Jan .1 : Mandangarh - more problems

Saturday, January 1 :: Mandangarh, India :: 70km today / 1373km total

I woke up to the sound of the sea and seagulls... nice. The room, however, had been quite marginal and I was anxious to get on the road. I decided to continue down the coast, improvising where the map failed for lack of detail. Initially I rode VERY cautiously... one eye on the road, one eye on the welds... but the welds would hold, for at least 2 days.

The scenery was magnificent... the Western Ghats (mountains) meet the Arabian Sea here, and there were many breathtaking views all day in all directions. The road itself was poorly surfaced, tortuously twisting, swooping, climbing, switchbacking, descending. A tough, bumpy ride, leaving me sore all over.

Around 50km in I realized something was wrong with the bottom bracket (pedal axle). It was loose and clanking. Sigh. Here we go again. Knowing that riding on it would only make it worse I dismounted and started to walk. After a few truck rides, 10km of walking, and lots of downhill coasting, I pulled into Mandangarh, a very very poor town in the middle of the Ghats. I checked into a cheap but overpriced 70 rupee room ($1.75), in the only "hotel" in town. I dropped the bike off at a local bike shop and had a great but greasy chicken fried rice dinner.

Returning to the mechanic he said he "fixed it", but was unable to get inside the bottom bracket... I had my doubts. I returned to my "room" for an unpleasant night and a questionable tomorrow.