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Mumbai Xpress 2017 Recap 7 – Day 13 & 14

admin — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 10:36:31 +0000

Fourteen adventurous days have passed and our teams had the time of a life. Princely tells us one last time about the exciting events of the Rickshaw Challenge Mumbai Xpress 2017!

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.

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.

Tamil Nadu Run 2016 – All Good Things Come to an End

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 14:20:24 +0000

Nothing lasts forever and neither does the Rickshaw Challenge Tamil Nadu Run 2016. After a week full of crazy and wild adventures, our eleven teams from all over the world have returned to the starting point in Chennai for – all safe and sound, with an abundance of stories to tell about their rickshaw adventure. Time for the last report from our man in the field, Princely:

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.

Team Rainbow Warriors adding even more rainbow to their rickshaw

From the break of the morning, a Lady form Chennai just kept admiring the rickshaws and started asking plenty of questions regarding the challenge. She just could not stop admiring our adventurers doing the makeover. As a neutral person, I asked her to judge the makeover based on practicality and elegance.
All the teams left the hotel at around 8.15 am. I reached the hotel early at around 3 pm. After a quiet day without any breakdowns, at around 5 pm., Team Neruppu Da! gave me a call. They had been detained by the police. After an hour of ordeal, I had to eventually interfere and found that they were caught in wrong situation as they had some heap of stones to deal with the monkeys and additional petrol in a water bottle.

Using fake guns as rickshaw decoration is not always a good idea.

The day’s challenge was to take a picture of the police with the rickshaw. Seems like Team Neruppu Da was a bit too enthusiastic about it! Luckily I could bail them out and the nervous time for the team was over and they laughed and shared the jokes with rest of teams at the dinner time.

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.

Her Excellency admiring Team Neruppu Da’s Rickshaw

The Mexican ambassador for India, her Excellency Ms. Melba Pria, famous for her rickshaw drive to office, was invited as chief guest of the event by Round Table India. The participants were thoroughly happy about the reception, the school kids gave them and humbled by the presence of the ambassador. They enjoyed few entertainments from the kids of the school.

Team Neruppu Da, the happy winners if the Tamil Nadu Run 2016!

The awards were distributed and Team 3 – Nerupu da was awarded the champion trophy. Team 2BrokeGirls were honored with the Bonkers Award and the charity award went to Team Rainbow Warriors. The final drive to the base hotel was convoyed and except that some teams ran out of fuel for a last time, we arrived at the hotel safely.

Making friends at the finish party.

The finish party and fellowship was a great hit, where a couple of surprising stories of a crash in the bush and burning fire crackers during the travel were revealed to me. Well, well, well, the teams had a great time during the event and their laughter and fun said it all.
Meet you for another adventure!

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!

Buckle Up, Here's the Recap: The First Four Days of The Deccan Odyssey 2015

admin — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 15:24:02 +0000

Seems like not even a day can go by without some action in the 2015 Deccan Odyssey, but that’s the whole point of this wonderful adventure, isn’t it? In case you were wondering about what happened in the first four days, here is our recap so you can be as up-to-date as possible.

Everyone is busy-busy…

Day One:

Every member of the Fantastic Five has arrived in time for registration at the River View Hall in the Crown Hotel located in Goa, Panaji. The Kameraki Team from Japan arrived at the same time the organizers did and Team Packman decided that being early was the way to go (they arrived one day in advance.) We Don’t Give A Tuk arrived just in the nick of time with a severe case of Jet Lag and last but not least, the Wicked Vikings and Screw Loose Racing both had a smashing party in the casino the night before. During the briefing, Mother Nature decided that it was time to make things interesting with a case of heavy raining. However, nothing could ruin the lively atmosphere of the room after the briefing: the groups chirped away with each other. Luck was on our side during the Practice routes, too; the rain had stopped and the teams could practise in peace. We Don’t Give A Tuk ran into some difficulties, but the other teams got comfy with the roads quickly (the Packman Team was so self-assured that they only practised for an hour or so.)

The ever-smiling “Packmen”

Day Two:

At 11 AM, the teams met up with the organizers, with each team already set to start on the adventure. The mini-challenge started from Old Goa and went on until the Basilica. The organizers caught up with the Kameraki Team and took some photos. Then, everyone returned to the hotel for a great game of Water Polo in the blissfully cool swimming pool.

Hello, Kameraki!

Day Three:

The Fantastic Five kept the organizers waiting a bit: instead of 7 AM, they showed up at 7.30 AM. Todd, from Team Packman showed up at the reception in his wonderful costume and told the organizers that some of the contenders went out the night before and had a huge party. Around 8 o’clock, the other contestants arrived, most of them very tired (ahem, hung over) from the previous night. Even though nobody was on their A-game, they soon livened up by the thought of their upcoming magical challenge. By 9 AM, everyone was on the road. During the drive around Belgaum, the Wicked Vikings and Screw Loose Racing got into a bit of a break-down-pickle, but all was fixed thanks to the support crew. Everyone was completely beat by the end of the day.

On the road again!

Day Four:

We Don’t Give A Tuk got very creative this time; they went with an Arabian Nights theme to give the kickoff of the race a truly uplifting vibe. One of the members of Team Kameraki informed the organizers that they will only be able to start after 10 AM. In the end, all members of the Fantastic Five arrived on time in Kolapur, with all of their challenges met to their best effort. It was a wonderful day.

