What I learned from the trip

Dear readers,

In no particular order,

1. When planning for a long cycling it is advisable to leave early and work it within natural solar time limits. We overshot it by 40 mins.
2. No matter what, stick to the schedule. Even if your friend calls and says "...wait for half an hour, we'll come on a motorbike and then we can leave together", don't follow his advise. You'll be the one on a cycle and natural light won't show any mercy. Thankfully our friends did not come.
   
3. There is a very small window available for nature photography. For greens and colourful flora, it is between 8-10 am and somewhere about 4:30-5 pm during this time of year in the norther tropical region.
4. Water bodies have the best contrast and vibrancy during midday.
5. During afternoon to evening to sunset the exposure value decreases rapidly from a 14 to about 9.
   
6. In small settlements, a single shop owner has to give multiple services. I saw a shop that was a photo studio, print shop, photocopy shop, mobile repair centre and mobile and DTH recharge centre all rolled into one.
7. Just like hilly terrain treks, carry sufficient carbohydrates or make sure you have some from shops at regular intervals. This cannot reduce fatigue but will propel the body. We had sugarcane juice, biscuits, deep fried moong, chocolate, rice + fish, momo and tea.
   
8. A good backpack and a comfortable pair of hiking shoes goes a long way. Rahul desperately needs a good hiking backpack.
   
9. Wear thick trousers like jeans to reduce friction between the seat and your skin. ...and we were in our thin shorts while returning.
   
10. Make use of natural slopes as much as possible. Keep driving the pedal to gain some momentum. This will help the ride during the up-slope.
11. The same down-slope will kill you during the return journey by becoming an up-slope.
    
12. Enjoying the ride is the key. Stop at as many places you find interesting. The destination is unimportant.
    

Regards.