Thank YOU India 🇮🇳

As we left India several weeks ago, I was filled with many different emotions as our driver was taking us to the Chennai airport. It was bittersweet after 11 weeks of immersing ourselves into an amazing culture that most and some people are hesitant to even consider. Before we left the states and told friends and family we were planning on cyclying in India, all we heard was “good luck”. I sat in the backseat of the SUV that was transporting us to the airport with our bikes packed away in boxes, and felt THANKFUL for what India had taught me in such a short amount of time.

I’m THANKFUL for seeing a culture that works so hard for food, shelter, and everyday life in the paddy fields, hauling hay or timber on a cart, carrying laundry on their heads, or selling snacks and/or drinks at a roadside or storefront in a town or bazaar.

I’m THANKFUL for the food that I tried and stepping outside my comfort zone of a pizza or meat not attached to a bone. I loved the chicken or veg briyana, paneer (cheese) butter masala, chicken tikka masala, prawns malvani, roti, chapati, parotta, and tandoor dishes with butter, cheese, or garlic naan. In Goa or Kerala it was easy to go back to our Western roots and have a pizza or a burger that was most likely water buffalo. In Marherassta, after we left Mumbai, I fell in love with all the veg thalis that were usually unlimited all you could eat and as cheap as 80 rupees ($1.25USD). If there is any place in the world that I’ve traveled thus far and had to be/or wanted to be a vegetarian, India is it.

Happy Cows come from India, unlike I was led to believe when I moved to California in 2000. They are everywhere from the beaches, walking down or across the highway, and also just chilling on a bridge or in the middle of a busy street in Mumbai. In Hinduism, the cow is regarded as a symbol of ahimsa (non-violence), mother goddess and bringer of good fortune and wealth. For this reason, cows are revered in Hindu culture and feeding a cow is seen as an act of worship. This is why beef remains a taboo food in mainstream Hindu and most states throughout India.

I’m THANKFUL for the children putting the big and beautiful smiles on our faces as we pedaled by their schoolyard or through their small village. They would yell “hello”, “where are you from”, laugh sometimes, and if they happened to be on a bike as well, they would pedal faster and try to stay pace with us and sometimes even pass us. We will treasure this experience forever, as the kids reminded us of the innocence and simplicity surrounding us with their LOVE.

I’m THANKFUL (I think) for the local men that would make me feel old when we would stop to refill our water bottles and get more cashew butter cookies at roadside stalls. Some would be so blatent to ask my age or if Tim and I were father and son. I would say instantly….NO I’m 49 and he’s 42. 🙄

I’m THANKFUL that it wasn’t malaria and only the flu bug that I caught as we went through different climates and being able to see two doctors and order a blood test to test for malaria all for under $10 USD. When we started cyclying in India, at the beginning of November, it was as warm as 42 Celcius (114 F approx.), and when we pedaled up to Madekeri and Mysore, the temperatures got as low as 20 Celcius (70 F approx). We never accumulated to the intense humidity either, as we are spoiled being California boys now with very low humidity.

I’m THANKFUL for seeing another beautiful religious culture in our travels and the stunning craftsmanship of the Hindu temples and statues.

I’m THANKFUL for the fellow cycle enthusiast’s that we met it the state of Tamil Nadu that were from Maduri, and landed us a newspaper interview with The Hindu, the second most circulated English-language newspaper in India. We now have new cycle friends following us on Strava and Instagram and hope to see them again one day and maybe even host them in the states when we return.

We spent our Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays all in India, which were interesting to say the least. It was my first vegetarian Thanksgiving and Fall Season without pumpkin everything from Trader Joe’s. We missed being with our family and friends for Turkey and Casserole day back in the USA. Christmas was uneventful but we enjoyed great buffet dinners at the hotel we splurged for in Maduri, and I loved being out of the madness and commercialism of the holiday in the states once again. New Year’s was fun in the French Colony city of Pondicherry where we definitely stood out as Westerners and loved every minute of it. I remember people watching and the locals coming up to us and other Westerners and shaking our hands or giving us a hug……which reminded me once again of “What the World needs now is Love Sweet Love” 💛💙♥️ (a song I like to sing as we’ve pedaled along our journey the last 10 months).

If you ever travel to India, DO NOT try to have a package shipped to you. If you want to send items out of the country, the receiver will most definitely receive them within 2-3 weeks, but if you have a care package of cycling clothes and other goodies, they will still be in customs 3 months later. A lesson we learned the hard way as it tested the paitience of our dear friend Shannon who didnt want me go without pumpkin and tried to send us a FedEx package at the beginning of November.

2017 Touring Stats
3 Continents (Europe, Africa, Asia)
17 Countries (Portugal, Spain, Morroco, France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, India)
10 different curriences
13,761 kilometers
8,551 miles
366,142 feet elevation gain

PS….follow me on Instagram at scubastevecyclist. I like to photo blog more than I write.