auto rickshaw rally – Rickshaw Challenge

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

Rickshaw Rally

admin — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:21:50 +0000

Cool tube from the 2009 Classic Run titled: Rickshaw Rally 2009
Watch:

Clip by Clare Tinsley & Andy Hague from team Kiss Kiss Bhangra Bhangra

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