‘Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge’ Team Making a Difference among Underprivileged
‘Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge 2017’ Team Making a Difference in the lives of the Underprivileged
Mangaluru: Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge 2017 is a unique adventure on auto rickshaws with participants from across the globe like UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, France, Ice Land, Finland, Canada, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, who made a pit stop in Mangaluru on Monday 14th August, 2017. The next day, Mangalore Round Table – 115 and Mangalore Ladies Circle – 82 in association with Rickshaw Challenge authorities flagged off the event for them from Government School, Panjimogaru, Mangalore at 9.00 am on 15th August, 2017 followed by breakfast for the school children. Before the flag off the participants joined the school children and Round Tablers and Circlers in marking the Independence Day of our country by unfurling the Tri Colour at 8:30 am in the school premises.
The Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge 2017 is an adventure Rally/ Challenge done on Auto-rickshaws- and this adventure runs from Mumbai to Chennai, taking the 30 international participants on their 14 rickshaws on an exhilarating journey across the breadth of the country. An approximately 2000 km adventure in a 7 horsepower glorified lawnmower (auto-rickshaw?) -that’s truly amazing! The “Rickshaw Challenge” is easily the least sensible thing to do just within 11 days travelling from Mumbai to Chennai. At each end of the Ride is a party of earth shattering proportions but what is between them is all down to the team members.
And luck – good or bad. No set route, no back-up, no way of knowing if they are going to make it. The only certainty is that they are bound to get lost, will get stuck and their vehicle will break down. It’s just the driver and the mates in a wholly unsuitable vehicle traversing the subcontinent enduring whatever the road has to throws at them. The aspiring adventurers come from countries as far as UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, France, Ice Land, Finland, Canada, Italy, Spain and Switzerland looking for an experience of a lifetime and this is exactly what this “M E R Challenge 2017” provides. In order to win the “M E R Challenge 2017, the participants will have to rely on the locals at each destination to guide them along to the next destination. Clearly it is all about human power.
The Rickshaw Challenge is a modern day, yet primitive, cannonball challenge ride across parts of India in a glorified-three wheeled auto-rickshaw. An epic journey across India that offers craziness and unexpected adventures at every turn. The Rickshaw Challenge is mad dash across the prescribed destinations where just making it to the finish line is an achievement. Put on by the clearly crazy individuals – it’s basically done on a tricycle with a lawnmower engine. “The Rickshaw Challenge isn’t a race – there’s isn’t a course, just a destination! We don’t know which team traveled the furthest because none of the odometers work ?” said Michael Day and Robert Altchison from USA, the team members of “Axles of Ignorance”.
Each team consists of one rickshaw and between one and three drivers. The Rickshaw is a vehicle designed to transport light loads over small distances on paved roads, making it a challenge to cover long distances. A short trip in a Bajaj auto-rickshaw is enough to convince you that the rickshaw is barely fit for the purpose of a brief journey across town. It’s only when you hit the open road or indeed off-road that the beauty of these vehicles becomes apparent. Nothing of the design of these noisy tripods is with comfort, safety or reliability in mind. Thus these rickshaws did put these participants right at the bottom of the Indian road hierarchy thus giving them perfect opportunity to see India from the gutter. Possibly the least suitable vehicle on the planet for covering the entire sub continent within two weeks. In other words: perfect.
“The rickshaws go about from 50 km-60 kmph -but you can’t speed up that way for long, since the engine may crank up. The engine is only about 7 horsepower, just under 150cc. You’ve got to pull the clutch in to shift, that’s one more thing that can break. Engines have been known to catch on fire while moving along at 60 km/h. The eight-liter tank has to be refilled basically every day. It’s two stroke, so you have to mix oil in with the petrol. We didn’t know that, so our rickshaw engine started doing some funny noises and got heated up releasing some fumes-but everything was okay. You can get about 150 k on a full tank – they’re very economical until they break down or you smash into something!” said team members Penelop Roy Dube (Canada), Violet Kels (France) and Nathanael Pepin- Coulorrbe (Canada) of “Not Fast, Not Furious”.
When asked about their experience with people they came across, bunch of team members said that people along their route were friendly, helpful and very courteous and gave them respect and provided them good hospitality when they needed. “Indian folks are the best people on this planet” they said. When asked about consuming Indian food during their rally, they all said that they enjoyed the Indian delicacies, especially veg dishes like Paneer Tikka, Dal Tadka, Gobi Manchurian etc – “Tandoori chicken and Chicken tikka was great at a roadside Dhaba. Loved the biriyani and kabab items. Here in Mangaluru we loved the Kori Rotti and Chicken Ghee Roast (Whoo..bit spicy!) and coconut added Chicken Sukka. Masala chai was excellent” said Blake Sterzinger and Stacia McClure, both from USA of ” Oh Yeaahh!!!” team.
