Day 7 : Sad puppy

We got to Thoothkudi the day before. This was after we combined two shorter days to allow us to take a break day and skip a short stay within Sayalgudi [ which didn't have any good hotels ]. We decided to see the sites and visited a 400 year old Church which was made in to a Basilica in 1982. Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Our_Lady_of_Snows,_Thoothukudi

After we looked through the church, I wanted to make a pit stop at the gift shop to bring some stuff home. I bought a few things and when we exited the shop we saw the tiniest puppy, who looked very hungry and not in great shape. If I could have taken the dog with me right then and there I would have. I probably should have. We didn't have anything on us for it so after feeling bad and staring at it for 10 mins we went on our way. As we jumped back in the car and went to go to the mall to have lunch, we saw the same puppy dart out in to the street and almost get crushed by a motor cycle as it looked for food. it got scared and tried to run back to the side of the road and fell, but then finally made it.

The whole time I could not get that puppy out of my head. I bought it a sandwich from KFC and we headed back to try to find it. We were looking all over and didn't see it. All I could think of is that we were too late and something happened to it. Shruti said to go back to the center of the church courtyard and it was there. Matty spotted it. I hand fed the little guy[ or girl ... I respected it's privacy and didn't look ] and it was so happy. There were a few locals there who said they had given it milk and brought it to the doctor and gave it medicine and in a few weeks the skin disorder should go away...but who knows. I dont really believe them. I was not content with what we did for the little guy, but I was happy we at least did something.

I've been delaying writing this entry, just so I didn't have to see that little dog's pic again. =/

The beach was great, the dog was heart breaking, the church was great and the hotel was ok ... I was ready to get back on that cycle!

Let's do it day 8!!

local beach bhais gifted Shruti with a dead star fish :)

Salt factory

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

Day 5 : Resting, getting soaked and a visitor

Day 5 was a well needed rest day. We started the "drip" on Matty boy to pull out another crazy day on Sunday, which actually would leave us burnt and bruised, but that story is for another day.


Supriyo who we work with in Pune came over for a visit. We went to the ghost town and saw a few areas around town. We got drenched in the rain and never made it allll the way out to the very tippy tip, but we did eat green chili mango under a tarp with some locals and bought pooja stones. I so regret not making it out to the end, we were so close!! The torrential rain and impatient cabbie killed it. Shruti and matt fed some friendly goats. We spotted elderly Frindus in the wild at dinner. Took some selfies and Matt showed off his droning skills. We also dubbed the Gindu and Rindu naming convention of German and Russian hindus respectfully. All were spotted in the wild, but none were captured on film unfortunately. :)


Matt also commented on my pouty pic taking...and then proceeded to make a side by side comparison. Pout-envy :)


Pics below.

smilz

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hamming for the cam