On the morning of day three we visited the Brihadeeswara temple dedicated to Shiva. We watched the sun rise up behind the temple, bathing it in orange light.

While we'd set out to see many temples on our route, it was the countryside and agriculture that was really drawing us. We wanted to see more of the rich delta inland. We set our sights on Kumbakonam, a town we had seen frequently on posters and billboards promoting its fine coffee. It was a bit of a whim, and a bit of a disappointment when we arrived.

The ride there, over terribly pitted roads and passed too many buses and lorries, gave us pause to consider our overall route. It was because of this disappointment that we reached out to the local riding community and they responded in kind. On day three we found our support system. They delivered us safely, over the rest of our trip, across such beautiful terrain in three states.

Today was also the day we met some pretty awesome lorry drivers. It was a good day.