Monday 18th February

Set off at 7am and our first challenge was the 36 hairpins, which in fact weren't horrendously taxing.  What was taxing was that my bike kept cutting out in first gear, usually as i was half way round a hairpin, but the mechanics were on the case immediately and it was soon sorted. 

 

Fantastic views of the Ghats, the plantations and the river as we climbed.  As we got down to the plain, the temperature soared...it was like riding in a kiln oven.

 

Stopped off at Dharapuram for lunch...a thali in a cafe.  Food was great, toilets gag-worthy.  Set off in the intense heat again, heading for Kodaicanal in the Palani Hills.  It was a fantastic ride, hugely physical with lots of fast bends, but one that I don't think I would have enjoyed as much at the start.  The views were just amazing...you really got an impression of the vastness of India.

 

It was a long day though, the lovely riding in the hills was just the first part. Mainly we were heading through town after town, negotiating desperate traffic.  Rush hour traffic in Glasgow or  Edinburgh will never seem quite so bad again.

 

It was worth it though for the final destation, Kodai, which is the highest stop we've had.  It's a good couple of thousand meters up in the hills and much cooler than we're used to, but pleasant for being just that. 

 

In the evenings, where possible, we have a campfire and a few of our number take turns in playing the guitar, usually led off by 'Doc', one of our medics who, along with his wife Billy (or Beulah) lives in Kodai.  Billy is also involved with Enduro, being one of the key people behind the project, funded by Enduro, that has been set up to give women health education in their homes.

 

Every morning, when we get briefed about our route, we're told that it's the best day yet...the whole journey seem to be a crescendo of one amazing ride after another.  And, as usual, we've been told to expect even better things of tomorow's route...Kodai to Munnar.