Dave and his Bike

Days 51, 52 & 53

Day 51.

Mumbai to Murud.

I got up at 0700hrs, and went straight out for breakfast. There was no vada pav available this morning, so I had to make do with savoury doughnuts and curry sauce. It was alright actually, if a bit heavy going. I still had chai.

I was therefore on the road by 0800hrs. The first issue I encountered was that my Garmin unit refused to boot up, hence the two parts of the ride as I had to use Strava to start with. I did a hard re-boot on the ferry.

The ferry was easy, as was the ride there. I struck lucky with riding through the city on a Sunday morning as the traffic was easily manageable. 150 rupees (£1.38) bought me a ticket for the hour long crossing. The ticket sales man said the bike was ok. The guy letting people on the ferry said it wasn’t allowed, but he could let me for 190 / 200 / 150 rupees (the price kept randomly changing). I gave him 100 and he helped me on board. I don’t begrudge it, I was expecting to pay for the bike anyway.

The views from the boat were great. Lovely images of the Gateway and hotel as we sailed away. I was quite surprised that the boat was not overloaded. Everyone on board had a seat, which was really nice and not cramped. Once in the other side, at Mandwa, there was a ramp and no steps which made things easier.

The road out of Mandwa was obvious, and excellent tarmac. It was also busy for quite a long way, as the beaches south of Mumbai are really popular with the Mumbai population, and possibly those from Pune too. Once south of the main beach resorts the traffic subsided to a large degree. The scenery had changed and was lush and green. Sadly the rubbish is still discarded everywhere which is a shame. I stopped several times to buy bottles of drink, and tried to get something to eat from a roadside stall. Unfortunately they only had packaged goods or whole coconuts, so another packet of biscuits it was.

This was more like the India I expected. Cattle in the road, along with buffalo, horses, (placid) dogs, cats and monkeys (it sounds like a ‘reportable accident’ exam question!), scooters and tuk-tuks. It was when I saw one of those that I realised that there hadn’t been any in Mumbai at all. Not sure whether they have been banned or what.

At about 1500hrs , after 67km, I arrived in Murud, where I planned to stay. After the grotty place I had spent the last three nights I fancied something a bit nicer. Disappointingly the best looking hotel was full, and despite there being several others I decided that as it was early I would push on a bit – there’ll be lots more. No there won’t. After 10km I found a log cabin retreat place, which was going to be 7000 rupees and didn’t take credit cards. Well out of my league. The net result was that I had to turn round and go back – a cycle tourist’s nightmare at the end of a hot and sweaty day. So overall my mileage could have been 20km shorter.

I found a nice hotel for a more reasonable price which accepted cards. Until I had checked in, when they remembered that the card machine didn’t work. Cash is king around here, but I get worried that I’m going to run short. Nice room, clean shower, breakfast included. And the restaurant is good. Murg kadai tonight. I had to Google it before I ordered! Boney chicken curry, with chapatis. It was really nice. Burned my mouth.

Mileage so far: 3023km

Day 52.

What a day that was!

I went for breakfast at 0730hrs so that I could get a good start this morning, and maybe avoid the heat build up later in the day. I was ignored for half an hour, then brought some coffee, and eventually told that breakfast was at 0900. Bugger. That’s my plans thwarted. So I eventually got away at 0950, much later than I wanted. I knew that there were two ferry crossings to do today, and they can take time.

The 10km to the ferry didn’t take long. It was already hot and humid, so waiting on the dock was a nice diversion, watching the comings and goings.

Before we moved off another cycle tourist appeared. Clayton is Canadian, and on a big tour. He started in Paris three months ago, and headed up to Norway first, then a lap of lots of European countries also ending up in Istanbul. He flew into Mumbai a couple of days ago and is also heading to Goa. We decided to ride together today to see how we get on, and have a bit of company.

By the time we left Dighi, the temperature was brutal. My Garmin suggested 40°C. I believed it. We got some genuine roadside kindness from a doctor and his family, who stopped their car, took photos and gave us water. After an hour or so (can’t remember!), we stopped for lunch at a little place a bit off the road and I had a cashew masala, and a photo shoot with all of the restaurant staff!

I enjoyed the food, but it was too much, as when we started again it felt heavy in my stomach. That linked with the conditions and the hills, and I struggled. Normally a 100m climb would be fine, but today was pure suffering!

I was right about the ferries. The second one across to Vesvi we had to wait ages for. And the sun was setting. And we still had 27km to ride.

The pause for the ferry had done my stomach good, and I enjoyed the climb away from the river. By the time we got to the descent we were riding in the dark – something I had promised myself I would not do. Rear lights and head torch on, we continued. Things then went from bad to worse. Clayton’s pedal had been cross-threaded when he put his bike back together after flying, and in the dark, 7km from our destination, it gave up completely and fell off. Not great.

A mixture of coasting, scooting along and walking got us half way, then a helpful local guy on a scooter accompanied us for the rest of the way to provide a bit of light to help us. Result. It was a bit hilly though, so still took a long time. At 2030hrs we arrived in Kelshi. Not only were we directed to a guest house, but someone phoned ahead for us and we were met by the owner before we got there. The place was basic, but had A/C and four beds in a room. We shared for economic reasons.

There was also a restaurant at the place. Freshly cooked fish curry, rice and roti. Really tasty. Bed straight afterwards, where I tried to update my route on Garmin and the app had logged me out. Logged back in but now can’t pair my Garmin unit. Therefore no Strava. First world problem, but annoying all the same. Also no phone or data signal.

Mileage so far: 3104km

Day 53.

Awake early. Packed and into the village early, but the ATM and any workshops are not open until at least 0900hrs. I don’t feel that I can abandon Clayton – just yet. We’ll see whether his crank is fixable (I doubt it), then I’ll make the decision. Dilemma.

In the meantime we found a little café and had chai and some aloo pav (spinach fritters) whilst we waited.Then found that the bank opens at 1000. Sigh… So we waited. When it did open, after two hours of waiting, the ATM was out of use. The nearest is supposedly 35km away. Marvellous.

I did a bodge job with cable ties on Clayton’s pedal, which lasted about 1km. I tried! So a hitched lift, followed by a taxi ride (not for me) got Clayton to a bank and a bike shop. A better bodge job with a front axle got us back on the road. 15km to Dapoli to a ‘better’ bike shop went ok, except the bike shop was unhelpful. To the extent that they loosened the axle which fell off after a few kilometres.

So another taxi ride for Clayton, and a big sweaty climb for me.

The Beach Resort hotel turned out to be a rural homestay. Very rural. Kind people though, who have arranged food, and re-bodged the fix. We’ll see. I’m not hopeful.

Aside from all of that, some beautiful scenery along the way, and interesting wildlife. Black faced monkeys this time. Lots more cows. Some massive spiders! My first angry dogs in India – most have been really placid. I think it’s too hot for them.

Mileage so far: 3158km