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