Bicycle Touring to Australia: India, Kenonjhat to Baharagora
My latest bicycle touring to Australia update: cycling through India, Kenonjhar to Baharagora. 95 miles. There was a definite chill this morning. And I was grateful for an extra layer, although I didn’t need it for long. The press stopped me again today. They had seen my newspaper interview and just wanted to say hello and shake my hand! You can tell they’re from the press. It says so on their bike! The number plates have press written on them. It was something I noticed when I got stopped before. I don’t know if anybody can buy them, though, or if you have to prove who you are! I also managed to fall off my bike! I’m not too sure how it happened, but neither the bike nor I were damaged.
I was hoping to finish a bit earlier today, but the town I was expecting to stop at didn’t have any accommodation or none that I could see! Apparently, there was a lodge 10km down the road, so I made my way there, only to find out it was full! But I was told there was another one, another 10km further on! It was starting to get dark now, so I turned my lights on. Only to find out that my front light wasn’t working. No problem, I thought I’d put my head torch on. That was about as good as a candle! The batteries were flat. I carry spare ones, but they were buried deep in one of my panniers! And I wasn’t going to stop now and try to find them!
Things Go From Bad To Worse
Not only was it dark now, but the road had deteriorated into a dusty track, and I was now cycling between two lorries! Which turned out for the best! I used the lorries’ lights as mine, and because the traffic wasn’t moving very fast, I could stay between them. I later found out the reason for the slow traffic. We were approaching the Subarnarekha river and a narrow, rickety bridge! It was with all this stop-start that I fell off!
I eventually made it to the so-called hotel. It was a building site! There was no water and no electricity, and to top it all, they wanted 1000 rupees! That’s more than twice as much as I’ve paid in any place so far! Unfortunately, it was late, I was tired, the road was busy, and I didn’t know if there was anything else up the road! Reluctantly, I paid the 1000 rupees, but made it clear that I wasn’t happy and knew they were ripping me off! That’s the first time I’ve felt ripped off and taken advantage of in India, but I won’t let one person spoil my view of the rest of the Indian people.
Tour Information
It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:
- Photos: See my photos on Flickr
- The route: View my journey around the world
- Videos: Check out my YouTube videos
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