performed a dangerous manoeuvre
and stopped; probably to avoid some
animal. A goat perhaps?
I was unable to stop in time and
crashed into the back of the truck. It
wasn’t serious but the impact jammed
the front mudguard down onto the
tyre and I banged my left hand. I was
still upright but stranded in the mid-
dle of the road.
It caused great consternation, not
only for me but also for the mandato-
ry passengers in the back of the truck
who immediately started a shouting
extravaganza. Not able to under-
stand much of the hullabaloo, their
tonal inflections and body language
seemed to indicate some concern
about my parentage.
Unsure of the local etiquette in
these matters and having heard some
interesting stories of past incidents,
I was sure that being taken hostage
and forced to marry the driver’s
daughter was on the cards. In the
end the crescendo died down and
the truck simply drove off without
so much as a 'by your leave'. A great
source of relief to me I don’t mind
telling you.
One of the other riders, Suskil, ar-
rived and helped me drag my Enfield
to the roadside. It was very hot and
steamy in the afternoon sun and with
my heart rate increased considerably,
I was sweating profusely. As it hap-
pened, a crowd developed around
me, giving all sorts of incomprehensi-
ble hints, as I assessed the situation.
It appeared only superficial damage
to the bike and if I could remove the
mudguard, I was sure to be able to
continue. My trusted companion
disappeared into a nearby workshop
and returned with a 5/16 BSW (Brit-
ish Standard Whitworth) open end
spanner, and after a few minutes the
mudguard was removed.
I was getting ready to head off,
with the mudguard strapped to the
top of my luggage when Chandra
pulled up; he’d been delayed with a
flat tyre, and as luck would have it,
TRAVERSE 78