auto rickshaw race – Rickshaw Challenge

Mumbai Xpress Recap 6 – Days 11 & 12

admin — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 11:55:03 +0000

It’s been adventurous two weeks during our rickshaw adventure, but we are quickly approaching the last days of the Rickshaw Challenge Mumbai Xpress 2017. But first, here is one more of our Princely’s great updates!

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!

Are you crazy enough to come along for the ride? Then join us on the next Rickshaw Challenge. Get a team together and let’s see you at the starting line! If you want to join us in spirit, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagramto keep up with our latest antics.

The Rickshaw Experience, as Told by Team Beauty and the Beast

veronika — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 13:33:26 +0000

The Rickshaw Challenge – Malabar Rampage 2016 has ended and some of our participants agreed to sharing their experience with our rickshaw racers to come. So, prepare yourselves and heed the warnings, because the next Rickshaw Challenge is starting in June!

Family Power

The interview was conducted with with Steffen Hammelmann from Team Beauty and the Beast (his teammate was his lovely daughter.)
1. Why did you decide to sign up for the Rickshaw Challenge Malabar Rampage 2016?
It was actually Nikki, a friend of ours. She was doing the Rickshaw Challenge a while ago and she said to us: “Do you want to do the Challenge?” and we thought about it over time. When it got closer to the challenge we decided we would come and do it. We’d been to India before a few times, but we’ve never been driving a rickshaw. That’s why we decided to come.
2. What did you expect and what did you get?
Because I’ve been here quite a few times before, I knew what was going on with the roads and everything, so I sort of expected the chaos – the way people drive is organized chaos. And what I’ve got out of it is that I’ve learned to be more relaxed. Where I come from, in Australia, the horn is used for being upset, whereas here when you use the horn, it’s to let people know that you are there and it’s all organized. I’ve learned to relax and take my time. Everybody here on the roads sort of intermingles and it all works out in the end.
3. What was your scariest experience on the road?
I had quite a few and I think everybody would have had the same experience. Back home we don’t expect people to come across us all of a sudden. If we want turn we stop and we wave and we let people take turns. Here nobody stops for you. So that’s been the scariest. Busses overtaking us. After two or three days we realized when they are overtaking you, you’ve actually got to slow down. You can’t go quick. So there’s been a lot of scary experiences.

Chai-Chai Challenge. Photo Credit: Melanie Hammelmann

4. What was your most positive experience during the Malabar Rampage?
That everybody here, every time I’ve been to India, is so friendly, so helpful. They are always happy and always willing to help you. And every time I am here it is the same. I’ve never used any maps or Google maps or anything like this, I’ve just used the Indian people. They are always friendly and when you pull up they always want to know where you’re from, what you are doing and where you are going, where you come from. That’s the most positive thing and I’ll take that back home. And I’ve learned just to be friendly and to be happy.
5. How many breakdowns did you have and what did you learn about fixing a rickshaw?
We’ve had one breakdown, which was our clutch – the whole clutch assembly came out. We’ve been told in the beginning that we should try to fix our own rickshaw and luckily enough I am a bit mechanically minded. So I started pulling the gears apart and the next thing I know is that I have five or six Indian people around me. They were all saying: “Do this, do that”. And I say: “Fine, you go and do it.” And they fixed it in maybe half an hour. They were so helpful and they didn’t want money, because they believe in Karma. They were happy just to help me and to make sure that I get looked after. I’ve been pretty lucky.

Challenge Completed. Photo Credit: Melanie Hammelmann

6. Describe Southern India in one word or sentence, which doesn’t include coconut or coconut tree!
Relaxing. It’s plain relaxing.
7. What is your most only in India experience?
Organized chaos. There are so many people here in India, I think there are 1.2 billion and they are all on the roads, so it is just organized chaos.
8. Do you have any recommendations, any good advice for future participants?
When I go back home, I will say to everybody I know, that they have to go on this challenge purely to experience life, life outside of what we normally do, in a different culture and a different mentality.

