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.

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 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.
 

 
 

Deccan Odyssey Day 4!

 
A short drive of 130 km to Kolhapur did not go without many exiting stories. Team 10’s jinxed luck continued for a second day. Despite a few new parts the vehicle still did not run smoothly. Most of the teams came straight to the base hotel and then they went inside Kolhapur to complete the day’s challenge. Team 4, Team 7 and Team 6 ‘N Gold’ did the water falls which were recommended in the day sheet. They explained it was some tough drive with a mix of bad roads and steep climbs. However, the amazing tuk tuks mastered it perfectly and all of them came in to the base hotel around 6 pm. The short day had gone well and everyone was looking forward to another exiting day and beautiful surprises.
 

Deccan Odyssey Day 5!

 

The departure from Kolhapur was planned as an early start due the long distance; the challengers needed to drive all day. By 7.30am the briefing was done and before 8 am all the teams left the base hotel. I had no calls till I reached the Auga Khan palace. Team 9 ‘Txikas tikka’ were the first team to reach the palace to do the challenge for the day. Team 10 ‘Double Deccan’ followed them. It was a great relief to see them reach Pune without any issues, as they had so many problems after problems the previous day. After couple of hours the Palace entry was closed and we had to leave the parking of the palace. By the time I reached the base hotel there were 5 teams which had to make it to the hotel.
 

Then I had a call from Team 5 ‘The Rickshaw RAMraiders’ that they had broken down and they were just 3 km from the hotel. But it took more than an hour to negotiate Pune traffic, finding them, make it ready and to get back to the hotel for the mechanic team. By 7.30 pm all the teams arrived. The previous day there was an incident I would like to mention here. Team 11 ‘Bocholt Sunrise’ went to a restaurant for food in Kholapur and one of the three member left their hand bag there. The hotel people collected the bag and found out  rickshaw challenge shirt and called our office in Chennai and informed them about the missing bag. In turn my office people gave my number and the restaurant people contacted me and I collected the bag from them. It was given to them in the morning and they were super overwhelmed by the Indian honesty. To my mind they were just lucky.
 

 
 

The Deccan Odyssey 2018 Day 3!

 

 
Belgaum is 130 km from Goa and is in the state of Karnataka. The real test of adventure is the mountain roads en route to Belgaum. The day started at 7.30 am when the teams dropped their bags and had breakfast. The briefing was at 8 am and we had photo session at 8.20 am. The costumes and colourful outfits ofthe  participants created an energetic environment. The day started out smoothly. The first call was from Team 9. I started from the hotel at 9.30 am and after crossing Ponda I saw team 9 were talking to police and the same police officer stopped me to check  documents. Luckily for Team 9 my visit helped the officer understand our adventure and he waved us off with good luck.
 

 
Before I reached Ramnagar, I met Team 7 ‘Flying High’ and they were worried about their fuel condition. They guessed the kilometres wrong and the uphill consumed more petrol than they predicted. Luckily I remembered a spot where we could get petrol in bottles. The team was guided to the spot and they resumed their journey further. The real trouble started after this incident.
 

 
Simultaneously two things happened which made the day tedious for the next two hours. One was that the luggage van had some problem and got stranded on a different route. Secondly, Team 9 called for service at the place called Mollem. The service team were 30 km ahead of them and they needed to cover the mountain path again to catch them up. I went in search of the Genio to make a recovery or plan an alternative. The time was 2 pm and the next two hours I went completely out of coverage area. When I came in to coverage area there were couple of mixed news. Happy news is that the Genio got back limping to the hotel in Belgaum. Bad news was it was then that the service team reached Team 9. By calculations I know it will take at least 7 pm for the team 9 to reach the base hotel.

 
Meantime Team 10 ‘Double Deccan’ had broken down at Belgaum and they could not reach me. So the available call reached Aravind and he had to call all the available sources to reach me. But it was only after I got to the coverage area all things slowly settled down. As expected the Team 9 reached the base hotel at 7.30. Team 10 had some kind hearted Indians to help them and made their way to base hotel They were in very bad mood as they expected all to be smooth and their frustration increased due to non-reachable mobile help line situation. Finally all of the teams sat down for dinner and they all the tough times were laughed out with “King of good times” – Kingfisher beer.

Deccan Odyssey 2018 Day 2!

 

 
Team 11 Bocholt Sunrise came late on the first day and they missed all the session. So on the second day a special training was planned to make them drive the rickshaw. It was planned at 10 am to start their training session. By 11 am rest of the teams gathered to do the Mini challenge: drive to St. Francis Xavier Church, take a team photo, and report back with the answer to a testing triva question. Team 9 ‘Txikas tikka’ was still one person short until the other team member was cleared to visit India and it was happy news for the all-female team.

 
By 5.00 pm all the teams finished the mini challenge and got back to base hotel. Second member of Team 9 joined her team mate at 6.00 pm. The day was not uneventful, however. Team 1 were the first to call for service; there was some block in petrol tank which was cleared by the mechanics. Team 4 ‘WHAT CAN GO WRONG!!!’ went to a wrong place which was 30 km away from the original pin! That’s the problem of blindly following Google Maps. Check and recheck till you are sure the place you visit is the key and finding place by human positioning system is the fun way which is missing nowadays in the rickshaw challenge. Technology kills our imagination by spoon feeding information.
 

 
 

The Deccan Odyssey 2018!

 

Welcome to the new edition of Deccan odyssey, the rally in to the heart of Deccan plateau. The first week of every June is considered as the start of Monsoon in the west cost of India. The 2018 Monsoon has started a week earlier than its normal start and by the time I landed in Goa it was raining cats and dogs. The prediction of more rain for the coming days dampen my mood a bit. But the enthusiasm of the participants from 10 different countries during the registration kept the spirits high.
 

As punctuality is habit of Rickshaw Challenge, we started the registration exactly at 9 am in the lobby of base hotel in Panaji, Goa. Team after team finished their registration except team 11 and one member of Team 9. The briefing started at 11 am and as usual some introduction to what to expect and explained the arrangements for the next 10 days were briefed. Participants were warned enough about driving on Indian roads. All this was happening inside the hotel but outside the rain kept pouring.
 

At 2 pm training was scheduled in a parking lot at Mercers church. Miraculously, the rain stopped. Training went well and all the teams had some quality time behind the wheels to take the treacherous Indian traffic. The first challenge was to find the base hotel from the practice ground. Team tcano. 12 was the first one to call. Their first fueling had bad mix of oil to petrol and that blocked the carburetor. It was fixed in no time as the mechanics were close to them. Thus the whole day came to finish with welcome party at local goan specialty restaurant. All the teams unwind their day with beers and loosened up after an anxious day of training and driving on the Indian road.