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What a week!




What a week!

Departing by ferry from downtown Mumbai and arriving on the Konkan Coast an hour later was like arriving to a new tour in a new country. The slow coastal pace of life, and smiling faces. The smells of the sea, the new foods available, the palm trees and so much more, made it seem a sharp and welcome next phase of this journey.



From the deserts of Rajasthan, and then smooth tarmac with some tough climbs and dry lips in Gujarat, we arrived in Mumbai for two days break. Temperatures had continued to remain moderate through the first half of our trip and even the 2 rest days in Mumbai. But the humidity and heat started as the rubber met the coast. Riders quickly realized that the coastal roads are hilly and at times rough. The rough patches seeming to arrive just as you begin a climb. Much of the day you are navigating your way up and over short but sharp climbs, then back down to bridges – sometimes ferries – that take you across lagoons and rivers that head in land. Endlessly climbing back up and down – so the tired legs appreciated some very comfortable accommodations this week along the way. We spent the first 4 nights right on the water with some extraordinary pristine beach access. Many people travel to Goa for the beaches, but few have been to Devgarh where we stayed out 4th night. A short walk down the hillside behind our hotel takes you to a little used pristine beach – just for us. The citizens of Devgarh seem to use it very little, and especially when we were there as everyone was focussed on the regional elections taking place. And from the roof of our hotel, you can see the waves breaking, and spilling onto the beach, and the cliffs to the right that give it a secluded feel. And as you sleep the sound of the waves is rhythmic and relaxing.


           beach behind hotel in Devgarh

Then we headed for Kudal and said goodbye to the coast. We will be inland for just over two weeks as we head to explore the amazing sites of Karnataka state – the most well known, deservedly so might just be Hampi Ruins, the UNESCO World Heritage site. But to get there our last day of riding into Belgaum meant climbing up the Deccan Plateau – which we will be on for sometime. From about the 35 km mark until 55 km was a constant, but steady climb up through the trees which created an excellent shield from the intense sun. Some riders found it tough, not only because of the climb, but more so from the general fatigue of a challenge and rewarding week along the coast. The rest day was well deserved in Belgaum today.


                        last view of the coast

For a preview of the week to come, please read my scouting report that I posted in January shortly I had driven this new section of our tour – the riders should have a great week!

Posted February 23, 2012 by Shanny Hill
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An Elephant's tail




A year ago I was in Mumbai. I was there with the rest of the Tour d’Afrique’s inaugural Indian Adventure Bicycle Expedition that starts in Agra at the Taj Mahal and finishes in Kanyakumari at the southernmost point of India. I have never been to Mumbai so I was eager to start exploring, but first I and the rest of the team had to deal with our accommodation. The hotel we had booked was in a great location in the old part of the city but the rooms were actually spread over several small buildings and each room different in size and level of comfort. To add to this, a day before we arrived the municipality decided to do some major work and bulldoze the whole street. As a result our vehicles were unable to park near the hotel and unload our baggage. The staff had a bit of a mess on our hands. To say the least, we had a few unhappy participants at this point.



A year later I am sitting at home watching the snow flakes landing and looking at the Globe and Mail’s newest Friday magazine called What Makes You Happy. Inside the magazine there is a story titled A Whole World of Happiness with definitions, graphs and statistics. One statistic that jumped out has a direct connection to my contemplation of where I was a year ago and the adventure I had cycling in India.
 


The interesting graph is titled the ‘Intensity of Global Happiness’ which starts with the ‘Global Average’ - 22% of the inhabitants of this planet are “very happy” and 53% are “rather happy”. Than it lists the happiest country in the world (more on that further down), at least according to this study, and then the second happiest - India. According to this study, which has been polling people all over the world every month for four and half years, India has 43% ‘very happy’ people and 46% ‘rather happy’ people for a total of 89%. I am not a statistician neither a behavioral scientist but I did ride on a bike through India.



And what I saw was a geographically vast country, with deserts and lush greenery, with amazing palaces and, at times, astounding poverty. Several ancient and more modern religious practices, the world’s largest democracy with an enormous amount of debate, a cacophony of joy and sadness but generally, and this needs to be underlined, happy people or at least very friendly to foreigners.



