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Touring with Byercycles

Sri Lanka 97

The cycle trade is seasonal, very busy during the summer and quiet during the winter, so it makes

good sense to take our holidays in the winter months. With this practical solution in mind we

started to make arrangements for a cycle ride around the Island of Sri Lanka in January 1997. As

soon as our daughter Rebecca heard of our plans she announced her intention to come with us.

(Christine Byers)

Sri Lanka the former British colony of Ceylon until 1947, is situated off the South

East Coast of India, in the Indian Ocean. The trip was arranged and planned by a member of the

Cyclists Touring Club, a national organisation, that attracts other adventurous cyclists like

ourselves. We flew from Heathrow to Colombo the Islands capital, Sam a Sri Lankan holiday

courier met us at the airport. It was his job to carry all our bags in his mini bus, to make sure that

nobody was lost and to be available to transport anyone who became ill with Delhi Belly or any

other nasty bugs. There were eight men and eight women in the party.

It would be an under statement to say, that my first impressions of Sri Lanka as we

cycled the ten miles from the airport to the hotel were not entirely favourable. The road was

extremely dusty with very large potholes. The air was foul, polluted with dust from the road,

diesel fumes from the vehicles and smoke from the piles of rubbish, being burnt by the roadside.

There was a heavy stream on both sides of the road, of cars, buses and old trucks. They were all

being driven by total maniacs, who I am sure had never passed a driving test. It was practice to

constantly blow the horn to demand a right of way. Crossroads and junctions were complete free

for all, with no resemblance of order at all. The SAS motto “Who Dares Wins” came to mind. I

remember thinking to myself what the hell am I doing riding a bike through this bedlam. You

cannot imagine my relief when we finally arrived at our hotel. Later at dinner that evening while I

was recovering from a severe attack of culture shock and nursing a sore throat caused by the air

pollution. We were all thankful to be assured by the tour leader Peter Crofts that once we had

moved away from the suburbs of Colombo there would be an improvement. I was more than

pleased to be sitting on Sam’s mini bus with the rest of the party the following day heading north

along the west coast, to the town of Puttalam. An early lunch had been arranged at a local

restaurant. Our bikes arrived by truck while we were eating. At Midday we started our ride inland

to Anuradhapura an ancient city with temples and Buddhist shrines.

Anuradhapura ancient Buddhist Temple

Along the road we encountered the first military roadside checks, manned by the armed

government soldiers. There has been a war going on in Sri Lanka for more than 25 years. The

Tamil people have been fighting for an independent state in the north of the Island around Jafna. I

have remarked to Richard frequently that we always reach our holiday destinations a few weeks

after Kate Adie the BBC war correspondent has left. It was a good thing that Sam had already

explained to the soldiers that a group of British cyclists would pass through and that we were not

Tamil Tigers in disguise. Visitors to Sri Lanka are not usually allowed to travel north of

Anuradhapura. Our route took us south through the Central Highlands. We passed through

several more road checks over the next week without incident. Although the war has been a

prolonged, bloody and bitter affair, it has been contained mostly to the north with intermittent

terrorist style bomb attacks in Colombo and other major cities. It is true to say that the only visible

sign of military activity that we observed, were the roadside vehicle checks.

The road surface had improved as well as the air quality, although a lorry or bus would

sometimes pass belching out black diesel fumes. Our hotel at Anuradhapura had been booked for

two nights allowing a day to visit the temple where it is said that Buddha found enlightenment. The

temple was at the top of several long flights of steps. Our bikes were left at the bottom and we

were advised to pay two Sri Lankan boys to look after them and stop the monkeys from opening

the saddlebags in search of food. Young student boys continually approached offering to be our

guide for the morning. People wearing shorts are not allowed into the temples so we were obliged

to hire a wrap around skirt before going in.

Kandy is a city in the centre of the Island that is also famous for it’s Temple. The large

lake that the city is built around adds to its attraction. We were on our way to Kandy when two

young cyclists passed us, they were college students. One day a week is set aside in their schools

and colleges for sports and games. These two young men were allowed to use the day to go

cycling. They were dressed in racing jerseys and shorts, with cycling shoes that would have been

popular with our club members in the late sixties. Their bikes were the same upright single geared

models that we had seen in Cuba, only this time they had been made in India. To demonstrate

their level of fitness they raced past with ease. After they had past, curiosity took over; it is not

every day that you see three Europeans, two of them women riding bikes in Sri Lanka. I am sure

Rebecca must have been the incentive when they dropped back to talk to us. The pair insisted on

riding with us until we reached Kandy. It is a fairly large city that is not easy to find a way through.

It proved very handy having two young escorts to guide us. At the lakeside we said goodbye,

leaving them to cycle 35 miles back to their homes. A free day allowed time to visit the Temple of

the Sacred Tooth and take in the botanical gardens. Then in the evening we watched the Kandy

dancers and drummers. The rest from cycling prepared us for the days climbing that was to follow.

The lake at Kandy is 2,000 feet above sea level. The highest city in Sri Lanka is Nuwara Eliya it

was 48 miles away and 6,200 feet up in the Central Highlands. Setting off in the morning the road

rose steady to start, then it climbed steeply over the Ramboda Pass and descended the other

The Sri Lankan cyclists

The Ramboda Pass

side to the town of Ramboda. During that afternoon we made our way slowly up through the

mountains, around wiggly hairpin bends. In the tea fields either side of the road ladies sat picking

tea. We passed more ladies with large wicker baskets strapped to their backs and long sticks to

steady themselves as they carried the tea to the factories. Later we were invited to visit a factory

to see the tea being dried, then graded and packed. Mr Tetley was there filling his little bags and

supervising operations. Our ride that afternoon was simply wonderful, traffic was light and the

tea fields that stretched out over the mountains, created a spectacular scene. By the time we

reached Nuwara Eliya all of my initial misgivings concerning this tour, had proved to be totally

unfounded.

The tea pickers

The tea transporters

What goes up must come down is always a comforting thought to a cyclist. The

descent was slow for one day until we reached Ella Gap. A night was spent at the charming Ella

Gap Inn. In the morning we visited Ella Rest House a shop and tea-room with amazing views of

the Southern Plains 3000 feet below. It was time to head for the south coast. On the way we

called at Spice gardens, a Batik shop, and stopped at numerous roadside stalls to drink the milk

from fresh coconuts that were offered for sale by the stall owners. We reached Tangalle Bay Beach

Hotel on Tuesday the 28^th January. For twelve days we had cycled through Sri Lanka, there were

four days left. One day was spent swimming in the warm Indian Ocean and sunbathing. Then we

moved on and stayed for our last night at the Hibiscus Hotel, Kalutara North. Hibiscus is one of

the flowers common to Sri Lanka. Everyone was presented with a garland upon arrival. The same

flowers were laid on our pillows in the hotel rooms. The hotel is 20 miles south of Colombo; the

airport is 15 miles north of Colombo. Plan A had been to cycle through Colombo to the airport to

catch the flight home on Saturday evening. After our first days experience cycling through

Colombo, plan A was ditched by a unanimous decision. Plan B was to laze by the pool, take short

walk along the beach, then in the late afternoon use Sam’s mini bus and a hired lorry to transport

us to the airport. A very sensible change of plan.

Our last evening on the beach at the Hibiscus hotel Sri Lanka.