“Anything and everything. We brought along some protein bars, which helped during long stretches on the road. Almost exclusively, though, we ate at local restaurants and roadside cafes (dhabas). We found that the dirtier the cook, the better the food was. We often liked the veg plates better than non-veg. Water, though, was the most important resource – especially when traveling through the crazy weather. Keeping stocked with bottled water was difficult at times, especially with 30 of us drinking more than 30-50 liters a day at times, said “3 Amigos/Salvation Army” members Craig Sharp, Mark Jones and Steven Males, all from New Zealand, jokingly.
“Had also few minor troubles-There are panty-snatchers…but not our fellow travelers- it’s the local wildlife. One team walked into a hotel room, and found a monkey digging through the luggage. They chased the cheeky chimp off with a big stick — these clearly being essential bits of kit for anyone taking part, but what did monkey make off with? Plenty of underwear ” joked the team members, Nick Anderson (UK) and Chase Baldwin (USA) of “9 Inch Males”. .
How does one come to drive a rickshaw down the coast of India? I asked- the lone girl on this adventure, Anne Maree Pearce (Australia) of “The Rickshaw Lady” who replied, “By joining one of these adventures puts us on exciting adventures for charity, and which describes us as “Purveyors of adventuring chaos the world over. We’re fighting to make the world less boring with a bunch of glorious old school adventures. We’ve entered the Rickshaw Challenge, a adventure that goes in/across/through India (Mumbai to Chennai, all whilst driving a rickshaw. We’re on the road for nearly 12 days)-feels great and awesome!”
Why are you doing this? I asked, “For fun, and in the spirit of unadulterated adventure. We have three goals: Support an awesome non-profit organizations, Experience and get excited by India…it’s a crazy, awe-inspiring place., and have a blast, but make it out alive- most important goal. What we get, besides a giant thank you, fame and fortune for assisting in this epic journey, and perhaps our first-born child, are perks ?” came back the answer from, “Dessert Gypsies” team members, David Grannell and Daniel O’Sullivan from Ireland.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean Tr Varadaraj Shenoy, Chairman-Mangalore Round Table – 115 said, “During the Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge 2017 participants will eagerly look forward to a number of mini- races and challenges on a daily basis through which the contestants will also get the opportunity to form a meaningful connection to the places they are visiting. They will not only enjoy the natural beauty of the rural countryside but also sample the local cuisine and culture. Along the way, the participants of will be making a difference to the lives of the underprivileged by raising funds for various projects of Round Table India under their Flagship program “Freedom Through Education.” Social responsibility is very close to the heart of the Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge 2017. Madras Midtown Round Table – 42 (MMRT-42) is the exclusive Charity partner anchor for all the Rickshaw Rallies. For this “Challenge 2017″, MMRT 42 is working closely with Mangalore Round Table – 115, and the event is owned and conducted by Chennai Event Management Services.”
With so much to achieve and such little time, the participants of the Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge 2017 have their work cut out for them. The stage is set for the grandest of all challenges – a unique opportunity to the lovers of adventure to push their boundaries harder and higher and to prove their mettle in the great outdoors. While I enjoyed just a short in the company of these great adventurists, I would like to compliment them for being bold and brave in undertaking this adventurous rally, and I wish them best of luck. Great guys! Great Lasses-loved them all and their new friendship-hoping to keep in touch with them forever. Long live the “Rickshaw Challenge” heroes!
About Round Table India & Mangalore Round Table 115:
Round Table India is an organization of non-political and non-sectarian young men between the age group of 18 to 40. The aim of the young men is to promote service, fellowship and goodwill in National and International affairs. It has a membership of 2,500 like-minded professionals spread across a network 75 cities and towns in India. It is a part of Round Table International, a global organization with a presence in 54 countries and a strong network of 36,000 members. Our National Project is “FREEDOM THROUGH EDUCATION” in pursuit of educating 1 million children. The current status: half a million children educated and about 750 schools built with a total spend of over Rs 80 crores. Eminent personalities like Super Cop Kiran Bedi, Lead India winner R K Mishra, Kajol and Ajay Devgan, Sabeer Bhatia, Narain Karthikeyan and Madhavan have supported Round Table India in its mission to educate underprivileged children by being voluntary Goodwill Ambassadors.
We are a ZERO overhead organization. All administration expenses of Round Table India and member tables are met from membership collections alone. Donations received are strictly utilized for Charity only, for which we have a separate Charity Account. Almost 95% of the members are professionals or businessmen. We are doing this as a passion – purely voluntarily – out of our own interests. Hence there is very high focus on accountability / quality and deliverables.
For more information on Round Table India please visit our website www.roundtableindia.org.