– ODO- 8260 – 8397km
– Location- Near Dharmapuri in the hills, India
– Weather- 22-35 Burning hot
I’m uninspired to write today. As I’ve left the mountains and pedalled deeper into Tamil Nadu I’ve been struggling with the attention I receive. More so than ever before I’m stopped every 10 minutes. Every scooter slows and swerves in front of me to take a look. Or follows on my back wheel for km after km. The majority of interactions are friendly. I laugh and joke with a group of guys looking much too young to ride a moped. A woman on the back of an already overloaded moped greens showing all her teeth and I grin back. Some just want a selfie and that’s it.
I’ve also been struggling with food. I’ve taken a back road route which is really a nice ride if you took away the peds. Much better than the crazy highways. I’m really missing the restaurants – often labelled deceivingly as “hotel” – that have been so prevalent in Maharashtra, Goa and Kerala. I could count on a legit diner to appear just as I started to feel hungry. Dosa for breakfast and two curries for lunch and dinner. So far the junctions I’ve passed in Tamil Nadu have only sweet shops. They sell pastries in the morning and for lunch but otherwise, I only see people drinking chai. And I’m not down for chai. The caffeine would send me batty.
That’s the nature of the speed I travel. I can’t rely on any routine for too long. Soon I’ll be in a new county. A new state. Where the rules don’t apply.