We started a 7am at 1600 metres, where the temperature was 8 degrees, so I dug in the bottom of my bag to find my jacket and some gloves!
We set off on a small, bumpy road down the hill, which I named the "Western Ghats White Knuckle Roller Coaster"! We dropped 1,000 metres in 35 km, which is a gentle incline, when compared with Mont Ventoux, but gravity was pushing plenty fast. The road surface was rough and unpredictable, and there was typical Indian traffic on the road, including big buses, tuktuks, cars, motorcycles and pedestrians operating in their idiosyncratic ways, so I rode the brakes pretty hard, and lifted off the saddle most of the time. Average speed for that stretch was under 30 kph. Good fun steering down the hill, stopping occasionally to admire the mountain scenery. By 8am, the temperature was in the low 30s.
The second half of the ride was on a fast, smooth highway with a slight downward incline through lots of busy villages. Traffic was not too busy, so it was fun riding through all the activity. I watched a rather sad looking elephant and his handlers cross the road near me.
The heat was manageable on the bike, with the air flow, but when we reached the hotel in the suburbs of Cochin, we locked up our bikes, and were sweating profusely as we walked into the lobby. Fortunately, nice waiter handed me a couple of paper napkins to clean up with!
Off to try out the pool...
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