Friday, February 4
Pushkar – Kehrjarla – 115 K
Both Jan and Candie were not feeling well – they took a taxi to the next city and I rode with a different group today. The funny thing about it is, we have been affectionately calling this group of riders as the peloton because they ride fast, arrive first and don’t take breaks. I was riding with the peloton… Haha!
The only time they slowed down was to dismount when we came across dirt, powdered dirt that was too deep to ride thru. Today we saw every kind of road condition, paved and smooth (about a kilometer or 2 at most), broken pavement (a lot), dirt roads, powdered roads, cobblestone, and mud. Here’s looking back over the section we had to walk thru (Anna Gretta is on the right – she is from Germany):
The pace was much faster and I did my best to keep up but by the time we reached the lunch truck at 60 kilometers, I was pretty sure that I could not keep that pace for the 2nd half. I ate a quick lunch and then heard a couple announce that they were going to go slow and the rest of the group could catch up. I joined them for a nice pace for several kilometers. But the pace picked back up when the rest of the riders joined. The temps are getting hotter and it was in the 90s in the heat of the day. I went through water like crazy – some of us FINALLY stopped at the edge of a village for a soda – it was so refreshing to sit in the shade and sip a Sprite! Here’s our stop:
This was an exhausting day but getting to our accommodations for the night soothed my dirty, dusty aching soul. We are staying at Fort Kerhjarla – an amazing place! It’s the maharaja’s place – and he joined us for dinner. This is the place that the movie stars come for a private and remote getaway in India. Here’s our posh dinner on the rooftop (we have been forewarned NOT to get used to this kind of accommodations).
Here’s the Maharaja standing in front of the buffet before dinner:
They also provided music and a young dancer while we ate:
