The next day, we visited the Velankanni chirch and admired the beauty of the constructions there and how well they were maintained. It was a hot day and we struggled to cover even 100 KMs. Not much sight-seeing was planned for the day and the only place we wanted to cover was a little costal village called ‘Manora’. It has a monument built by Tanjore Kings and a light-house. We wanted to get there before dark so that we could take some pictures.. it was a struggle, but we just about made it. Once there, we took pictures, had good rest and then contemplated where we would sleep for the night. We made enquiries in the light-house asking if we could stay there for the night and leave early the next day.. but were refused entry. Then, as we contemplated sleeping in an open stage near the light-house along with local fishermen, we got info that there was a village called ‘Peravurani’ that had 2-3 lodges to accommodate travelers… some 12 KMs away. This was a deviation from our route.. but we had no other option as the night was getting cold. We found a decent enough lodge there.. but had to put up with drunk guests making noises in the corridor at midnight. I tried telling them that they were disturbing others.. but this only aggravated the situation and I had to retreat. It was on this day that our confidence level was at its lowest – we had just about managed 100 KMs for the day and felt like we were reaching our limits. We had one burst tube during the day – which we fixed quickly. The problem was not the bicycles.. but our energy levels and the strength in the thighs to continue pedaling. We massaged our legs with ‘moove’ and hoped to be able to ride again the next day. To our surprise, day 4 riding turned out to be quite pleasant.. we got up early to ride thru farm lands and village roads to reconnect to the ECR.
Once on the ECR, picked up speed. We had another burst tube and replaced with the last available spare tube.. ate lovely halva in a place called Thondi – from a shop called ‘Takkas Halva’ that is supposed to be famous all over Tamil Nadu for this sweet.. and kept riding. It was an exceptionally smooth ride and we did well over 120 KMs during the day at good speeds. The joy in riding was back and we took numerous pictures, kept uploading pictures and comments in southernriders.in and reached Ramanathapuram by about 7.30 PM. We now knew that we had done 90% of the distance and completing the trip was a mere formality – unless we suffer another burst tube or any other mechanical failure. But our spirits were soaring high and we were ready to even walk the remaining distance if the bikes gave up!