DAY 13 - THURSDAY

Day 13 Thursday 4/2/2010

Kodaikanal to Thekady – 290 Km

Up at 5.30 (again) and another early start. We had to go back over the mountain range that we had used to get to Kodaikanal. Again we were up very high, with some sheer drops and some drops which although were severe were not an immediate plummet to the bottom. One guy did go too fast and locked his back brake trying to stop. He went through the gap in the barriers and definitely got ‘air’ between his bike and the ground. He sailed through a tree he tried to grab to save him and did not land until he was 50ft or more down the side of the mountain, his bike going too. That man must have lost one of his 9 lives that day. In another part of the road he would have killed himself. I found the concentration required on mountain sections mentally tiring as an ‘off’ there could be far worse than just chucking the bike down the road with you following it on flat roads without drops! The highlight of the day was riding through the tea plantations of Munnar. Absolute beauty of nature with natural streams pouring down the sides of the hills around and the tea being picked as it has been for centuries. By late afternoon we were on more forgiving roads. Coming towards a bend one of the Enduro Team was flagging us to slow down, obviously an accident had happened. I saw the road was extremely wet and at the side a guy was being fitted with a neck brace. Later we were to learn the brace was a precaution until he could be examined in more detail. Just a broken collar bone, the rally was over for him. We had various delays that day waiting of ‘offs’ to be recovered and so forth. The front riders would stop the rally at various points so the back riders and support could catch up. We could not have too much distance between the front and back of the rally so that support was always not too far away. At around 6pm Herbies throttle cable snapped and we had to wait for a mechanic. By the time we entered the Park Ferme at 7pm it was dark. No fun on these roads after dark as not all locals consider it to be necessary to use their vehicle lights at night!!

Day 10

DAY 10

MONDAY

MYSORE TO JUNGLE HUT MASINAGUDI

120 km

We did not have to leave Mysore until Midday so we took the opportunity to visit the outlet of the silk factory. An extensive shopping session was had by all four of us. The team meeting awarded ‘Dick of the Day’ to a guy who yesterday did not see someone’s tank bag on the floor at a garage (these bags have very strong magnets so when we chuck them on our tanks they stay put at all speeds). The tank bag attached itself to his exhaust pipe. He left the filling station and within a few miles the bag was on fire from the exhaust heat and he did not notice the flames as he rode along! Skid was awarded to Dave, a man who managed to control his bike on the motorway when it suffered a front tyre blowout at 110 kph, you have to be a good rider not to crash when that happens. We had an easy ride to Jungle Hut of around four hours. Terry could not ride as one of his legs had become extremely swollen over recent days and he found it hard to walk let alone change gear or ride the pegs as was becoming more necessary due to the state of the roads. I had one close call according to Herbie who was riding behind me. A car pulled from my left in a town turning right across my path. I hit my back brake and the bike went into a kind of speedway corner manoeuvre. I skid around the car and did not think any more of it until he mentioned it. At home you would think of it all day, here it happens all the time so it does not seem to matter anymore. Trucks still come around blind bends or over the brow of hills two abreast while overtaking each other and anything smaller has to find a way to avoid hitting them. It is still scary but becomes more of a thrilling game with time. We arrived at Jungle Hut Masinagudi after riding through the tiger reserves of Bandipur and Mudumallai. It is an Eco Resort which is a wildlife sanctuary. Even though tomorrow is a rest day we did not party. We were tucked up in bed before 11 pm. It must be an age thing!!!

DAY 8 Shimoga to Kalasa, Silent Valley Resort 180km

Sent to my family in the UK:

