Today has not been great. In fact, it has been the worst day so far in India….although having said that, I have had a good run until this point.
I started off the day in a fairly dismal mood. A combination of factors led to this: one being that I couldn’t change the temperature of my air con so I had spent the night freezing – not something I had expected in India. My mood did not really improve once on the bike either. It was cloudy and humid and the first few villages I rode through were not that nice.
I have discovered that the source of my foot pain though basically stems from having wet feet – which I know sounds odd. So because of this, I’ve stopped washing my shoes out. This means that they smell horrendous but it has fixed the other issue. Well, that was until it started raining. This wouldn’t have normally been a problem but with it coming at the beginning of the day, I knew it could cause discomfort later on…and it did. The rest of the day I had a headwind and it felt horribly similar to Europe. That pretty much sums it up! Generally speaking I was not in a good mood.
I have left this too late to write but I spent the day getting frustrated and sprinting after slower moving tractors and tuk-tuks in order to get some shelter from the wind. I did manage to catch a couple and whilst it required a lot of effort to stay in their slipstream, it kept me from going insane. I could go into detail but frankly it would not be that interesting. The scenery today was boring as well, so I have nothing to talk about there either.
In summary: today was hard and I am more tired than usual.
Distance: 103.74 miles / 167.0 km
Riding time: 7:21:30
Av. Speed: 14.1 mph / 22.7 km/h
Tom Davies RTW 
Thomas
Better to have smelly feet than trench foot. Avoid socks and sandals as well.
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I went all the way to Bury St Edmunds for a cycle injuries course to sort your foot problem and it turns out to be wet feet! Glad you got to the bottom of the problem even if you will be smelly!
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I still really appreciate it!
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Look at it this way Tom, you can only enjoy the good days if you endure a couple of not so good. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.
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Tomorrow will be better. You’re doing great. I don’t know how you always manage to find something positive to say. Hope the air con is better tonight.
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You’re doing so brilliantly Tom. I work with a guy who goes to your gym and you’re still destroying them all on Strava! Maybe the smell will give you better road space…
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It must be better than the headwinds and snow in Europe….
Looking forward to seeing how far up the table you get on the Strava Challenge ‘how many km’s you can ride in March’
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Keep going, Tom, you’re doing really well. Your trip is so inspirational. And even after rotten days like today, I still religiously read your blog before going to bed. And if it’s any consolation it’s cold here too, we even had snow briefly again up in Cheshire!
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Tom, By my workings you will be on the cusp of half way along the second leg by the close of play today (Tuesday). OK its flat, boring (I note that Thomson’s don’t do holidays in Ramanathapuram) , a bit damp and breezy, but you are making amazing progress. Keep it up and get those shoes off as often as you can.
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Keep going Tom, you’re flying through India and I’m sure there’ll be good days ahead. As for cycling with others we’re there with you at least in spirit! FYI perhaps a can of air freshener will help the shoes???
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Yip smelly better than sore, good to see you have got the problem identified. Great effort o. The distance considering the dreaded headwinds….cyclings nemesis.. I’d you still have the T-shirt should defo have it as a keep sake. Tho maybe vacuum pack it so dosnt honk out your house haha.
Keep those peddles turning, fine job so far of India.
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