Jan. 10 : Mangalore, India

Tuesday, January 10 :: Mangalore, India :: 150km today / 2196km total

Up early, before sunrise. Fear is always a powerful motivator. Sliding out onto the road I was dismayed that it was at least 20C out. I gunned it, riding very hard, not getting off the bike for 50km... a quick Pepsi, then another uninterrupted 50km. Before 11 a.m. I passed the 100km mark, having 50km to go, so I could let up and take the rest of the ride easy. And it was a good thing, since the temperature skyrocketed again today, leaving me with a headache as I rolled into Mangalore. It took me quite a while to navigate through Mangalore's mangled network of streets, but the Indians are always friendly and helpful, and they guided me in.

The roads continue to be filled with carnage; today I passed 2 "fresh" accidents. The accidents always seem to be head-on truck-truck or truck-bus or bus-bus, and it's no surprise since these large vehicles act as if they own the road, passing very aggressively. I haven't seen any accidents involving tuk-tuks or scooters or motorcycles, so I'm in good company. I have seen a couple of local cyclists get nailed, and have almost hit some of them myself; Indian cyclists ride relatively quickly but weave tremendously, and often ride side-by-side with friends, seemingly oblivious to the road conditions around them.

While pondering the carnage situation I came to a sudden, shocking realization; in the 2200km I've ridden I haven't seen a single policeman patrolling the roads. There are police checkpoints, but no traffic cops out to nail speeders or people doing something stupid (believe me, this would be a major cash cow if they decided to do this). Lines on the roads are also commonly non-existent. So bascially the Indian Government, in their infinite wisdom, has decided that road traffic is a free-for-all. It may help with the overpopulation problem, but I'm not sure its good for the economy.