After a successful weekend of practice and first day on the road, the Tamilnadu Run had more exploring to do. Here is Princely’s final Rickshaw Challenge report until the Classic Run begins in more than two months!

Long Distance to Thanjavur

On the Pondicherry morning we had briefing at 8 am on the dot. Being long distance and with bad roads to navigate, I warned all the tree teams beforehand. As expected the teams immediately started and left. As we had a beach spot in Cuddalore town as a challenge for the day, I instructed the mechanic team to get the detour and check whether any team is there on the spot. So by the time the Mechanic team called up, it was 10 am. By the word of the shop keeper there we got the information that two teams came to the beach and left. Then the mechanic team was in hot pursuit to catch them before the next town called Chidambaram. But no, the mechanics could not catch the teams there.

In our day sheet we had marked a lunch recommendation at Puthur, called Jayaram mess, and known for its good fish. I reached the place at 12.30 pm and within half an hour all the teams arrived. Oh what a site to watch 6 foreigners having meals at the thatched roof eating spot. It was a show of amusement to the locals and the serving team there was super exited and they were asking them whether the spice was ok giving them the very best service. Then it was pretty much a straight drive to Thanjavur. Somewhere after Kumbkonam town the sky got absolute crazy dark. Within five minutes the rain started pelting down heavily. The rain was there until 20 km and when I started approaching Thanjavur the sun started shining brightly again. Teams came in to the hotel around 5.30 pm. The gorgeous looking swimming pool in Tanjavur base hotel become the spot for the teams. Probably they settled there till 10 pm and stories after stories were evident from their roaring sound of laughter.

The Way to Yercaud

Thanjur morning was again an early morning start. The day drive was a straight drive for me without any call and surprisingly not bumping in to any team for the whole day. I was in Yercaud at 3 pm after a good lunch at the recommended hotel in day sheet called Selvi mess near the Salem new bus stand. All the while the mechanic team could not work out where the teams were. It was around 4.30 pm the mechanic team reached the foot hills of Yercaud and started waiting. Till 5 pm there was no trace of teams. Then I messaged the teams to know about the where about. Then I hurried them by warning them about the last stretch will take about an hour and half and to start immediately to claim the hills. Still Team 1 made it to the foot hills at around 5.45 pm. Then the mechanics tailed them. The first team to reach the base hotel was Team 2 ‘Keep Karma and Carry Omm’ and it was 6 pm. The next team was team 3 ‘The Coxes’ to reach the hotel and they came at around 6.30 pm. It became pitch dark. Team 1 ‘One-Eyed Wonder weasels’ had tough time driving the hill in the dark. They had to literally push the vehicle a couple of times and Darrell refused to take the mechanic help as he wants the full credit to doing it by himself. Yeh! They did it. It was around 7 pm that they made it to the hotel. The lit up Salem view from the hills was amazing. And the bar was occupied only with the three teams bragging about the drive on few beers and cocktails.

Lazy Day to the Holy City of Tiruvanamalai

Yercaud morning was misty. Being a hill station the life comes alive only after 8 in the spot. I was ready at 7.30 am and came to the reception. Arun the Chennai garage leader of mechanic team came there as well. It was Darrell who came at 7.45 there. Dropping his bags checking his vehicle he went for the breakfast and it was not ready. It was 8 am that they started the breakfast spread at the base hotel. The briefing was held at 8.30 am and the teams immediately left to the next destination. The routes were discussed and the challenge was explained to them. That was absolutely a no-nonsense day and I crossed the teams at Uthangarai a town before 60 km to the destination. The base hotel had many activities, most notably milking a cow. David Smith of Team 2 ‘Keep Karma and carry on’ had his fortune checked by a parrot. Thus the non-eventful day came to an end in a village set up resort in Thiuvanamalai.

Reaching Chennai

The last day drive started early at 8 am from Tiruvanamalai. Some of the teams visited the amazing temple complex which is considered huge in Indian standards of temple. Then the teams did the Chengi fort before catching the main highway to Chennai. The recommended hotel for the lunch in Thindivanam was visited by two teams except team no.2. The mechanics had no clue till the finish of the day where these teams were. About 80 km before Chennai the rain showed a sign of scare. I had to drive slow and I could only imagine those three wheeled open-ventilated rickshaw. They would have had a tough time negotiating that for sure. My family had bid goodbye to the teams that morning as the plan was to drop them home before I concluded the rally at the base hotel and then washing down at the flag off planed at Elements hostel. All the 3 teams made it well in time and at 7.30 pm we had the finish ceremony at our Elements hostel.

