Bhubaneswar – Chandikhol – 81 km
From Bhubaneswar, we first tried cycling along a minor road, but
found it in such poor condition that we returned to the highway.
Chandikhol was reached early, but Ernest wanted to stay to watch
cricket. The game’s tension must’ve gotten to him, as he polished off
an entire bottle of whiskey!
Chandikhol – Balasore – 137 km
There was no getting away early (due to the whiskey mentioned
earlier) and a tedious day was spent cycling along the highway.
Ernest had more bike problems than anyone. Not that I (or other
cyclists) never had issues. He just had more, mainly because he
spent his money on his other vices. I preferred to have mine fixed at
a professional bike shop. He had his usual flat tyre on this day and
had to fix the punctured tube in the presence of the usual crowd of
spectators. I giggled while watching the spectacle from afar. The kids
were highly interested in the bell, gears and odometer, which irritated
Ernest to no end as he most likely had a terrible hangover.
Encountering road works in the last 50 kilometres didn’t help either.
Considering all the delays, it wasn’t surprising we only arrived in
Balasore shortly before dark.