Most Inspirational Moment
Where to begin.Elephant sanctury visit.Whale watchingThe hill climb day, especially lunch by the waterfall, followed by staying at the Hill Club hotel.Experience of the street food, the Pooja, the impromto stop at the school and the interaction with the tennis balls, playing cricket, playing catch etcAll the cycling, (even when wetter than I thought possible), and meeting all the lovely Sri Lankan people
Thoughts on Group Leader
Peter - Absolute star, always available for help and advice, and really aimed to show us all Sri Lanka had to offer. Not permenantly sharing his knowledge, but did know the answer to anything, (from what I saw), he was asked, ie we may not all like to know the name of every single bird or flower we see, (too much info), but ask Peter and he will know.Suresh - A lovely lovely man, permenantly smiling, with our clear love for his country. Suresh had a very good knowledge of all the sights he took us to, and he loved his Sri Lankan map. The only thing that lets Suresh down is his grasp of the English language, in my opinion it may be too early to let him lead the trip. In my experience, people from this part of the world are far more adept at learning another language than I and many other Brits would be, so, all being well, Suresh will quickly brush up on his English skills, and end up as good a leader as Peter.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Anyone who normally cycles at home with "clip in's", take your pedals and invest in some SPD sandals, I bought the Keen make, brilliant.Take a small lightweight umbrella.
Suggestions
This is a fantastic trip, if you book this you will not be disappointed. Although, described in the trip notes as moderate/challenging, this should not be beyond someone who is just interested in cycling. If you have a partner who is at a different level of cycling to you, still do it. This is not an "eyeballs out" set of rides. There are plenty of stops and re-groups. For those of you who want to ride fast, you will be catered for as well, prepare yourself for the cat and mouse chase near the end of the trip, (not obligatory).In the words of the Nike advertisements - Just do it!