Day 6 : A hot, burny, sloppy mess

Sunrise pic a result of me missing a turn :)

So day 6 was supposed to be about 40 miles or so. While we were recovering at the Daiwik hotel in Ramanathpuram... after a super long ride the day prior, Shruti thought maybe instead of stopping in Sayalgudi and being driven to and from the hotel in Thoothkudi, we could plow on straight to Thoothkudi and have another rest day. See some stuff and enjoy it. Sounded like a good idea to us.

We joined day 6 and day 7's routes which came out to about 87 miles. This will be the longest we have done all together as a team. After a previous 100+ scorcher the previous day I was sure we could all do it.



We drove back in to Ramanathpuram to where we left off 2 days earlier and set out around 6:30am IST. The route started off a bit wet as it poured the day before. We were moving along at a good clip, saw a really nice river [ backwater ] and stopped and took a few snaps.

After a great start to the day, we then hit the salty mud pits of south east India. The gods were not with us this day. We spent an hour slogging through mud for about 4+ miles. Our bodies and bikes were covered in mud.

After the stops and the mud and the pain of course we had to get our 3rd flat tire@^!@^%$!#@$!@!! Shruti had hit some thorns some where and got a flat. We pumped it up and made it to a little town. Every little kid came by and watched as I changed the 3rd tire of the trip. They were petrified of me. :) I gave them some candies and a pack of cookies and we took a selfi. :)

We made it half way to Sayalgudi in 3 messy pieces. We had a Thali lunch. Matt proceeded to ask for a menu, what were the appetizers, special of the day and he was told "you will have rice" ... but what about some bread "no rice"... "anyone fancy a desert?", "we have rice" :) So we all had rice. As I went to the back of the shop I saw a cauldron of hot cooked rice just sitting there. I have never seen so much rice in my life. Think of it like one of those cartoon pots where cannibals are cooking someone. It was massive.

beautiful downtown Sayalgudi

another Thali in Sayalgudi

The second half of the day had us going on more main-ish highways and through miles of salt flats. The day was overcast and we used Shruti's fake sunscreen which was a very bad combination for my arms and legs which got fried. I am still lotioning them. OUCH!! Even Shruti got roasted and burnt. Matt just added on top of his British burns. :P

Shruti's dropped bike count is at 4...leading the team :)

We rolled in to Thookudi, bruised and muddied but not beaten. Matty boy had a burst of speed as we raced through the city towards the hotel. We made it, we selfied and started the dirt removal and burn lotioning. :)


Ride Stats - longest ride so far as a team!
Strava Route: https://www.strava.com/activities/840333245
Miles: 86
Total Time: 7:36:29
Total Ride Time: 10:50:38
Pace per Mile: 11.3
Temperature: to be filled in
Start: Ramanathpuram, IN
End: Thoothkudi, IN