REFLECTIONS OF INDIA - NEW DELHI, AFTER 2,000 MILES

February 8, 2007 - from Kosi to New Delhi

FINAL DAY IN THE SADDLE. This day last year was our final day of a 2,000-mile bicycle ride from the southern tip of India to New Delhi. It would prove to be both a frightening and fulfilling day. But it’s not likely any difficulty could have dimmed our spirits or deterred us from making the last day of our cycling journey a bright one.

DANGEROUS FOG. We rode north out of Kosi in a serious fog. Visibility was extremely low. Objects were not visible until about 30 feet in front of you. It was eerie and dangerous. Vehicles were driving too fast to see us and we were forced off the road several times. We thought the fog would lift soon, but it persisted most of the way to Delhi. The moisture soaked our clothing and the spray covered our bikes.

INTO DELHI. The sun finally burned the fog away by the time we reached the outskirts of Delhi after noon. We plowed our bikes through the capitol's thick traffic. Our experience of pedaling through Bangalore, Hyderabad and Nagpur served us well. We were tired from the day’s harrowing 75-mile / 120-kilometer ride, but we were psyched as we rode into the heart of Delhi. We’d studied the map of the city enough to know where we wanted to go.

CELEBRATING AT INDIA GATE. We headed straight for the India Gate in old Delhi as our “finish line.” The India Gate is a massive arch, memorializing all India’s war dead. It stands at one end of a grand boulevard on the scale of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. At the opposite end of Rajpath Marg are the Presidential buildings and India’s Parliament (we also visited these sites). Once we reached the India Gate, we lifted our bikes over our heads and celebrated the completion of the cycling portion of our journey. We’d ridden over 2,000 miles / 3,200 kilometers since starting in Nagercoil on December 30. We had much for which to be grateful.

REFLECTIONS OF INDIA - LEAVING AGRA

February 7, 2007 - from Agra to Kosi

TAJ MAHAL. Our little bicycle entourage arrived in Agra on February 5, 2007, and visited the Taj Mahal the next day. The world's most awesome mausoleum was simply grand. It's reflection of the hues of the sky at various times of day was beautiful. The sheer size and intricate detail of the edifice, as well as its elegant endurance over centuries, seem to make it worthy of its reputation as a man-made wonder. Indians are rightfully proud of this expression of art, ingenuity and hard labor.

FIRST RAIN. We had opportunity to use our rain gear for the first time on February 7, after a thunderstorm passed through Agra in the middle of the night. O, what a gloriously muddy mess we and our bikes were in by mid-morning of our ride out of Agra. But the rain stopped, the clouds cleared, and by midday the sun had dried the roadway.

DAY FOR FLATS. It was our day for flat tires, too. I punctured and repaired quickly. Joe hit a piece of glass that cut his tire, which took a bit more time to repair. Then, my back tire went down...again. We found the culprit: the same tiny shard of glass imbedded in the tire surface. Three flats in a day after only two punctures in over 1,900 miles…interesting. Cross-country cycling requires readiness to quickly repair flat tires and access extra tires and supplies.

NEXT TO LAST DAY OF RIDING. We pedaled 108 kilometers / 66 miles to a little town on National Highway 2 called Kosi on what was our next to last day of cycling in India. The roads had become familiar to us. We became quite adept at the Indian “rules of the road.” We were accustomed to the diverse activity on the roadsides. We felt like we are part of it and it is a part of us. There were hardly any more unique visuals that we hadn’t already captured on photo or video clips. Still, the thought that we will not be riding these roads—Seals and Crofts’ song “We May Never Pass this Way Again” came to mind—put us in a wistful but grateful frame of mind.

REFLECTIONS OF INDIA - BIOFUEL

February 4, 2007 - transition day in Gwalior

GETTING READY FOR OUR LAST LEG. This day one year ago was a Sunday and a transition day into our last week and sixth team of Indian riders for the 2,000-mile bicycle ride from the southern tip of India to New Delhi. The last leg of our journey would take us to Agra, where we would spend a day touring the Taj Mahal and Red Fort, and then two days of riding on to New Delhi. We would pass through territory where the "Bandit Queen" (India's version of Robin Hood) would run raids on freight trucks. We would enjoy the company of a hearty team of riders from Mumbai (formerly Bombay). We would encounter frighteningly thick fog on the ride toward New Delhi. And we would finally celebrate in the heart of India's incredible capitol.