At the finish, I heard a lot of interesting stories from the team about their fuelling experiences. Many head wobbles, fewer suggestions to light up the activities. Team 2 knocked a two wheeler when they tried reversing and paid 300 rupees for the damage. Alesha of Team 1 is a safety inspector in Canada who mainly inspects building sites. She was amazed by the absolute violation of safety measures in India. Life of the working class in India is taken for granted and I pacified her by my silly statement of citing the population as the reason. One or two life sacrifice is ok for the most densely populated country in the world. That was definitely a tongue in cheek statement which took the serious concern to a laughing material. I was also amused to learn the the meaning of the team name ‘One-eyed wonder Weasels’. The Champions were decided by the makeover and Team 3 ‘The coxes’ were awarded for their Halloween theme make over. Such came the end to all exciting Tamilnadu Run 2018. See you for another adventure soon. Until then its ‘bye’ from me and the entire team.

Meet-Up

 

 
The last rally in the calendar year is compact, starting and finishing in Chennai. Covering the states Tamilnadu and (briefly) Pondicherry, this is an amazing rally for participants who want a more relaxed experience than is possible on some of our other events. This rally has three teams of couples from Canada and UK. There is one participant from Polond, but even she is residing in London for a long period of time. Beginning from Chennai is a great advantage for me as I can start from home for the registration. Mentioning 3 teams does not mean that my work will be any easier, as all the remaining elements of rally are intact and punctuality is no less priority than in any other events. Sharp at 9 the organization team set up the registration counter in the lobby of the base hotel.
 

 
The first team to arrive at the registration was ‘The Coxes’. The Canadian Team ‘One-Eye wonder weasels’ was the next to follow. The third team ‘Keep Karma and Carry Omm’ had their pick-up from airport scheduled at 10.45 am. By calculating the time, we could presume that they would not make it to the hotel until 11.30 am. Thus the briefing was scheduled at 11 am was postponed to half an hour. Our staff kept tracking the pickup driver and to our relief everything went on smooth and the team arrived at 11.45 am, only 15 minutes later than we anticipated. The briefing went smoothly in spite of the delay. Straight from the airport and having just completed some 20 hour of journey did not slow down Team 2. Just a shower freshened both the members of the team but by the time they came for the practice they were absolutely enthusiastic and rocking.
 

Practice

 

 
The second session, at the Practice ground, went as smoothly as the briefing. The only let down was learning that none of the female compatriots are going to drive. It was just three drivers to teach. As all had done bikes and manual gears, it was only a very short time before they learnt the art of driving three wheels. After teaching them the basics, teams were let loose on the crazy Indian traffic. Then it’s like taking the bull by its horn. All the teams were brave enough and they were raring to go. First drive was to fuel and then to the base hotel. All went well except for Team 2, who had some issue, finding the rickshaw kept rolling and they needed a little support to reach the hotel. Thus the first day came to a close at the fellowship, arranged in Elements hostel. The second day involved a mini challenge, which Teams started at 11 am. I sat at the lobby of the base hotel and the support crew was kept ready at the same place. There was no call to attend that day as all the teams finished their task and reached the base hotel safely.
 

Hitting the Road!

 

 
On Day 3 of the Tamilnadu Run, the real journey started. I had decided to take my family with the trip as it coincided with the holiday for my kids. So the first thing at the day brief was introduction of my family to the participants. Then it was time to give information on the road, the weather and potential dangers for the teams. We flagged of from the base hotel at 8.30 am, without any hitch. The only break down on the whole day was Team 2 running out of fuel. Reaching Pondicherry well in time teams enjoyed beach and all of them settled early as they were tired by the drive in the hot sun.
All photos in this blog are the property of the Travel Scientists.
 

 
 

It had been a crazy event but the Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge 2018 eventually had to draw to a close. All teams had impressed by surviving despite the floods, the road closures, and the hangovers! Here is Princely’s review of the final two days:

Day 13

The destination on Day 16, Vellore, was only a cruise on highway away. The six lane highway provided a relaxing day in contrast to the drama that had come before! Drive-in Mc Donalds, Ambur Briyani was all they could taste in that day. The day was bright with the sun back to its usual cruelty. Vellore fort and bar in the base hotel were the rest of the scene in Vellore. The local wedding season gave the participates lot of stories and the innumerable selfie experience will not be able to narrate to all.

Day 14

The final day went by in a blink of an eye. The final destination was Chennai, and we started early from Vellore, first visiting a project of Round table. Everything went well. We had the flag-down ceremony at the school project at 3.30 pm in a suburb of Chennai. Team 14 was awarded championship for their tremendous job they did coordinating the teams to pull out of the Western Ghats and eventually reach the destination. The Crazy team was Team 6 for the innumerable times they broke down. The Charity award went to Team 3 Yorkshire for their great contribution towards the organizers of expensive brandy and vodka!

