Day 28: Thiruvananthapuram – Kanyakumari

I had a good sleep under the fan until six. Then had a bath. Today we’re gonna go for Kanyakumari. It’s hard to realize this had been our aim all along – I've enjoyed the journey so.

Started at 7:15am. A km on, the highway turned left at a UCO bank junction. Confused or misinformed, Shyam and I went straight on the Kovalam road a few hundred metres. We came back to the junction to find Krishnan missing!

I waited there while Shyam explored every avenue – Kovalam road, highway and back to the control room. No sign of Krishnan. Worried, I waited with the cycles while Shyam took an auto to search further. But in vain.

It was nine by now, and we returned to the control room and told the officer about Krishnan. The officer took down his description and sent out a message on the wireless. Never has any of us been missing for so long.

It is 9:45am now. I’m sitting in the PS compound writing this while Shyam is pacing the streets outside. I’m getting more anxious with every passing minute. This is most un-Krishnan-like.

At 10:30 I decided it was time for some action instead of hanging around for news that wasn't coming. We started cycling along the highway. Asked some of the lukkhas sitting alongside, and found that Krishnan had indeed cycled along that path. Called up a police station near the border and asked them to put a stop to his progress.

Heavy, hot cycling later, we came to Neyyatthinkara (20km). Had lunch in the same place Krishnan had had breakfast. I wondered why the moron was cycling alone!

At Kavakkutilai (32km), we crossed the border - a small sign and Asoka post - into Tamil Nadu, our sixth and last state. Cycled a few km on and rested in a church compound under a tree. It’s hot on the road at 3pm.

Kanyakumari! As I sit here facing the sea, it’s hard to describe my deep satisfaction to be here, as well as that exhilarating, memorable last ride here.

After changing states, we were greeted with a dramatic change of scenery. From the endless coconut palms and continuous village of Kerala, here we were met with hills. Thankfully we did not have to go over any of them. They were solitary high rocky things scattered here and there, mostly to the left. The lush greenery of the banana plantations in the foreground, the clouds kissing the hilltops yonder, is a picture I will not easily forget. And the wind... the entire evening stretch of 50+km we were refreshed by the strong wind. Now and then, we would come across lotus ponds or hyacinth streams. And the spirit... Shyam and I were bubbling with enthusiasm and anticipation throughout. I was on a continuous high and never felt the cycling, the monotonous leg exercise that had become a part of my life for the past month and would soon cease to be. I remembered what Pop had told me once regarding jogging – once you stop feeling the pain and start noticing the countryside, the jog is no longer an exercise but an experience. Luckily this feeling had come to me very near the beginning of the trek.

We reached Nagercoil (68km), from where the road was a continuous flat stretch illuminated at places. A few km on it became dark. Along the road, we were informed that Krishnan was just a few minutes ahead of us but when we finally spotted him in Kanyakumari sipping a cool drink, he said he’d been there hours back. The trio re-formed, but Krishnan was in a major solitary mood. We had cycled 88km today.

Kanyakumari is a big tourist place. Seeing the large number of hotels and lodges, I was for a moment afraid the police wouldn’t accommodate us, but was relieved when they did. It seems fitting to start and end the trek by staying the night at a police station. Perhaps I may not have this experience again.

We had our baths at a pay-and-use place and then dinner at a nearby restaurant. Shyam and I were still hungry, so we went and ate Chinese grub at another restaurant.

A long time passed with us lying by the waterfront and gazing at the stars. The sea played its unique melody as the lighthouse made its nightly rounds. Went to sleep in this windy place at 3am after debating whether to stay the night up or not.