March 30, 2025 to April 5, 2025
TIEEDI or not
I woke up early and did a bit of cleaning in the temple compound as a gesture of gratitude before setting off for TIEEDI in Sonada. TIEEDI, a permaculture teaching center, came highly recommended by my friends. I started early on my bike and reached Siliguri by 8 or 9 a.m. Stopping at a roadside shack for breakfast, I was pleasantly surprised to see the lady serving food on reusable plates. She had only four or six, so customers had to wait while she cooked and cleaned. Despite the extra work and lack of running water, she adopted “green” practices, bringing water in a bucket to wash the plates and serving fresh food in reusable cutlery.
The heat was intense, as I climbed through the foothills of the Himalayas and I stopped often to rehydrate. In the mountains, the villages—or “bustys”—have spring water that is incredibly refreshing and, fortunately, still potable.
I struck up conversations whenever I could but mostly kept moving. Life here is simple and hard. I felt a bit sad knowing I’d soon forget Assamese, but I was glad to have the chance to relearn Nepali—a language and culture I’d fallen in love with on my last visit to this region.
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As I climbed higher, the heat of the day made my head feel even hotter. I finally reached Kurseong, not far from TIEEDI, but by then it was dark and cold. While I can ride in the cold, I wasn’t keen on navigating NH-55 at night, so I stopped at a roadside homestay. I ended up sitting down for chai and food, deciding that TIEEDI would have to wait.
I needed to clear my head, take care of some chores, and train for my ultramarathon, so I stayed at the homestay longer than planned. I spent over a week in this little hamlet, hiking into the foothills and down into the tea estates, making new friends, and learning valuable lessons about humanity, humility, and hard work.
I also came to understand why so many people from here migrate to distant, sometimes hostile, parts of South India to make a living. It was truly saddening to realize how close-knit these families and communities are, yet how poverty, lack of work, and opportunities force them to leave.
Today's ride: 75 km (47 miles)
Total: 2,584 km (1,605 miles)
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