Rickshaw Run 1st Update From the Road
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I am traveling 2,000 miles through India by motorized rickshaw, raising $15,000 for charity: water. While I’m sweating buckets, becoming one with my horn, avoiding cows, and getting grease under my nails on the road, you can follow along with my Instagram updates kindly put together by Cailin O’Neil of Travel Yourself.
The rickshaws are looking pretty sexy, getting ready for their launch on Sunday! We spent the day running around town getting oil, jerry cans, spark plugs, glass cleaner, a tarp, and pricing stereo installations. More pimping will happen tomorrow. Plus, we already had to have a clutch repair – but she seems to be running better now. Our driving skills also saw a bit of improvement today. At least we learned how to start the thing ourselves when we stall it!
This article is part of the Rickshaw Run series
Driving a rickshaw from Cochin (southern India) to Shillong (northern India) – a distance of approximately 2,000 miles depending on what route we decide on. I’m not in this alone. Team Drive, Sleep, Rupeet is made up of two adventurous women. My teammate Charlie Grosso is one bad-ass chick and an incredible friend.
We are primarily doing this to raise money for charity: water, a non-profit organization that brings clean, safe drinking water to people in developing countries.
Table of Contents
Pimpin’ our ride
Learn more about the Rickshaw Run
Packed and ready to go!
Gettin’ local
Update from the road – Day 1
An early start on very little sleep – had us rolling through the start line, and killing it, losing the team we were supposed to follow, realizing our alignment was screwed up, and our tire was severely low, and that landed us at a mechanic within 5 minutes of starting!
However, what we learned today is that even though we lost everyone we were supposed to convoy with – it didn’t matter – we kicked butt and did it all by ourselves. We drove a numbing, high-pitched 180 km today, we think – but with a non-working odometer and speedometer, we really have no idea!
People were completely dumbfounded when they would see us drive by (especially because we were women) – which was my favorite part – the surprise on their faces and then the joy. The woman at the gas station looked at us as if we were two unicorns and said, “Where is your driver?” After we explained our mission, we had a photo shoot with the entire gas station crew.
We had a news crew chase us down on the highway for an interview…literally chase us down. Yes, that’s right, we are going to be in the paper next to big Bollywood stars, I’m sure. We figured out how to get gas, drive on the left side of the road (most of the time), and sweet-talk policemen. All in a day’s drive on the Rickshaw Run.
Not many pics today – because the internet is horrible! But collecting a ton!
Read More About The Rickshaw Run
Get Ready for the Rickshaw Run
This article may contain affiliate links where I make a small commission for purchases you make from links that you click from this article. By…Water World
This article may contain affiliate links where I make a small commission for purchases you make from links that you click from this article. By…Sleepless in India – It’s Real Now
This article may contain affiliate links where I make a small commission for purchases you make from links that you click from this article. By…
This looks like so much fun! I want to try the Mongol Rally too. Can’t wait.
OMG… I so would like to be with you. That’s some adventure you are on! I don’t know if I’d have the courage to drive in THAT traffic 🙂 Be safe!