Kim Rieck
After the first two days I was a bit like an autistic child - just too much sensory input. As one of the three yanks. I left India at the end of each day only to find myself in the UK. Overwhelming memories? They're all overwhelming !! Ok, then - emerald green tea plantations studded with jewel toned srhi old tea pickers, the worlds most cheerful and friendly children waving and hand supping, coming across unanticipated parade led by a village band and an elephant. Dumping the bullet on a dirt hairpin and finding myself pinned underneath (feeling of accomplishment in fighting free, righting and restarting the bike and riding off unassisted vastly outweighed the embarrassment and bruises. I'd say it is really too soon to recognise what I have learned.

Louise Bingham
So much to say! Traveling half way around the world with 190 strangers and coming back 2 weeks later with 190 new friends! It was hot, smelly and exhausting at times and I would do it all again tomorrow. The sights, sounds and smells of India are amazing, form the children shouting and waving from the side of the road to the families welcoming a mass of dirty faced bikers into their homes for chai. Representing Rainbow Trust Children’s charity on the rally was a fantastic experience, I met some amazing people who each had their own reasons for making the journey. At times it was tough going, both physically and mentally, but as riders often commented – we wouldn’t want it any other way. For whatever reason each rider embarked on the enduro, I am pleased to know that everyone of them went home knowing the money raised is going to make a huge difference to four brilliant charities. Thankyou so much to the team for making me feel like part of it and always having my best interests at heart, you all did an amazing job and myself and many riders wouldn’t have had the confidence to complete the rally without your support. Enduro India is a fantastic journey, I know I travelled far beyond the miles we covered – nice job boys.

Phil Gordon
I now find myself with mixed emotions, motivated to do more for worthy causes such as Adventure Ashram, motivated to teach my students the real meaning of life. Also feelings of guilt for putting material values so high on my list in life.
 
My overwhelming memories are the children, they are so welcoming with no hidden agenda, just wanting to practice their English. Never have I seen such appreciation of a simple gift such as a pen or pencil. I truly believe Indian children and their families can teach westerners important lessons relating to the true meaning of life.
 
I have had a difficult time trying to explain the experiences of the trip to folks at home, only participants of the trip will truly understand what emotions have been roused as a result of the Enduro India experience. This is no holiday, so look elsewhere for pampering. It’s an experience that only a few people in the world are brave enough to undertake as it removes you from the comforts of the western lifestyle.
 
WARNING: Only those people who are prepared to have their eyes opened to the real meaning of life should apply to Enduro India. Rock on, keep up the good work.

Ben Rashud
WOW! Enduro India…Sometimes in life when your expectations are built up so much, when there’s something you really want to do or see, something that you’ve put so much time and effort into, there’s a small part of you that tells yourself not to get your hopes up too much. It can’t really be as good as they say it is right? There’s going to be a catch somewhere isn’t there? After spending a year backpacking around SE Asia and Northern India I’d learnt not to take things at face value, perhaps a tad cynically. Some things are not as impressive as they’re made out to be. So to say that I was pleasantly surprised, is to put it mildly. That the Enduro team actually fulfilled their promises is a large understatement. Everything, from the bubbly enthusiasm of the team, the vivid descriptions they gave of each place, and then finally getting to see it myself is an experience I’ll never forget.
 
As I’ve told so many friends since returning – no amount of camera clicks or journal entries can truly capture what Enduro India is all about. It makes me smile just thinking back to the first warm up day, trying to control the beast that is the Royal Enfield, being a novice biker and thinking how on earth am I going to get through these two weeks, to the the final days when I was the earliest riser , desperate to ge the bike fired up and to head out for another days riding, so unbelievable was the transformation in confidence and trust.
 
Sitting down on the side of a dusty highway drinking chai and eating sweet bananas, or riding through busy bustling towns and being treated like a maharaja, really brings home how lucky we are in the western world and the opportunities we take for granted in normal everyday life. That’s what I believe makes Enduro India different, it isn’t a touring circus, you’re out there on your own, an ambassador for your country, seeing how life is lived in what many would consider a different planet to what the average Joe is used to. If there was ever something to force you to look at your life and re-evaluate what’s important, it’s Enduro India, unique – I believe it’s one of a kind. A wise man once said it is better to live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep. Thankyou so much.

