Peddling history

Perhaps the best thing going for Woodside Inn and the prospective success of the idea of conducting cycling tours is the fact that in a five kilometer radius of the bistro are some of the best historic locations of South Mumbai. It’s easy to be intrigued by little nuggets of the city’s past. Take for example,what is Mahendra Chambers in Kala Ghoda now,used to be Watsons Hotel,the first five star hotel in Mumbai where the Lumiere brothers screened their first feature film,or where the Silk Route Chinese restaurant is in Kala Ghoda today,used to be a restaurant called Wayside Restaurant where B R Ambedkar sat and drafted the Constitution. “We were always looking at activities that Woodside Inn could organise and a cycling tour seemed perfect as it would allow our guests to get acquainted with the neighbourhood,” says Pankil Shah,one of the three partners of Woodside Inn.

And just as the rivulets of sweat and the numbness in your posterior (it’s high time some genius discovered cushioned bicycle seats),make you question the relative benefits of early rising,Woodside Inn pulls out the next rabbit from its hat: a breakfast menu specially designed for the cycling tour,consisting of the fresh fruit of the day,cereal,tea,coffee,pancakes or waffles and a choice of egg preparations including poached egg with ham and mushroom cream sauce,bruschetta with chicken salami and poached eggs,and bacon and cheddar omelette served with potato skins.

Together,the cycling and the breakfast make an attractive package which,despite the heat and the surplus of history (there’s only so much of the past you can take in at seven in the morning),might just make it worth your while.