Continued...
Once we got to Mannar we checked into the 'Mannar Guest House'.
Having now experienced the good, the bad and the downright fugly (fucking ugly) in terms of accommodation, we came in expecting the worst. At first site, picture the outcome of a Macaw raped by Liberace.. then toss in a generous mix of concrete statues of multiple hues, the most garishly ornate metal spiral staircase humanly imaginable and if that weren't enough, multi coloured floor tiles, fuzzy curtains and furniture and you may get close to the visual horror of our abode for the night. I need to warn you that anyone who suffers from migraine should avoid this place at all cost. See it in bright light and you will be writhing in agony within minutes.
Before you enter, in a small glass fronted room that double as a 'reception' is the 'manager'. A surly, undershirted fellow who seemed to control everything from the remote controls to the AC's, to the soap, towels and spare sheets; all stacked rather haphazardly along with a mix of groceries and his clothes... shirts, pants and of course a pile of undershirts, which seemed to be his particular fashion choice.
In the middle of this mess is a fridge stocked full of cool beer. What more can a tired man ask for. Having asked 'Scrooge' for a beer and been given one, after painstakingly taking down my room number on a single ruled note book, he grudgingly gave one and then a second glass from some unseen contained below his table and Charlene and I joined the others in a welcome beer.
Now having given you the visual of the place, i have to tell you that if you could ignore the decor and architecture from hell, and the miser in the 'reception' who's beady eyes follow your every move, you have a clean, comfortable, air-conditioned room, with a working toilet, good water pressure and all the comforts a tired rider needs to re charge his / her batteries for the next ride to come.
Our next destination from here was a brutal 180km haul through the Wilpattu National park to Chilaw. While riding in Jehan had a brilliant idea. 'Since the ride was so long, why don't we do a nite ride of 45km's to Sillawaturai, which is the last proper town before the jungle stretch and start our morning ride that much close to Chilaw?'. Absolutely no objections from anyone, and we all showered, gobbled down the food that had been provided by the Navy (Ravi had made arangments for us again) avoiding 'Scrooge's' culinary delights and flopped into our beds to get a couple of hours sleep before we hit the road again and the scheduled time for 5.30 pm.
As is always the case, sleep never seems to be adequate and in what seemed like an instant after i closed my eyes, the irritating buzz of my alarm had me bolt upright and wondering for a moment when Alice and the Rabbit would skip through my candy coloured room.
The nite ride was a brilliant idea. In spite of what we had done in the morning, we had an awesome ride to our stop, cool breeze and moonlight accompanying us; a far cry from the usual condition. We stopped along the way for an amazing meal of hot hot Egg Roti's washed down with sweet tea that hit every 'spot' i could think of. sprits were high and everyone was anticipating the 'dream' ride through Wilpattu we faced the next morning. On our return to 'Wonderland', a fairly decent dinner was prepared but an immediate complaint came from Scrooge who was frazzled that 'people were eating more than one piece of chicken'. Having duly dismissed him we continued our meal.
My colleagues Lalith and Sanjeewa had made the drive up to see us and we had a chat and a quick drink out in the parking lot for a few minutes before we rolled in to our beds.
Our dawn snack was supposed to have been jam sandwiches and fish sandwiches. We were given piles of lightly toasted bread that appeared to have had an accidental brush with a knife that had once made contact with Jam, and fish sandwiches, where that fish had appeared to have swum away to a distant ocean. This time it was Shivi's turn to howl and some hasty damage control was done by scrooge and his cahoots and we were happy to see the last of that place. Never to visited again.
We switched to mountain bikes on the next section. The ride began at Sillawathurai and we had 26km's of riding to the Wilpattu gate. that was made 32 as we had a un planned detour for breakfast at an [albeit spectacular] Naval base. Cool weather and energy coming at a premium i can't say i was happy with this senseless detour but never the less grateful for the effort taken. We then rolled on to the section that was the highlite of my ride. The Wilpattu National Park.
I had driven this road on several occasions and riding through it on a bicycle was a big ticket item on my bucket list. I would have loved to have ridden through it in 28 Degree weather, on a cloudy day, with a mild drizzle dampening the dust and a cool wind blowing from behind.. However what i had to settle for was 40 Degree heat, scorching sun, and clouds of dust every time a vehicle passed. Approximately 35km of off road riding. Threat of elephants was real but we were told 'they generally come out in the evening'.
