Day 5

 

 
The Tanjavur Morning is the Diwali morning in India. With sound of crackers all around and a few new movie releases the roads were looking like a war zone. Busted crackers papers were everywhere. After breakfast the teams were briefed and started from Thanjavur towards Yercaurd. Team 1 ‘Moggambozos’ called me within half an hour from time they started. It was the filling mistake of oil and fuel mixture. And it was not the last time. They almost called me 4 times in the same day for the same problem. Even though the water bottle trick was explained to them they could not implement it as they thought that will be alright to do it the way it is followed in the petrol station.
 

 
All the teams went to Tiruchirapalli, the rock fort town and some of the teams were lucky to find an elephant! As it was a Diwali day most families were out on the road and to see a foreigner in their vicinity exited them and they all queued up for a selfie. They were treated like Hollywood stars and Jemma Pawlyszyn from Team 10 resembled Angelina Jolie. The problem Team 1 had whenever they filled up continued and they lost lot of time; my guess was that they were going to be driving at dark in mountain road.
 

 
The fist team to arrive at the base hotel was Team 12 ‘Mitra Firm’. The Base hotel had a great view of the valley looking at the closest town Salem. The next team to arrive was Team 3 ‘Weightwatchers’ and they drove in at around 4.30 pm. After that the rest of the teams came in one by one before 6 pm except three teams. The three teams were Team 10, Team 9 and Team 1. Team 1 was caught up by the mechanics and they were following close to avoid any bad light issue. Team 10 and Team 9 worked together eventually to make it to the base hotel. When they arrived it was around 7 pm and it took another half an hour for team 1 to reach the hotel. All of the teams spoke about the view of the hotel and they witnessed the Diwali celebration of bursting crackers form the base hotel in Yercard. It was a mesmerizing view and even better with beer . There were some programs organized by the base hotel for Diwali and all the teams enjoyed the night thoroughly.
 

 
Team 13 spoke about a close call with a two wheeler and bus in the mountain path to Yercaurd and they were lucky to escape from the mishap, understood from the story I heard from them. That is why we warn you enough before you join this fun. Many vehicles consumed much more fuel than what they usually consume on mountain road. The real adventure gave all the teams an feeling of accomplishment and the peacefully valley gave them the wisdom of world where they would have least expected. A completely packed day came to end.
 

Day 6

 

 
The mountain sunrise with lot of birds’ voices to wake up is like waking up in a fairy tale. The previous day crackers sound and smoke has left an effect in mind and environment. Like the calm after storm, Yercaurd morning gave a quiet feel to all the participants. Yercaud day is the judging morning for the makeover competition. Some of them made effort and some of them tried to convince me that they made effort. Whatever it was, it is a fun morning to begin with. After the briefing all the teams took the wheels and started after the judging of the competition. Team 10, Team 13and Team 7 took good effort to exhibit their makeover.
 

 
Drive to Tiruvannamalai is relatively easy drive without much calls and even though there were some calls most of them were sorted out before the mechanics could get to them. Team 7 had clutch issue before reaching Tiruvannamalai temple. It was sorted out by the mechanics in no time and they were back on track again. Team 1 to 6 tried Sathanur dam (a detour of 15 KM recommended in day sheet). Due to holiday it was crowded and they could not enjoy the place as they expected. All the teams were well on time and the day ended peacefully at a vegetarian and no alcohol hotel. Everybody enjoyed the peace there.
 

Day 7

 

 
The Last day had a different twist. Team 1 to 6 (the birthday party people) wanted to celebrate the finish on their own in a expensive hotel in the outskirts of Chennai. So the briefing became a finish party Part 1. The mementos were distributed and they were awarded with the Charity award for their overall contribution of distributing many things to the school and public. Team box car 2 had a issue with the break at the start of the day. It was sorted out at Gingee fort where the teams ventured to the top of the fort to take pictures. After that it was pretty much a smooth call except few niggles from team 3 and team 1. Team 7 had their carburetor blocked and it was sorted out by the locals itself. Finally all the teams arrived safely to the base hotel and as I said the Birthday party teams also reached their hotel without any problem.
 

 
The finish at the Elements hotel was fun with some fireworks, beer and lots of sprit. Team 13 “Morning Glory” was judged as the champions and The Irish boys ‘The Paddy Losties ‘were judged the bonkers for their long stand of drinking and entertaining other teams throughout the rally. With such happy note the Tamil Nadu run 2017 came to a perfect 10 finish and all departed happily.
 

