Bike-Ride To Australia 18th-December 2011

Bike-Ride To Australia Sunday 18th-December 2011 Raipur to Sarapali. 96 miles. It’s been a hard ride today. The roads have been awful; the roads were so bad that the dirt verge was an easier option! It was certainly smoother!

Although it’s been a hard ride, it’s been an uneventful day! No television or press interviews, just people asking for my autograph! And a photograph with me! God knows why? Had they seen me on the television? Unfortunately, I’ll never know. None of them spoke enough English for me to find out. Maybe I could start charging for a photo? It’ll help fund my ride! Perhaps they’ll be groupies outside my door next!?

I’ve seen plenty of monkeys today. One village I rode through seemed to have been overrun by them! They were everywhere, running across the roofs and along the walls. There have also been plenty of signs warning of tigers. There was even one warning of leopards! Despite the signs, I’ve still not seen any!

Monkeys on roof
Monkeys on a roof

I like these cheap hotels. I can usually get a room for under a fiver! Okay, they don’t have hot water or a proper toilet! But it’s better than camping out in the jungle, especially with all these tigers and monkeys around! My eating companion at supper tonight was a young “officer trainee-seeds!” Whatever that is! He told me that he earned £131 a month and had a wife and baby to support!

A Late Night

What was I saying about groupies? I was just about to post today’s update when there was a knock on my hotel door. Who’s that at 11.30 at night? When I opened the door, two men were standing there! They’d seen me cycle into town earlier and were keen to find out where I’d come from and where I was going! I’m not too sure if they believed what I said or not! But it was pleasant talking to them, despite the late hour! They left after about an hour! Not quite the groupies I was expecting but hey ho!

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Bike-Ride To Australia 17th-December 2011

Bike-Ride To Australia Saturday 17th-December 2011 Deori to Raipur. 90 miles. It seems a bit cooler today but still pleasantly warm. I didn’t have the nicest of starts to the day. After about an hour of cycling, I came across a truck, upside down, down an embankment. There’s nothing new there. I see lorries that have crashed all the time. This one must have happened recently. There was a body lying on the side of the road covered with a blanket! Not nice!

I was all set for a nice early finish today when I got stopped by a man on a motorcycle about twenty miles from Raipur. Nothing new there. I keep getting stopped for a chat. The man introduced himself and said that his friend ran a newspaper and wanted to interview me! They had passed me earlier in the day and wanted to know where I was going! Why not, I thought, and off we set with me following another scooter.

At The Daily Planet

I got introduced to Mr Chittor and his colleague Mr Vires at the newspaper’s office. After hearing where I was going and its motivations, Mr Chittor explained that Mr Vires wife also had cancer! After we’d been talking for a while, another man turned up with a TV crew! They got me to ride up and down the road while they filmed. Before sitting me down in front of my bike, the TV man interviewed me. After a while, a crowd started to gather, as normal! When the interviewer had finished, he asked I had a message for the people of India! Blimey, talk about being put on the spot. I think I just said thank you for all being so kind to a stranger!

Man being interviewed
My fifteen minutes of fame

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Bike-Ride To Australia 16th-December 2011

Bike-Ride To Australia Friday 16th-December 2011 Nagpur to Deori. 91 miles. Thanks to all for my birthday messages. I had a great day and something different to my typical birthday! There was a group of local businessmen on the table next to me in the hotel restaurant last night. Who meet at the hotel a couple of times a week. After talking to them for a while, they insisted I join them. It was fascinating talking to them about Indians and Indian culture. I was saying how Indian people are always interested in what I’m doing and want to help in any way they can! They said we say, “in India, we respect guests as a god”. No wonder I get mobbed whenever I stop! They also bought me a birthday cake! Which was a nice gesture and very much appreciated.

Two boys on a bike
My riding companions this morning

Indians do like their whiskey! The Indians who I sat with last night got through two bottles! There was only five of them! They tried to get me to drink some, but I was a good boy and stuck to my beer. The memory of my night with that Romanian football team is still fresh in my mind!

Watch Out

The area I’ve been cycling through today is tiger territory! Two people have warned me to be careful! I didn’t see any, only more monkeys! I did try standing by the jungle and calling “here kitty kitty,” but it didn’t work! Just as well, really!

The difference in accommodation from one night to the next is amazing. Last night it was a big posh hotel costing me £50. Tonight’s has cost me £2.50! I never know what I’m going to get from one day to the next! That’s the joys of travelling the way I do.

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