Cycling in India stage 14

We left our lovely tents in the Garden Palace after a breakfast al fresco and rode 110 km, mostly on bigger roads, with the usual variation between quiet countryside and busy towns.
I am getting so accustomed to the extraordinary sights, sounds, and smells of Indian roads, that it felt like a routine day of cyclotouring!
The temperature is now very pleasant; above 10 as we start out, and climbing to 30 by noon. Some of the roads are well shaded by trees, so very pleasant riding.  We are also eating all our meals al fresco.
Today was Saturday, so different activity in the streets, although everything is open and many kids are traveling to/from school. We heard loud music in many of the villages we passed, suggesting some kind of celebration.
Our hotel for the next couple nights  is a far more humble "palace" than some of the earlier ones, but a pleasant country retreat.

Bonus video

Mike shot this video of me arriving in a quaint village in Rajistan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoaJJjBlQeY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Cycling in India stage 13

We were all anxious to leave the suburban hotel by the busy highway, and it didn't take long to get out into the countryside. It was a lovely warm morning, and the temperature climbed quickly to one of the warmest days to date. 
Nice country roads through a mix of desert and agriculture.
Lunch was special, because, even though it was set up in a relatively isolated place, we had Many people show up to take our picture,  or to take their pictures with us in the background.  Even a tiny van full of primary school kids visited!
Highlight of the day was the welcome at the palace hotel in Balasinor. We rode through a very basic village, and turned into the gate, where we  were each piped in by an ensemble of three musicians; two drums and a trumpet.  Our hosts greeted us at the door with garlands of roses and a dab of colour for our foreheads.  We are sleeping in lovely tents, each with its own washroom/shower, and we had a lovely dinner al fresco.

Motorcycles in India

Lots of motorbikes on the roads here, mostly 90-250 CC 4 stroke single cylinder machines. There are a few Royal Enfield big singles.

Clearly, the role of the young male is to drive a motorcycle as much as possible. We see some very young males driving motorcycles. Motorcycles are everywhere, on the road, in town, in the busy markets, beeping and weaving through the traffic, the faster the better.  Only in the larger centres do we see women driving motorcycles.

Often motorbikes are carrying three people, sometimes four. Female passengers always ride side-saddle in their colourful saris. Oncoming motorcycles sometimes look like their rider is three headed, with the driver's head in the middle, and a male passenger's head on either side. I hope to catch that with my camera somewhere along the ride.

The bikes all have excellent mufflers, so they travel quietly, except that every car, truck or motorcycle uses their horn to declare  "I'm here!" once, twice, or thrice as they go by in either direction, so the streets and roads are far from quiet. Motorcycles tend to have particularly high timber horns, and they over-use them, so they frequently offend the ears. Personally, I would gladly accept the assignment to go around and spray some sort of goo into every motorcycle horn to dampen the noise, but no one is proposing this particular reform.

Like all other vehicles, motorbikes wend their way through the traffic opportunistically.  Most of them do this in a relatively considerate way, but some riders, usually young males, often push the limits. I have met motorbikes coming into traffic where they had no business being. Thankfully most  are quite vigilant when they do so.

As at home, there are moments when some young motorcycle drivers create  hazards for other road users. We are a very unusual sight on the roads here; foreigners dressed in Lycra shorts, riding some 30 KPH on fancy bicycles.  Some motorcycle drivers can't resist the urge to look back to check us out as they pass, especially the female cyclists. So, they drive down the road looking backwards! Some want to ride beside us and chat, regardless of the traffic.  Others fail to adjust their calculations to account for our relatively high speed.

Given the preponderance of motorcycles on the road, they are the greatest hazard we face. To date, three of our little group of 14 riders have collided with motorcycles. One motorcycle decided to turn across the road in front of a passing cyclist. One ran into a walking group member from behind, and today, an oncoming motorcycle driver was so distracted looking at one female cyclist that he ran into her colleague following behind. 

So far, our cyclists have suffered bad scrapes, cuts and sprains, which should get better in a few days, but thanks to helmets no head injuries.  One helmet is seriously cracked.

India cycling stage 12 to Himatnagar

We were all reluctant to leave the delightful Udai  Palace Hotel, and enjoyed breakfast in the lovely water table courtyard. Our first enjoyable al fresco breakfast. The mornings are warmer now. We rolled through the smoke of the morning fires until we were well out in the country. Then we could feel the sun, and took off outer layers. 
We rode on back country roads through the hills, and joined the NH8 highway for the descent into the plain. We then turned onto small roads again through quite lush farmlands. Very pleasant riding. We were in no hurry, as we knew that tonight's hotel was basic.
Saw lots of cattle and buffalo; being herded, pulling carts, idling about, some with painted horns.

India cycling day 11

Most of the 110 km ride was on a 4 lane highway. The road was smooth and the traffic was light, but little contact with the villages.
Watching the traffic on the road, it was amazing to see the loads carried on some of the vehicles and on some peoples' backs.
The Dungarpur udai  palace hotel at is a lovely traditional style hotel with lots of mod cons on a lake, looking across at the village. All the riders relaxed around the pool.

Udaipur stopover

Udaipur is described in my guide as "romantic", but somewhat over run with motorcycles and tourist boutiques, which helped subdue expectations!  It is no Venice, and the "sunset" boat ride on the lake was not dazzling, but we enjoyed both a dinner and a lunch overlooking the lake from different restaurants: very pleasant. The bazaars were fun to explore, I even saw a working elephant walking down a main road.
Highlight of the stopover was the little Tribal Museum associated with a research centre. It displayed a limited number of objects along side of painted replicas of tribal wall paintings and photographs of tribal dancers and ceremonies. Very simple displays about various tribal  people and their art.