Making most of an opportunity to drop off a car

December 21, 2023

I needed to drop off a car at the local airport as my sister was planning to use it for a trip with her family. I had the foresight to bring a bike carrier while coming back from the US. So, I loaded the bike onto the car and decided to get some miles in.

I started at Belagavi's airport, which is about 10 km outside of this sprawling city. Because it's on the outskirts, it's mostly villages and farms you ride past. I rode past sugarcane, jowar (a kind of millet), beans, okra, cucumber, peanuts, and eggplant farms. I was also fortunate to be able to buy some local produce like fresh, unripe peanuts (a delicacy once roasted) and guavas. Sadly, I couldn't buy custard apple as they would get smushed in my bag.

Local produce of tender green peas, peanuts, and sweet potatoes.

Enjoying the local custard apples and guavas in the middle of nowhere.

It was a hilly route, but I was also not fully loaded. And it was a hot day but a wonderful day to ride through the countryside and parts of Belgaum where my grandfather came from.

I rode through the backroads, basically seeking fewer roads with less traffic. The first half of the ride got me such roads, while the latter half was Belgaum-Gokak road. So, I had to ride defensively from the loads of buses and trucks carrying sugarcane to the local sugar factory.

Finally, I got home around 4 pm to a well-earned meal.

Today's ride: 67 km (42 miles)
Total: 2,009 km (1,248 miles)

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