Cycling in Hyderabad: The ORR Solar Cycle Track, Necklace Road, Brevets and Safety

Cycling in Hyderabad starts at the ORR solar cycle track

Most Indian cities ask cyclists to share busy roads. Hyderabad built a separate track. Along the Outer Ring Road, the 158 km expressway that circles the city, the Telangana government has built a cycle track of about 23 km between the main carriageway and the service road, in two stretches on the west side of the city, close to the IT corridor. The Narsingi to Kollur stretch is covered by rooftop solar panels that shade riders from the sun and the rain.

The project’s foundation stone was laid on 6 September 2022 by the then municipal administration minister, K. T. Rama Rao, with Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited, a wing of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), building it at a cost of ₹88.12 crore (Deccan Chronicle, September 2022). Early reports gave the length as 21 km; the two stretches add up to about 23 km. The plans promised parking, a cycle docking and rental station, food courts, drinking water, restrooms and basic repair shops. In August 2023, Telangana Today reported the track in its final stage, with lights and kilometre signs being installed and an opening planned for September. By June 2024 it was hosting community cycling events.

Cycling in Hyderabad: price, timings and night rides

Searches for cycling in Hyderabad’s price and timings are mostly about the ORR track, and this is where we have to be honest: we could not find an official, current page listing the track’s opening hours, any user fee or cycle rental charges in October 2026. The plan included a rental station, and the track has lighting, which officials said in 2023 would make night cycling more pleasant. Rules on hours, fees and rentals can change, so check the track’s official social media account (@HyderabadSolarCyclingTrack) or ask at the entry point before you go.

Until you have seen which of the planned facilities are actually open on your stretch, ride self-sufficient: carry two bottles of water, a spare tube, a pump and a small tool, plus cash and your phone. For an evening or night ride on the ORR track, fit your own front and rear lights anyway. The track’s lighting helps you see the surface, but your lights are what let others see you where the track crosses roads and entry points.

Cycling in Gachibowli, HITEC City and Narsingi

If you live or work in the western IT corridor, you have the best cycling access in Hyderabad. The Nanakramguda to Police Academy stretch starts next to the Financial District, a short ride from Gachibowli and HITEC City, and the Narsingi end of the solar stretch is close to Kokapet and Manikonda. A before-work ride of an hour on the track is realistic for many people in Kondapur, Gachibowli or Narsingi, which is not true of cycling anywhere else in the city.

Gachibowli is also where the long rides start. Hyderabad Randonneurs’ 200 km brevet on 1 November 2026 begins at 6 AM at Gachibowli Stadium. Getting from the track or the stadium to the rest of the city is the hard part: arterial roads like the ones to HITEC City are built for cars, so ride them only early in the morning, with lights.

Necklace Road and the Hussain Sagar loop

For central Hyderabad, Necklace Road is the classic ride. The road, officially PV Narasimha Rao Marg, runs for 5.5 km along Hussain Sagar from NTR Gardens to Sanjeevaiah Park, and with Tank Bund Road it forms a loop around the lake. It is a favourite with early-morning joggers and hosts marathon events, so it is busy with walkers and runners at dawn and with evening crowds later. Treat it as a relaxed ride with views, not a training route: ride steadily, give runners space, and keep fast efforts for the ORR track.

Cycling events in Hyderabad: brevets and community rides

Hyderabad has two Audax clubs, Hyderabad Randonneurs and Secunderabad Randonneurs, that run brevets: timed, non-competitive long rides of 200 km and up under Audax India Randonneurs. The Audax India calendar in October 2026 listed these:

Audax India’s rules give 13 hours 30 minutes to finish 200 km, 20 hours for 300 km and 27 hours for 400 km. A helmet is compulsory for the whole ride, front and rear lights must be fitted with spare batteries, every rider wears a reflective vest, and the minimum age is 18. A 200 km brevet is a sensible first goal after a season of regular weekend rides on the ORR track.

Building up to a first Hyderabad brevet on the ORR track

1. Months 1–2: ride the Narsingi to Kollur stretch and back (about 29 km) twice a week, plus one longer Sunday ride, adding about 10 km a fortnight.
2. Month 3: two Sunday rides of 100 km or more, done in the cool November or December mornings, practising eating and drinking every 30–45 minutes.
3. Month 4: one ride of about 150 km at brevet pace, then an easier fortnight before your first 200 km. Keep two short strength sessions a week throughout.

For a gentler start, the Hyderabad Cycling Revolution community organised a World Bicycle Day event on the ORR cycling track at 6 AM on 2 June 2024, with Hyderabad’s Bicycle Mayor, Santhana Selvan, speaking for more cycle lanes, safer crossings and better public transport (Telangana Today, May 2024). Community groups like this are the best way to find cycling events in Hyderabad that suit beginners.

How safe are Hyderabad’s roads for cyclists?

According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ report for 2023, Hyderabad recorded 335 road deaths. Four were cyclists. Two-wheeler riders (166) and pedestrians (133) made up nearly nine in ten deaths. The low cyclist number mostly reflects how few people cycle on Hyderabad’s roads, not that they are safe; across India, 4,560 cyclists were killed in 2023, 2.6% of all road deaths.

What that means in practice: do your training on the ORR track, ride on roads only at quiet hours, wear a helmet, and use front and rear lights even at dawn. The biggest risk to a cyclist in Hyderabad is the same as for a pedestrian: fast two-wheelers and turning traffic.

Best months for cycling in Hyderabad

Hyderabad’s cycling calendar is ruled by heat more than rain. The 1991–2020 normals give this pattern:

• November to February: the best season. Average highs are 27.8–31.8 °C, lows 13.1–16.4 °C, and rain is 5–19 mm a month.
• March to May: hot. Average highs climb from 35.2 °C in March to 38.8 °C in May. Ride from first light and finish by 8 AM; the shaded solar stretch of the ORR track helps, but the air is still hot.
• June to September: the monsoon brings 114–204 mm of rain a month, with August the wettest at about 204 mm. Temperatures drop, and the solar roof keeps light rain off on the Narsingi to Kollur stretch, but roads elsewhere flood and get slippery.
• October: about 114 mm of rain and highs of about 30 °C; rides get easier as the month goes on.

Strength and mobility for Hyderabad riders

Flat laps of the ORR track build endurance but little strength, and long hours in the saddle stiffen your hips and back. Two short strength sessions a week fill the gap. Our national guide to cycling for weight loss covers how riding and strength work fit together if fat loss is your goal.

• Goblet squats, 3 × 10: builds the quads that drive the pedals, and makes Hyderabad’s few climbs, like the ramps up to flyovers, easier.
• Single-leg Romanian deadlifts, 3 × 8 each leg: strengthens hamstrings and glutes and evens out left-right imbalances.
• Back extensions or bird dogs, 3 × 10: keeps your lower back strong for long rides in a bent position.
• Couch stretch and chest openers, 5 minutes: undoes the tight hips and rounded shoulders from riding and from a day at a HITEC City desk.

Prefer to train at home on summer afternoons? Personal Home Training in Hyderabad needs only a mat. If a crash or a sore knee has kept you off the bike and your physio has cleared you, Rehab & Recovery in Hyderabad rebuilds strength step by step. For other outdoor options, see our guides to running tracks in Hyderabad and treks near Hyderabad, and estimate how much to eat on long-ride days with the TDEE calculator. For everything else, see online personal training in Hyderabad.