metros long ago and moved home to Goa. A nature lover and wanderer, over three years he has explored every one of Goa's 334 villages, which is why our Goa routes go where they do. He loves long-distance running, sea swimming, tennis, and cats.
Come along
We run a small number of tours a year and keep the groups between 8 and 15 riders. If a date works for you, the earlier you say so the better.