POWER OF COWPIES. All along our journey, we had to swerve to avoid cowpies. Cattle, sacred in Hindu religion, roam freely or are harnessed for work. They are also the source of India's milk. Cow and water buffalo manure is collected, shaped into saucer-like pies, dried in the sun, and artfully stacked for later use in cooking or heating (as in the photo). Cowpies are also used as plaster to reinforce huts and serve doubly to keep insects away. Of course, the smell of burning cowpies serves up a distinct aroma wherever it is being burned. But it IS a biofuel...and cheap. No doubt, more uses of animal waste for energy will figure significantly in the future of energy-hungry, green-sensitive economies.

REFLECTIONS OF INDIA - SEBASATIEN

February 3, 2007 - from Jhansi to Gwalior

MEETING SEBASTIEN. Our 100-kilometer / 62-mile ride north from Jhansi to Gwalior on this day last year was smooth, but not uneventful. Riding through a small town, a young man on a bike rode up beside me. Not unusual. What was unusual was that he was on a mountain bike and that he was white. As he rode along beside me, I discovered that his name was Sabastien and he was from Lausanne, Switzerland. I invited him to ride with us and join us for lunch. We learned that he had ridden alone from Katmandu, Nepal and was touring India, eventually intending to ride to Kolkata.

GREAT SAVE. After lunch, Sabastien left us, riding on ahead. But we came across him in about an hour. His bike had broken down, apparently irrepairably. We hoisted his bike on the trailer and took him on in to Gwalior. Bob Yardy spent the next three hours taking apart and repairing his back wheel hub and gear assembly. With Bob's know-how and parts cobbled together from local shops, the bike was nearly good as new and Sebastien was able to continue his trek.

REFLECTIONS OF INDIA - JHANSI KEE RANI

February 2, 2007 - from Lalitpur to Jhansi

COLD START, WARM FINISH. On this day last year, we were thankful to bicycle on a smooth road for the first time in many days. And, for the only time on the 6-week, 2,000-mile journey, we were cold. When we began at 6:45 am, the temperature was 52 degrees Fahrenheit. Our fingers were numb and we were chilled. But by 9:00 am, the temperatured had climbed to 70. By noon it was over 80 degrees. Yep, an American Midwestern September day! When we arrived in Jhansi, we stayed in the guest house of the Maria Ackerman Hoyt Memorial Hospital.


JHANSI KEE RANI. We arrived in Jhansi, our day’s destination, early in the afternoon. Our hosts told us that Jhansi was the beginning point of India’s freedom movement against Great Britain in 1857. The story goes that a 22-year old woman named Lackshmi Bai, the recent widow of the area’s Maharaja (territorial prince), rallied the town to fight the British when they tried to seize control of the area after her husband’s death. Agreements between the Maharajas and the British stated that Indians would maintain control of an area as long as there was an heir. Lackshmi Bai was childless, but she and her husband had adopted a son. Upon the Maharaja’s death, the British refused to recognize the child as the next prince and moved to take control. Rallying the town to resist the British and fight for their freedom, the people occupied the local hillside fort. A traitor in their midst opened the gates and British forces flooded in. Lackshmi Bai, with her child on her back and a horse under her, leaped from the high fort wall and escaped to continue the freedom challenge. She is revered as Jhansi kee Rani…the Queen of Jhansi.

REFLECTIONS OF INDIA - HOSPITAL HOSPITALITY

February 1, 2007 - from Sagar to Lalitpur

FROM SAGAR TO LALITPUR. We rode 116 kilometers / 70.5 miles on on very rough roads the first day of February 2007. The trek from Sagar to Lalitpur didn't have so many potholes as uneven and patched tarmac. Our new team of Indian riders got an immediate baptism in riding such a distance in a day. Yogish, a young man from Nagpur, experienced only our second tire puncture in over 2,400 km. We left the state of Madhya Pradesh and entered the state of Uttar Pradesh, inching us nearer to New Delhi.

HARRIET BENSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. In Lalitpur, we were privileged to be hosted in the guest house of the Harriet Benson Memorial Hospital. This was our second evening to be guests of Christian hospitals (other than Umri Christian Hospital) initiated by missionaries external to India and now led by Indian medical and operations staff. These hospitals have an important medical mission in serving the poorest of the poor with caring and quality medical care. In addition to hospital guest houses, we were invited to stay overnight in churches, a school for deaf young people, homes, and training facilities.