 
See you in next fun and until then its bye from me and the total team of Rickshaw challenge.
 

 
Happy Diwali !
 

 

The first two days of the Tamilnadu Run Rickshaw Challenge 2017 were a great success. Here is organizer Princely with his recap of days 3 + 4:

Tamilnadu Run Day 3

It was overcast climate in Chennai with occasional drizzles on the Monday morning of Tamilnadu Run 2017. Team 10 ‘Jecky’ who missed the first two days joined in the morning. It was around 5.30 am when they gave a message from the hotel about some issues at check in. Immediately it was sorted out with the reception and they checked in the base hotel. I went to the base hotel from my house and reached there at around 7.30 am. By that time the Chennai Garage team had assembled to receive the luggage from the participants. As a routine the bags were collected and tagged for the transport in luggage vehicle. One by one all the teams dropped their bags and went for breakfast.

The Chennai morning briefing was held at 8.15 am. Within no time all it was over and all the teams moved from the base hotel. As usual I had my breakfast after that and started my journey towards Pondicherry. I got a call from Team 1 at around 11 am, when I was at Sadar Fort (where a challenge is based). They ran out of petrol, but before I could think about helping them, I received another call form the team saying they were helped by another team and got moving. Later I learnt that they were helped by Team 8 ‘Box Car 3’. There was absolutely no call after that except Team 4 who had issues just 5 km before the destination at Pondicherry. They were helped by the locals and they came much before the service team could reach the base hotel.

Team 10 was helped a while to ferry the Chennai traffic as they had no practice at all. Babu, our eligible and experienced mechanic from Chennai Garage accompanied them and trained them on the outskirts and they drove themselves to the destination. That is the proficiency the Chennai Garage people bring to the service of the Rickshaw Challenge. During the debriefing time I asked the team whether they were confident on taking the wheels on their own and they said thumps up for that.

Tamilnadu Run Day 4

A tough day started with a school visit in Pondicherry. Briefing and then the introduction of Round Tablers went on time and all the teams were planned to convey to the school. The Round Tablers were to lead the pack. Right at the start of the convey Team 4 ‘The Cha “Bad” Boys’ had issues. By that time the convey started and we had to take the team and rest of them continued. As they were a team of 6, I could not take Spencer and Laurance, and they got a local taxi to get to the project school. Then the Chennai Garage mechanics got the vehicle right and drove it to them to hand over.

There was a call from Team 1 just after I finished my breakfast. They had flooded their carburetor, but before the Chennai Garage team could reach them they got fixed by the locals and got moving. Later in the day I got a call from Team 4 again, they informed me that their vehicle is not performing fair enough to compare with the other teams. They were at Vaithishwaran Koil that time and it got fixed in no time but the team wanted to test the vehicle for another 10 km to make sure the vehicle is in good condition. We agreed and so the Chennai Garage team followed them and eventually received a great thumps up from them.

Finally at Tanjavur the town was preparing for the Diwali. The artillery road from the old bus stand to the hotel was closed and there was a sea of people who were busy shopping for the auspicious day. Every team had their own story on paving the way to the base hotel. Team 10 who had a shopping spree in various places got delayed and their last 10km was guided. Finally at the base hotel, teams had dip in the swimming pool, beer, food and loads and loads of fun stories to end the day. Thus the grueling day of Tamilnadu Run came to end.

Day 13

Only a couple of days before the Mumbai Xpress 2017 comes to the finish. The longest rally in our calendar never fails to excite the participants more than all the other rallies. It’s 14 days through 4 states and it goes from the west to the east coast. The day in Bangalore started overcast. The judging of the makeover challenge kept the competitive spirits of the participants high. First we had the school visit, where also the judging was to take place. The convoy to the school was blocked by the Bangalore police for a brief time. They wanted to check the Chennai Garage Service Van papers before they allowed us to continue. The teams were taking pictures and the ongoing heavy traffic was just crazy and the local people were all with their cameras. This had beaten the publicity in the previous day’s newspapers.
 

A very warm welcome

 
Finally after a big huff and puff we reached the school. The Round table school in Bangalore gave the teams a traditional welcome and the school band performed the national anthem of India. Then the school assembly dispersed and the teams visited the school classes and had a good time. Three upper grade class girls were volunteered to judge the makeover. The obvious choice was Team 3 Just in time. After this, it was a rather uneventful day. The highway driving was like a cruise, as all the teams had seen the tougher terrain of mountain roads.
 

