RIDING A TAILWIND. This day one year ago, Bob Yardy, Joe James, Indian riders Jose and Anand and I pedaled 74 miles to Namakkal in Tamil Nadu. It was our best day of riding to date. We had a tailwind and it seemed like we were riding on clouds. Each day brought us closer to Bangalore, "the Silicon Valley of India." Our goal was to arrive in Bangalore on our seventh day of riding for two days of rest and transition.INTRIGUED BY OUR BIKES. Everywhere we stopped for a rest or for lunch, people--young and old alike--gathered around to look at our bikes and gear. 99% of bicycles in India are single-speed with heavy, one-size-fits-all frames. Our bikes have 21 gears. Folks closely examined our derailleurs, gear-shifters, cycle computers, helmets, pedals, gear shifts, and my aero bars. Some would lift our bikes, finding them very lightweight, and make excited comments to each other.
PEDAL SUPREMACY. Bikes form the backbone of basic transportation in India. They are not used for recreation, but for personal, family, and business mobility purposes. There are still more bikes on the 2,000 miles of roads we traveled than autos, trucks and motorbikes combined. It is likely that motorized vehicles are becoming much more prevalent, but they have not yet overtaken the standard bicycle. -- John Hay, Jr.
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