HOT RIDE TO ANATAPUR. We had a 72-mile (117 k) ride today from the village of Bagepalli to the town of Anatapur in 86-degree Fahrenheit temperatures and bright sun. We drank lots of water and Gatorade, even downed a few power bars. We were drained by the time we made it to our place of lodging. But the day’s effort puts us at 997.75 kilometers – just a few kilometers shy of 1,000. It’s still less than one-third of the way, but it feels good to be able to say we’ve traveled that far. Photo: Bob Yardy stops with his bike, a Fuji Royale.
BIRD WACHING ALONG THE WAY. Bob Yardy, our team leader, is an avid bird watcher. He’s been pointing out all kinds of bird that are unique to India as we ride 
along. He sees birds where the rest of us see merely trees and scrub brush. So far Bob (and some of the rest of us) have seen the following kinds of birds along the route: Brahmany kite, Pariah kite, black ibis, white-necked stork, peacock, shorebird, red-wattled lapwing, rose-ringed parakeet (in photo we took today), little green bee-eater, white-breasted kingfisher, Indian roller, red-vented bulbul, Indian gray shrike, purple sunbird, common myna, and many black drongo (must be India’s equivalent to a crow or starling). We’re sure to see more.
ENCOUNTERING VILLAGES AND PEOPLE. One of the differences in rural America and rural India is that in America there are relatively few villages between towns or cities. In India, there is a village every two miles or so. And each village bustles with people, markets, outdoor dining, bartering, and community life. In America I can ride my bike for many miles without seeing a single person; in India, people are walking along the road even in what seems to be a desolate section of the roadway. One gets the feeling one is never far from a village.
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1 comment:
Greatly enjoyed the blog entry on Bob's birdwatching....that's awesome!
Here are some silly jokes to keep you all smiling at the end of a tiring day of biking in India....
Q: Why couldn't the bicycle stand up on its own?
A: It was two tired.
A tandem rider is stopped by a police car. "What've I done, officer?" asks the rider.
"Perhaps you didn't notice sir, but your wife fell off your bike half a mile back . . ."
"Oh, thank God for that," says the rider - "I thought I'd gone deaf!"
I was speeding down a narrow, twisting, mountain road. A woman was driving very slowly uphill, honking her horn and shouting at me: "PIG! PIG!!". I flipped her the finger and shouted back "BITCH! COW!!". Then I collided with the pig!
"The hardest thing about learning to ride a bicycle is the road!" :that's probably more true in India than anywhere else!
with love & best wishes,
James & Esther
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