The guests of honor in the front row

 
I had no calls in-between for service and all of the teams made it to the hotel around 4.30 pm.  Team 12 The Rickshaw Lady and Team 14 Spider Flamingos, skipped the school and drove straight to the hotel and they reached the hotel at 12.30 am.
I stopped in Ambur for the Briyani and I saw a couple of teams there. As the state has ruled that there are no bars allowed within 500 mt of the highway, the base hotel lost its bar license. But that is not the end for party, the innovative teams went and bought a quantity of beers for the night. The teams had a great time. Team 3 Just in Time went to a local circus to witness what an Indian circus looks like. We’ll continue with the stories of the final day and till then its bye.
 

On the road

Day 14

All that begins well will end well. Living up to those legendary words, the Mumbai Xpress 2017 has come to the final day. The overcast morning in Vellore  was not a dampener.  After a quite long briefing, being the last day, the Round Table India members arrived at the hotel around 8.30 am.  Then it’s convoying to the project visit. The place was an automobile accessory unit supported by Round table. They employ disabled and destitute women. Due to an economic meltdown, the unit was on casual leave. It was just the project, without the workers there. A naughty trick was played on the parking place of the project visit. Secretly some teams took the spark plug of all the rickshaws parked there. When the others came out from the project and wanted to continue all got starting issues, except Team 4 9 Inch Males, Team 6 Desert Gypsies and Team 7 Not Fast, Not Furious.  Now you probably understand who did it…
 

Still unsuspecting…

 
With this fun note the day started and I had no calls, thanks to the Chennai Garage team, to make it a minimum break down Mumbai Xpress so far. The schedule was perfectly maintained and the schools finish was perfect for the beautiful rally.  It’s award time there and Team 3 Just in Time was judged the Champions. Charity went to Team 5 Oh Yeahh!, Bonkers went to Team 7 Not Fast, Not Furious. The award evening was organized by the Round Table and I made Sandeep the chief guest and the activity challenge of the day of buying a silk towel to Chief Guest was given to him. The final drive to the hotel was braved by the teams by their own and it was smooth in spite of heavy traffic in Chennai.
 

Congrats to the winners of the Mumbai Xpress 2017!

 
Then we moved on to the last segment of the event, the party. The Elements Hostel terrace ‘Muthu mess’ has hosted several memorable parties and it lived up to its name. I just thanked the Chennai Garage staff and gave them mementos distributed by the teams. A surprise element to end the note was a romantic proposal of Team 13 Daft Trunk Garage. Rito, one of the friendliest persons on the trip, proposed to his partner in Rickshaw Challenge, Gudi. The words are still in my years, “If we could survive this challenge, we probably survive the life challenge and would you be my love?” As the team name is inspired by the Daft Punks band and their, theme song is “Getting Lucky”.
 

A very special occasion!

 
With such a lovely note I would like to wind up the whole rally with a great wave. Thank you guys for following this and kindly go and press your register button on Rickshaw Challenge page.
 

Day11

“Do something stupid and take a picture of it I”

 
The first school visit in the rally was planned for the day. The Manglore day was a bright start. Being a long distance, teams were well informed and we did an early briefing at 7.45 am. Team 12 Rickshaw Lady and Team 14 Spider Flamingo wanted to start early and they skipped the school visit. The other teams assembled for the school and we arrived there on time. The day is the Independence Day for India, so the school had planned for flag hoisting. The Round table India’s Manglore chapter arranged the event for us. After assembling in the school, the teams were introduced to the project by the Round Tablers. Then we moved on to hoisting the flag and the ceremony was witnessed by the teams. By 9 am all got over and 10 to 15 minutes were taken for Photo session. After photo session all the teams were on the way.
 

“Do something stupid and take a picture of it II”

 
By routine I had my breakfast and kept moving towards the next destination.  Team 4 9 Inch Males gave the first service call for the day, after two hours of drive. The service team attended them and found out that they had burnt the piston of the engine. It was fixed in 30 minutes and the team could get back on road. When I had lunch in Medikeri, I met Team 1 Axles of Ignorance and team 11 at the lunch place. After that, there was absolutely no call for the day.
 

