Team-BHP
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https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)
Has anybody seen this, seems like there is an Auto Rickshaw rally going on down South!!
Quote:
RICKSHAW RUN SEES HUGE THRILLS
34 teams head across 2k miles of India
Would you travel 2k miles in this?
The first eight days of the Rickshaw Run charity adventure in India have served up even more intrepid thrills than the teams expected. These include encounters with police, mechanical disasters, shocking pot-holed roads and heart-stopping winding mountain tracks.
On 28 December 2006, 34 teams from seven countries round the world left Cochin in Southern India to take on 2,000 miles of wild Indian terrain in wholly unsuitable 150cc three-wheeled auto-Rickshaws in aid of charity. The Rickshaw Run teams receive no support or back up and tackle the arduous journey on their own, including choosing their own route to Darjeeling.
One week into the Run, the teams are spread across the subcontinent getting into the kind of scrapes that are one man’s nightmare and another’s adventure. Reports of elephants blocking the road, traffic chaos, regular breakdowns and stunning scenery have dominated the team’s text messages posted live on the event Web site (see link below).
On Day 1, the teams were straight in at the deep end. Richard Birch, of Team Curried Away from Birmingham, UK, reported the mechanical and psychological challenges started right from the off:
“Rickshaw problems the first day involved our throttle going kaput - so that we couldn’t even drive up the hill in first gear! The next day we headed across the mountains and it was a real head-wreck to see these tiny rickshaws scaling the side of stark mountainsides!”
The terrain has caused mechanical mayhem across the fleet of auto rickshaws. The Dosa Boys from New Zealand “blew their engine”, Team Shanti Shanti from Bristol, UK, sent in this calm and collected report on day 3: “Apart from fuel tank falling off, so far so good!”
The next day, Team Punkah and Pelham, from London, UK, sent a similar message to the Rickshaw Run website: “Exhaust falling off but otherwise chugging slowly north over some pretty ropey roads.”
However, all the teams have overcome their mechanical problems with the help of locals along the way, who have apparently made them feel “like rock stars”!
The most astounding outcome of this first ever Rickshaw Run is the incredible pace of some of the teams. While the 34 teams are spread out all over India and most are not expected to finish until the 14th January, there are some teams already closing in on Darjeeling, to the disbelief of those following their progress.
Niraj Lama, the Rickshaw Run co-ordinator based in Darjeeling joked “they must have got a ride on the back of a truck” when he heard this report from Team Calamity Crew, from London, UK:
“Camped last night beside a tyre wallah - front forks are knackered and brakes too - doing 60 down the wrong side of the road - nearly at Calcutta - 1 team ahead of us.”
The first handful of teams are expected to smash all the predictions about the first ever Rickshaw Run and arrive in the hill station of Darjeeling any day with the majority of teams expected late next week, when an official arrival party will be held.
At the end of the Run, the auto rickshaws are being donated to charity in conjunction with Darjeeling Earth Group, monitored by international charity Mercy Corps Scotland. Overall the event hopes to raise between £35,000 and £45,000 for charity.
The first ever Rickshaw Run is sponsored by .travel.
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Source:
PistonHeads.com :: Speed Matters
A fellow bhpian Max8791 had particiapted in this rickshaw run along with two people from our U.K. head office. Max is my colleague and he had introduced me to Team-bhp. Just got a call from him (from Darjeeling) and his team came second in the race.
I was sceptical about an autorickshaw covering such a long distance and most of all climbing the road leading to Darjeeling. But they somehow managed. These auto will now be donated to a charitable organisation and will in turn provide livelihood to some needy people.
Their team is called the calamity crew, details on
Rickshaw Run - Adventures in the India. Max is the Doc.
Their website is
Indian Adventure . By the way, one is the IT manager in Delhi and the other is the IT manager in the U.K. office.
We had charted out an ad hoc route, laying stress on the Golden Quaditaleral which is almost complete and affords good roads. But then the Brits wanted to visit Goa also, so they must have cut across the Deccan to reach the Eastern coast side from Goa. Must have been quite exciting but everyone can guess how much comfort an autorickshaw's suspension would offer in such a long run and not to mention the average speed - hope it is not a single digit ;)
The very time i saw the Pics of a RickShaw Run..... Wow.... Nice Website Ashok.... great Search.
Hi folks,
If some of you are wondering where all the Tuk-Tuks went post-rally - I saw one of them just outside my doorstep. Apparently, some of the participants donated their auto rickshaws to an NGO here in town. Kudos!
P.S.: Thats my son in there!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rahul_intlad
(Post 348963)
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he is a TBHPian
Speedzak met him last dec.
We wanted to see him off before he started the trip and before we started the Kerala meet; but couldnt
Or was that auto gods?!! Today I was dumbfounded when I stumbled upon some marketing materials targetting the wide-eyed phirangs. These led me to a
crazy site as well!
These guys are selling some wierd concept of an auto rally. There are two route choices. Phirangs gotta shell out some 1200+ greenbacks (who else will!) to participate. Ingenious I must say. Though I fear to imagine what kind of a journey will it be criss crossing half the country in an autorickshaw... or even how safe!
Just go through
the crazy site these guys have put up. Have a look at all the yarn they have spun around this concept. Hilarious to say the least, I must say.
And just in case you are wondering the arc in the name 'Indianarc' stands for Auto Rickshaw Challenge. Go figure...
Sure - this is similar to a tonga ride at parks. We're used to it. Outsiders will relish this unique Indian "taste" on the other hand. I must admit its organizers clearly know their quarry.
There was a guy asking for directions and details for a similar (or the same) trip from some where in Kerala to Kolkatta. I think it was about 2 to 3 monhs back.
One thing is for sure. We are getting smarter by the day in marketing anything and everything in our backyards as novelty to the phirang world. I could not understand though who will drive the autos. Is it the paying tourist? What about license? They will have to procure 3-wheeler driving license I guess as car licenses do not allow you to drive 3-wheelers as far as I know.
Which also then brings up the issue that any new license takes at least a month to materialize under the law... So has to be a long planning. I wonder how the organizers are planning to overcome this hurdle.
hmm dont be surprised.. i participated in such run for a charity.. we were the second to reach darjeeling from cochin on an autorickshaw...
the ride was pretty comfortable....and took us 8days non-stop to complete.. the rickshaw was given to us as a private rickshaw .. temp number plate cause they were purchased in kerala and given to needed families in westbangal
There were 35 teams and each team atleast have 3 members approx.. some even have 4 member (the germans .. one dude was 6'2" they had to ripoff the rickshaw for him). There was no prize and was covered by media (cnn, bbc and lots more)
proud to be an rickshawrunner
team calamity crew
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