Crazy Roads & Wild Parties – The Mumbai Xpress 2015 Takes Its Course

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 14:18:02 +0000

Two weeks of crazy adventures lie behind our 17 brave teams participating in this year’s Mumbai Xpress, a rickshaw adventure across India for the daring ones. We’ve already reported from the first days of the challenge, now you can find our teams made it till the finish line and what adventures they met on their way!

Day 5: Panchgani to Ratnagiri

Photo by Charlie Varley from team Naan of Your Business

After Panchagani, the teams left the Millennium Hotel and headed towards Ratnagiri. The day went smoothly and all of them arrived in the hotel before the stipulated time.Team 5, Snap Crackle and Popadum, went on various detours and they were happy to explore India on a totally different route. All enjoyed the beauty of the Western Ghats of India, which was a trip that definitely changed everybody’s perception of India.

Day 6: Rathnagiri to Panaji

Photo by John Mcgivern from team The Indians.

After arriving in Panaji, the city worked its relaxing charm on the participants. Most of them went to the Casino on the river, to see if they were lucky – and indeed, Fortuna was smiling upon them, since nobody lost all the amount of money they had spent on chips.

Day 7: Panaji

Photo by Min Chai from team N2 Extreme Tuk Tuk.

A well deserved day of rest in Panaji gave all teams the possibility to relax and to recover their strength for the second half of their crazy rickshaw adventure. Sadly we had to say goodbye to Team 16, which left the rally from Panaji.

Day 8: Panaji to Murudeshwara

Photo by Liane Wicks from Ice Ice Bhaji.

The next day saw the teams racing from Panaji to Murudeshwara, but not before they had visited a school, where they enjoyed distributing gifts and frolicked with the kids. Another day of easy drive and all the teams had reached the hotel before 6.30 pm. The first team to enter the hotel had clocked in already at 3.30 pm. And even though the teams visited some unknown beaches and experienced the local customs, they always made it in time and still had many stories to share. After a long day of driving, the teams met in the evening for a great night in the Naveen Hotel.

Day 9: Murudeshwara to Mangalore (Mangaluru)

Photo by John Mcgivern from team The Indians.

The lovely night in Murudeshwara’s and a warm morning had put all the teams in high spirit. Knowing that it was a short distance to Mangalore, some of the teams had a walk around the city in morning and Team 5, Snap Crackle Popadum, went for a swim at the beach. Surprisingly, they still arrived in Mangaluru in time with an average speed of 40 km per hour. In the evening, all the teams went out to enjouy the night in a bar, which they had discovered in the internet.

Day 10: Mangalore to Mysore

Photo by John Mcgivern from team The Indians.

After a short day of drive, the teams spared no effort to make sure, that everything was okay with their rickshaws. Strange noises from unidentified parts of the vehicles had made them become anticipative of a major breakdown. In morning, we had a great school visit and all of the 6 attending teams had an amazing time. By 2pm all the teams had passed Madikeri town. Then the Kushalnagar sign board challenge was posted before they could reach Mysore.
In the evening, many teams visited the market and the palace, which both made for a fun night. As the city was preparing for Dasara, the colours of Mysore were a great sight. Team 11, N2 Extreme Tuk Tuk, went off to hunt some incense and bought some sticks and sandalwood syrup.

Day 11: Mysore to Bangalore

Photo by Max Craven from team Tuk Buddies.

Based on their drive from Murudeshwara to Mangalore, many teams begann their day in Mysore with sight seeing. Six teams turned up for the school visit and enjoyed dancing and signing with the children. Even though today’s distance was a very simple drive of just 30 km to Bangalore, all the teams got stuck in the pitfalls of Bangalore’s traffic. Team 15, the Monsoon Riders, called for support at 1pm, when they had just 15 km left to the hotel in the suburbs at the silk board. The support team was alerted and they found them within an hour and did a great job. All the teams arrived at the hotel before 7 pm and the day ended – where else – at the Envy Bar in the La Classic Hotel.