“Do something stupid and take a picture of it III”

 
The final approach to Mysore had pouring rain and the teams had to drive slowly because of the visibility. Finally all the teams arrived at the hotel before 7 pm, except Team 12 The Rickshaw Lady and Team 14 Spider Flamingo. There were plenty of fun moments on the road and as usual Team 1 Axles of Ignorance had their part this day as well. Their handle bar was painted gold when they had parked it in the hotel for lunch.
 

Extra points for spotting an elephant

 
Team 6  Desert Gypsies had a lucky moment when they crossed an elephant and all the other teams were jealous of that.
Team 12 The Rickshaw Lady and Team 14 Spider Flamingo went the wrong way and entered another state called Kerala. Eventually they made it to the hotel around 8pm. The day witnessed many locals wanting photos with the teams as they were all high on Independence Day Celebration. The Rickshaw Challenge never had any dull movements and it lived up to the participant’s expectation.
 

Day 12

A great welcome

 
Another school visit in Mysore was on the agenda for the day. A Round Table member from Mysore joined us in the hotel lobby, 15 minutes before the start of our briefing. After a quick briefing we started in convoy to the school at around 8.15 am. There was a band to welcome the participants in the school. The school arranged a dance and we had some interaction time with the kids. Teams introduced themselves to the kids and spoke a few words on how they feel about India. After a request from the kids, participants sang and even danced for a song. It was a warm and happy interaction and all teams enjoyed the visit.
 

First the talking…

 
It is an easy day drive as the distance is less than 150 km. There was absolutely no service call for the day and the Bangalore traffic was the only challenge for all the teams. Some of the teams stayed in Mysore for the morning session as they visited the palace. All the teams arrived at the hotel before the flag off time, except 3 teams. Team 11 Sgt Pepper’s Submarine, Team 12  The Rickshaw Lady and Team 14 Spider Flamingo stuck together from the beginning of the day and they reached the hotel at 8.15 pm. 10 km for 1 hour was the only information they could pass on after they reached the base hotel.
 

… then the dancing!

 
The day came to end with Banglore Red FM taking interviews with the participants. All ended well and preparation for the makeover challenge has been finished by some teams. As there was some sudden pour of rain, some of the teams wanted some time in the morning before they start. With a long distance to go, teams are prepared to face it. See you tomorrow, until then bye.
 

Scores, scores, scores!

 

We have a new leader with Team 13 Daft Trunk Garage, but they are very closely followed by Team 1 Axles of Ignorance and Team 5 Oh Yeaahh. There are still some days to drive and some challenges to do, so nothing is decided yet!
 

Day 6 – When You Show Too Much Enthusiasm For The Picture Challenge

Yercaurd morning is a beautiful morning with mist on the hill station and the pleasant sound of birds added music to the scene. In this idyll the teams prepared their tuk tuk for the makeover challenge. Except team 4, 6 and Team 11, all participated in it and they showed the eagerness to win the championship. By 8 am all the teams gathered for the briefing.
 

Day 7 – A Rickshaw Loving Ambassador

The final day excitement and the thought of the  finish line gave all the participants a mixed feeling. As usual we planned for an early start and wanted to regroup at Tambaram (a suburb, 30 km before Chennai) for the finish ceremony. Team Neruppu Da called for assistance about half an hour after we left the hotel.  Otherwise, it was a lightning day. Teams arrived at the regrouping place, well in time except Team Indiaree and Team Let’s go Jozi. The late quickly joined us but Team Indiaree missed the finish.
 

Day 9: Panaji to Murudeshwara

 

 
August 15 is Indian Independence day. To commemorate it, the Goa round table had arranged a school visit for that morning. This was planned well in advance and teams Two, Three, Four, Five and Six took part in it.
By the time we arrived, the flag had been hoisted in the premises and the kids were performing the skits they themselves had prepared. The Teams enjoyed the show and rewarded the children with the gifts they had prepared, together with the gifts from Round table. We waved them goodbye just before 10 a.m., and went on our way.
When I had crossed Karwar and was heading for Batkal, I ran into Team Eight who had a technical glitch in the vehicle. I checked it and it transpired that the tuk tuk had had this issue since day four. We suspected that a bottle cap was causing a blockage in the fuel tank, interfering with transmission and dampening Team Eight’s spirits. I called the service team, who promptly replaced the tank that same day. Thankfully, all went smoothly for Team Eight after this.
I’ve noticed that that there are two distinct clans that the groups have formed: the first comprises Teams One to Six, the second Teams Seven to Nine. The first one calls on the support team and staff as a matter of course, while the second one is more self-sufficient. They took care of all their own repairs as they came up and also ended up filming all the hidden treasures of India.
I reached Murudeshwara at around 2.30 p.m.; the first team to arrive caught up with me at 4.30 p.m. Some of the teams visited the beach of Agoda as suggested in our day plan. They found the big Shiva statue and the tower exciting. They also admired the view that the base hotel had. We wound up the day sharing our meandering Indian storied over a few beers at Naveen residency.

