Friday 10th February

I am a bit behind with the blog updates so I have to think back to Friday which was a 72 mile ride from Pondicherry to Muttukadu near Chennai. I remember a close shave with a pedestrian who walked into my path, he was looking the other way and holding a mobile phone to his ear, I could not get my thumb to sound my horn and just had to shout at him, breath in an swerve. These close shaves are common place in India and are shrugged off by the locals in the blink of an eye. Later in the day we were travelling on a dual carriageway and were suddenly confronted by an oncoming car and then some other vehicles. Looking over to the other carriageway we could see road construction vehicles. A contraflow was operating and the first we were aware of it was the oncoming vehicle, no signs, no cones, nothing.

We followed the east coast road north and it wasn't long before the temptation to see the sea could not be resisted. We found a beach where the bikes could be ridden to the waters edge and it was Gordon who was first in the water with his boots on. The rest of us took our time, removing foot ware and trousers to allow a good paddle and the brave went in for a proper swim. We were not carrying towels so if you got wet you stayed wet which is not that bad in this hot climate. The sea was rough but nice and warm. Making our way further north we found another resort around lunch time where we wee at first pestered by street vendors who were very insistent that we bought their wares which was mostly tat. We did find some good bargains in the form of carved stone ornaments where you cannot believe the workmanship which has gone into these objects and find that the price is less than a couple of pounds. Some of the team visited yet another temple and Gordon had a pair of sandals made to measure in less then half an hour.

We finally arrived at the MGM beach resort which was to be our home for the next three nights. Sadly this was the last ride for some of the team as this was the last day of the first phase of this tour. The next phase so called the 'big boys trip' starts on Monday 13th February.

Dave Cox who was joining us for the last week had already settled into the hotel. He sends his love to his grand children and says that he has arrived safely in India. He hopes they will read this blog.

MGM Beach resort as the name suggests is right on the beach. We were again welcomed by the staff at the hotel with cool soft drinks and a cold towel.

Chennai(formally Madras) is the 4th largest city in India with a population of 8 million. This city was also hit by the 2005 tsunami when 1000 people lost their lives.

We now have two free days and I know that tomorrow we have a visit to the Royal Enfield factory to look forward to.

Nigel