Day 65 - Quick Commerce

I started the day with some trepidation about a 120km ride. Catching up with Em about the rest of the trip really emphasised that 160km was usual for these guys, and this was just reinforced by Ben making plans for a 300+ day surfing trucks, so I set out to control the cadence of the day and not end up with 50km left after exhausting myself struggling through sand tracks for half a day without a break. My strategy was going to be to get a good start and break the ride into four 30km stretches with something to eat and a break to relieve my arse between each.

With this in mind, I took the six hour night on the chin and was out of the guest house no more than 9 hours after we arrived. Em kindly joined me and we left Ben fast asleep in his bed - although I was beginning to suspect Em doesn't sleep and just lies awake in bed to not raise suspicion. Without breakfast included, and Ben's gloating images of cake front of mind, we first set-off for the local bakery.

We arrived to a seemingly closed shop without a cake in sight. Luckily a well spoken man approached us asking if we needed any help and after comprehending the situation he waltzed into the store, calling out to the owner who eventually emerged from a back room - unclear whether he was previously awake. With the baker present and our guide now acting as a translator cakes began to emerge from the chest freezers. We selected a couple of cakes, added a bag of biscuits and negotiated the conditions for eating the bread roles - not on their own but with tea is acceptable - we bid them both farewell.

We then hit the road and put down the first 10km or so before breakfast. I never thought I'd find myself on drinking Chai tea and eating banana rolls on the side of an Indian motorway, but here we were. Half a dozen espresso-sized cups of Chai later and we set off again.

Over the next few kilometres I traded Em for Ben as she got distracted by some tassels and Ben dropped out of truck hyper-drive. Em caught up a short-while later. Through all this I just focused on a nice steady pace and was feeling good when we made it to the first of the three aid-stops of the day. Cake! With a bit of encouragement I too, had a play with drafting in the second stretch - opting for slow moving tractors though. They were certainly easier to catch, but slower and would typically be on the motorway for a few kilometres.

Regardless, this meant I was feeling in decent shape and surprisingly optimistic about the distance when we stopped for my second stop and lunch: a road-side stall where we rolled the dice on bhaji, a Dahl and more Chai tea.

It transpired that the stop was strategically chosen by Ben because it was just before a toll barrier - the perfect place to catch a truck. To hell with it, I'd give it a try. To my surprise I was able to drop in behind a well chosen slower truck, although, with a heart rate in the 190s I didn't think I'd be able to stay there for long. To my greater surprise I was still there a few minutes later and the three of us were charging along at quite a clip. An hour or so later, we had blasted past my third and final stop and were coming into the very out-skirts of Varanasi. Quitting while we were ahead, and alive, we split from the motorway and took a more relaxed approach to the city.

Regardless, we still came into the guest-house around 3pm and went about showering and organising gear. Well... I did. Em's priority was to comb then plat her newly acquired tassels so they would be more resilient during high-speed cycling and Ben was consumed by Swiggy, which would be a recurring obsession over the next few days. Let me explain. After asking where we might purchase some simple replacement parts, our guest house owner, Tej, pulled out his phone and flicked through an app. This app is Swiggy: an Amazon-Uber mix but claiming delivery times as short as 11 minutes. With typical losses for growth strategy - this app seems to be displacing western companies and may be poised to become the next big thing in India's 'quick-commerce' economy.

A service so fast does beg the questions - how far can you go on Indian streets in 11 minutes? and, how can they stock this variety within that radius? The only scientifically responsible thing to do was test this out. Lo-and-behold, it took longer to select and order two custard-apples,

Eventually the excitement of near instant delivery subsided and we headed out to find some dinner. Following the Tej's recommendation, it was of little surprise that we met another Brit, Chris, at the restaurant who was also staying at the guest house. Despite his hair, he was a good chap and we decided to score a few beers for the evening. A couple of drinks in and the idea of board games came up so... quick Swiggy order and for eleven euros we were listening to a bluetooth speaker while playing a brand new copy of Azul. Of course, Ben also ordered cake and pizza throughout the evening and it was the second or third order when a bleary eyed Tej emerged to explain that Ben had used his number to sign-up so he'd been receiving calls about each delivery. Luckily Ben's enamour with the Swiggy service seemed to play to Tej's national pride and all was forgiven, phone numbers were corrected and ordering continued late into the night.

Food spend today: 28.60 euros

Tea consumption: 15