RICKSHAW RUN
When the usual motoring challenges don’t cut the mustard, it’s time to get back to basics in a rickshaw
India is always an adventure – especially if you see it this way
WITH MOST of the world seemingly conquered, the only real challenges left are in how you go about reconquering it. And in a time when even its most inhospitable corners are regularly visited by Historic endurance rallies – to the point that in some places the sight of a vintage Bentley or Grand Prix Itala speeding through in a cloud of dust must be nearly as frequent as that of any modern – even that is hardly groundbreaking. So, what to do to keep things fresh, intriguing and, well, challenging? The Adventurists decided the answer was to downsize and go back to basics.
With a mission statement to ‘make life less boring’ they realised that toughness is all relative: if the tools and equipment are available that make something comparatively easy, then all you have to do to reinstil it with a sense of danger and adventure is use different tools. Make simple tough again!
As a result, in 2006 they launched the Rickshaw Run. We all know rickshaws, the perma-battered but seemingly indestructible three-wheelers that swarm through subcontinental cities tooting and offering the agility of two wheels but marginally more protection in the dense traffic.
Anyone who has driven in an Indian city will appreciate that doing so can be a plenty big enough challenge in itself, but take the rickshaws out of their natural environment and suddenly you have a whole new ballgame. It seemed natural enough, therefore, that the perfect route for this less-is-more approach to rallying was to send the rickshaws buzzing 3000km down the west coast of India.
It has to be said that India is an incredible country in which to run any sort of rally. With a population of over 1.3 billion, the sub-continent has it all, from the laidback beaches of Goa to the madness of Mumbai, or Bollywood to Bengal tigers.
India is hardly a stranger to globetrotters either, but The Adventurists felt that its sheer size and diversity might be baffling for people who wanted to visit for the first time and take in much of that colour and atmosphere in a regulation two-week holiday.
The plan was coming together. Challenge: to travel the length of India. To make it truly challenging: do it in rickshaws. Deliver: the experience of a lifetime on a budget that most people can afford. Yes, downsizing and backto-basics has its benefits.
Participants start in Cochin and finish in Jaisalmer, or vice versa depending on the time of the run. There is no set route – that would be crazy! – and there are only two fixed rules. One, participants must promise to travel far beyond the tourist trail and experience a real flavour of India. Truth be told, rule one is less a rule than a necessity. As the organising team says: ‘It is hard for participants not to oblige, really, given that driving in rickshaws means
that sticking to major roads isn’t advisable and breakdowns in random places way off the beaten track are inevitable.’
Good point: surely rickshaws have some pretty conspicuous limitations, especially for long-distance endurance rallying? The answer to that is yes and no. While on the one hand a tiny underpowered open-sided three-wheeler might not be the most civilised way to traverse a continent, it is the most fun. Similarly, it is so simple that mechanical breakdowns are rare and, when they occur, they are usually easy to fix. And cheap, too. Plus, virtually every town and every village can cater for them mechanically in a way that a vintage Lagonda owner could only dream of.
It is true that rickshaws are not best suited to some of the terrain, but that, apparently, is the challenge. Besides, if you have a crew of three (or even two) you can just pick it up and carry it over difficult bits. Small is beautiful and backto-basics is good. The Adventurists add: ‘Using rickshaws for the Run isn’t just because they’re fun to drive, although that helps. Travelling such massive distances in a car or on a bus often means the world passes by in a blur, but do it in a rickshaw and you find yourself immersed in a different world. The traditional vehicles are remarkably well received by the locals, and the lack of windows means you are properly absorbed in every situation you encounter, whether you like it or not!
‘Planning your own route gives you the freedom to go at your own pace and take in the sites that interest you. Want to look for tigers, rhinos and elephants in the nature reserves? Go for it. Want to check out hilltop temples and hidden yoga retreats? Why not? Prefer to do a local homestay and cook with a family? Good call. The rickshaw is the perfect tool to take you to your definition of adventure.’
The stories that come back from the Runs include tales of glorious sunsets over the Ganges, enjoying traditional festivals and spending lazy afternoons teaching local children to play golf, mixed with more unusual recollections of racing around kart tracks, oversexed cows, and the gentlemen bonding
‘The rickshaw’s lack of windows means you are absorbed in every situation you encounter, whether you like it or not!’
with locals over moustaches. Many also take the opportunity to use the event as an opportunity to raise money for good causes – let’s face it, it is no trouble filling up a sponsorship form when you tell your friends you are driving the length of India in a rickshaw – to the tune of some £2.5 million… so far.
The Rickshaw Run is just as much about ‘fun’ as the sense of achievement that comes from achieving the highly unlikely. In fact, the whole point of the escapade is to make it fun, however tricky it can be at times. There are 85 rickshaws – each capable of transporting three people – and each of them has been ‘pimped’ by local artists to the designs of participants. There are also huge parties at the start and the
finish line but, apart from that, during the actual journey you’re on your own – all part of The Adventurists’ ethos.
If it is all starting to sound a bit DIY, then that is the point, or part of it (and don’t worry, it is reflected in the cost). Make your own adventure and all that, but you are not sent off into the wilderness completely helpless and you are given plenty of pointers and advice before the start to make sure people at least know how to use a rickshaw and do some basic mechanics. ‘The first two days of the Run are spent learning to drive the vehicle in the relative safety of the test-driving arena. By the end they will be able to start, turn and stop their rickshaw with relative ease; the more proficient among them will even be able to change from one gear to another smoothly and without stalling, almost every time.
‘We also give mechanical demos of what the most likely things are to go wrong and how best to right those wrongs. Once they’ve got the hang of their trusty ride – or decided they will leave all the driving to their team-mate – they can customise their vehicle by adding things they really need… like sparkly hubcaps.’
It all sounds a little laissez-faire, but it is a winning formula. Since that run in 2006, The Rickshaw Run has grown to such a degree that there are three events in 2020, in January, April and August. It costs £1995 for a team of up to three, including a rickshaw pimped to the team’s design, the necessary paperwork, test driving, launch and finish parties, a jerry can and key spare parts (plus the tools to change them), and, in the words of the Adventurists: ‘Two weeks of some of the most underpantstirring adventuring possible in a rickshaw.’
See the website at theadventurists.com/ adventures/rickshaw-run to learn more about how you too can ‘take on the world in a marginally glorified lawnmower’.