That is all the fun time we had from Mumbai Xpress. Hope you all to join us in the upcoming events of Rickshaw and Ambassador Cars. Until then, it’s a big bye from me Princely and my entire team.

Day 11

On Tuesday morning teams were in high spirits, excited about the destination Mysore. However, the rain showed no mercy on Day 12. Little did I realize that it was going to be another roller coaster ride. All started well and teams were doing fantastic. Just before 35 km to Madikeri an in-between spot, there was a road block and the police informed me that the roads were washed away by rain. It all started at that point: it was around 12pm and Mysore was around 85 km. I turned the vehicle and stopped the rickshaws who were all proceeding that way. To my surprise all the teams gathered at a point. Then we had a discussion on which route to take and it was decided by a google recommendation. Subramanya is the name of the place and through that we could get back to Madekeri and continue to Mysore. It was around 30 km from the gathering point.

Team 14 Siam Kangaroo had already reached a point where they couldn’t proceed as the water was flowing above a bridge. At that time I decided we should go through Hassan. It meant another drive back of 60 km. Then after getting the highway to Hassan, I saw how the rivers were swelling and the spectacle was being watched by a huge gathering in the villages and towns. By 4 pm, the base team had booked the hotel in Hassan. Within an hour I reached another stumbling block: this time a landslide. As the emergency highway clearance troop was in action the road block was cleared in no time and the vehicles started moving. Then, I lost phone signal, the last thing expected to happen. After facing couple of landslides and heavy traffic I got to Hassan by 9 pm. Luckily the luggage team had taken another route and mysteriously reached hotel before 6 pm. Then it was time for solitaire (not the game), trying to reach the mechanics and seeing the same messages again and again. At around 2 am I got message from Brad Ford of Team 14 that all the teams had crossed the mountains and were staying together. All the teams except 3 teams struck together, worked as team and the person who managed it was Brad. It was 4 am when the teams finally made it to the hotel and rest. Unusually, it was a sober night. The other teams Team 1 , Team 2 and Team 3 stayed in a spot before 9 pm.
 

Day 12

 

 
I must mention that the Round Table had organized a big day as the 15th morning happen to be the Independence Day of India. Unfortunately that event got cancelled and a day of publicity turned out to be a never published experience which would nevertheless stay in my memory for a long time. On Day 13 teams were expected to drive from Hassan to Banglore. It’s pretty straight forward highway. From the early hours, I started getting messages from the three Danish teams, the ‘Little Big Rikshaw Challenge 1,2& 3. Sille Andersen of Team 2 was the one who was communicating with me. Some suggested routes were closed but they found an interesting route from locals to get out of the Western Ghats. When they fianlly reached destination Banglore it was midnight. The smart guys in fact used trucks to load the rickshaw and drive it to the destination. For the rest of the teams it was a cake walk except the last 40 km in Banglore city. ‘Shat in pants’ was the expression few teams shared about the traffic in Banglore. A nice terrace drink spot served as a tranquilizer shot for the rest of the teams. Some of the teams had friends in Banglore and it was another big night. A team member of Team 7 ‘the Meat Mimosas’, Niall Causer, was bound to leave the next day early morning at 4 am. And teams had a reason to celebrate. Blame it on Niall Causer.
 

 
 

Day 9

 

My remembrance of Mumbai Xpress rallies are always much memorable than all the other scheduled rallies because the real challenge of the Western Ghats faced with monsoon rain is in this rally. After we left Goa it had always an adventure mode, the fury of rain played a major role since we left Goa.
On Sunday morning, the sunrise was gloomed with dark clouds as if they were going to swallow the day. The rain started pelting from 6.30 am. We were due to travel from the Goan capital Panaji to a lazy fishing village called Murudeshwara. Before we could cross the Goan border team 6 Hobbshall Express had a bit of trouble. It was all set within no time and everything went on schedule other than the rain playing the spoil sport. The in-between recommendation of Gokarna beach was well attended by many of the teams. The scenic folly of Om beach is a definite treat for the tiring drive. The day ended smoothly with a view of Murudeshwara shiva statue and a beach of our own. The luggage team had a rough day as the rain threatened to drench all the bags, but a new coversaved the day for all. All the participants who had done the Murudeshwara will understand the Naveen times. It’s nothing but some great table with beers and stories.
 