Day 12: Bangalore to Vellore

Photo by Robert Ford from team Aba Daba Chaba.

Time for one last school visit! All 5 participating teams were warmly welcomed and quickly charmed by the children, like so many teams before. The day went smoothly and even the new hotel, which we had to test last minute, surprised with pleasantness and great cooperation.

The Final Day Bash: Vellore to Chennai

Photo by Ashleigh Grant from Team Smurf.

In Vellore, the teams were informed about the day’s program. The morning project visit went as planned and it was great to see 13 teams participating, even though we had a few little hiccups: Team 2 missed the regrouping spot and decided to go back to the hotel, while Team 3 was miserably directed and lost lots of time, but managed to sneak in in time for the presentation.
Chief guest of the meeting was Dhansika an upcoming star in Tamil film industry.

And The Winners Are…

Photo by John Mcgivern

And now finally the part we have all been waiting for! Who is the winner of the Mumbai Xpress 2015?
Team 14, The Indians, scrambled for the victory in our crazy rickshaw adventure! The Charity Award goes to Team 9, Temporarily Misplaced, and the Bonkers Award for “special achievements” goes to Team 4, a.k.a Team Smurf. We congratulate all of you and hope, that you will always remember your epic rickshaw journey with the Travel Scientists across India!!
The occasion was celebrated in a right and proper manner – with a truly epic party!

More Than Just a Rickshaw Challenge

admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:22:04 +0000

TD Waterhouse investment advisors Matthew Phillips (left) and Tristan Sawtell will be taking part in Mumbai Xpress, a two-week, 1,900-kilometer race across India in rickshaws to raise funds for Round Table India.
Sawtell, 28, is an investment advisor with TD Waterhouse, and he will be competing in Mumbai Xpress – a two-week, 1,900-kilometer race across India – to raise money for charity. Sawtell hopes to raise $10,000 for Round Table India, a charity dedicated to helping children and teens in India receive better education and find better employment opportunities.
“This is what I’m doing with my summer vacation and I doubt that it will be in any way relaxing,” said Sawtell. “I think it is going to be incredibly intense and arduous, but that is all a part of the spirit of the race and it should be an incredible experience and hopefully very rewarding.”
For the children and youth that Round Table India supports, the practical necessities required for education are a rare commodity. During the trip Sawtell and Phillips will be stopping in the various areas where Round Table India is working and will hand out their donated pens, writing pads and T-shirts.
The race will begin in Mumbai and participants will travel 1,000 km south before the course veers east for an additional 900 km. The race will end in the city of Chennai, on India’s eastern seaboard.
Via: North Shore News

[ratings]

Auto Rickshaw Games

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:05:36 +0000

For all the auto rickshaw fanatics out there who cannot get enough of the little three wheeled devil, here u go:
Desi Auto

Autos are simple, and so must their games be. Swerve your auto through the city in a race with other autos

Hey Taxi

Pick up and drop passengers. Earn points, which can’t redeemed for anything.

Raju Meter 2

Auto rickshaw missions, a bit similar to the original ‘Auto’ game – Grand Theft Auto.

Auto Rickshaw Showdown

A 3 D Auto rickshaw game. Drag racing meets ‘Pimp my Auto’.

More stuff here

Insane in India

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:01:05 +0000

Recently back in Mumbai after a gruelling auto rickshaw driving odyssey, Australian travel writer Sharell Cook narrates her experiences in an exclusive to domain-b
My flight to Chennai, where the Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge would be starting from, was delayed nearly an hour. This gave me plenty of time to think about what the next couple of weeks, participating in the Rickshaw Challenge, might bring.
I felt totally unprepared. Even more troublesome, couldn’t help fearing what I’d suspected for quite a while India had finally sent me insane. What other explanation could there be for me agreeing to take part in an event that’s billed as a rally for the “clinically insane”? An event that would require me and my team mate to drive an auto rickshaw for 13 days, over 1,900 kilometers and through four states, from Chennai to Mumbai.
Despite living in India for over three years, I hadn’t been game enough to drive a car, let alone an auto rickshaw that I didn’t know how to operate. What’s more, as little as 30 minutes spent in one of those noisy three-wheeled contraptions was enough to irritate my ears and turn my hair into a knotted mess. How would I cope with 13 days in one? I had absolutely no idea. All I knew was that the opportunity was too hilarious and extraordinary to turn down.
Full article here