Adele Muzik
Enduro India was a completely life-changing experience for me. I have never been so present to what was going on around me and so involved in life for such a continuous period of time. I got my licence 3 weeks before I did the enduro and had no idea what a joy motorcycling can be. I felt involved in everything around me, smells tastes, people, animals, forests, dust etc. It’s not like driving a car where I feel detached from my surroundings, Enduro India is like meditating. I think people spend their whole lives trying to get out of their heads and into life. This is the fastest easiest way I would recommend to anyone who wants to get out of their head and into life. I didn’t spend one minute thinking about life back home or pondering or day-dreaming about anything. I was switched on, adrenalin pumped and fully engaged for 2 entire weeks like never before. It’s so hard to explain to people how valuable and incredibly moving the whole experience was for me. A few things that stand out ar: Washing my clothes in the river with the locals, holy men blessing our motorcycles, dancing in the Tamil festival with locals to glorify the goddess of fertility and being smeared with ash and blessed, drinking tea with the locals on the side of the road, riding a tuk tuk through Mysore and fearing for our lives, seeing the Maharajas summer palace, getting down the mountain in one piece, having a nasty accident leaving 16km of skid on the road and getting straight back on my bike, having a mud fight with friends after a monsoon downpour, riding the highest tea plantations in the world and being moved to tears. The fear leading up to the Enduro and the elation in making it too. As a personal achievement , a life-experience and an awareness of giving back to others, Enduro India exceeded every expectation on every level. I was engaging with the Indian people in a way that foreigners rarely do, we were riding on roads that foreigners never see. The people were so incredible, they broke my heart several times a day. I am humbled by people who have so little inviting me into their homes for a cup of tea. They expect nothing in return and only want to know me. Where in the world can you find people who just want to know you? Enduro India really was the adventure of a lifetime, a personal achievement of such involvement it felt like meditation. I am completely hooked, thankyou.

Jamie Montgomery
I meant to drop you a line earlier but the last 3 months have simply flown by. But I really do want to thank you and the team for laying on such a stunning event for us last February. I have had many great experiences in the past but none of these comes within touching distance of Enduroindia 2006 – quite simply, it is by far the best thing I have done and I 'doff my lid' to you all for having given me the opportunity to take part in an awesome event that I would not normally have dreamt of doing (as someone who had never been on a bike until last November!).

For some reason, India was probably not on the 1st three pages listing places around the world I wanted to visit prior to permitting myself, with a certain amount of trepidation, to be signed up for Enduroindia 2006. How completely and utterly wrong and misguided could I have been. India, quite frankly, is the most awesome country with scenery the like of which I was simply not prepared for. Each day at the briefing, your Dad would tell us that it would be even better than what we had seen the previous day and we all thought 'yeah, yeah – how could you beat yesterday?' But he was bloody right – the countryside just got more and more gobsmacking with each day. If I had to pick a moment, it would have to be riding into the valley of tea plantations on the way to Munnar – we stopped and just sat there, mouths open but speechless. And the people…………? What can I say except that I have fallen head over heels in love with India and its people and I cannot wait to go back again………… and again!!

know that 2006 was your 4th or 5th version of the event but I think you are very close now to the finished article in terms of programme and route. Two weeks has to be the right length – the one week version of earlier years would quite simply have not have been long enough and yet, when we pulled into that final car park at the end of the event, as a group I sensed that we were becoming physically and mentally drained. Sure, we could probably have gone on further if we had had to but I actually think the timing was absolutely perfect and we were finishing on a high. I am sure there will be further tweaks to be made to the route and accommodation but, again, I think you were pretty much spot on this year. I wouldn't have changed a thing. Sure, there were the odd moans about some of the accommodation in some places, but to me they were totally missing the point. It must not become a tour with cushy 4 star accommodation every evening – I thought the mix which you had arranged for us, alternating seemingly between the sublime and the ridiculous was a great way to do it and some of my most lasting memories were of the scabbier places. It is Enduro after all.

