Riding Further North

January 6, 2011

through Ankola to Kalwar

I glance behind to see the hut one last time. It sounds daft, but it's a slightly painful wrench to leave this wonderful place that I've had all to myself. Nevertheless, this is a cycling holiday and there are miles to cover and it's all down to me - the only guest again last night.

The man running the cafe this morning says there should be some people coming at the weekend as I have breakfast of a couple of juices in the straw-roofed hut.

I wheel my bike across the soft sand near the water where it's firmer so it's a bit easier to push and head towards the high rocks, where I can climb up to The Cottages' entrance road. It's not bad, just a few steps to carry the heavy bike up and that's it. As expected, the beach is empty when I look down.

At the top the track is rough as before, but it's much better than some Asian roads I've ridden on.

Before long I'm past the fork where the Hindu temple is and heading down and back onto tarmac.

It's a narrow quiet road and after covering a few K I brake to a halt at a single-room cafe and opt for a lemon-soda, which is really just an excuse as I simply want to take a photo of an elderly woman's face who is stood nearby.

Ankola is a small town a few K away and I use the one internet place near the bus station and watch my bike out of its first-floor window.

The day is drifting by. It's just after one o'clock and the temperature is at least 30C as I cycle up the small road that leads further north. I wonder where the 17 is.

There's a small port that appears out of the blue and men are gathering red nylon nets onto a rustic fishing boat and I take their photo and also some of the nearby fish that have been neatly sorted into types for whatever reason. It looks like an art installation.

The cycling is nice as the road is quiet and I stop for sugarcane juice and have three glasses then the vendor gives me an extra one. Cheers.

Not long after the narrow route T's into the 17, which actually isn't too bad, but it's pretty hilly in this area and I need my smaller gears at times and the climbs go on for a few K and I think about where I may end the day and see signs for Kalwar and think that'll do. It's 20 km away.

My average speed is quite high.

I bypass the town centre and keep on the 17 towards the resorts that are on an island and stop at the northern edge of Kalwar when I spot a sign for juice and see it's next to a hotel which looks okay. I have four juices - three of them orange.

The resorts will be around 3,000 rupees a night, yet this roadside hotel has different rates for various options -the cheapest one isn't available - so I check out the 'deluxe', which is far from it at 450 rupees a night then opt to look at an 'SP' room and the man behind the desk makes me laugh out loud when he explains this stands for 'Super Deluxe' and again this is silly and far-fetched, but as it costs just 600 rupees I decide to have it as it does have a less dank feel to it.

What do you get for the extra 150 rupees? A bit more space... the room seems cleaner... the window lets in more light and I have an office-type area where I can sit and use my laptop. And the bathroom is a bit bigger and there's a higher Watt bulb in there.

The screen on my Asus stays black when I plug it in and switch it on, so I can't edit any photos until it decides to play ball. Not sure when that'll be.

Instead I wash some clothes as the porter has turned on the water heater and says it's okay to hang my washing on the rooftop, which is what I do. Hopefully it'll be dry by morning as I've washed both pairs of baggy cycling shorts. Looking at the murky colour of water, they were surprisingly dirty.

Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 2,790 km (1,733 miles)

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