Day 2 - Rickshaw Rally - Chennai to er Chennai

Things started well for team Adventure before Dementia who hit the starting line in Kilts and Glen Garries, grouse feathers wafting in the breeze.  Many of the other teams have also adopted this dressing up approach with one thing in common - we're all going to melt in the heat today as Chennai hits 29 degrees.

The Spam Fritters are dressed as monks, complete with bald pate wigs, Doggy Style and Dancing Tiger are all furred up but the prize for least appropriate costume goes to Monocom for their homage to Saville in a shiny bacofoil suit with matching rubber horse head masks.

Team Dancing Tiger and a H&S conscious John

Bumbling Bees and Mrs Doggy Style

We're waved off at 9:30 from Chennai and head for Puducherry - it's about 140km and should take about 4-5 hours.  Navigating Chennai's streets is a little difficult and we soon have a small convoy of four rickshaws - all heading the wrong way.

A recurring theme - stopping to share directions

We quickly realise our error and attempt a u turn at a busy junction.  We think we're in trouble when a traffic cop appears from nowhere and points out that this is an illegal manoeuvre.  We smile and he holds up the traffic whilst we all negotiate the turn

From here it should be plain sailing as it's a long straight road but trouble strikes us when our rickshaw loses all power and refuses to restart.  We push the vehicle to the kerb and check the fuel - there's none.

We attract a beggar's attention and he tries to help by offering to push - he doesn't speak English and we don't speak Hindu, but we quickly realise he has no idea where the next petrol station is.  Instead we flag down a rickshaw and the driver agrees to take me, and the beggar to a garage to get fuel whilst John guards the gear.  It's a long drive and I worry what I've let myself in for but the driver does a great job and after about 30 minutes we're back at the rickshaw filling her up from a lemonade bottle.

Helpful rickshaw driver and hapless beggar

We're gladdened when two of our fellow team mates appear in the form of the Bumbling Bees and Between Dreams with a further supply of fuel.  Unfortunately, fuel is the least of our worries and the rickshaw refuses to restart despite the best endeavours of our lovely rickshaw driver.  He even calls a couple of his mechanics but they tell us that it's more serious muttering 'the head gasket'

We're clearly going nowhere and with only 10km done we tell our team mates to press on whilst we call International Rescue.  It's 11am, it's hot, our phone stops working and we're in a pickle.

But our luck changes because we've broken down outside of a cheap hotel / restaurant which pulls out all the stops to help us, including providing refreshments, calling their own mechanics and letting us use their mobile phones to summon aid.

The scene of our breakdown - lucky for us the staff here were on hand to help

Guys - thanks for all your help

To cut a long story short without their help we'd have been stranded - as it was we wait until 3pm before our mechanics arrive and strip down the engine in the street.  Mechanic 'Tiger' is an absolute whizz

Tiger to the rescue

Unfortunately, by the time repairs are completed we won't be able to finish this leg of our journey in daylight so whilst an experienced driver takes our rickshaw, we complete the journey in an air con taxi.  We hope for a better performance tomorrow.