I went for a cycle out towards the Colombo Parliament and got side-tracked on the way. Lots of people had stopped by the side of the road to watch something so I scooted over to see what they were looking at. One of the local car importers / retailers was holding an off-road competition to promote their vehicles. There was an entry fee to watch but it worked out at about 55 pence. The setup looks almost professional from the photos but it was fairly random. The quality of the course was on a par with the ones I made in my parents garden to ride my bike round when I was a kid. The bumps and dips were bigger but same principle in general. The passenger in the jeep had to carry a jug of water and I guess the idea was to spill as little as possible. The first guy I saw went pretty slowly over the ruts and generally took his time. The next competitor was a woman who took a faster approach. She wasn't scared of the course and attacked it with speed, the result of which being that her passenger got a good soaking.
The Jeeps were pretty funky and would cost an absolute fortune here in Sri Lanka with the import tax somewhere around 300 or 400%; I'm sticking to my mountain bike and 3 wheel taxis for now. There was also a mountain bike course but I didn't fancy it in my flip flops.
The event attracted an affluent crowd so there was plenty of catering for the spectators, although unlike England there was no beer tent.
The whole thing was situated in the grounds of what I think is an apartment complex. There were also people competing in some sort of rowing competition and a golf course in the background. I hung around for about 45 minutes but as I'm not a lizard and there wasn't much shade decided to head back home before I was cooked.
On the way home I passed the most ghetto shop ever. There are junk shops in most countries but this was more of a "rubbish found at the side of the road" shop. If anyone needs an odd damaged wheel disc, a used flask, or one of an assortment of damaged or broken car parts let me know and I'll pick it up for you. I can also lay my hands on virtually unlimited supplies of broken computer parts and electrical items, which appear to have no value whatsoever but are still displayed for sale in numerous locations.
The Jeeps were pretty funky and would cost an absolute fortune here in Sri Lanka with the import tax somewhere around 300 or 400%; I'm sticking to my mountain bike and 3 wheel taxis for now. There was also a mountain bike course but I didn't fancy it in my flip flops.
The event attracted an affluent crowd so there was plenty of catering for the spectators, although unlike England there was no beer tent.
The whole thing was situated in the grounds of what I think is an apartment complex. There were also people competing in some sort of rowing competition and a golf course in the background. I hung around for about 45 minutes but as I'm not a lizard and there wasn't much shade decided to head back home before I was cooked.
On the way home I passed the most ghetto shop ever. There are junk shops in most countries but this was more of a "rubbish found at the side of the road" shop. If anyone needs an odd damaged wheel disc, a used flask, or one of an assortment of damaged or broken car parts let me know and I'll pick it up for you. I can also lay my hands on virtually unlimited supplies of broken computer parts and electrical items, which appear to have no value whatsoever but are still displayed for sale in numerous locations.
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