The world in slow motion

There are three things I look forward to during breakfast at Walton’s homestay: the masala omelette made with the spiciest home-grown curry leaves by Mrs Walton, the strongest black coffee whose unending supply is ensured by her comely daughter Charlotte and meeting other guests. During these jentacular jaunts I have come across travellers from so many different places and with such delightful tales that I finally made peace with what Mr Walton told me many years ago: ‘No, I don’t travel. In fact, I don’t have to travel – the more interesting stories come to me right here.’

He had then leaned back from his expansive, old wooden table, peered at me over his shell glass frames and chuckled merrily. To suppress my disenchantment – it was the first time somebody ever admitted to not needing to travel – I looked around at the hundreds of books that surrounded him in his office of the ‘house by the side of the road.’ One of the widely read guys I have met, Mr Walton was very generous with his knowledge and resources: he would always gift a book to my friend every time I stayed there but to me he would say ‘you will come again.’ When the Dutch royalty recently visited Kerala they had their fill of colonial history and remnant footprints from Mr Walton, the ‘innkeeper’, as he likes to call himself. 

Memories on the go – Robyn with tea workers of Assam

When I recently checked in for a weekend the innkeeper was ardently explaining to an intently listening weather-beaten couple the nooks and crannies of Fort Kochi and surrounding areas from a hand-drawn map he had made himself. With Mr Walton around introductions were never perfunctory, brief hellos become prolix bios, total sit down affairs. As with most Indians, for me the second minute is as good as the second year when it comes to familiarity and I am fairly voluble with my curiosity. Robyn and Bruce were from Canada and cycling through India. Except for the northeast and central India, they had covered the rest – something they had been at since the 80s. A coeval couple, married for 40 years, they had been together since high school. Theirs was a pounce-worthy romance – a tale of grit, grind and infinite understanding. Of shared life mission and legacy building.

Later that day returning after showing the Jew Synagogue to my friend I saw them cycling towards Mattancherry in perfect cadence; they manoeuvred the parked spice trucks effortlessly without fitful braking, imperceptible oscillations accommodated incoming traffic. They appeared inured, amused really, by the incessant honking and passed us with all the ease and grace of cycling through an allee instead of the narrow, bustling, cacophonous market road it actually was.

Their favourite destinations are different. For Bruce it is Himachal.

Sonder is the new traveller enlightenment. This realisation that others too have lives equally complicated and sometimes even more exciting than yours happen very often at communal dining areas. Why I look forward to breakfast at Walton’s. Having missed a dinner appointment, we were there early only to find Robyn and Bruce had arrived earlier. Over spicy omelettes and strong coffee, the cycling super couple from Cochrane weren’t one bit bonked to share their experiences and tips. Robyn’s family owned the famous MacKay ice cream from Cochrane and the first thing she bought working for her father in the factory was of course, a bicycle. Robyn and Bruce met in high school and have been together for so long that they ‘cannot remember a life without each other.’ Besides a personal setback, a love for bicycling and of course the non-negotiable wanderlust they have been taking ‘a 360-degree view of the world, in slow motion’ for more than 40 years. 

Bikepacking, the beginning

We have both been cycling since we were small kids in our Rocky Mountains hometown. Cycling has been woven very much into the fabric of our lives. We have travelled to a total of 20 countries so far beginning in the 80s. Our first bicycle tour was in India for two months cycling from Bombay (as it was called then) to the southern tip and up to Madras in 1989. 

In the early 90s we found out we were unable to have children. Instead of being devastated about what some couples would consider a loss, we rerouted our lives and decided to experience the world in slow motion on our bicycles and bring the joy and experience back to our nieces and nephews.  The commitment to sharing our journeys around the world is what we are trying to document these days. 

Bruce and Robyn – an infrequent selfie

India is special

Our favourite destination is India.  We think of India as a collection of 29 countries mistakenly set into the boundaries of one body. The people of each state we cycle tour through proudly shares their unique culture, customs, religious practices, clothing, food and language with us. From the heights of the majestic Himalayas to the sandy shores and tea plantations of the south we have pedalled to the heartbeat of the history of the world’s major religions immersing ourselves in a diversity and beauty we haven’t found anywhere else in the world. India is our religious super store. Carrying no god ourselves, we have been the grateful beneficiaries of the beauty of the Indian people’s beliefs. India has taught us the art of living with love, acceptance and compassion. Although the crush of humanity and heartbreaking poverty is a challenge we do not shy away from the complete experience India has to offer.