Simon, you are a star – indeed your entire team are stars. It was a brilliant event, brilliantly organised and I for one will never forget it. I cannot thank you enough.

Caroline Shaw
Whatever your preconceptions are about this enduro throw them all away and let yourself experience one of the most testing experiences of your life. Not just for the riding but to take in how amazing India and it’s people are. If you don’t once get a lump in your throat or shed a tear from this experience then there is something seriously wrong with your life. To stand roadside and to be greeted by smiling waving inquisitive people is an amazing uplifting experience. To be invited by strangers to eat in their houses, to accept their kindness and hospitality has changed me. To see children’s faces light up over the smallest things we take for granted is a humbling thing.

Realising that 2 weeks of hot hard riding, sickness, exhaustion and searing heat will never come close to what these people live through every single minute. However hard their existence these people with nothing have everything, their happy faces will make you feel not worthy to be in their presence, embarrassed that you’ve just moaned because there’s no toilet roll or that the beds aren’t comfy enough. The riding was hard – I hated everyone to do with Enduro India by the third day. I have never experienced so many emotions in such a short period of time, but after the hate, the tears and the swearing came all the exhilaration, laughter and excitement – the adrenalin just doesn’t stop building on this trip. I know I will sleep better than I ever have when I get home.

Thank you enduro team for putting together this event – not only for the good causes but to also give ordinary people like me the chance to overcome fears – that has made me truly proud for what I have done.

John Richard Boothroyd
I read the pre event hype, ‘Change your life' ‘trip of a lifetime', ‘amazing, wonderful, exciting, thought provoking, and so on'.

The 62 year of age, retired police officer of 30 years, seen it all, sadness, poverty, dramatic occurrences, fatalities, stressed people, you name it. Hard skinned sceptic, no emotions to be displayed. Just going for the opportunity to ride an old bike in a country never visited. Heard about India though due to many friends and acquaintances that now live in Huddersfield having come in from India.

So what happened? Upon arrival at Calicut Airport, onto a bus and the journey to the hotel. Now I have driven motor vehicles for 45 years, but that journey was the first eye-opener and introduction to the ‘Wacky Races’ style of driving in India. Bus racing with two buses going one way and two travelling towards them on a road where perhaps 2 buses would fit. Problem was that both sets of buses were travelling abreast of each other, flat out, horns blaring. We looked on in a mixture of shock, fear, and a whole lot of other emotions. A motor cycle passed us and fitted in between the two charging sets of buses. The rider nonchalantly went across the road and simply rode up the dirt track at the side of the road. I watched him and then a miracle occurred. The buses somehow managed to avoid each other and continued along the road. How this was accomplished I don’t know—Welcome to India. In the next two weeks I re- learned how to ride in traffic, and enjoyed the experience. We have a lot to learn in our country. Horn use, cutting in and out and all the driving manners we are taught are out of the window, yet no ‘road rage’, no problems with each other, but progress was made rapidly all the two weeks.

Many defining moments were experienced. The visit to the Hospital on our first day out on the bikes will live with me for a long time. On looking around the interior of the building which consisted of a number of rooms with no visible signs of furniture and equipment other than very basic amenities, chairs, a sink, a cooker and the like I came across an open door and peered in. The room was bare, except for a low bed. Two ladies were squatting by the bed (in fact a low bench not a bed as I know). On the bed was what I can only describe as a skeleton held together by skin. The ladies looked at me and I felt I was intruding. I was though transfixed by the scene and as I stared the eye contact I had with the two indicated a welcome. I moved forward and they smiled. I looked at the man on the bed. He, despite his condition also looked at me in a welcome mode. I murmured something about ‘hope you are well (stupid thing to say) and then thrust out my hand to grasp his. I said something, no idea what it was, and looked into his eyes. I felt the urge to ask how I could help, but his eyes told me he was where he wanted to be with the people he wanted to be with. He was a man at peace, yet his surroundings were so spartan as to arouse questions in my mind and comparisons with hospices in my home area. I backed out of the room, stood in the corridor and knew why I was riding the Bullet.

