Day 13
Set off early this morning (6am) with the aim of making the 300km through the desert to the finish line in Jaisalmer. The drive wemt like a dream with only a couple of minor breakdowns. Saw loads of camels and weather was absolutely scorching. To all of our suprise we made it to the finish line within the 'golden fort' of Jaisalmer by 4.30pm. Everybody extremely pleased with ourselves. All arrived safe amd relatively well - dodgy stomach has meant that I havemt eaten for 48 hours which must be a record. Going to emjoy the finishing party and have a chilled out couple of days before we head back to Delhi. Thankyou so much to everyone was has sponsored us, all in we have raised approx 2500 quid which is amazing. See you all soonÂ
Day 12
Had a late start today and set off at half 8 for Jodhpur. Another decent days travelling roads are so much better that the first week. Arrived in Jodhpur at about 5 ish. Delhi belly back with a vengence which is a shame because the hotel we are staying at is the first one to serve proper cold kingfishers for a long time. Planning on a big days driving tomorrow to get us to the finish line by tomorrow night. Depends on how rickshaws perform!
Daty 11
Today we took the relatively short trip to pushkar. Its a pretty town based around a lake where one of Ghandi's hands was put after he died. Bit wierd. They dont serve alcohol either - early night. Off to Jodhpur tomorrowÂ
Day 10
Today travelled to Jaipur. Travelling went fairly well couple of breakdowns and Sebs exhaust fell off. So he was a bit noisey after that. Ended up staying in a fantastic old colonial building , really cool. Other than that a straightforward days travel, Delhi belly has now gone too
Day 9
Mon 20th
Thought we would have a relaxed day today and stay for another night in Agra. Everyone is in need of a break. Went to see the Taj Mahal today. It was nice. Then the monsoon came and we all got absolutely drenched. Today is also the day Delhi belly arrived for the Bombay tricycle club. Tomorrow we will be heading for Jaipur. Hopefull weather will improve as at the moment everywhere is flooded    Â
Day 8
Sun 19th
Left hotel at 5.15 just before sunrise. After a couple of early hiccups from the brick we made excellent progress. Got stopped by the police. All rickshaws kept going and we made it to Agra by 5pm. Saw a huge elephant on the motorway, as you do. It was the lift everyone needed. Today was a good day. Celebrated with a few beers in our nice clean hotel. Jaisalmer is a possibility again.
Day 7
Sat 18th
Woke up at 4.30am to go and see the burning Ghats. Rickshaw driver took me to the wrong place, I didnt have enough time or money left to get to him to take me to the Ghats (all ATMS were shut). Not happy. Left hotel at 8 to head for Kanpur, approx 280km away. After about a couple of hours our exhaust was making a lot of noise. On closer inspection the mechanic had not tightened the bolts on the exhaust and gear box. Joker. Spent frantic hour trying to find a mechanic. Lots of breakdowns with the 'Brick' rickshaw in our convoy. Couldnt get it started, so had to tow it to a mechanic. It then started to bucket it down with rain. Gave up getting to Kanpur and ended up in a town called Fahtepur about 80km short of Kanpur. Got rickshaw fixed, then checked into the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. It was an absolute shocker. We are beginning to get concerned that we will not make Jaisalmer by the finish date. Progress is slow and everyone is pretty fed up. Plan is to make the 320km to Agra tomorrow - doesnt look likely, best we have done so far in a day is about 200km!
Day 6
Fri 17th
Todays travelling went really well. Set off early and by midday we were in Varanasi. As we had a bit of time on our hands we decided it would make sense to get our rickshaws looked at by a mechanic. A couple of local rickshaw drivers directed us to the best mechanic around. The nice chap then went to work on our 2 rickshaws taking each one to pieces. After a couple of hours it seemed to be taking a bit longer than we had hoped. When the mechanic started smoking marujuana, things took a turn for the worse. It was gone 10 O'clock in the evening when the first rickshaw was working again. The other had to be towed to another mechanic (this time one who was not stoned and incompetent).There was a local festival, so the mechanics were quite jovial and we joined them for a few beers. It was past midnight when the other rickshaw was ready. Not a good day - didnt get to see any of Varanasi, Dave and Matt went to the burning ghats to see people being cremated, they seemed to enjoy it. Also saw a few other teams who had had some pretty rough experiences in Bihar, so it sounds like we have been lucky.
