All good things…
DAY SIX: Umaid – Jaipur (56km)
(written by John Roberts)
The Rajasthan Tiger Challenge: no tigers, but we’ve seen enough camels to last a lifetime. And pigs, and cattle, and happy dogs.
5.45am call – inhuman. Scrambled eggs again. If you enjoy your breakfasts, India is not the place to be – at least on this tour.
Sunrise at …
On the hunt for Tony the Tiger
DAY FIVE: Rathambore National Park – Umaid (55km)
(written by Indi Bachra)
Another 5am start for the elite group who wanted the possibility of catching a glimpse of a tiger or two in the Rathambore Tiger National Park. Once seated in the safari vehicles our guide explained that due to certain political issues (court case pending) we …
“Come and see the fatties on the bikes”
DAY FOUR: Karauli – Rathambore National Park (112km)
(written by Bill Colson)
Woken at 4am by the peacocks, and up at 5am for the start of the second-longest day: 112km from Karauli to Rathambore National Park.
Birthday celebrations for Nathan started with the classic Indian tradition of decorating his bike and giving him 29 ‘bumps’.
Unfortunately the older members …
Nine hours, three crashes and an old sock
DAY THREE: Keoladeo Ghana National Park – Karauli (113km)
(written by Mark Duckworth)
Our first ‘big’ day in the saddle (over 100km planned). And what a day!
5.00am – Wake-up call. Ooh that hurt
6.00am – Warm-up with today’s ‘Wiggins’ (Nathan Morrisen). He won that award by making his roommate retrieve the room key from a bacteria infested pool. Quite …
Cha-Cha Chicken Curry
DAY TWO: Fatephur Sikri – Keoladeo Ghana National Park (50km)
(written by Karen Williams)
This morning we were treated to a glittering warm up by Don, in the form of a Strictly Come Dancing cha cha! That set the tone for this morning’s pace.
John Styles was in proud possession of the coveted yellow t-shirt, for being the …
Ten minutes of madness
DAY ONE: Agra – Fatephur Sikri (42km)
(written by Devesh Ambasna)
A late start today, so a chance for a lie-in as we had a 6.30am wake-up call.
We had a quick breakfast, followed by a warm up and pep-talk from Mr Motivator Mo Rasool (a veteran of 10 previous Overseas Cycle Challenges). By now we had attracted …
The train before the pain
Saturday
All 29 of our cyclists arrived safely at Heathrow Airport on Friday and boarded the overnight plane to Delhi. Thankfully, all the luggage reached our destination safely too, so whilst we’re tired, we’re as ready as we’ll ever be for our Cycle Challenge in Rajasthan.
We have a short stop over in Delhi and the opportunity …
Ready for Delhi!
An eager team of Openwork Advisers, staff, clients and providers will set off for Delhi, India on tomorrow, for the 12th Openwork Foundation Overseas Cycle Challenge.
The team includes Devesh Ambasna, Keith Atkinson, Indi Bachra, Andy Carlisle (MetLife), Bill & Sue Colson, Mark Duckworth, Jon Gunter, John Hobson, James Jenkins, Mary-Anne McIntyre, Lesley McMillan, Nathan Morrisen, …
The final push
DAY FIVE: Roberts Rock – Aqaba (105km)
Our evening (day four) at the Bedouin camp was truly memorable.
We were treated to an amazing sunset which we watched from the top of Roberts Rock. The support team cooked a wonderful barbecue on their small stove and we wore coloured glow bangles as we sat around the camp …
Neil of Arabia
DAY FOUR: Petra – Roberts Rock (60km)
(written by Neil Hurrell)
An early call gets us up for an early start and we say goodbye to historic Petra. All are keen for the day ahead despite some nursing various injuries and delicate stomachs. Sadly we lose one team member, who is on doctor’s orders to rest (I …