On the journey over the next week I witnessed things I had never even had an inkling of. Scenery so dramatic (the tea plantations—wow!!) to make riders stop and just gaze in wonderment. Met people who despite what we would call deprived in England were happy, helpful, welcoming, considerate and very friendly.

I cannot fully explain all that I experienced, viewed and I have subsequently admitted that I had not in fact ‘seen it all’. My trip to India has changed my outlook, has furthered my education in life’s rich tapestry, has removed my sceptism and has brought out in me emotions which have been held in for too long.

Owen Lewis
Many thanks to you and the entire team for a truly amazing experience in India. Everything flowed so smoothly (or so it seemed to the participants anyway) that I can only guess at all the work put in behind the scenes by the team ...Thank you all !

I was not sure what to expect when I decided to do this trip but it really blew my mind away. Don't tell the wife but I probably enjoyed it more than my honeymoon ! Arriving at Kadavu and finally realising that I was there and this was really happening. Listening to the briefing and thinking sh*t what have I let myself in for. Seeing my bike for the first time and understanding the intricacies of just how to start it. Setting out on a bike with right foot gearchange for the first time in over 20 years - cra**ing myself. A huge sense of relief after getting back in one piece after the trip to the beach.

Riding out to the Hospital and seeing just why we were there. I have lost close family and friends to cancer and am glad that I could help do my tiny little bit to help others in their time of need. The thrill and anticipation of finally getting the trip underway. The send off from the hotel and the kids climbing the palms alongside the hotel to wave us off. Watching Mike dodge a bus (overtaking another bus which was passing a stationary lorry etc etc.....) and attacking the back end of a TukTuk - sharing a cup of tea at the roadside with him afterwards.

Seeing the wild elephants on the way to Mudumallei. Watching you busy videoing the forest fires whilst I was a bit more concerned about whether we were going to be part of the barbecue or not ! But hell, you were the organiser so I am sure you knew just what was going on ! Watching the sun set over the hills at Jungle Hut. Making new friends. Evenings by the pool slowly disappearing into a Kingfisher induced haze gently blending to dawn breakfasts and the gentle thud thud of Enfield Bullets gradually being coaxed into life. The climb up to Ooty - and understanding just what Ooty was all about courtesy of Steve, the Cultural Attache, who did a superb job. Perhaps there is a role for him as a travel rep somewhere ....

The local kids ! Stopping and being mobbed by excited children on the way to school - in the UK they would have had your phone, wallet,luggage and your bike given half a chance - all these guys wanted was to be your friend - amazing. The all too regular grinding noises as the centre stand dug in around yet another hairpin bend. The sights and smells of the Munnar tea plantations. The greeting as we arrived at the hotel at Munnar and the mist gently swirling over the river at dawn. The porridge for breakfast. The stunning panorama which opened out in front of us as we went over the mountains to Thekkady - amazing and something that will live with me forever.

Kids, more schoolkids, how many more can there be? I was riding on my own at one point and, in the middle of nowhere, a young child heard the bike and came running to the side of the road. I stopped to say hello and all of a sudden there were about 20 of the. Truly amazing. Meeting an elephant in Thekkady that took a liking to the spices I had just bought ! The contrast between the hotel at Cochin with all its luxury and amenities and the locals passing by on the river, going about their daily life, probably in much the same way as they have been doing for the last 1,000 years, seeming totally oblivious to us there.

Steve's inspirational speech before we left Cochin -it really put things back into perspective and reminded us of our achievements so far, and just what to expect on the final run back to Calicut. The huge contrast between the empty, deserted roads of earlier in the week and the highway out of Cochin. Traffic, trucks and buses and TukTuks, 190% concentration plus a bit .......say no more ! Regrouping for the ride back to Calicut. The feeling of utter elation and joy at finishing. The salute from the security guard on the gate at Kadavu, the feeling that this time I, as had all of us, truly earned his respect.

