Day 19 - Ajanta to Ellora

I chose not to ride again today. I’m not forcing myself to ride. I feel physically better and so far most people are doing better today. One other person did not ride today because they are still a bit under the weather. Now I’m wondering if what we had was a virus and not food poisoning?

Tomorrow is another rest day to see the caves of Ellora.

After Ellora we’ll be down to the final 10 rides of the trip. We’ve got a five day riding stretch coming up after Ellora which I’m sure will push people hard, then a two day rest period in Mumbai.

After Mumbai three days riding, rest day, three days riding and we’re at our final destination of Goa.

I’ve chosen to miss rides and I have not been too tired to do all of the cultural outings. Realizing I don’t plan to come back to India anytime in the future. Much of the riding is hot and dusty with rough roads or intermittent rough roads. Not in and of itself a bad thing. It’s been challenging riding for me and I did expect that.

My bike has performed magnificently. I’ve had no mechanical problems and my tires have stayed in good condition with no flats other than the first day. Mainly the long miles and hot afternoons are more than I’m used to doing over an extended period of time, I started to feel like I just wanted every ride to be over and was not enjoying it. I’m grateful I can pick and choose my rides and no one cares other than me, 😆. I think I will have taken a 5 or 6 day break from riding after our rest day at Ellora. I’m planning to start riding again at least half days. We’ll see how it goes.

I don’t think we’ve been on one continuously paved road except when we’ve gotten on big highways. Every road you ride has washed out sections, speed bumps dirt, gravel and pot holes galore. You’ll just start to build up some momentum and then yikes put on the brakes for a bump, a hole, gravel sections, etc. with all of that people are plugging away and putting in mile after mile! 💪🏽

The tour is full of experienced long tour riders… what was I thinking 🤔 when I signed up for this? Well I was thinking about an adventure and that’s what this trip has been! So far so good! Even with my lapse in riding I’m enjoying the experience of India.

I haven’t really talked about the tour guides yet. The tour guides are FANTASTIC! All super knowledgeable, supportive and just downright wonderful people. They have been very flexible and rolled with the punches. Pivoting to accommodate the ups and downs of long tour ride dilemmas. Bravo! 👏🏼👏🏼

Ellora Caves

The Ellora Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Maharashtra, India. They are a complex of Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain rock-cut caves and are considered one of the most impressive examples of ancient Indian rock-cut architecture.

Fields and fields of garlic today

Cotton fields

Street food

My friend Margo giving the Thumbs up 👍🏽