Day 10

 

The next day morning was a casual start and all the teams left the hotel by 8.30 a.m. It was day 10 and we were scheduled to a busy town called Mangalore. Mangalore is the surfing capital of India and it is known for its industrial activity. Heavy rain had dampened the spirits of this town for quite a while since the start of the monsoon. It had reeled under water for several days and even on the day we travelled there the schools and colleges were closed anticipating heavy rain. The in-between recommendation of Udupi temple was a hit. Many teams went for the lunch in the temple, as Indian call it as Prashad. There was not much call for service that day except a call from Team 9 Bottomless Samosas. The Girls, who did expect a stick gear shift, were doing excellentlu. Manglore has many fancy pubs and without saying the teams planned a loosener for their tedious and drenched drive.
 
 

 
 

Day 5

 
Day 5 was planned for a school visit and out of 16, 13 teams made it to the school. It was fun time with kids and the Roundtable members took them around to show the project. After finishing we had to find the way out of Pune to the next destination at Mahabaleshwar. There were a couple of service calls with some niggles but they were sorted out very fast and all of the teams arrived at the hotel well within the time. Mahabaleshwar is a hill station, and the challenge of the day was to take photograph with the local tuk tuk taxi drivers. That fun experience was the main topic of conversation at dinner.
 

Day 6

 
Day 6 had a surprise element as there was a state wide protest on political issue. It was fun listening to all of the stories how they ferried the protest to the destination. There was couple of service calls, except that the day was a long distance day. All the teams were tired. A beer and good sleep to recharge was the mantra. The view of Ratnagiri was a soother for all of them.
 

Day 7

Day 7 was the drive to Goa. The party place made the teams go for it and at the start there were a couple of break downs. As usual it was all fixed immediately and all the teams had reached Goa. Some of the teams paid some fine that they do not understand at the Goan border. It only happens in Goa. They have different rule from all the other states. Long party at night was the finish.
 

Day 8

Day 8 is the rest day at Goa and all the teams were hailing Travel Scientists for the meticulous planning.
It’s Good bye from Goa.
 

 
 

The Mumbai Xpress 2018!

 

 
This update is from Goa. Looking at Mandovi River, where floating casinos make it colorful, new construction of bridge, lovely pool side view of the base hotel are the exact settings when I am writing this lookback for this great rally. Looking back in memory lane, just over a month back when the preparation was on, Mumbai was reeling under the heavy rains. Then there were riots all over Maharastra for couple of days. Whatever happens and however bad the condition were, it’s pure will of the organizing team that one thought of “make it ready for the date” had kept it all organized for the start of the rally. Yes, in such grandeur and with great participants the rally started without any issues.
 

Day 1

 

 
First day as usual, registration and event briefing quickly got wound up as per the schedule. Then at the practice ground I got a great surprise to know that team 9 ‘Bottomless Samosas’ did not know that the vehicle works on Manual gear shift. One of them, in fact, told me that by reading auto rickshaw they thought it was automatic. The rest of the teams had their drill and Team 9 took us some special attention to teach. They were amazingly quick learners and they drove the rickshaw back to the hotel without any support. Team 8 ‘Stephanie May flower’ were the first one to call for service and they had flooded the connection tube with oil during the first filling. Braving Indian road gave all plenty of things to talk about and the Welcome drink worked like a perfect catalyst.
 

Day 2

 

 
Due to some emergency I had to leave Mumbai on Sunday morning and Prsanth was leading pack and the work went on normally. All the teams did their mini challenge on day 2 and it was absolutely a smooth start and the some of the teams were relaxing a bit and they came late to the parking lot. So the two days went on a jet speed and teams rested for the next day drive.
 

Day 3

 

 
Day 3 the lobby of Sun N sand had such a colorful look as most of the competitors were in great costumes. The day’s briefing was done by Prasanth and teams were flagged off from Sun n Sand gates. It was a quiet day until Team 16 the ‘Sizzling Hot Shishas’ had a crash. The accident was a major setback as the chassis of the vehicle was hit drastically. But our ‘phoenix’ Chennai garage team brought that in to a same and driven it to the destination, were it was ready for the participants to drive the next day. All the teams were surprised by the road condition on the way to Alibag as the roads were latterly washed away by resent monsoon. Hard roads, tough traffic, uncomfortable beds, all in all tested the will of the participants.
 

Day 4

 
Day 4 is another day and the sun has brought in the hope. Destination Pune was the target for all the teams. The drive was so interesting and the express highway cops became the subject of much laughter. I rejoined the rally that day and the first team to show up was Team 16. They were relived and normal when I met them. They will have plenty to talk about in years to come. Hope the story makes it to their grandchildren story times as both of the team members are Youngest of the group. Traffic in Pune was the topic for the day and all were digested by a beer in Brewery close to the base hotel.
 