The handshakes, backslapping and sense of achievement when we finished. Phoning my wife in tears to tell her I had really done it. Saying goodbye to my bike, albeit only temporally until it gets shipped out to me in Jersey.... Chilling out in a hammock down by the river at Kadavu on the last day listening to Dark Side of the Moon on my i-pod. I don't normally 'stop' on holiday - it is normally go go go but something about this trip was different. Perhaps it was the stresses and nerves of anticipation followed by the relief of completing the riding which truly allowed me to relax. Perhaps it was the place or the people. I don't know but it felt good. Thankyou.

Simon, these are just some of the memories of this trip, there are many thousands more which will stay with me for a very very long time and I must thank you and the team again for making this happen and letting me be part of it. Once again many thanks - I have already thanked you and the team but this one is for you personally.

This trip goes down as one of the 'must do' things for everyone to attempt at least once in their lifetime and the success is down to just one person's vision and enthusiasm in making it all happen - and that person is you.

Thank you!

Dalibor Ninkovic
Let's start at the beginning. When I first spoke to you I have to say, I sensed a bit of a "marketing pitch" (Every day I'm surrounded by sales people who will tell you anything just so you buy, so I can tell) but at the same time I felt the passion behind it all and I throught: "Well its for the charity, I've never been to India before and I always wanted to do something like this, so what the hell - I'll do it!?" So I signed up. Immediately after I put the phone down I felt sudden rush of feelings. I wasn't sure what sort of feelings they were but it felt good. Six months to go and it felt like the f***** lifetime. I just couldn't wait to get on that plane. When the day arrived and when I met some of the people at Heathrow, I knew straight away that I did the right thing by signing up for this trip. Six hour wait at Sri Lanka airport (2am to 8am) and 144 cans of beer after I was certain I did the right thing.

Short journey from Calicut airport to the hotel in a bus was an "experience" on its own. Several life threatening moments on this journey but I still caught myself smiling. Crazy, isn't it!?:-)) Somehow, everything lost its meaning but at the same time everything made sense. From that moment on, every single minute of the rally was a memory on its own. The people we've met, the scenery changing to the extremes 5 times in one day and not mention kids. It'd be silly to try to put every single day in words because you just can't. I've tried to tell the story to my friends and family but somehow it sounded just like any other holiday. I don't know, maybe I didn't tell it right or you just can't tell this sort of experience unless you've actually been there and done it. Back to those wonderful children! Being a father myself, loving my daughter more than anything made me realise that maybe I'm doing it all wrong - raising my kid I mean. My daughter is a wonderful child but maybe I should try not to buy her happiness with toys and stuff but maybe try to raise her to love and live her life in happiness just because.... Seeing those great kids who literally have nothing and probably will never have what our kids have but yet living their lives to the full, enjoying every moment and just being who they are, really touched me. I still see those faces rushing towards me coming into one of the villages (I think it was somewhere near Alppettai) when I thought: "Oooh, s***! Now what!?". But it wasn't "Oooooh s***!", it was quite the opposite. Smiley faces, little hands just wanting to touch you because you are something new to them are moments in my memories, just mine and nobody else's. Sounds selfish!? Well it is :-) These are the moments that will always stay with me, moments that I'll always cherish in this "special" place in my heart. I'm not just saying it - I truly mean it.

People who know me tell me that I'm a changed.

John Spinks
Fellas, i can't start to thank you both for all the hard work that you and your team put into this event, and for the memories which I've brought back with me. It was a truly memorable experience, and though I had been warned that I may not like India but it would certainly have an effect on me I was unprepared for the mix of emotions I would have both then and afterwards.

As you will have noticed, I am not a "pack animal" when it comes to riding; I like my space around me which was denied all too often so I was quite happy jogging along in my own sweet way, though I did have my moments! The freedom that you allowed us to do this is much appreciated, and I'll be the first to acknowledge the concerns that it must have given you!!?! But even that little diversion to China was not without its experience, though not one I'll be rushing to repeat.

I will write in hard copy more fully later, but for now please accept these inadequate words of very sincere thanks. And please can my bike go to WWF? I looked after it, and know that they'll put it to good use. Safe riding, and kindest regards, John Spinks.