In spite of this being a 'dream ride' it was still tough and hot and we had our share of tumbles but still it was spectacular. Riding through thick jungle that sporadically gave way to open 'tanks' of water and grasslands that were synonymous with this beautiful park was an experience not to be forgotten; Bird and animal calls accompanied us; The occasional spotted deer and buffalo and the odd troop of Monkeys all added to the atmosphere as we rode on trying hard to appreciate the beauty of our surroundings in spite of the fatigue.
Having reached the gate and the 'carpet' road we got off our Mountain Bikes for the last time on the ride and switched to the street bikes to ride on to Chilaw. Still a hot, tiring 80km's away.
We kept good pace to Putlam, our lunch stop. Average speeds in excess of 24kmph on great roads with a few rolling hills and some nice long downhills. It was still hot but the regular stops and the support of the untiring crew of Ajani, Yasas's wife and professional backer upper, Shivi Jayasinghe, Caryl Van Dort and Shamlan Lye all of Leo Burnett was excellent as always.
These four, along with their colleague Surani 'Tall Sue' Perera and Krishi Kotalawela (both who joined for a few days)were absolutely incredible. Not only were they always at the right place at the right time, but always well stocked with ice, Milo, water, Jeevani, King Coconut water and a variety of sandwiches, and snacks to feed us and quench our thirst. In addition, their wit, humour and encouragement kept this exhausted rider going during many a rough patch. They always seemed to know when to drive alongside us with a cool bottle of water, a banana or a smart remark to make light of the situation. Its safe to say that without their amazing support this ride would have had a very different outcome.
Ajani in particular found her way to the most unmemorable part of the Mullaitivu Jaffana torture trail to single-handedly provide us with some welcome relief when most of us were one straw away from that metaphorical 'last straw'.
Thank you ladies and Shamlan. I bow deeply to you in gratitude and appreciation.
Putlam reached and a great meal of fried rice and devilled chicken consumed, we hopped back on the bike and rode on towards Chilaw and our last stop. For most, the ride was all but over. I sadly could afford no such luxury as my tired body was teetering on the edge of revolt and i was still unsure if there was a point where it would yell out one big 'fuck you' to me and shut down.
Therefore, i still rode reasonably conservatively and headed to our final night stop. Ajith, Sanjay, Charlene, Yasas (who back tracked to join us having taken off with the front pack) and I were a few minuted behind the rest. A short distance from the hotel, Yasas had the urge to have one more sweet tea and we stopped at a small roadside eatery. Peter, worried about our absence decided to come looking for us joined us again and an impromptu picnic was had, with Egg Roti, Gravy and of course Sweet Tea. for those who don't know what a sweet tea is, its basically a cup of tea made with a generous portion of sweet condensed milk and sugar resulting in a explosion of 'sweet' in your system. Jet fuel to riders.
Having had our snack we rode on to the hotel and settled in for our final night before the ride home. A dip in the pool, a few margarita's, many high fives and hugs and bed.
The final morning dawned with Lilantha one of the riders of the early segment and a couple of others joining us. Malik had re joined in Putlam and the humour and banter instantly turned up a notch. It was a bitter sweet feeling sitting there on the bikes for the last 'start' picture. I have to admit i was choking up when i told the guys and the crew how honoured i was to have ridden with them over the past few days and thanked them for being there for me and making sure i completed the ride.
We headed out into the cool morning to ride into Colombo and bring to a close The ride Around The Pearl.
A strong ride into Negambo, one last roti stop along the way and we were into the thick of the city traffic. Something i can't say we missed at all. Tuk Tuk's, insane bus drivers, suicidal pedestrians, it started all over agin. A few close calls along the way but in time we were rolling into the heart of the city. I was chocking up with emotion and while riding the last few km's i had issues with visibility as for some inexplicable reason, i seems to have got all teary. Very inconvenient when trying to avoid the rutty road but in spite of that, we were now outside the gathering point at St Bridgets and the ride was over. All that was left to be done was a ceremonial ride down Independence Avenue and the celebration at the 80 club.
We hugged each other, euphoric, sad, tired, relieved and a whole bag of other feelings and emotions. The twelve riders who completed the Pearl were set out in front and we made a slow ride for the last couple of hundred meters.