For many of us, it seems counterintuitive that India would rank so high. Before I went to India – and though I have biked in Africa, China and South America - I was intimidated by India as were many other people I know who told me that they would never bike in India. To my great relief and joy, India, as this survey indirectly points out, turned out to be a highlight of my life’s experience.



A year can be a short or a long time and for those who followed my trials and tribulations when cycling in India know ‘my story’. I suffered the most serious injury in my life. But I survived and, if anything’ India has made me realize that happiness is a complex entity, not the least of it is taking your chances and living your life to the fullest.



And which is the happiest country according to the study? Have you heard of the 7 Epics? One of the epics we are planning is called Trans-Oceania which will start in Singapore. From there we will take a boat ride and spent the next few weeks in the happiest country in the world – Indonesia – before we continue onward. I personally can’t wait.

Posted February 20, 2012 by Henry Gold
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Fast Friends in the First Half




It all began on a cold foggy morning in Agra – but the smiling faces could be seen through even through the thickest fog. The Taj Mahal, on the other hand, stayed hidden from view of our ‘start line’ group photo. We held up our entry tickets that had a picture of the Taj on it and then set out into the morning traffic that was building in Agra.



And we continued to cycle – into Rajasthan and the wild city of Jaipur, and onto Jodhpur, and Udaipur through small villages on bumpy narrow paved roads, we got to see the side of Rajasthan that the tour buses don’t get to see. We stayed in palaces, forts, hotels, and guesthouses, and were surprised sometimes by the grandeur of these places, and other times by their oddity – Hotel Fly View will not be missed by many.



We headed further south and into Gujarat – a dry state officially, and a state much more prosperous than Rajasthan – its roads, dams, and bridges are an example of that – and so the search for safe roads meant a little more zig zagging. As far as we can tell, the Indian Adventure is the only organized cycling tour that passes through Gujarat, and certain others states of India, so riders have the great benefit of experiencing the unique qualities of the people of Gujarat that not many cyclists or any tourists  have the pleasure of experiencing.



Our last full day in Gujarat was also our biggest climbing day so far. We climbed nearly 1700m to Saputera Hill Station. The next day we cruised to Nashik, in Maharashtra, stopping along the way to have lunch and a wine tasting at a winery – Nashik is an up and coming wine region in India.



Then we followed the route used by the Tour de India (a UCI road race) to Vikramgarh through stunning scenery and ending at the Hideout – well named as this unique spot is tucked away on a gravel road on the outskirts of a small village. Hemant and Sangeeta treated us very well – cooking us healthy meals, with salads made with fresh roquette picked from the organic garden they keep. And then we were transported into Mumbai for two full days rest to explore and recoup.



We made friends. Fast friends. Even before we had pedalled our first kilometre we had shared many stories and got to know each other and some of our motivations. Many riders of past tours have commented that, though the cycling was memorable, it was the friends made that made the trip. Today we will meet new friends as we are joined by new riders who will come with us to Kanyakumari. The fog broke long ago and the smiles remain as we get ready for the second half.  


Posted February 17, 2012 by Shanny Hill
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Bicycle Donation at the Hideout




A total of 45 bicycles were donated through various donors – including the 20 bicycles from the Tour d’Afrique Foundation and the Indian Adventure riders. It was organized by Hemant Chhabra who runs the Hideout – where we spent our final night on the road before Mumbai.



Hemant first set up the 5 acre Hideout – a farm / guesthouse / cottage / conference centre / eco centre 24 years ago – buying land that had been all but cleared of the teak trees that once filled the area. He set about slowly learning how to regenerate the area, eventually landing on a philosophy of planting fruit trees and letting nature take care of the rest – allowing the birds to do the seeding to grow the forest further, and to only plant minimal amounts of teak and let the birds do the rest. The result is a vibrant mish mash of things - 23 species of banana plants, star fruit, curry leaf, palm trees, beetle nut tree, teak, coconut, pineapple, lime, lemon, and so on.



Through the Hideout he began working with the local villages and trying to learn from them, while also addressing some of their needs. In recent years, along with a journalist from Mumbai named Simona Terron, he started the Bicycle Project. They collect unused, and disguarded bicycles from people in Mumbai and distribute them to school children in and around Vikramgarh.



