WEEKEND WELCOME

POST #11

BANGALORE TRAFFIC. We arrived in Bangalore, a city of 10 million souls—and we think they were all on National Highway 7, our route into the metropolis. We were in thick traffic all the way into Bangalore. There, we met our host, who led us on his motorcycle to the guest house. “He led us” means that we wound our way through four lanes of traffic packed with all sorts of vehicles, turning left and right, crossing lanes back and forth. Harrowing. But, we all made it to the guest house, a respite in the heart of this city. Our “easy day” was a breeze until the last five kilometers; that 5k will be with us for a while. We’re thankful Indian drivers are not rude (relative to American drivers) or else we would all be toast by now.

REST AFTER EIGHT DAYS ON THE ROAD. We've ridden an average of 110 kilometers (68 miles) a day for eight straight days. We are not exhausted, but so say that we are looking forward to a rest day is an understatement. We are in good physical condition. No one has been sick at all. The food is agreeing with us. Our cycling equipment is holding up. But the rest day is welcome...if having meetings, speaking, and attending various ceremonies is rest (comparatively, it is!).

FAREWELL TO JOSE & ANAND. We say farewell to our Tamil Nadu riders Jose and Anand (on the left in the photo) tomorrow morning. These young riders have been strong and of great humor. But we are passing out of their native language area and two riders who are familiar with the state we are currently in will join us as we resume our journey northward on Monday morning at 6:30 am. Thanks for your great effort, Jose and Anand. We are proud of you and honor you! We also say "see you later" to Sathisam (in blue shirt), the Umri Christian Hospital Administrator. But we plan to see him again when we arrive in Umri two weeks from now.

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