Our last week in India has been somewhat of a blur. We went from having loads of time and lots to do, to having no time and still lots to do. At the top of the list was a bike service…
Week Forty-Two: Did Someone Say Cheese?
There’s a reason why we’ve avoided visiting India’s main cities, completely bypassing the likes of the Taj Mahal, Ganges and other Indian must-sees. They’re dreadful for cycling. At least we think so. The city of Pondicherry, our first real city experience, was an absolute nightmare after so long in rural India…
Week Forty-One: What Comes Down Must Go Up Again
We finally got that downhill we’ve worked so hard for these last couple of weeks. And it was worth the wait. It was also the longest downhill either of us has ever done before; we descended 2,000 m over 49 km. We went from minus figures and down jackets to sweltering heat and t-shirts in about 2 hours – madness…
Week Forty: Coffee, Climbing and Cold Temperatures. Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.
Week Thirty-Nine: A True Taste of Indian Roads
15th December: the last time we really cycled anywhere. That’s eleven days of being in a sedentary state on a beautiful beach. The pathetic bit of cycling we did do over the last couple of weeks was to merely move beaches. We ended up visiting five Goan beaches, which is impressive when you think Goa is only 100 km long (it’s one of the smallest states in India). We got so lazy, so to say the first ride after Christmas was tough would definitely be an understatement.
Week Thirty-Eight: An Indian Christmas
Week Thirty-Seven: Unexpected Culture Shock
We started this week with roughly 180km and 2,000m of climbing standing between us and beers on a Goan beach with a friend. Oh and we only had three days to do it in. Now I’ll admit that sounds like plenty of time, but we’d already cycled three hilly days straight and were in desperate need of a day off. If you remember we clocked 481km and 4,080m last week. We were shattered…
Week Thirty-Six: Five Ferries For £2.85
India has done it: she finally broke us. It’s taken five-weeks, but at some point this week, we’ve each exclaimed how we’re over it; it being India. This happens to pretty much every traveller here for various reasons, as travelling around India is difficult. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the overly-curious people, erratic driving, or nonsensical rules that sent us over the edge. It was accommodation…
Week Thirty-Five: Happy Birthday, Bearded One
Week Thirty-Four: The Week We Visited 864 Temples
We gave the History Channel a run for its money this week, as we traversed centuries of history along the Gujarati coast. Usually we have to cycle hundreds of kilometres between sights we have pinpointed on the map. But this week, we got lucky. The last 376km has offered up eight-hundred-and-sixty-four temples, a few beaches, a fort, palace, mausoleum – and beer…
Week Thirty-Three: Hotels Aren’t Hotels
Project ‘Avoid The Sun’s Hottest Hours So We Don’t Get Ill Again’ got underway this week (we really need a better name). The plan is to be up and cycling at 6am, before the sunrises at 6.30am. That gives us seven-hours to pedal in the cooler hours, before it becomes unbearably hot at 1pm. Then we’d just call it a day. The sun sets again at 6pm, so it’s pointless going much further when it gets cool around 4pm. You won’t be surprised to learn that our perfect plan had some teething problems during the first week…
Week Thirty-Two: Welcome to India
India. The land of colour, curries and endless selfies. As you know, our first few days here were spent cooped up on some sort of transport, so this week has been the first time that we truly felt like we had left Nepal and arrived in India. Wow. It’s been a sensory overload – and it’s only the beginning…
Week Thirty-One: The Taxman, A Truck Driver and Train Panic
Bike problems are a given on a cycle tour, we get that. But our second cracked rim became something of a real pain in the ####. Not only did it force us to rent me a mountain bike for £140, leave the Annapurna Circuit early, and reluctantly order Dan a new wheel (third time is not a charm), we also had to collect the wheels in person from Kathmandu airport customs and pay a stinking VAT bill…