Day Ten: Murudeshwara to Mangalore

 
Driving through the state of Maharastra has made the participants experts drivers. They had negotiated some tough terrains, challenged by heavy rains and bad roads – all this had made them adept at handling any situation. In contrast to Maharastra, the drive from Murudeshwara is an easy task for everyone because it is pretty much a good road all the way.
Udupi is the stop in-between for a moderate challenge; most of the teams visited it and some even tried the food served in the local temple. Time just flew by on Day Ten, so we ended up discussing the next day’s drive well in advance during the debriefing. Teams were well aware that there was to be a school visit the next morning, followed by an 250-odd km drive to Mysore.

Day 11: Mangalore to Mysore

 
 

 
Only four teams, One, Two, Three, and Six took part in the Maglore school visit in the end, because the day is one of the longest day in the entire journey, and the rest of the teams wanted to leave early as possible. After the school visit, the teams were flagged off by the roundtable people.
On the road, I saw Team Nine attending to a glitch, and when I stopped next to them to offer help, they gave me thumbs up to show that everything was under control. They were soon back on the road.
I later learnt through Facebook that Team Eight had had some silencer issues and they had also taken care of it themselves. The long day turned out to be an uneventful one and all the teams arrived well in time and enjoyed the view of the lit-up Palace in the evening. Teams gathered in the Opium bar in the base hotel; it was a rocking session for them.

Day 12: Mysore to Bangalore

 
The morning in Mysore started with a school visit; we went there with all refreshed and reinvigorated. All the teams came and every one had a super time with the children at school. Many Participants danced and asked the kids to show off their moves. The kids happily obliged.
After this, Team Two and Team Six danced to a salsa tune and the kids enjoyed the small gesture from our Participants. Even though our distance from our destination was not a concern, the day’s drive ended up longer than planned, from having to negotiate the Banglore traffic and find the base hotel. In the end, all the teams made it in style except Team Three who needed some help with navigation to find the hotel.
Team Two participant Hector Gabriel from Puerto Rico had his birthday that day. He threw a party in Bangalore in the base hotel’s new pub space. All the teams went. I heard the next day it had been a wild party: some of the team members could not even get out of bed the next morning.

Day 13: Bangalore to Vellore

 

The morning in Banglore also kicked off with a school visit, but because of the birthday bash after-effects, Teams One and Six couldn’t make it. Nor did Teams Seven to Nine, who had stayed in a different hotel and decided to have early start. So in the end only four teams made it to the school. The school had a terrific band and the welcome no participant will forget. Such a warm welcome and greetings blew the teams away; everyone wanted to stick around for the rest of the day.
But we had to set off to keep to schedule. It was a smooth drive to Vellore. All teams wanted to arrive and rest early as they were still somewhat worn out from the previous day. The teams had mixed feelings about the last day: most of them were sad that the fun rally was coming to end.

Day 14: Vellore to Chennai

 
The final day started with a project visit and ended in a school. All had gone accoerding to plan and all teams had made it all the way through the rally. The school visit and the atmosphere the students created gave a fitting farewell to the great rally of Mumbai Xpress 2016. After the school visit, all teams gathered in the Elements hostel to celebrate. Everyone agreed that the countless memories from the 14 days of the rally will be staying with all the participants for a long time yet.

Day 5: Panchgani to Ratnagiri

Day 6: Rathnagiri to Panaji

Day 7: Panaji

Day 8: Panaji to Murudeshwara

Day 9: Murudeshwara to Mangalore (Mangaluru)

Day 10: Mangalore to Mysore

Day 11: Mysore to Bangalore

Day 12: Bangalore to Vellore

The Final Day Bash: Vellore to Chennai

And The Winners Are…

Get to know our challenge better and keep up with events on The Rickshaw Challenge blog.
Check out the scores at GamingZion.