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Touring the countryside on those metallic steeds

NEW EXPERIENCE: A group of French mountain bike dealers set off on a tour of Mankombu village in Alappuzha.

Alappuzha: The little village of Mankombu in Alappuzha is usually unruffled by the noisy political processions and the odd smoke-belching Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus that pass through its roads.

But on Friday, the farmers’ hamlet had quite a rude wake-up call as nearly 30 Royal Enfield Bullet motorbikes roared into life and raced along the winding mud paths alongside the paddy fields.

It was not just the phat-phat bikes that shook Mancombu awake.

Those riding the bikes were not the usual biker anthem-chanting local Romeos.

Waving their hands, clicking away happily at their cameras and flashing wide smiles was a 26-strong contingent of French tourists.

They had come all the way down from France on an incentive tour arranged by Elf Moto.

The French brigade drove nearly 40 km through Mankombu, Kidangara, Krishnapuram, Thattassery and back to Pulinkunnu.

There was a short ferry voyage in between, after setting off from near the Mankombu Bhagavathy temple at around 9.30 a.m..

The route, charted by A.J. Chacko, a pharmacy professor at Mahatma Gandhi University and a native of Mankombu, was part of the itinerary arranged for mountain bike dealers in France with the India leg being handled by Incent Tours.

The south India leg was managed by the Kochi-based Marvel Tours.

The group arrived in the country eight days ago, Sejoe Jose and M.S. Gopakumar of Marvel Tours said.

They went sightseeing through Chennai, Mahabalipuram, Madurai, Periyar, Kochi and Alappuzha.

They stayed at the Marari Beach Resort on Friday..

A ‘Kerala Kaleidoscope’ was part of the programmes arranged for them in Kochi, Mr. Gopakumar said.

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