There were cars and people. Friends and family, well-wishers, supporters all lined the road. It was surreal. We were done. We had completed 'The Pearl'. My body was still intact and there was significantly less of it as well. my father came up to hug me, Charlene and I hugged, we hugged everyone around us, even though we were wet, grimy and probably smelled like farm animals. There were photographers and reporters and cheering crowds. People seemed to appreciate what we had done. We had ridden around our island nation, and lived to tell the tale.
Cerebral Palsy, is a largely ignore condition in these parts of the world. Most economically challenged families rather ignore and simply 'put away' a child afflicted with this condition than attempt to give the child any kind of 'normalcy' in their life.
We were riding to collect funds to buy a thousand wheel chairs. That meant a thousand children's life would change in one fell swoop.
Ten of these children were at the club to receive the first of the chairs. What i saw melted my heart. I fought hard to control my emotions and sadly had to avert looking at these children, contorted and strapped into their chairs for fear of losing it completely. I came to one realisation. With an amount of money that would be a portion of the bill of a good night out I could change a life. Anyone of us could. We could give a child who's life was confined to a room or a house, the gift of mobility. Most of these children have fully functional brains; minds; they now had a chance of at least experiencing the world around them; of seeing beyond a confined space. This is what these wheel chairs do.
On the ride, we suffered, but it was a voluntary suffering, that brought us a lot of satisfaction and a feeling of accomplishment, to us all. These children suffer with very little to look forward to. We can make a difference; if only we make the effort.
Thank you one and all of you for taking the time to read this blog... I conclude the part about the ride with this post. I hope you enjoyed reading it at least a tiny bit as much as i enjoyed writing it..
The Bone Marrow Diaries will continue. It is based on life experience of an average man who wants to go on living, parenting, loving, working, traveling, helping others and basically SUCKING THE MARROW OUT OF LIFE. In a month i turn 50. I look forward to the next chapter of my life and I look forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences with you.
Thank you again.
Blessings
Sarinda
Once we got to Mannar we checked into the 'Mannar Guest House'.
Having now experienced the good, the bad and the downright fugly (fucking ugly) in terms of accommodation, we came in expecting the worst. At first site, picture the outcome of a Macaw raped by Liberace.. then toss in a generous mix of concrete statues of multiple hues, the most garishly ornate metal spiral staircase humanly imaginable and if that weren't enough, multi coloured floor tiles, fuzzy curtains and furniture and you may get close to the visual horror of our abode for the night. I need to warn you that anyone who suffers from migraine should avoid this place at all cost. See it in bright light and you will be writhing in agony within minutes.
Before you enter, in a small glass fronted room that double as a 'reception' is the 'manager'. A surly, undershirted fellow who seemed to control everything from the remote controls to the AC's, to the soap, towels and spare sheets; all stacked rather haphazardly along with a mix of groceries and his clothes... shirts, pants and of course a pile of undershirts, which seemed to be his particular fashion choice.
In the middle of this mess is a fridge stocked full of cool beer. What more can a tired man ask for. Having asked 'Scrooge' for a beer and been given one, after painstakingly taking down my room number on a single ruled note book, he grudgingly gave one and then a second glass from some unseen contained below his table and Charlene and I joined the others in a welcome beer.
Now having given you the visual of the place, i have to tell you that if you could ignore the decor and architecture from hell, and the miser in the 'reception' who's beady eyes follow your every move, you have a clean, comfortable, air-conditioned room, with a working toilet, good water pressure and all the comforts a tired rider needs to re charge his / her batteries for the next ride to come.
Our next destination from here was a brutal 180km haul through the Wilpattu National park to Chilaw. While riding in Jehan had a brilliant idea. 'Since the ride was so long, why don't we do a nite ride of 45km's to Sillawaturai, which is the last proper town before the jungle stretch and start our morning ride that much close to Chilaw?'. Absolutely no objections from anyone, and we all showered, gobbled down the food that had been provided by the Navy (Ravi had made arangments for us again) avoiding 'Scrooge's' culinary delights and flopped into our beds to get a couple of hours sleep before we hit the road again and the scheduled time for 5.30 pm.
As is always the case, sleep never seems to be adequate and in what seemed like an instant after i closed my eyes, the irritating buzz of my alarm had me bolt upright and wondering for a moment when Alice and the Rabbit would skip through my candy coloured room.
