Gandhi's Bike

Trusty Rusty X

I've had more than my share of really crappy rental bikes and suffered ass abuse as a result.  The Trusty Rusties have hauled me around in countries across SE Asia.  This new implement of butt torture was originally Gandh's bike in the 1930's.  How it got to Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, I have no clue. 

The Plan:  Explore the back roads around Sigiriya by bicycle.  

The Plan in 6th Century Sinhala.  Not really, just one treasure we discovered far off the beaten path. 

First we retraced our walking path around  Sigiriya Rock, then headed out on small lanes to explore the tanks, ancient reservoirs scattered amongst the jungle and paddy fields. 

We quickly started finding archeological sites that weren't on the tourist route and were too far off the beaten for walkers. 

Here are three videos of our riding day:

Setting out on Gandhi's Bike......  

http://youtu.be/nS2-h4t88-s

Temples in the woods......

http://youtu.be/zn-6BL3IoWQ

Gandhi's Bike and Dream Roads.......

http://youtu.be/GVDCdlflPRY

A Buddha in the shade of Cobras at an empty temple.  Just one of many stops on the bicycle tour. 

We rolled down small lanes, dirt roads and even a tank dike, which threatened to shake Gandhi's bike to pieces.  

P-Rock from the dike trail.  This is the spot where the photo in the Sigiriya Rock was taken. We did not notice until we saw one of the fancy $30 ticket stubs at our guesthouse.  

I don't know what "Roarming" is, but it doesn't sound good if elephants have access to it. 

We rode until we were sweaty messes, regrouped and relaxed at the guesthouse, then set out again. Despite protests from the lower regions, we did another loop to the East, circumnavigating the tank we had walked to the prior evening.   We rolled past farms, waved to kids, dodged cows and finally drifted back towards town as evening came on.  We knew we were getting close when we encountered the tourist elephant coming from the village with three tourists clinging to the platform atop the poor elephant.   

Having reached terminal ass-chap for the day, we dropped off the bikes and walked home.  

Sigiriya has been one of the highlights of this Sri Lankan journey and we will both miss it.  We have loved being back out in the countryside and the quiet evenings sitting out on our veranda with our adopted dog. 

Tomorrow it is off to Anuradhapura and the Big Ruins.  Think Sri Lankan Ankor Wat.