For those who are impatient, please click here for the pics
Day 3
I woke up at 8 in the morning and had Puttu and Egg curry for breakfast and started from Kochi at 9.30 towards Jew town. Paid a quick visit to the Jew town (unfortunately the Synagogue was closed) and left the place after few photo sessions. I said good bye to NH 47, and moved towards the Y pin Island (not sure if the spelling is rite) which is a shorter route to reach NH 17. Roads were really good good inside the island. While I was riding, a middle aged man, Mr Lal who was passing on his bike casually asked me where was I coming from, When I said I started from Kanyakumari, he asked me if I would like to stop and have some Juice in his bakery which was on the way, I said Yes without a second thought. He ordered me an orange Juice and was very thoughtful and advised me not to take the deviation to NH17 till the end of the island as the roads here were small and had lot of trees on either sides so that I could avoid the sun to some extent. I thanked him and started back as per his advice. The observation i made on my way was, Kerala has more bakeries than hotels, and they are so huge (as huge as the coffee's in bangalore). The ride was very smooth as the roads were even and I reached Guruvayur at 5 in the evening. I got a room for 200 Rs, took a quick shower and went for a long walk around the city. There was nothing around of my interest, had dinner and hit the bed at 10.
Total distance covered 103
Day - 4
I switched off the alarm at 5 and told myself that I would sleep for few more minutes. Those few minutes turned out to be 3 hrs, i immediately woke up, still half asleep and took a cold shower, that ensured I am completely awake. I gulped in a plate of Idly vada and headed towards calicut. As per Google map I had 147 Kms to cover today and I was late. When I had a closer look at the map, there seemed to be a shorter route the only hassle being a small river flowing in between 2 towns. When I enquired about this to a auto rickshaw driver, he said there was a bridge in between. That is all i needed to know, I avoided the highway and took a new route that I had discovered. The roads were small and isolated (most of the times I was the only one on the road) with sea towards my right and coconut plantations on my left. As these roads are normally taken by the locals, the kids on the streets were excited to see a stranger, few commented something in Malayalam (probably a bad word, in a way its good, not to know a language), few asked for a ride on my bicycle, but i settled them down by taking few pics instead, a kid even went to an extent of acting like a blind boy crossing the road and was purposely blocking my way. It was 3.30 when I stopped for lunch and I still had 30 more Kms to go. I ordered for "una" meaning meals and was back on the roads. After few more breaks, when i had 10 more Km's to Calicut I came to a small village with coconut plantations on the bank of a backwater. I immediately told myself that it was time to use my sleeping mat. I went to the city, got some fruits and biscuits for dinner and headed back to the village. I used the headlamp of my bike as a light source, switched on my I pod watching the peaceful water in font of me. I do not know when i fell asleep.
Overall, it was a fantastic ride and wish my future rides would be the same.
Total Distance - 131
Day-5
For change, the alarm was silent, the sun rays through the canopies woke me up at 7. I was surprised to see a fisherman already at work and made sure if my bike and bag was in place. I took a quick dip in the ice cold water, packed all my stuff and headed towards Kannur. I came to Calicut city to have my breakfast and order for bread omelet and finished it in no time, when the waiter came to check if I would like to have coffee or tea, I ordered a plate of dosa for which he gave a awkward look. I was back on NH 17 and started off with a huge uphill, a bad omen for a cyclist. This was followed by a series of uphills and downhills taking every ounce of energy from me. I even developed a pain on my left hamstring. Even the sun was not on my side. It was 1pm and I had already taken 5 breaks and had 60 more Kms to cover. The only hope I had was, I tht even roads would start from Mahe as it was close to the sea. But it remained a hope, the roads became even worse.I even left my cap in one of the shops where I had stopped for Juice.
The ground rule that I follow is, "whatever may be the ascent, never get down from the bike". WhenI had just 8 more kms to go, I broke the rule on the middle of a very steep uphill and started to push my bike. This ride had completley discoureaged me. So a far this has been the most difficult ride in this Tour but very challenging too.
Total distance 102
My final destination was Goa. I had planned to reach Gokerna on day 9 and hit Goa on Day 10, but I had to make a small change in the plan as there was a big swelling in my feet. I decided to ride straight 160 kms to Goa. Was it doable was still a question mark. I started at 4 in the morning and my target was to reach Karwar before 12 and I some how managed to reach Karwar by 12.45 and my leg was hurting very badly now. I took a small power nap post lunch in a temple and started to ride by 2 PM. I reached the Goa border at 2.30!! yes, it was almost the end of the tour, so i rode the last 30 kms as slowly as possible enjoying every moment. I reached Kankona and got my wound dressed up in a nearby Govt Hospital and reached Palolem. I got a room facing the beach for 300 Rs, I had a juice and hit the bed. at 6 in the evening.
