Leo Tolstoy once wrote “If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, the possibility of life is destroyed” and this dialogue was made famous by Chris McCandles (Remember ‘Into The Wild’?). So, there is no need to dwell into the reason / logic behind everything we do… and this can be a convenient explanation for why 3 of us are undertaking a bicycle ride from Chennai to Rameshwaram.

Rameshwaram is about 600 KMs away and our estimate is to make this trip in 5 days. Based on our previous experience of doing Thiruvannamalai and back in 4 days, this distance is do’able – provided we can sustain the 5 days of riding. It is not as much about strength and stamina – as it is about endurance. The butt is going to t be sore resting on bicyce seat for so long.. arms are going to want a break from holding the handle-bars continuously.. and the back is going to break.. but, it has potential to be fun, exciting and memorable! Major part of the ride is going to be on the scenic East-Cost-Road along the beach and we are going to get to see places we have not been to before – including the Danish fort in Tanquebar and ending up in the much-heard-about ‘Pamban’ bridge in Dhanishkodi – only a few miles away from Sri Lanka.
I wrote about this a few months back requesting interested people to join.. well, it is too late now as this trip is going to require lot of preparation and I will look forward to you joining us next time. Meanwhile, U can do a virtual trip with us thru photos and write-ups as we ride this time. We will soon share the website where U can see the updates. Preparation has included getting the bicycle serviced, buying back-up tubes, pumps etc and doing daily rides to let the body get used to riding. I have not been able to put in more than 1 hr per day.. and cannot claim to be naturally athletic too. So, I look forward to a tough time ahead! Friends Sankarasivan Natarajan and Ragavendra Senthil Kumar who complete the team are in their own practice routines as well. But I do not think anything can really prepare us for 600 KMs. So, the actual ride is going to be a REAL experience.
So, where are we going to stay? How are we going to manage bath.. and.. err.. everything else? Well.. we are not going into a uninhabited desert or something. So, there are going to be small towns with their own hotels.. there are going to be farms that let us take a outdoor shower and temples that are going to let us stretch our legs and sleep. We are keeping all options open and continuing the preparation to the kick-off (or should we say ‘pedal-off’ date) date of 25-Dec. If U are interested, we can continue sharing the build-up as we approach the 25th Dec 2011...