The nite ride was a brilliant idea. In spite of what we had done in the morning, we had an awesome ride to our stop, cool breeze and moonlight accompanying us; a far cry from the usual condition. We stopped along the way for an amazing meal of hot hot Egg Roti's washed down with sweet tea that hit every 'spot' i could think of. sprits were high and everyone was anticipating the 'dream' ride through Wilpattu we faced the next morning. On our return to 'Wonderland', a fairly decent dinner was prepared but an immediate complaint came from Scrooge who was frazzled that 'people were eating more than one piece of chicken'. Having duly dismissed him we continued our meal.
My colleagues Lalith and Sanjeewa had made the drive up to see us and we had a chat and a quick drink out in the parking lot for a few minutes before we rolled in to our beds.
Our dawn snack was supposed to have been jam sandwiches and fish sandwiches. We were given piles of lightly toasted bread that appeared to have had an accidental brush with a knife that had once made contact with Jam, and fish sandwiches, where that fish had appeared to have swum away to a distant ocean. This time it was Shivi's turn to howl and some hasty damage control was done by scrooge and his cahoots and we were happy to see the last of that place. Never to visited again.
We switched to mountain bikes on the next section. The ride began at Sillawathurai and we had 26km's of riding to the Wilpattu gate. that was made 32 as we had a un planned detour for breakfast at an [albeit spectacular] Naval base. Cool weather and energy coming at a premium i can't say i was happy with this senseless detour but never the less grateful for the effort taken. We then rolled on to the section that was the highlite of my ride. The Wilpattu National Park.
I had driven this road on several occasions and riding through it on a bicycle was a big ticket item on my bucket list. I would have loved to have ridden through it in 28 Degree weather, on a cloudy day, with a mild drizzle dampening the dust and a cool wind blowing from behind.. However what i had to settle for was 40 Degree heat, scorching sun, and clouds of dust every time a vehicle passed. Approximately 35km of off road riding. Threat of elephants was real but we were told 'they generally come out in the evening'.
In spite of this being a 'dream ride' it was still tough and hot and we had our share of tumbles but still it was spectacular. Riding through thick jungle that sporadically gave way to open 'tanks' of water and grasslands that were synonymous with this beautiful park was an experience not to be forgotten; Bird and animal calls accompanied us; The occasional spotted deer and buffalo and the odd troop of Monkeys all added to the atmosphere as we rode on trying hard to appreciate the beauty of our surroundings in spite of the fatigue.
Having reached the gate and the 'carpet' road we got off our Mountain Bikes for the last time on the ride and switched to the street bikes to ride on to Chilaw. Still a hot, tiring 80km's away.
We kept good pace to Putlam, our lunch stop. Average speeds in excess of 24kmph on great roads with a few rolling hills and some nice long downhills. It was still hot but the regular stops and the support of the untiring crew of Ajani, Yasas's wife and professional backer upper, Shivi Jayasinghe, Caryl Van Dort and Shamlan Lye all of Leo Burnett was excellent as always.
These four, along with their colleague Surani 'Tall Sue' Perera and Krishi Kotalawela (both who joined for a few days)were absolutely incredible. Not only were they always at the right place at the right time, but always well stocked with ice, Milo, water, Jeevani, King Coconut water and a variety of sandwiches, and snacks to feed us and quench our thirst. In addition, their wit, humour and encouragement kept this exhausted rider going during many a rough patch. They always seemed to know when to drive alongside us with a cool bottle of water, a banana or a smart remark to make light of the situation. Its safe to say that without their amazing support this ride would have had a very different outcome.
Ajani in particular found her way to the most unmemorable part of the Mullaitivu Jaffana torture trail to single-handedly provide us with some welcome relief when most of us were one straw away from that metaphorical 'last straw'.
Thank you ladies and Shamlan. I bow deeply to you in gratitude and appreciation.
Putlam reached and a great meal of fried rice and devilled chicken consumed, we hopped back on the bike and rode on towards Chilaw and our last stop. For most, the ride was all but over. I sadly could afford no such luxury as my tired body was teetering on the edge of revolt and i was still unsure if there was a point where it would yell out one big 'fuck you' to me and shut down.
