An Unforgettable Final Few Days Cycling in Tamil Nadu

For our Christmas holiday, we splurged a bit and found a very nice hotel in Madurai that was having a Christmas Eve dinner, complete with tree, Santa outfits, and a roasted turkey along with a buffet of other Indian and Continental food. It was a nice reminder of home, and we took the time to connect with friends and family with video chat and text messages. I haven’t shaved with a blade in probably a year, but I made the effort to clean up as best I could!

As we got back on the road, we cycled through quiet farmland roads with many friendly and curious people and interesting temples and monuments. The temples in this area are stunning in their complexity and color.

Near the end of our ride to Karaikudi, a gentleman in uniform waved us over to stop. He quickly explained that he is a Commanding Officer in the Air Force. He’d seen us cycling and would appreciate it if we could take a few minutes to speak with his 600 cadets, who were participating in a 10-day program at a nearby school. We, of course, said we would be honored!

What ensued was nothing short of an unforgettable experience, and we were deeply humbled. We arrived to a line of cadets in full uniform, some with ceremonial rifles, to lead us in to the courtyard. Cadets came running from all corners and quickly took place seated in the courtyard to hear us speak.

Steve and I are quite shy with public speaking, but we did our best to answer all the questions asked, explain our bicycles and bag system, and learn about this program the kids are participating in. Several of them had in fact just cycled themselves 500km over 4 days, quite an amazing feat, considering they hadn’t done any training for the ride! They took with them a message of education to the rural communities of Tamil Nadu as they passed through. We were very impressed with these young men and were happy to answer their cycling questions. We hope they will continue to cycle and spread enjoyment of the sport in India!

Wing Commander C Gunasekran then made us coffee, prepared us some cookies and sandwiches, and took us out to see the young men and women playing sports and flying a model airplane, doing some great stunts for us, something which they’d excelled at in competition. We met some women who’d won awards for rifle drills, and were invited to play volleyball; I had to decline as I’m quite horrible at any sports besides cycling and would have just gotten in the way!

What an incredible experience, and I hope the kids will remember the two crazy Americans cycling the world, and maybe we will inspire some of them to chase their dreams as well.

We wished we had been able to stay longer and see some more of the cultural activities, but our host for the evening had already begun cooking us an elaborate Chettinad dinner, so we apologized and excused ourselves as best we could, and the cadets put on another farewell for us as we cycled off.

As if this wasn’t enough of an experience, we were then contacted (through the cycling club we’d met a few days earlier) by a reporter with The Hindu newspaper. He wanted to write an article about our trip, and so we did an interview with him, and here’s the wonderful article he published just today. Link to online version.

Cycling in India has been a life-changing experience for us. We have made memories and friends we will cherish for our whole lives, and although there have been challenges, there are so many unexpected and wonderful things that quickly make you forget about any difficulties. To those who want to visit India, we say to you, get off the tourist trail and see the real India. Sure, Goa and Varkala are not to be missed. But if you want to see real India, go to Madikeri and sample the food and see the rolling coffee plantations. Stop in the fishing villages along the Malvani coast and watch the fisherman bring in their catch. Find an out-of-the-way temple with a festival. Try to order lunch at restaurants (aka “hotels”) in small towns with no menu and no English on their signs (there are pictures usually so you can just point – using your thumb!). Say hi and smile to everyone you meet. Pose for selfies whenever asked. Put yourself out there in the less comfortable situations and be open to whatever happens. These have been the magic moments of India for us.

We still have two more weeks in India, as we prepare for our trip to Thailand, but we are now planning to take a break from cycling for a bit and relax and explore the surrounding area. We hope to get in a few more rides after our bikes are tuned up at a bicycle shop, and before they are put in boxes for our flight to Thailand.