Distance: 61.01 km
Ridetime: 03:20:24
Average: 18.3 km/h
Total distance: 5341 km
From Hampi I cycled the first 10 km on a small roads passing several important historical temples and sites. Having already achieved a mild case of temple overdose yesterday, I was quite happy to pass the sites on my bicycle for a quick look. Some fantastic cycling indeed.
After a while I was back on the main highway and suddenly surrounded by trucks and buses again. This is typical for cycling in India – one moment you find yourself in the middle of nowhere on a quite road, the next a big truck honks his horn as he passes you on the highway. To enjoy cycling in India you must be prepared for both.
As I reached Bellary I asked two guys on a motorcycle for directions to a hotel. They said “follow us” and so we were riding through the city. It is always a bit of a chance to ask people for a hotel because they automatically assume I want the best place in town. Explaining that I’m looking for a cheap place doesn’t seem to have much of an effect. My new friends took me to a place that was indeed good value for money. After the check in they even followed me up to the room to make sure everything was fine. As I said thanks and went for a shower I wondered if they would still be waiting outside the door when I finished.
Back in the street I found an ice cream shop. The place only sold ice cream in packages and the smallest they had was 750 ml. As I obviously don’t have access to a freezer I had to eat it all at once. The things you can get away with being a cyclist!
Hahaha!