Camels and Carriageways

Camels and Carriageways

How can I begin to explain the journey, the terrain, the sight, the sounds, the experience - I cant? I realise that perhaps not being able to blog is about not being able to express the experience.

Day 1 is a short 45km rife back to the hotel through countryside and villages. Sound easy - but i realise that the roads we have just driven on in the bus will be the road out and back to the hotel... now this road was full of vehicles, animals, people and stuff on the move... I have decided that nothing in India can be in the right place - everything seems to be in transit.

We cycle out of the tranquil hotel grounds and in single file – “one finger” help aloft by our lead guide, we are out - exposed and accountable.

We cycle at a good pace, overtaking motorbikes, that then overtake us, peering at our faces – phones for selfies held aloft. We cycle past people carrying loads, carts pulled by oxen, camels, men on bikes or being pushed and pulled by a man or 2 men or the whole village if its stuck or in the way.

Carts, bikes, people will move in whatever direction they see fit – they may be moving on your left, uumm actually often towards you on your left, they may be moving in the same direction as you at speed on your right – which then indicates that oncoming traffic may choose to pass them in the middle of the road – which is great if the road is wide enough.

Did I tell you that a person on a bike is the lowest denominator on the road – pedestrians, dogs and definitely cows are far higher up in the grand scheme of things.

Children on single gear bikes think it is hilarious to keep up with – and they do and are often faster!! But them stop and turn to take a photo !

There are essentially 3 types of road – the roads between the villages and towns that were often tarmacked, sometimes rubble or cobbles, these are generally quiet and easily cycled in pairs. General traffic comes up and down and there is room for everyone. We saw people working in their homes, their fields and they would wave and smile.

Then there are the routes through the villages and towns – these are jampacked and we had to manoeuvre our way through, round, under, over and in-between anything and everything that was moving. Sometimes we went through as the place was waking up. Children in pristine school uniforms would run along the road and shout greetings to us. The women would wave and hold babies high for us to see. The men, squatting roadside would squint and sometimes smile. Street food breakfasts, chai, the morning routines, quietly stirring.

Then at other times it was utter indescribable mayhem. Buses, motorbikes, camels pulling carts, carts being loaded, people moving carrying loads, herding goats, shooing cows, barking dogs, horns blasting, heavy industry on the roadside, vegetables for sales, street food being cooked in cauldrons of oil, blackened pots on heads and over coals. A festival of brightly coloured sareed women carrying pots and making offerings to gods, a steam roller, tuktuks and motorbikes!!

We would often go through these places at the busiest time of the day – from the smallest village to some quite large towns with flyovers and roundabouts - our guides were completely amazing  - we followed them and were guided by them. They stopped traffic with their bikes and bodies, enlisted locals to pull wagons across roads, or to stand at a junction or roundabouts to enable us to cycle through as a group. We skipped through gaps just wide enough for a handlebar as a coach and camel vied for the same space, we ducked under camels necks as it was having a hissy fit at right angles to the road. I have never been quite to scared to be on a bike.

It took me 4 days to get it… 4 days of palpitations and managing my anxiety every time we regrouped to go though a town. 4 days of telling myself  “you can do this, keep going, don’t stop pedalling, it will be fine”. Then one of my cycling buddies said she loved cycling right behind me as I was so determined to stay with the person in front of me it was as if I opened up gaps where th

ere were none before!!

Then I got it – just believe its possible and go for it – its possibly the mantra of India!

The 3^rd type of roads are the express roads – 2 or 3 lanes. Full of trucks and coaches making good progress (high speed on their journey. Oh and motorbikes and camels and people and cyclists!! These roads are tarmacked with sandy hard shoulders. Ah for hard shoulder read another lane for people, motorbikes and camels pulling carts – normally in the opposite direction to the one you are travelling!

On day 5 we travelled mainly on these roads – the first part was one that was being built!  …cycling on the hard core and sand shook you to the bones but I found it great fun  - memories of mountain bike days in my youth!! We jumped from old roads to under construction ones and back again – exhausting and exhilarating.

Then at the end of day 5 we cycled through a major town, over a huge flyover and along a major express route! It was insane – we were in single file – I think the guides were nervous – we were cycling on the hard shoulder unless something was coming up the other way which it did frequently. The guides were on the inside lane between us and the traffic – they consistently put themselves out there – making the traffic use the outside lane and therefore keeping us safer.

I found myself laughing  - and laughing hard. It was insane but I had found my inner child - I remembered that I had been an adrenaline junkie and that part of me had come back alive and pedalling!!