The ride began at 7:00 AM on 24 August in Kanyakumari. Vignesh had set up everything so smoothly that all I had to do was mount the bike and breathe. Riders from Team Warriors De turned up at dawn, added energy to the flag-off, and rode alongside for the first stretch. We rolled together for roughly 20 km, shared a quick tiffin, shook hands, and they turned back while I kept my line toward Tirunelveli.
The road took me through Panagudi and Nanguneri. The heat picked up fast—one of those days when the tar seems to shimmer and every sip of water feels like a rescue. After a long gap from sustained touring, the 79 km felt honest. Not heroic, not dramatic—just steady work under a hard sun.
By evening I reached the outskirts of Tirunelveli and decided not to push further. A petrol pump became the day’s finish line. I rinsed the sweat from my jersey, washed a set of clothes, refilled bottles, and let the noise of trucks become background music. Bhairava handled the day like a pro—calm at halts, alert on the move, and quick to settle once we stopped.
It wasn’t a grand first chapter. It was better than that: a clean start, good company at the flag, a testing head of heat, and a practical halt. The kind of day that reminds why distance cycling is more routine than romance—eat, ride, hydrate, adjust, and rest. Tomorrow, the wheels point toward Sivakasi.
Tent note: tonight’s little mystery
I pitched the tent and turned in with Bhairava curled up by my head for reasons known only to him. By dawn he was outside the tent, tail up and face innocent—but the campsite wasn’t the same as I’d left it. Something didn’t survive the night. I’ll share what he destroyed in tomorrow’s update.