DAY 8

Herbie, Terry, Cliff and Andy

I LOVE INDIA. The sights and sounds here are amazing. The countryside is so lush. Remembering back to pictures of farming in India as a child and thinking even then it looked as it would 100 years ago, here nearly 50 years on it is still the same. Today was only 180km which is less than the distance of the last two days but around 100km was off-road or on roads so bad that the depth and width of a pothole was big enough to bury an average size dog. We also now have to avoid monkeys and chickens as well as the cows and dogs. We were warned today that there are usually a lot of 'offs' (crashes) on this route due to the terrain. They were not wrong..... The ride was beautiful through lush farmland with crop field’s rich green in colour. There was a climb up a mountain with drops beside the road edge. Terry managed to miss judge a left hand bend and managed a sort of jump off the bike followed by a somersault. Alan who we roomed with on the first two nights tried to overtake an ambulance but the ambulance had to avoid a rock. Alan went over the edge, after about 20ft the foot peg dragged in the dirt and a large shrub stopped him and the bike. Colin pulled the bike off him and it took 8 guys to get the bike back up on to the road. A big crowbar straightened out the foot pegs. Joe the American firefighter ended up with his arm in a sling and one guy took a smack to his body armour in the chest and they thought he was having a heart attack. Luck had it that a cardiac specialist on the Enduro was close by and went to hospital with him. He is now OK. There were numerous other offs which made it a very long day. We reached Silent valley at dusk. Tonight I share a dorm with 18 other guys we each have a two inch thick mattress on the floor. Just one loo and one shower. I decide not to even bother taking my kit off and go to drink and eat. With any luck the beer will kill the pain of the day and help me sleep. I stayed out until most were in 'bed'. I took a sleeping pill and pain killers and jumped into my sleeping bag liner with my pillow. I passed out real quick. I have lost  my voice today due to dust inhalation and my ribs are thought to be cracked/broken following my "off" 2 days ago.  Up at 5am, another night of 4 hours sleep and 250km ahead of me. The funniest story of today’s ride was about a guy who rode through a town where there was a cow with a long rope around its neck. The cow had wandered over the road and the guy had rode over the rope without realizing it was attached to a cow and that it was caught on the bike and he was dragging a very reluctant cow down the main street. He noticed an old farmer looking very angry with a big stick (weapon of choice in India) chasing him when he looked in his mirror but had still not realized about the cow there was no way he was going to stop...someday this rally is like a moving circus. The most touching moments of this trip is seeing the children, they don't have much at all but are smart and clean for school, always smiling and exciting. Another very small girl blew me a kiss today, I blew one back and she went shy. This time I shed a tear........

thank you for all recent donations, very much appreciated :D

Day 6!!!!!

DAY 6 - 29-31st

After my episode yesterday I kept the sweepers bike and felt good as new by morning. We had the morning brief, there are always three awards and you get passed the t-shirt of the award and must wear it over your kit all day. There is 'spirit' for good riding or doing things right, 'skid' for a spectacular crash and 'dick of the day' for stupidity. The presentations are hilarious as the antics are described prior to presentation. I won't go into all for each day but today’s skid was for a guy who had to ride a rut during dodging the trucks, he was going quite fast and before he could get out of the rut he hit a large rock and somersaulted the bike and himself. He was being patched up when I was in the evening surgery they have with Doc each day.

Rather than nicking our fuel today the local scallies decided to pinch one guys riding boots, another’s trousers, a girls body armour and Andy' swimming shorts! Mind you it's a bit silly leaving your kit on the balcony of your shack. Not sure if the original owners all left sign with kit saying please take but they might as well have done!! One of the mechanics lent the girl his body armour and got the spirit award for doing so. Someone found an old pair of boots in the road for the other guy. Joe wore his thermal longjohns to ride and Andy has been swimming in underpants every since!!

Today’s run started uneventfully riding though various villages it had been a very early start, up at five thirty and riding by seven thirty. We were to suffer the trucks again today and by the time we got to the start of a 21km line in both directions the temp was well into the 30's. I had thought since the start of the day that Andy, Terry and Herbie were in front of me and rode fast to find them. I was riding solo through the narrow gap between the trucks with at times only six inches spare on each side of the bars. 12km into the jam my clutch would no longer work and the lever was just flopping around. I got the bike onto the dirt at the side of the road. I had been riding the clutch to get through the trucks and on these bikes that happens in very hot conditions but the clutch cable had stretched as well. A sweeper arrived and radioed for a mechanic. Soon Terry and Herbie arrived with Terry's clutch also bust.

 It was 10.05 when he arrived and we were fixed and riding one hot, dusty and diesel dirty hour later. As we rode on any trucks that pushed in had their cabs bashed with big sticks by guys trying to control the lines. One driver punched a guy in the face who had tried to hit the driver through his cab window with a big stick! He went away holding his eye and then came back with a couple of mates who also had big sticks. Chaos broke out, it was hilarious. There was a great off road section, all uphill, with dirt, gravel, rocks and ruts. I stood on the pegs and blasted around the sharp bends overtaking all in front of me. As I came down the other side the going was tough and I knew that I would not make the next turn. I had a choice of an area covered in rocks or one with dirt and less rocks, I chose the later. I crashed with the bike trapping my left leg and a rock finding me ribs at the side, the only chink in my armour. The guys following pulled the bike off me. No real damage to the bike and I am only bruised. I just got too cocky. What everybody must realize is that you will crash on an Enduro. Riders have to come to terms with that and not be frightened. You always pray it will just be a few bumps and no breaks which would put you out of the rally.

We rode through small villages where kids waved and held out their hands to slap ours as we rode past. It is a big event when over 100 bikes and support ride through town. When we reached our destination at Murudashvar we were greeted by the sight of an 18 storie ornate temple and the largest Shiva statue in the word. The whole area had a mystic beauty about it. The hotel was clean, Andy and I were in an a/c room with a bed each complete with clean sheets!.... Today, while riding, a little girl with pigtails and glasses blew me a kiss. That little girl touched my heart.

thank you to everybody who has kindly donated recently, much appreciated