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Photos of my cycling trip through South India are now posted on Kodak Gallery Here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hwgpku5.8thu8a8p&x=0&y=-lwqorg
The trip back to the states was not nearly as invigorating as the flight out. The jet-lag lingered longer than usual and I was unexpectedly plagued by a bad case of culture shock. Thank you all for your support and encouragement along the way.
Please click on the link above (or paste it into your browser) to view some photos of cycling South India. No registration is required...just click on the Play Slideshow button. If you have trouble, please email me directly at julie@ridestrongbiketours.com and I can share the photos an ... |
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| Posted by Julie Gildred at | | | |
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| I intended on writing a blow-by-blow, day-by-day, pedal stroke-by-pedal stroke blog. I'm so excited, however, I'll cut to the chase. I've made it to GOA! 23 days of riding, some 1880 km, 777 mosquito bites, 300 litres of bottled water, an equal number of bananas, at least 25 masala dosas, curries every night and, sadly, only 5 beers later I've reached Patnem, GOA! Technically, I still have another 100 odd kays to ride to Panjim and later to Calungute Beach but I have 7 days to spare. So, for the time being, I'm parking ... |
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| Posted by Julie Gildred at | | | |
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| Even from those who know me well, there seems to be some misunderstanding over my threshold for pain. During my perfectly delightful rest day in Mangalore, I received several emails from friends concerned about the rough riding and heinous hills. The fact of the matter is there were hills, undriveable roads and moments where I bonked hard. But the other fact of the matter is I'm at my most comfortable conquering a challenge and under a certain amount of pain. Lest we forget the revered Hindu God, Ganesh, known as the overcomer of obstacles and God ... |
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| Posted by Julie Gildred at | | | |
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| I woke this morning to the sweet smell of scrambled eggs and my personal pot of hot milk coffee. I thought maybe I might be back home until I heard a servant tapping on my door, 'Madame, your breakfast is ready.' The Chandralayam caters to your every need including a western breakfast served gardenside at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m. Grateful for the nourishment, I thanked the owner and his servant a thousand times then pushed off for Mangalore under sunny skies. There's only two noteworthy climbs in and out of Kannur, with the rest of ... |
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| Posted by Julie Gildred at | | | |
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| I emerged from my beach bungalow this morning into a world hard to leave; swaying palms and an already sunny beach. I set off early into the coconut tree jungle on a somewhat grassy dirt path, pushing Ganesh past a few palm-frond homes, across a narrow foot bridge, lifting him over a few rocks to the short cut back to the main road. I considered, then instantly dismissed, having breakfast at one of the 'Fast Food' stahls along the road. I'd convinced myself there was actually a nip in the air that I wanted to avail myself ... |
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| Posted by Julie Gildred at | | | |
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| There's only one thing that could have improved this Valentine's Day in India, and that will happen soon enough. I woke to another blistering forecast plastered on the front of the Hindu Times, 'Sunny skies, 35C, 84% humidity'. Finally, I think I've acclimated because it just didn't feel that hot. Nevertheless, after a belly bloating western style breakfast in the hard to leave Hyson Heritage Hotel, I shoved off from Calicut as early as I could.Exiting Calicut was nothing like the trauma of cycling in. The main road north was nicely shaded with a generous shoulder ... |
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| Posted by Julie Gildred at | | | |
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| I came close to calling it quits today. It was a rough ride from the get go. It started with the initially exotic elephants that belong to the Guruvayoor temple and work in various capacities in the neighboring areas. In the mornings, however, they spend most of their time pooping all up and down the road. If you've never seen elephant poop, let me just say, it's proportionately sized. I almost took a picture of it to show you but I was too concerned about manuevering around it.There were also a few long parade of ... |
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| Posted by Julie Gildred at | | | |
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| I woke to another day of high humidity and even stronger sun so I decided to push off early to beat the afternoon oppression. Circling the wharf I found a piping hot milk coffee with flies before boarding the 10 minute and 1 Rs ferry ride to Wipin Island, just to the north. Stretching lengthwise against Kerala's mainland, Wipin Island is about 35 km long and boasts Fort Cochin's nearest beach, Cherai. It's also, allegedly, the most populated island in India, all of whom were attending the multiple and elaborate Catholic churches this morning. Most of ... |
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| Posted by Julie Gildred at | | | |
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| Sometimes the best laid plan is no plan at all. It was a sunny Saturday morning and I must have slept through my Timex alarm thereby missing my scheduled rendezvous with the Canada boys. By the time I untangled myself from the mosquito netting, Canada had hit highway 47 and I was left to move north on my own. Having seen a laid-back India the day before, I decided to spend the extra effort getting lost on small tertiary roads non-existent on my maps. Following the natural markers of the sun in the east and Lakshadweep ... |
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| Posted by Julie Gildred at | | | |
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| Varkala to Alappuhza (or Alleppey) - 120 kmI'm convinced that the first trailblazers into evey third world are German. I know this not only because of all the Germans I meet on the road, but also because of the puzzling presence of 'German Bakeries' from Sihanookville, Cambodia to Varkala Beach, India. I woke my first morning in Varkala intending to ride, but I was even more determined to beat a nagging cold. So, I navigated on foot the 200 meters through the cocunut groves to the cliff (which is the center for all activity at Varkala Beach) ... |
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| Posted by Julie Gildred at | | | |
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