Some unforgettable Indian memories…

We do have a ‘best of’ experience from each of our trips. Some of them are:

• Spending a day at The Golden Temple in Amritsar.
• Pitching our tent in a rain storm in a stranger’s orchard in Himachal Pradesh and the owner comes down to invite us to his house.
• Cycling in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat when we came up to a police check post in the middle of nowhere and the duty officers waved us over. They made us get off our bikes and sit on their chairs. We thought it was going to be some endurance event of passports being dug out of our saddle bags followed by the security interview. Instead, the officers reached behind a desk and pulled out small cups of ice cream. There on the side of the road in a dust storm I cried tears of bliss.
• The suffocating exuberance and hospitality of the amazing Assamese.
• Staying on a houseboat with the Wangnoo family in Nageen Lake in Kashmir.
• Quietly poking our heads out of the door of our tent at dawn while camping high in the Himalayas in the hope of seeing a snow leopard.
• Waking up in a Ladakhi home that has taken you in for the night and finding two small children nestled in your sleeping bag with you.

There have been some harsh experiences too which I will never forget. These involve witnessing human and animal suffering. We once watched a Dalit child die on the side of the road in Jammu because no one would help.  The hospital security refused to open their gates and no passerby would stop to help.

A 360-degree view and an olfactory overdrive

Why bicycle?

We remain undaunted and believe our bicycles are two-wheeled ambassadors that build a bridge to pedal us into the intimate lives of the people we meet.  We take the pleasure and pain of our journeys to be lessons of the dark and light of humanity itself. While cycling through the back roads of India we have a responsibility to not only accept everything we see and not impose Western values, but to leave a positive impression. People we meet see how hard we work to visit their state, embrace their values, religious practices and cultures. Our mode of transportation allows us to experience both beauty and despair in sensory high definition.

Only on a bicycle would you experience moments such as:

• The wonder of the scent of tea leaves after a monsoon shower and to be invited to work with the tea pickers for an afternoon.
• To hear the sound of a pressure cooker in a small hut on the side of the road while grinding up the endless climbs in the foothills of Himachal Pradesh and be waved in for fresh lentils and rice.
• To ride into the heart of the Kumbh Mela and be taken by hands to the side of the Ganges river to send blessing to those loved ones we have lost.
• To hear a transport truck plowing through the snow of a sudden snow storm on the Baralacha Pass and have Mr. Singh the driver stop and toss my bicycle on his roof and take me over the danger of the road ahead.
• To feel the soft rain on our faces in the hill stations of Kerala.
• To feel the dread the upcoming wind will blow against us when we hear the subtle whirling sound of giant windmills in the distance.
• To hear the ‘honk talk’ of vehicles behind us telling us what is coming and what is going to happen, the Morse code of the roads in India.
• To smell the scent of fresh parathas being fried on the street side of small towns.
• To hear the clang of temple bells for a festival or wedding we stumble upon and are invited in to experience.
• To recognize the smell of death before we reach the body of the deceased.

Mandatory yes. But on a bicycle!

Preps before a trip

We both lead an active lifestyle that includes exercise every day. We are also fortunate to have had occupations that do not tie us to a chair and a desk and keep us in motion all day long. Our recreation time is biking, skiing, hiking and canoeing in the majesty of the Canadian Rockies. We live a healthy lifestyle and keep a good base of fitness year round. We are the kind of people who need a ‘sit bit’ instead of a ‘fit bit.’

One pedal at a time

We believe that there are many ways to travel the world and each way is rewarding in its own. For us there are tourists who enjoy the sights with guides and organized itineraries, travellers who ride local transport and set their own itinerary. The writer Wade Davis inspired us to experience ancient wisdom in our modern world by exploring our surroundings under our own power one pedal stroke at a time.

The most motivational and deep rooted message we could say to anyone that is considering embarking on a long distance bicycle trip is not to have a deadline or a strict schedule.  Be open to change and do not quantify anything.  It doesn’t matter how many miles you ride but what you experienced. Pedal for the journey not the destination and learn something new every day.  

After breakfast at Walton’s – with Bruce and Robyn

Some tips for cycling enthusiasts 

We lay out our gear into separate piles on the floor in front of our saddle bags and then we go through and purposely slash it in half. Because of the restricted space we take a regimented amount of clothing that we can layer for warmth or for wet weather. All of our clothing is multi-purpose and breathable for sweat and cold/rain.  Fashion is not a factor but practicality is. We have a first aid kit that we can treat most minor injuries with, mediation for stomach disorders we may encounter, a water filter and of course a comprehensive repair and tool kit for the bikes. We carry a tent if we are going to an area that will be a long distance of remote travel and always carry a mosquito net. There will be an emergency complex carbohydrate powder, electrolytes and leave room in our saddle bags for locally purchased packaged snacks.  Once we get all our gear together we pack it and weigh it not letting the weight exceed 20 kg.

No matter what, enjoy the ride!

Others: Every day that you cycle make sure there is flexibility and always have a Plan A and a Plan B, maybe even a Plan C. Don’t book any accommodation, tours or events ahead of time except for a hotel room upon arrival. Weather, mechanical, health and interest in your surroundings dictates your speed and distance. A snow storm, head wind, stomach ache, broken chain and most importantly a chance encounter with people can slow you. Embrace the change and be creative. Be willing to stop or slow your plan. If you do, you will meet people that will change your life.

And most importantly, enjoy the ride, no matter what.