 
 

Deccan Odyssey Day 9

 

The final day euphoria struck all the teams; I do not know how they all made it to the maddening traffic of Mumbai in such a record time. All the teams made it to Mumbai before 5 pm and we made our finish ceremony at 5.30pm at base hotel. All during the day we got just one service call, regarding a broken clutch cable for Team 9. Team 6 N Gold was judged the Champions for their extra effort on doing all that was recommended in the day sheet and for their absolute stunning photography.
 

The Mad Brits Team 5 ‘The Rickshaw RAMraiders’ won the Bonkers award for their crazy stunts.
 

Team 4 ‘What can go Wrong’ won the charity for their effort in fund raising.
 

All teams were given medals for their achievement which shouldn’t be thought of as inferior. Driving Indian roads for 1000 km in various stages is a champion act and by that criterion all the teams that finished the rally are champions. See you for the next adventure and until then, bye!
 

 
 

Deccan Odyssey Day 8

 
If you had read the final update on Day 7, I mentioned about the Team 12 ‘Dushi’ and their wish to continuing the rally. On the 8th morning when I sat down in the reception before the start of the briefing, I was casually chatting with the teams who had assembled early there. One such team was Team 12 and Adam narrated a story which was horrifying to an Indian. Yes, the day we came to Aurangabad they had a good hotel booked by themselves, as they had not taken accommodation with us. They had their prescription from their doctor, back home and wanted a clinic to execute the medicine for them. Their search brought them to a small clinic close to the place where they planned to stay. The place was dingy and they decided it’s all right and wanted to finish the prescribed stuff and leave. To theie surprise they were not permitted out of the clinic till next day afternoon, with various reasons cited. It was a nightmare from Adam and they finally had to spend an exuberant amount of Rs.8, 000/- as the stay rent and Rs.3,000/- for the advocated drips. That is almost a hostage situation.
 

 
Getting back to the rally story, we had our briefing at 8 am that morning and all the teams were there. The day plans were explained and all the teams left in 15 minutes. As usual the luggage and support teams had their breakfast and started from the base hotel at 9 am. At around 12 noon I wanted to check the whereabouts and I found out that we took a different route than that of the official route. So I made adjustments to get to the official route and that took an hour and then I got a call from Team 2 for service; they were 40 Km further down in the official route. It took us one hour to reach them. By that time a local had invited them home, serviced the rickshaw and cultural exchange pictures had happened. However, the service they rendered was not up to the mark and we had to do it again after another half an hour of driving. After that it was pretty much a straight drive to Nashik. The vineyard tour was enjoyed by all and Team 9 had to be reminded that they had to drive back to the hotel. The penultimate day came to an end.
 
 

 
 

Deccan Odyssey Day 6

 

 
Another long day but we had our usual timing for the start. That was because Aurangabad is not a town like Pune. Aurangabad is relatively easy to navigate. The day was filled with many service calls. During the briefing we celebrated the birthday of Najwa Bowman of Team 3 ‘Alice in Rickshawland’. Following the celebration, we had a bad news as one of the Team members of Team 12 ‘Dushi’, Miyoung Ryu had fallen ill and incidentally both the teams are friends who signed up together. Quickly they were advised to take a taxi and the rickshaw was driven by the support crew to the next station. Team 5 were the first to call and it was near Ahmednagar ‘Cavalry tank museum’. They had spark plug issue and it was sorted out in no time.

 
After that me and the team stopped for the lunch and continued our plan to the destination. By 3 pm I received a call from Team 2 that they had the clutch cable broken and they were at the same museum place mentioned earlier. By the time we were 30 km ahead of them. So to reach them it took 4 pm and the repair took no time. Before that the team was surrounded by 4 to 5 locals helping them in every possible way. If we had delayed for another 10 minutes they would have got fixed and started. Such is India and that is what the participants relish. Then it was pretty much a smooth drive to the base hotel. All the teams made in time and were excited about the rest day in Aurangabad.
 

Deccan Odyssey Day 7

 

 
Even though it is considered a rest day, the mysterious Ellora caves did not allow me to pronounce it as such. Aurangabad has such many things to see around. Even though we did not had any briefing, we had day sheet and challenges to do. The teams were informed about the late start and all of them came to the reception around 10 am. They day went without any issues and it is evident from the photos that all had a great time in the caves. Team 11 had also messaged me that they are ready for the next day trip to Nasik. More to come, until then it’s bye from me and the teams.