Farmers

I packed the camera in with the 35mm, a bottle of water and half a pack of wafers. Cocooned by the damp warm air, I rode with ease. Insects are plentiful in the rainy season and there were dragonflies everywhere. A few smaller ones took a ride on my lap. A young boy on his bicycle tried racing me for a while but after a point I had to stop encouraging him and moved on. With the right food and enough water, 80 km within 3 hours is a breeze on this route. There is ample scope for taking photos as well. I wasn't ready for the last ride but it let me know that the body can be stretched. Today, the last 20 km was a neat sprint. Perhaps I should have stretched the ride longer. I was helped by the sunless sky, a gentle breeze and scattered rain. The conditions were ideal.

Again, there was so much death on the road. Dogs, cats, rats, squirrels, lizards, snakes, cows, buffaloes. I saw two dead cows towards the villages, one of them with a ghastly gash near its neck. I made an accidental contribution too, by running over a dragonfly.