On the road early, and by 7 am we are broken down .  The clutch plate is cracked and a new clutch cable is needed.  We waited for new plate which took 4 hours and then another 3 hours to get It right. Jess had to go Indian style…if you know what I mean…
While waiting for Lil Jigg’  to get fixed at Baba motors, we had some chai tea, watched many chickens being slaughtered, sampled some of the local cuisine, and learned about the bettal nut which is what the locals chew on and their mouths look like they are bleeding.  Then they pound back a litre of water and spit out all this red juice.  Their teeth eventually turn red and rot.  This nut is put onto a leaf with lime paste and some other spices, rolled and popped into the mouth.  It gives them a bit of a “high”.
The mechanic had to bicycle 5 kms to pick up the new clutchplate which cost 500 rupees ($10 Cdn.).  Labour was another $8 Cdn.  He did a test run and all was good until Cork tried it out and the clutch was way too tight and she was unable to get it into 1st gear.  He worked on it more and finally we were on the road at 2 pm.
No sooner had we been on the highway when a mini-monsoon came down on us.  The wind, lightening, thunder and pelting rain was too much for us.  We felt like we were going to be flipped over so we pulled into a gas station along with trucks and motorcycles to weather it out.  It was a very crazy storm and once again we were soaked!
Back on the road again we ran into the American team who had broken down.  They were waiting for a mechanic so we continued on our way.
We were heading for Kharagpur, but found a hotel right off the highway, before the city, so we stayed there. It was a treat, as we had clean beds, bathroom, and were able to have beers and dinner in their back garden. We even concocted our own margaritas!   We had the best mutton and the best plain basmati rice ever!

A mere 153 kms today.

Note to future Rickshaw Runners: bring a couple MasterLocks to secure your jerry can of gas and other bags in your rickshaw overnight. Saves you from hauling everything into your room  each night. AND prevents you from spilling your jerry can in your room, like The Austrian boys did!