By Roadjunky, Posted Dec 09, 2006
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Every summer in India is staged the auto-rickshaw challenge where travelers are invited to risk their lives and sanity in driving a 3 wheeled autorickshaw over a thousand miles from Chennai (Madras) to Bombay.
A rickshaw has the engine of a scooter but it feels like a lawnmower and with a canvas covering a steel frame, it’s in no way, shape or form equipped to hold its own among the monster trucks along India’s pot-holed highways. You’ll be forced off the road, have dust in your eyes all the way and develop terrible posture as you crouch inside your rickshaw and hum mantras to Ganesh to keep you safe as you go.
Sounds great.
Of course, you could always leave the other racers behind and get really wild like the Eagar Brothers who drove a rickshaw from Calcutta to the Pakistan border but this race is in itself a crazy undertaking and you get to share your experiences each night with the other drivers.
There’s also a smaller version of this crazy journey in the winter. Learn more about the details and entry in the race at the India Arc Rickshaw website.
