First Day On The Bike

A great meal last night; an early night was followed with a fitful sleep despite the aircon keeping us cool. An early rise with a fantastic breakfast of fruit and local delicacies started the day. It was hot, need I say. The bikes were loaded into the back of the support van which was quite a challenge with one tandem, one semi-recumbent tandem, and 12 other bikes. I couldn't watch.  After an hour's ride in the mini-bus that felt like a cross between Whacky Races and Mad Max we arrived, reluctant to leave the airconned interior, at the Kappukadu Elephant Rehab Centre run by the Kerala Forest Department. No rides, no tricks, and no cream buns I'm happy to say, just a whole lot of elephants being wonderfully treated, washed and fed in an environment that provided entertainment for, but no interference from, visitors.

After a team safety talk, wisely heeded,  we mounted up in the steaming heat and cycled mostly downhill to a nearby dam for our first break. Roads were pretty quiet  and we weren't riding back along the road we drove out on, were we?  Well actually we did for a good part. Having reclassified the 328 near misses on the drive out as simply normal driving, we entered the chaos that is Indian traffic as a strung out peloton. It was a wild and exciting ride. If you could read the thought bubbles of the folk ahead they would run along the lines of "I wonder if that oncoming truck that is overtaking that tuktuk has seen the taxi that's overtaking the scooter that's overtaking me?"  Of course they always did. It was, in a strange way, quite exhilarating once you'd re-benchmarked your view of acceptable driving behaviours!  A fantastic lunch stop at a local restaurant with an aircon 'best' room

Interrupted progress and gave us an opportunity to cool down. Then it was onwards for the last few miles back to the hotel for the final night's stay here at Adimalathura, SE of Trivandrum. We arrived dripping with sweat and happy to get the acclimatisation ride done. Nobody died so it was judged a success. 

22.3 miles;10.7 mph  average speed; 294m ascent.