Tired smiles from everyone

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

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

Riding Along with the Malabar Rampage – Getting Out of Kerala

Jennifer — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 12:01:49 +0000

Another Rickshaw Challenge has come and gone in the blink of an eye. Seventeen teams set off on Monday out of Trivandrum with Goa as their destination, and while five days cruising along the Malabar Coastline by auto rickshaw might seem like a smooth dream when compared to some of our more hardcore runs, this year’s teams on the Rickshaw Challenge Malabar Rampage had quite a few challenges – both planned and unplanned – en route.

Our teams take on the mini challenge in Trivandrum! (top left – Three Amigos; top right: BeunkenBräu; bottom left Silver Bullet; bottom right The Polar Bears)

Kerala is a state that might look relaxed and laid back in the travel brochures, but there is so much more going on that just lying on a houseboat drifting through the famous backwaters. Just a couple of days before our teams arrived in India, Kerala put its foot down on the sale of alcohol, where only five star hotels are licensed to carry a fully stocked bar. With a group of Aussies, Brits and other heavy drinking nationalities (excuse the stereotype), we had to do our homework to find places where people can go for a drink. Fortuately, it turned out beer and wine parlours could still operate, so not everything was lost.

Aussie teams The Six and Out Farewell Tour and the Malabar Handlebars find alcohol in Trivandrum.

After a day of training and some warm up challenges to get the ball rolling, our teams kicked off their three-wheeled adventure and sped up towards Alleppey, dubbed as the Venice of the East for its canals that link into the backwaters. Our teams had to learn how to make chai from roadside stalls and find a houseboat on the way, among other tasks. The first day went relatively smoothy, but the next day was not so easy.

Our teams try to make chai! Left – Alexandra from Team BeunkenBräu; top center the Three Amigos, bottom centre The Six and Out Farewell Tour; right – Skidmark Racing.

Even though the first team headed out of Alleppey to Calicut at 7:30am, everyone, including our trip manager Princely, who got to the official hotel at 8:25, arrived late. The last team got in at 10pm. The long journey was broken up with a stop in Kochi, to visit the famous Chinese nets and the spice shops in Mattanchery.

The Three Amigos go spice shopping

However, despite the late arrival in Calicut, the teams were unable to just chill out since the state-wide strike in Kerala the next day, along with an impending road block meant the teams needed not to only fuel up with plenty to spare before heading off to Mangalore, but also meant getting up to leave at 6:30am, just incase there were any problems on the way. Find out more late about our team and how they fared getting to Mangalore only on the Rickshaw Challenge blog!
To find out how the teams fared with the challenges so far, check out the score on our sponsor’s page GamingZion Events!

Rickshaw Challenge Classic Run 2015

admin — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 13:48:04 +0000

Great piece on the just completed Classic Run, an epic rickshaw ride from Chennai to Trivandrum.

“Crazy streets, heavy rains, breakdown of vehicles, visits to temples and monuments….the teams that participated in the Indian Autorickshaw Challenge – Classic run had a fun ride.
Rickshaw Challenge – Classic run is an annual event. Participants get to explore some of the stretches between Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram such as Puducherry, Thanjavur, Madurai, Kanyakumari and a number of temples, monuments, shacks and waterfalls on their journey.”

Via: The Hindu

Classic Run

It's a Rickshaw Challenge Adventure

admin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:53:30 +0000

The 2012 Classic Run is on the way and the press is all over it. Below is a piece from the Deccan Chronicle, titled ‘Get in an auto, give to society‘
‘The thought of taking the auto to work today may faze you, but you won’t be thinking twice before jumping behind the wheel of one at the Auto Rickshaw challenge. With the promise of fun, adventure and a culinary tour like none other, the Rickshaw Challenge comes to Chennai for the sixth year — minus the quintessential auto anna!
Started to cater to adventure, the Rickshaw Challenge has put Chennai on the world map of adventure tourism.
Says Aravind Bremanandam, the brain behind the enterprise, “This year we have 33 participants from nearly nine countries. The participants are a cross-section of society — from students, businessmen and nurses, we have a diverse lot participating. In the past few years the event has come to be a cultural gala that is about adventure, discovery, vacation and social giving.”
The Rickshaw Challenge has so far raised 80,000 US dollars and has been giving back to the Round Table of India for the last six years.
This year, participants of the Rickshaw Challenge will race their autos across a distance of 950 km, between Chennai to Poovar in Kerala. In the course of their journey, the participants will get to sample the gamut of cultures and cuisines that comprise south India.
“The challenge is quite like any other,” says Aravind. “Points are given for being crazy and unconventional,” he adds.’
Via: Deccan Chronicle

‘Tuk-tuk’ rally becomes melting pot of cultures

admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:18:51 +0000

Briton Paul Haran wore his radiant red Ferrari suit, put on his racing gloves, took his road map and jumped into ‘Nigel Manzil,’ one of the 13 colourful autorickshaws that accelerated their way towards the roads of one of the most rugged terrains in India. The third annual Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge, which flagged off from Queen Mary’s College in Mylapore recently is a unique rally, with adventurous travellers from around the globe piling their wacky auto rickshaws for an action packed (around 2,000 km) journey to Mumbai.
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