FROM FRIGID TO HOT. As I shoveled a fresh layer of snow off our sidewalk this morning in 5-degree (Fahrenheit) temperature with the windchill factor hovering at -15, I longed to be in India. There, one year ago on this day, I would have been pedaling along in a short-sleeve jersey and shorts in 90-degree temperatures under a cloudless sky. Here in Indianapolis, I dress in layers for warmth even as the frigid air takes my breath away.A FEAST FOR THE SENSES. The trek from the outskirts of Madurai to Dindigul on January 2, 2007 was a mere 74 kilometers--our shortest ride day to that point. But even a brief ride in India is still a feast for the senses. You know it's the 21st century because of the aluminum-frame bike, the GPS unit on the handlebars and the cell phone at your side, but the ox-drawn wagon, the women carrying water jars from the hand-pump well and the mill grinding in the village makes you feel like you're in another millenia. This is the reality of India today. Ancient and modern, simple and complex, sheltered and exposed, naive and knowing, rich and poor. And all profound. -- John Hay, Jr.
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