The children can only keep the bikes as long as there grades are kept up, and the bikes are kept at the schools in the off season, and passed on to other kids over the years. Amazingly Hemant says there has been a 25% increase in school attendance since he began the Bicycle Project – so it is working. Children can get to school with ease, and can ride a bike, and play like children should. Since the project began they have distributed approximately 700 bicycles.



Several of the children came to the Hideout to pick up their bikes – these bikes were newly purchased ones, so they were given to the students who had excelled in certain subjects. We then went to their school where a general assembly was held in the school yard, under the shade of the trees.



A few speeches, and some bicycle tricks by Vinay, and we set out, happy to know that the Tour d’Afrique Foundation may help a child get to school, get an education, and go on to be prosperous as an adult.

Posted February 13, 2012 by Shanny Hill
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From Narmada




Today at dinner we had a speaker from the regional tourist authority tell us all about the dam. The Narmada river dam. He rattled off some impressive sounding numbers that I don’t specifically recall (I didn’t have a pen on me). It contains such and such cubic meters of water spanning such and such metres and is the world’s 2nd biggest dam – based either on its width or amount of cement used – I couldn’t figure that one out.



From what I am told it’s quite a regional tourist attraction. Built in the 60s, it’s something Indians seem proud of (well except the many villages displaced by the flooded land it created). And if today was any gauge, it sure is a hotspot – shortly after our arrival. four bus loads of school aged girls showed up – over 200 strong on a school day trip from Vadodara (aka Baroda). They are here to see the dam of course. Dams don’t rank high on the lists of must see places for foreign travellers, but i can see that for school children it is educational (I hope they brought their pens), and interesting.



My school trips consisted of a once a year bus trip to Crystal Beach where we got to swim next to the sewage treatment plant – which never seemed to do its job as you would occasionally see squares of toilet paper and other unidentified floating objects bob past as you splashed about. 


 
But that’s a little off topic...

Now having completed 15 of 44 stages of the tour, the riders are feeling strong, and are into a solid routine. Tomorrow we edge ever closer to Mumbai and the state of Maharashtra with a tough hilly ride to Songadh and then a good climbing day to the Hill Station at Satupera – sure to counter today’s rather routine ride. This is our last week of riding with Lise-Lotte and Henrik, as they will return to Denmark from Mumbai. They will be missed, but they will be replaced by two brave new recruits as we begin our 2nd half of the tour. We look forward to meeting David and John soon, but until then we will enjoy the last few days with Lise-Lotte and Henrik.

Posted February 07, 2012 by Shanny Hill
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In Udaipur




Our first night out of Jodhpur was at Fort Dhamli, a quaint little property of 10 rooms set in the small village of Dhamli. It’s run by Inder – a well spoken guy with an engaging smile who pulled out all the stops for our group. Fort Dhamli, and the village Dhamli don’t appear on our GPS or our maps. It’s off the main road, and it’s a gem that many a traveler likely miss out on. The rooms all face into the courtyard which is just large enough for some mandarin orange trees, a few benches and his dog (didn’t catch it’s name). The stairs take you up to the 2nd floor which is open to the sky. Each room is clean, and their is hot water once the wood fired boiler heats up. The food was as unique as the fort. We had wild bore grilled of a fire, potatoes, rice, cauliflower, and coconut coated sugary goodness with tea and coffee for desert followed by a night cap of rum that Inder cheerfully poured generous portions of. 



On from Dhamli saw us conquer the first significant climb of the tour so far. We have been travelling through the desert in Rajasthan for most of our time, and yesterday we climbed up towards Kumbholgarh Fort – an impressive fort set high above the desert, and some of the only elevation in the area. We climbed just under a 1000 m on the day. The scenery was a fantastic change from the landscape of the previous week. On tough climbing, we saw monkeys darting across branches, streams flowing downhill against us, and turning each corner revealed more impressive scenery.



And just as the temperatures have started to climb the past several days, it began to cool off with every metre higher we ascended. So perhaps one of our last crisp morning rides was had the next day as we peddled downward towards Udaipur – past quiet and humble village homes with stone walls that follow alongside us the whole way. They are like how I recall from the Cotswolds in Britain – neatly piled rocks planted firmly in place without mortar – just stacked in a way that they support each other. The roads through much of the ride were smooth for a change, and so it added to the enjoyment of the village life in the hills.

Posted February 01, 2012 by Shanny Hill
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