Tuesday, February 15
Jambughoda to Narmada Dam – 70 K
This was the perfect distance and day to get back on my bike for riding. Although the temp was almost 87 and the sun was getting hot when we arrived at the hotel, 99% of the day was just perfect! We had good roads for most of it, quite a bit of shade trees lining the roads and lovely scenery along the way. We passed fields of cotton, tobacco, sugar cane and corn. We crossed several long bridges and some with people in the small streams below either washing clothes or cleaning up. It wasn’t hard to imagine these creek beds as raging rivers when the monsoons arrive. They riverbeds were deep and wide! Here’s a lovely dike we crossed:
Gujarat seems to me to be a little quieter place than Rajasthan – not quite so many horns and a little slower pace – maybe that’s just me. I noticed something new today – metal wheels. We passed a metal-worker’s shop who was making metal wheels for carts like this one – they were all painted sky blue. They are SO noisy going down the road, but they must have their place in the overall scheme of things here. This oxcart has wooden wheels, but the metal ones are shaped just like them. Can you imagine the sound of bare metal on the pavement?
Introduction time: Here’s a fun couple who tend to hang at the back of the pack with us “California girls” which has become our handle here. This is Loretta and Kevin – another couple from the Vancouver BC area. They get the prize for the MOST flats on the trip! By now they’ve had to have had 20 flats at least. At breakfast this morning she leaned over to Kevin and said, “Have you checked our flats yet this morning?” as casually as “did you feed the dog this morning?” Nearly EVERY morning and several times on any given day, they get flats. They just take it in stride and are so good natured about it… he adds another patch to the tube and their off! They will be one of 5 people leaving in Mumbai – 4 days from now. They will be missed.
This afternoon several of us went on a sightseeing visit to a local dam – Sardar Sarovar Dam which is one of 30 dams in India. When they built it, the backwaters displaced 1200 villages, over 200 towns and submerged an ancient temple which impacted the area greatly. Today it provides 86,000 Kilometers of canal irrigation for three states and much needed hydroelectric power for the area. Here’s the view from below with the lovely blooming shrubs in front – they are at the peak right now!
The backwaters create what I would like to call a beautiful lake, but it is officially called Sardar Sarovar Reservoir – of course! You will notice the rebar sticking out from the top of the dam at the right. They are adding height to the top of the dam to increase its capacity…. Unfortunately this project was started 50 years ago… and remains unfinished. All throughout India I’ve seen long pieces of rebar sticking up on the tops of MANY buildings like this… just in case they want to add another level! J
Two more introductions for today – first, meet Clive. Clive is from London (if my memory serves me right). He’s one of the fastest riders in the group and a lively “chap”! Here he is jumping on a motorcycle when we had stopped for an ice cream break before heading back to the hotel. In the background is Lanny – she has cycled all over the world, including several Tour d’Afrique tours in Africa, Ethiopia and the Silk Route which I know includes China and several countries north of China. Lanny is from Indonesia.
SPECIAL THANKS TO MY SON RYAN WHO HAS BECOME MY BLOG-MASTER! IT HAS BECOME NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO UPDATE MY BLOG HERE AND RYAN HAS KINDLY AGREED TO TAKE MY DAILY DOCUMENTS AND POST THEM FOR ME! Whenever I get internet access I just email my daily documents to him and he works his magic! THANKS RY! J
- Ryan: "No problem Mom!"
