Rickshaw Challenge: Driving blind, wet and scared from Chennai to Mumbai on three wheels

"It knew nothing but forwards and upwards," says Irishman Patrick Livingstone of the tenacious Indian auto-rickshaw.

Shaky, wobbly and in an apparently perpetual state of disrepair, the ricketiness of the rickshaw does not negate the tenacity of this simple piece of engineering. The Mumbai Express Rickshaw Challenge is testament to this quality of endurance.

Twenty-eight participants from countries no doubt unfamiliar with such modes of transport, such as Ireland, Canada and The Netherlands, traveled 2,000 kilometers in 14 days across the mountains, jungles and unpaved roads from Chennai to Mumbai. In a rickshaw, that's a journey of Everest-esque proportions.

They managed to complete the race, raise over US$10,000 for charitable projects of Round Table India and also, in the end, had only good things to say about the old tuktuk. 

We quizzed five teams on their emotional tipping points during the 14-day race and came to the conclusion that all complaining North Mumbai commuters, who feign post-traumatic stress disorder after two kilometers, can just take a hike. 

Team: Oudzaad

Member: Bram Serre, Dutch, 41 years old

Reckless rickshaw moment: "The scariest moment was driving down the mountains from Kushal Nagar to Mangalore. The rickshaw had broken down seven times that day, so we were a little late and had to drive till 11:30 in the evening to reach our destination. The way down was full of curves, potholes, mist, lunatic lorry drivers, darkness and rain. The amount of light shining from our headlight could be compared to a candle. The lorries and buses speeding up the mountain all had their big headlights in oncoming traffic, blinding us even more. So we were lost, blinded, hungry, wet, cold and tired. I was navigating the road with one hand, my nose on the windscreen, evading potholes, cars, lorries and buses coming our way while manually operating the windshield wiper with the other hand. We survived. We did not drive into the ditch, nor into another car. We just arrived late. But it was quite scary."

Rate the rickshaw: 5/5

"The rickshaw is an example of superb engineering. You know it will break down, but you know it will be relatively easy and cheap to fix. As a one-time-experience during this race the rickshaw deserves a top score of 5. But I am not going to exchange my car for one."

Team: Oudzaad.

Team: Drop It Like It's Vindaloo

Members: Christina Bacla, American, 30 years old

Dale Compton, South African, 31 years old

Reckless rickshaw moment: "The scariest moment was when Christina was driving from Mahabaleshwar to Pune on August 10 and drove through a long and pitch-black dark tunnel. Dale was in the back of the rickshaw with two locals we picked up to take to Pune. When we got into the tunnel it was so dark and we couldn't see anything. The local boys in the back were very scared and said to turn on the lights. They offered their cell phone light to try and help find the switch to turn the rickshaw's lights on but the light was already on! It just wasn't very powerful so it didn't help much. Christina just tried to drive straight and hoped that she would bring us to safety soon. You can imagine our relief when, after what was probably two minutes but felt like two hours, we saw the light at the end of the tunnel."

Rate the rickshaw: 5/5

"We rate the rickshaw 5 out of 5 as a mode of transportation. We loved driving it throughout India and wouldn't have changed a thing. The rickshaw is small enough to squeeze into tight spaces, allowing you to weave through the traffic and pass the cars and trucks."

Team: Drop It Like It's Vindaloo.

Team: Punjabi Piston Heads

Member: Jamie Cumming, British, 25 years old

Reckless rickshaw moment: "Tipping the rickshaw going full speed down a hill, and just missing an oncoming truck."

Rate the rickshaw: 5/5

Team: Punjabi Piston Heads.

Team: The Shaw Bros

Member: Ganesh APP, Indian, 24 years old

Reckless rickshaw moment: "On our way from Mysore to Mangalore, while passing through the ghats at Coorg, we toppled the auto. It was late in the evening, we had taken a detour to check out the Namdrolin monastery. We were behind everyone. Even the safety car was about 50 kms ahead of us. It was raining heavily and we were rushing through the hairpin bends. About 30 kilometers from Madikere I oversped at a bend and jammed the brakes. The auto toppled. We were all were injured. The petrol leaked off. The windshield broke. The front frame broke and was now bent inwards. The frame of the auto came loose. The roof canopy came off. The headlights broke too. It was getting dark and it was raining heavily by then. The auto was still in a runnable condition and the engine was fine. We called up the safety car, but they were 50 kilometers ahead and they couldn't help us.

"After some lorry driver helped us lift the auto and put it on its wheels, we drove slowly without a windshield and head light and roof in the rains through the ghats for hours. At about 1 a.m. in the night we gave up 50 kilometers away from Mangalore as our eyes were sore from all the high-beams of the lorry drivers coming in the opposite direction. We only had a torch to indicate that we were there on the road and hoped they would't run over us. We spent the night inside a van at some random village in the rains. That was the scariest moment."

Team: The Shaw Bros.

Team: Horse It India

Member: Patrick Livingstone, Irish, 28 years old

Reckless rickshaw moment: "On the third night of the race we were traveling with the vehicle which had next to no light. Only the moon provided enough light to see the road surface, intermingled with passing vehicles' head lights. This was terrifying in itself as I couldn't see potential potholes which, if hit at the right angle would've sent us all across the road. Nonetheless we persevered onwards towards a brow in the hill, blind! As we approached the brow of the hill a truck with death smeared across the side, pounded over the hill on our side of the road. Slightly confused as to which way he was going next, I made the split second decision to swerve rightwards, across the central reservation, I thought he was going to split the vehicle right down the middle, but we managed to get away with a scratched rear fender."

Rate the rickshaw: 4/5

"I can see how Asia is built on the back of these wagons. Functional, simple, sturdy and spacious with a variety of optional extras. For the journey our rickshaw brought us on I was amazed at its perseverance and resilience through mountains, jungle, water-logged impasses, off-road, on road, side road, express ways and city streets. It knew nothing but forwards and upwards. As a transport vehicle it must be up there in the 4s. Get one working on hydrogen or fatty oils and you've got a world beater I reckon."

Team: Horse It India.

To create your own rickshaw challenge or to participate in upcoming races in India in October 2010 and January and April 2011 visit the Rickshaw Challenge website.