Mumbai Xpress challenge: auto-rickshaws finish in style!

admin — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:37:13 +0000

The spirit of adventure that brought 27 people from from around the world together to drive three-wheeled auto-rickshaws across India finally culminated at Mumbai’s JW Marriott in on 13 August 2009.
Divided into 13 teams, they braved the city’s infamous traffic travelling from Alibag in the final leg of the 2,000-km four-state rally, which brought together adventure sports, cultural exchange and charity in an innovative format.
Canadians Christy Denike and Jocelyn Turner, who work for the UN, rode the Mystery Machine. When asked what the hardest part of the tour was, they said the Mysore–Manglore route tested their mettle most. Indian food though was not a problem. ”Riding across the countryside passing through villages was a wonderful experience,” said Christy.
The journey from Chennai to Mumbai passed through Vellore, Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Bhatkal, Panaji, Ratnagiri, Mahabaleshwar, Pune, and Alibag before reaching Mumbai.
The participants also got a chance to check the under-construction school being built by Round Table India, the charity CEMS has tied up with, for underprivileged children. Last year’s event had raised over Rs10 lakh. The motorists also visited Round Table India’s workshop for handicapped women at Vellore.
Full article here
Watch – Mumbai Xpress 2009 riding through the Streets of Pune, August 12th, 2009

Clip by Jocelyn Turner from team Mystery Machine

Auto rickshaw Rally for a Novel Cause

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:22:15 +0000

Mangalore press, all over the Mumbai Xpress 2009:
An auto rickshaw rally titled ‘Mumbai Express’, driven by the motto, ‘freedom through education’, was organized by the city unit of Round Table – 115 organization under the aegis of Mangalore Ladies Circle in the city on Thursday August 6.
‘Round Table’ is an apolitical youth organization, members of which are aged between 18 and 40 years. The organization aims at imbibing among the youth, the noble qualities like service, honour and dignity, at both national and international level.
The organization, under its motto, ‘freedom through education’, strives to provide infrastructural facilities like buildings, basic amenities, educational facilities, health services and other programmes that benefit the children of the primary schools, the organizers said.
More here

Mumbai Xpress 2009 in the News

admin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:08:30 +0000

Bunch of media/news about the in motion Mumbai xpress 2009:
Mangalore, August 6, 2009: Who would think one day foreigners from affluent countries will travel in autorikshaws not just within the city but on a long trip from Bangalore to Mumbai? Yes it is right to think, it is happening in front of our own eyes.
Mangalore today received these 27 youths from all over the travelling in 15 custom designed three wheelers. The participants from the 3rd Annual Mumbai Xpress-Autorickshaw Challenge expedition comprising 13 teams, made heads turn as they drove around in 15 colourful, custom-built autorickshaws.
The team arrived here amid high spirit they did not show even an aoerta of fatigue after arriving here from Mysore passing through the treacherous Sampaje ghat and traversing through the bad roads. Answering few questions posed by Mangalorean.com Melanie one of the participants from Australia said “roads are pretty bad but that is how it is in India, it is fun to drive through the pot holes rickshaws are fun to ride especially on a rainy day”.
Full article and cool pics here
More articles:
Mumbai Express: Rikshaw Challenge has reached the West Coast
It’s all about adventure and a little fun

Mumbai Xpress 2009 Flag Off

admin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:37:09 +0000

This Sunday, the amazing Mumbai Xpress will have its inaugural flag-off in bustling Chennai. Come join the fun which will include local celebrities, music, sport tricks, exhibition dancing, and even get a little energized while you are there! Watch these adventurous travelers from around the globe pile into their wacky auto rickshaws and chart off across the country.
Details Here