On the Friday morning, the last day of riding, I wasn't sure of having a bike to ride, as the mechanics had been so late back they hadn't done any work at night. Indeed my bike never came off the truck. I was just starting to despair when Andy the Yorkshireman came up and said he wouldn't be riding as his wrists were wrecked. He ad missed the first 2 days ride due to a gastric infection, and a girl had borrowed his bike only to wreck the front suspension. A mechanic summed it up: "the forks - they go down, but they don't come up". Andy had ridden 200 km on this bike with no front suspension - a "hard nose chop" as we called it. His wrists were sore and he didn't want to ride it. Nurse Izzy said it wouldn't be a good idea for me to ride it as my shoulder would be stiff, so Barney volunteered to take the broken bike and I rode his domestic model.

The performance of this bike was SO much better than mine; it was louder, quicker and much crisper when changing up. After 130 fairly easy kilometres Barney was exhausted on the broken bike so we swapped over. I found it wasn't too bad, but the roads were fairly smooth where I was riding it. As we dropped down through the hills towards the end at Calicut we were diverted into a sports club were we regrouped to ride into town in a triumphal convoy. The locals screamed and waved, and we were much neater than in the parade on day one! Apart from a couple of stalls the whole group got in to the Taj hotel without incident. We were dirty, sweaty and exhausted, but we had made it! We checked in, had a hot shower, then relaxed over an ice cold beer. In the evening an incredible display of martial arts, a rock concert put on by the Enfield factory, and a slide show about the hospital we were helping finished off the evening. We were gusts of honour at the concert and the response was incredible - the locals were shaking our hands and even kissing them! Just like being a rock star!

A meal and another beer finished the day off, and a good night's sleep set us up for the 12 hour bus ride back to Trivandrum. When we got there, terrified by the traffic (it was less scary riding through the traffic on a bike as you at least had some control) the flight was late, so we hit town for some food. Opposite the hotel where we ate was a little motorbike shop, so I bought a domestic model silencer for about 8 pounds which should transform the handling of the bike when it arrives back in the UK! Thankfully all the bikes will be rebuilt by the factory before being shipped.

Indian customs had a fit when they saw this strange cylindrical item going thorough the meal detectors; I made sure I told them it was a motorcycle exhaust, not a silencer for a Bullet!

The trip home was uneventful, and at Heathrow we all went our separate ways. It was a bit odd, as we had been together 24 hours a day for 8 days. A very intense experience, and one that will be with me all my life.

The next trip is going to be in the Himalayas at the end of the year - will I see you there?

Ian Ellison

2nd February 1999.