Therefore, i still rode reasonably conservatively and headed to our final night stop. Ajith, Sanjay, Charlene, Yasas (who back tracked to join us having taken off with the front pack) and I were a few minuted behind the rest. A short distance from the hotel, Yasas had the urge to have one more sweet tea and we stopped at a small roadside eatery. Peter, worried about our absence decided to come looking for us joined us again and an impromptu picnic was had, with Egg Roti, Gravy and of course Sweet Tea. for those who don't know what a sweet tea is, its basically a cup of tea made with a generous portion of sweet condensed milk and sugar resulting in a explosion of 'sweet' in your system. Jet fuel to riders.
Having had our snack we rode on to the hotel and settled in for our final night before the ride home. A dip in the pool, a few margarita's, many high fives and hugs and bed.
The final morning dawned with Lilantha one of the riders of the early segment and a couple of others joining us. Malik had re joined in Putlam and the humour and banter instantly turned up a notch. It was a bitter sweet feeling sitting there on the bikes for the last 'start' picture. I have to admit i was choking up when i told the guys and the crew how honoured i was to have ridden with them over the past few days and thanked them for being there for me and making sure i completed the ride.
We headed out into the cool morning to ride into Colombo and bring to a close The ride Around The Pearl.
A strong ride into Negambo, one last roti stop along the way and we were into the thick of the city traffic. Something i can't say we missed at all. Tuk Tuk's, insane bus drivers, suicidal pedestrians, it started all over agin. A few close calls along the way but in time we were rolling into the heart of the city. I was chocking up with emotion and while riding the last few km's i had issues with visibility as for some inexplicable reason, i seems to have got all teary. Very inconvenient when trying to avoid the rutty road but in spite of that, we were now outside the gathering point at St Bridgets and the ride was over. All that was left to be done was a ceremonial ride down Independence Avenue and the celebration at the 80 club.
We hugged each other, euphoric, sad, tired, relieved and a whole bag of other feelings and emotions. The twelve riders who completed the Pearl were set out in front and we made a slow ride for the last couple of hundred meters.
There were cars and people. Friends and family, well-wishers, supporters all lined the road. It was surreal. We were done. We had completed 'The Pearl'. My body was still intact and there was significantly less of it as well. my father came up to hug me, Charlene and I hugged, we hugged everyone around us, even though we were wet, grimy and probably smelled like farm animals. There were photographers and reporters and cheering crowds. People seemed to appreciate what we had done. We had ridden around our island nation, and lived to tell the tale.
Cerebral Palsy, is a largely ignore condition in these parts of the world. Most economically challenged families rather ignore and simply 'put away' a child afflicted with this condition than attempt to give the child any kind of 'normalcy' in their life.
We were riding to collect funds to buy a thousand wheel chairs. That meant a thousand children's life would change in one fell swoop.
Ten of these children were at the club to receive the first of the chairs. What i saw melted my heart. I fought hard to control my emotions and sadly had to avert looking at these children, contorted and strapped into their chairs for fear of losing it completely. I came to one realisation. With an amount of money that would be a portion of the bill of a good night out I could change a life. Anyone of us could. We could give a child who's life was confined to a room or a house, the gift of mobility. Most of these children have fully functional brains; minds; they now had a chance of at least experiencing the world around them; of seeing beyond a confined space. This is what these wheel chairs do.
On the ride, we suffered, but it was a voluntary suffering, that brought us a lot of satisfaction and a feeling of accomplishment, to us all. These children suffer with very little to look forward to. We can make a difference; if only we make the effort.
Thank you one and all of you for taking the time to read this blog... I conclude the part about the ride with this post. I hope you enjoyed reading it at least a tiny bit as much as i enjoyed writing it..
The Bone Marrow Diaries will continue. It is based on life experience of an average man who wants to go on living, parenting, loving, working, traveling, helping others and basically SUCKING THE MARROW OUT OF LIFE. In a month i turn 50. I look forward to the next chapter of my life and I look forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences with you.
Thank you again.
Blessings
Sarinda
S. N. J. Dias (age 65) and L. M. S. (Anura) Bandara (age 55) from the Rambukkana Bicycle Club on a tour around the coast around Sri Lanka. Tour to promote healthy living and the ability to tour the country peacefully.
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The stayed overnight at Wilpattu House in Eluvamkulam and headed across Wilpattu National Park early in the morning to en route to Jaffna, thru Silavaturai, Nannattan, Mannar and Poonery.