Johnie was still not feeling very well today but I felt much better. We headed to Gudalur to see if we could find a solution to my broken bike.
There were several solutions to the problem and I hoped that I might be able to at least succeed with one:
1. New component - this is not easy to get in normal Indian bike shops because there are only a small number of designs of Indian bikes. The problem with trying to find the component in this area is that there are not very many bike shops - let alone bike shops which sell Western style bikes. The area is very hilly and so bikes are not used as much here as in the coast areas of India.
2. A new thread cut on the metal component - we both thought that this would be easy to achieve in a city the size of Gudalur with so many engineers etc. We spend hours going between different engineers only to be told "Not possible Madame". Apparently as the metal is so strong and the part so thin it was not possible for them to cut a good enough thread.
3. Welding the a chunk of metal or a nut to the end. This would me that the component would no longer be quick release but at least it would get me on the road again. I was worried about this solution as I did not think that the weld would be strong enough. Therefore, we turned down the offer from various engineers to do this.
Having spent several hours wandering round town trying to find an engineer that could do the work or a bike shop that stocked a replacement part and failing miserably, we went out for lunch. Traveling is all about learning about new cultures etc and doing things like this really do give you an insight into how India differs to the West. I have no idea how anyone ever gets anything done in India.
Johnie took me for a drive around some of the little lanes around Gudalur to show me the beautiful tea plantations. It really is incredible around here. The recent rain has made all the flowers bloom and everywhere turn lush and green.
There had been a really bad accident on the road. It was difficult to see as it is unlikely that the drivers were wearing seat belts and so unlikely that they lived.
When we got back I went on the internet and found a bike shop in Bangalore that has the component and phoned them to ask if they could post it. They said that they would send the component today on 24 hour delivery. Johnie warned me about doing this (which is why I did not choose this option first of all) saying that the last thing that he ordered to be posted here took 3 months to arrive..... arrgggg.
It is strange that now that I can't actually leave whenever I want I feel trapped and frustrated! I would have loved to go to Gudalur by push bike today....
There were several solutions to the problem and I hoped that I might be able to at least succeed with one:
1. New component - this is not easy to get in normal Indian bike shops because there are only a small number of designs of Indian bikes. The problem with trying to find the component in this area is that there are not very many bike shops - let alone bike shops which sell Western style bikes. The area is very hilly and so bikes are not used as much here as in the coast areas of India.
2. A new thread cut on the metal component - we both thought that this would be easy to achieve in a city the size of Gudalur with so many engineers etc. We spend hours going between different engineers only to be told "Not possible Madame". Apparently as the metal is so strong and the part so thin it was not possible for them to cut a good enough thread.
3. Welding the a chunk of metal or a nut to the end. This would me that the component would no longer be quick release but at least it would get me on the road again. I was worried about this solution as I did not think that the weld would be strong enough. Therefore, we turned down the offer from various engineers to do this.
Having spent several hours wandering round town trying to find an engineer that could do the work or a bike shop that stocked a replacement part and failing miserably, we went out for lunch. Traveling is all about learning about new cultures etc and doing things like this really do give you an insight into how India differs to the West. I have no idea how anyone ever gets anything done in India.
Johnie took me for a drive around some of the little lanes around Gudalur to show me the beautiful tea plantations. It really is incredible around here. The recent rain has made all the flowers bloom and everywhere turn lush and green.
There had been a really bad accident on the road. It was difficult to see as it is unlikely that the drivers were wearing seat belts and so unlikely that they lived.When we got back I went on the internet and found a bike shop in Bangalore that has the component and phoned them to ask if they could post it. They said that they would send the component today on 24 hour delivery. Johnie warned me about doing this (which is why I did not choose this option first of all) saying that the last thing that he ordered to be posted here took 3 months to arrive..... arrgggg.
It is strange that now that I can't actually leave whenever I want I feel trapped and frustrated! I would have loved to go to Gudalur by push bike today....
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