Kolkata 2 Kalimpong Bicycle Marathon for charity... Feb 2008

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This is a photo journal of my 7 day, 667 km Kolkata 2 Kalimpong, bike marathon to raise funds for Dr. Graham's Homes, Kalimpong, India, an educational institution, that provides sanctuary and hope for impoverished and deprived kids from NE India. 10 UK based bikers spent their own time and money on this event, supported by family and friends, and raised some £46,000 for the school......


A repeat bike ride in India is planned for February 2010. Please check the charity website for details. http://www.drgrahamshomes.co.uk/

 Kolkata Street - crowded, curious and Indian life at its urban best! Start of our bike journey to Kalimpong, a hill station some 4,500 ft. above sea level, 667 kms away......

Same day and a few kms later - quieter, tranquil and with the abundant fragrance of rural openness...
more roadside photos and a biking pause mean't a shot of teenagers breaking from school...

Workers in a cement factory enroute - not many industries in this fertile part of India, fuelled by the Ganges....

No, not another safety statistic; just a scenic pee break down the Teesta khudside!


The charity ride took us over the massive Farakkah barrage across the sacred Ganges...


and over the seasonal serenity of the freshwater Teesta. The ageing Coronation bridge with lions still on guard in testimony of past colonial architecture...

....is in stark contrast to the modern Anderson Bridge further upstream and signalling the ascent of the exhilirating 4000 ft. final 15 km bicycle ride to the Kalimpong Homes.

repairs to punctures and broken chaiins were met with promptness and sophistication seldom seen in the West...


The exotic food and superb company....


the uniqueness of its culture...


.....its diversity


its stunning beauty....

..and the joy of young kids, given the opportunity of self belief and dignity in Dr. Grahams' Homes, was worth all the spills and pains in the butt!
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