Got an early morning start from Shirpur. I felt the Sun really bright and shadows long. The service roads next to the National highway was a pleasure to ride, with lot of farms on one side.
Soon I reached the border of Madhya Pradesh and was greeted by steady climbs. The hard part of the climb was negotiating the truck traffic. Once the climb was over, it was relaxing ride with rolling hills on either side, covered with light green grass. The roads were awesome and I was riding fast.
By noon I had done almost 100km. I was thinking that I could do another 70-80km by evening. Suddenly, I heard a sound from my front tire with air gushing out fast. I have got my 5th puncture of the trip.
I pulled the bicycle down to a near by tree, so that I could rest a little and fix the puncture. This time, the puncture was a real deal. It had created a hole big enough that the punture scabs I had were pretty useless.
I didn't have a spare tube and was wondering how am I going to ride from there. Meantime I was watching a farmer couple working on their fields. It's always a great feeling for me to watch farmers on field; I guess my farming ancestry just connects with me at that moment.
A farmer who was going on his bicycle (after the work on his farm) saw me sitting beside my bicycle. Since I looked like an outsider to him, he came to me asking "What happened?". I said: "I'm unable to fix the puncture". He said he could help me to take the tube to a bicycle repair shop in nearby village and get it fixed. I trusted him and gave the tube. He came back after half an hour. I inserted the tube into the tire and pumped air into it. It seemed fine for a minute, but puncture reopened again. He said one solution may be to seal the puncture by applying scab using some heat fixing technique, which they do on motorcycle tubes. The farmer went again and got it fixed this time. Perfect! I thanked him.
Although I don't believe in God, but this instance of a stranger farmer helping me without expecting anything, could question my belief.
It was already 4:30 pm and I thought riding ahead was pointless. May be pitch my tent there and call it a day. However, the farmer suggested that I can find lodging in Dhamnod, 25km away.
Considering the clouds hanging in, I thought it would be better to find a lodge to stay for the night.
Dhamnod had more medical shops than any other shops. Made me wonder, Is this a really sick place?
It was dark and the lodge I took was filthy and poorly maintained. But I had no other choice. Couldn't sleep that night and was waiting for the morning.
Just made me think how people perceive cleanliness so differently. The lodge guy had showed room and said it was the best they had. It was huh.. rusted iron bed, torn mattress and unclean. Anyways that was an experience for me; never lived in such poor condition.
I'm starting to realize that majority of India is all about adjusting to situations and finding fulfillment in whatever you get or wherever you are.
Soon I reached the border of Madhya Pradesh and was greeted by steady climbs. The hard part of the climb was negotiating the truck traffic. Once the climb was over, it was relaxing ride with rolling hills on either side, covered with light green grass. The roads were awesome and I was riding fast.
By noon I had done almost 100km. I was thinking that I could do another 70-80km by evening. Suddenly, I heard a sound from my front tire with air gushing out fast. I have got my 5th puncture of the trip.
I pulled the bicycle down to a near by tree, so that I could rest a little and fix the puncture. This time, the puncture was a real deal. It had created a hole big enough that the punture scabs I had were pretty useless.
I didn't have a spare tube and was wondering how am I going to ride from there. Meantime I was watching a farmer couple working on their fields. It's always a great feeling for me to watch farmers on field; I guess my farming ancestry just connects with me at that moment.
A farmer who was going on his bicycle (after the work on his farm) saw me sitting beside my bicycle. Since I looked like an outsider to him, he came to me asking "What happened?". I said: "I'm unable to fix the puncture". He said he could help me to take the tube to a bicycle repair shop in nearby village and get it fixed. I trusted him and gave the tube. He came back after half an hour. I inserted the tube into the tire and pumped air into it. It seemed fine for a minute, but puncture reopened again. He said one solution may be to seal the puncture by applying scab using some heat fixing technique, which they do on motorcycle tubes. The farmer went again and got it fixed this time. Perfect! I thanked him.
Although I don't believe in God, but this instance of a stranger farmer helping me without expecting anything, could question my belief.
It was already 4:30 pm and I thought riding ahead was pointless. May be pitch my tent there and call it a day. However, the farmer suggested that I can find lodging in Dhamnod, 25km away.
Considering the clouds hanging in, I thought it would be better to find a lodge to stay for the night.
Dhamnod had more medical shops than any other shops. Made me wonder, Is this a really sick place?
It was dark and the lodge I took was filthy and poorly maintained. But I had no other choice. Couldn't sleep that night and was waiting for the morning.
Just made me think how people perceive cleanliness so differently. The lodge guy had showed room and said it was the best they had. It was huh.. rusted iron bed, torn mattress and unclean. Anyways that was an experience for me; never lived in such poor condition.
I'm starting to realize that majority of India is all about adjusting to situations and finding fulfillment in whatever you get or wherever you are.
No comments:
Post a Comment