10th October 2013 Ahmedabad, India to Panvel, India

10th October 2013 Ahmedabad, India to Panvel, India

From Ahmedabad in the direction of Mumbaifor the first 100km or so, there is an express highway. Last year I entered the highway and illegally raced from one end to the other. This year I decided to do things differently. I took the state highway out of the city…. What a ball aching mistake. The traffic was horrendous, culminating in the crossing of a major river on a “just about” 2 lane bridge. Although only 600 metres or so long the bridge crossing probably took 30 minutes. I then moved from one medium sized Gujarati town to another, getting clogged up in each.

Finally satnav took me to the exact same express highway that I had sought to avoid. It seemed fate had drawn me to the highway and so I waited for a truck to turn into the slip road. I followed closely behind until I got to the toll gates then nipped around the truck and barriers and sped away. Naughty boy x 2 x years.

The Expressway is a lovely road but standards are slipping. Unroadworthy trucks had broken down at many points…. Labourers maintained the hedges on the central reservation, inches from speeding cars….All a little unsafe… I was encouraged to think that English men riding powerfull bikes really ought to be allowed to ride freely between Ahmedabad and Vadora ;-)

After Vadora, is a 400km stretch of national highway to Mumbai. It is a busy 6 lane road with many trucks and little lane discipline. From time to time it rained. Short bursts of post monsoon shower. I changed in and out of my waterproofs several times before reaching Mumbai. Satnav took me around the city on a seemingly perfect route. I travelled from north to south in less than an hour. I stopped for a chai and then looked for a hotel in Panvel, at the beginning of the Goa road. I checked out Woods Resort, nice place, internet not working. I was determined to check emails, use skype etc. I headed a further 16km along the Goa road in the dark. Heavy traffic, pot holes hidden in the blackness. The luxury hotel that had been recommended to me was full (and its internet wasn’t working…) I tried to search out a local guesthouse, they were all full or were disinterested in accommodating me!?

I’ll tell you the truth about overland adventure…… the journey Is less of a road, more of a rollercoaster. There are moments where experience grinds you down to a fine dust ready to be blown away on the first gust of wind into oblivion. Hope, patience and sanity is sometimes all but exhausted. “Overland express” where you ride and ride with no periods of recuperation makes matters worse. It is tough, physically and mentally. I have a bad habit of very quickly romanticizing my adventures…. I only remember the positive. Let this be a brief record and reminder of the dips that the rollercoaster sometimes takes…….

I turned round and headed back towards Woods Resort 2500Rs. I didn’t bother trying to negotiate a better rate, I hurriedly checked in and self medicated with Kingfisher…..

Panvel mileometer 22920, 357 miles ridden