Cool piece in businessworld.in on the Rickshaw Challenge:

They warn you well in advance: this is an amazing race for the clinically insane. This coming August, 40 teams won’t mind being called that, as they compete in the Mumbai Xpress, an autorickshaw rally from Chennai to Mumbai. For the past three years, The Autorickshaw Challenge has drawn loyal fans to its annual rickshaw rallies, which includes the Tech Raid (Chennai-Hyderabad-Bangalore-Chennai) and the Malabar Rampage (to Kerala and back). Software techie Aravind Bremanandam has even set up an event management firm to handle the show. The victorious world champions get, apart from ‘major bragging rights’ and ‘an outrageous trophy’, free entry into the Caucasian Challenge, a drive-anything motor rally that kicks off from Budapest every year. Says Bremanandam: “Our mission is to provide an unparalleled experience to the rallyists by combining adventure, sight seeing, fun and charity. And what better way to do it than in our own homegrown autorickshaw?” Racers who fall in love with their zany, multi-coloured rickshaws have the option of buying it. For a fee of e900 (Rs 60,000), an autorickshaw, paper maps, traffic reports, road conditions, GPS co-ordinates and even internet access at pit stops, are provided. Enroute, teams adopt-a-village and provide it with school supplies, medicines and the like. Participants are urged to think of the rickshaw as “a covered bicycle with a fuel-efficient lawn mower engine”.

With the Indian Autorickshaw Challenge, Aravind Bremanandam has built a brand around the humble tuk tuk.

Pitted roads. Desert sands. Hilly terrain. Hairpin bends. The Budapest to Bamako rally (also called ‘The Great African Run’) tests driving skills. For most participants, this annual trans-Saharan rally is an addiction. But no amount of e xperience seems to equip them for the chaotic traffic encountered in and around Morocco. Most of the drivers don’t leave this leg of the rally without their cars getting scratched or dented.

In the 2006 edition, an Indian stood out for the ease with which he handled the traffic. Humungous vehicles had packed the road and the rally cars could move only by the inch. Unfazed, Aravind Bremanandam (in a 1974 Soviet Lada) wove through the traffic, taking advantage of every small opening.

In the evening, Aravind was the subject of great curiosity. Into a software business that required him to alternate between Budapest and Chennai, Aravind sang the praises of our autorickshaw drivers. “This traffic is nothing compared to what you find in Chennai,” he boasted to the group that hung on to his words.

He promised to give them a feel of driving autorickshaws through the Indian countryside. He kept his word. Later in the year, the “Indian Autorickshaw Challenge”, a Chennai to Kanyakumari rally, was organised.

With painted designs and accessories, the autorickshaws were given a dash of flamboyance (Now, the teams can smarten up their autos by shopping at www.pimpmyshaw.com). The participants themselves went through makeovers. Dressed like dukes, princesses, wizards and what not, they played many roles. The rally lived up to its tagline — “An amazing race for the clinically insane.”

Full article here

DHL India employees go wild with a special custom autorickshaw adventure!

Mumbai, India. February 15, 2009 – The India branch of DHL Global Forwarding just treated its employees to an unforgettable a day of team-building challenges that involved driving and racing autorickshaws – motorized, three-wheeled vehicles that are an iconic symbol of the Indian subcontinent.  

DHL commissioned Chennai Event Management Services (CEMS) to organize this special team-building event. CEMS specializes in large-scale adventure races and endurance rallies, but this particular event is a product from their unique choose-your-own-autorickshaw-adventure service.

The day started early with driving lessons from professional autorickshaw drivers – real experts always make the best teachers! Participants came from all around Europe and South Asia Pacific for this event. Most had never even seen an autorickshaw before, and nobody had ever driven one.

Endurance challenges were offered first to get everybody warmed up. After a great game of autorickshaw tag, things really started to heat up! A special “slow race” really challenged everyone’s driving skills and brought laughs and cheers from all teams. 

The final challenge was an extraordinary autorickshaw ballet, in which teams danced around the arena in three clusters of five vehicles each. This unusual spectacle was definitely the highlight of the day. 

At the end of the event, prizes were given for the top-scoring teams. Everyone had a fantastic time, and the participants agreed the event was one of the most unique experiences they had ever had. 

CEMS is responsible for organizing events like the annual Rickshaw Challenges in India and the Bus Number 7 rally that goes from Central Europe to Africa. This custom DHL team-building day represents a unique CEMS service that lets clients dream up their own autorickshaw-related events. 

Official DHL PR here

Fourteen teams of world travelers will kick of the New Year 2009 with an epic 11-day endurance race which will see them making their way across southern India in auto rickshaws.

In what is hailed as “An amazing race for the clinically insane“, the 2009 Classic Run is an endurance motor rally organized by Chennai Event Management Services (CEMS). The rally will see 27 like-minded adventurers from the US, UK, and Ireland form 14 separate teams and work their way across southern India in small, three-wheeled auto rickshaws. The rally will last for 11 days, and the participants will cover over 1000 kilometers of road, starting from Chennai and passing through every imaginable landscape, from modern and bustling cities to rural farmland and costal oases. The finish line is in Kanniyakumari, a city on the southern tip of India.

Autorickshaws are not fast vehicles, and are not designed to travel great distances – this makes the Classic Run- 2009 a race of endurance, not speed. In previous years, teams have worked to customize their rickshaws with everything from new paint jobs and rear spoilers to fancy, multi-speaker sound systems.

Charity has also played a big role in past races, and this year is no exception. The event’s official charity partner is Madras Midtown Round Table – 42 (MMRT-42 ), a Chennai-based group whose major project is “Freedom through Education”. Through the Rickshaw Challenge’s adopt-a-village program, teams will be bringing school supplies, medical supplies, toys, and other basic items to villages throughout the route.

This will be the fifth Rickshaw Challenge in India since CEMS pioneered the event in 2006. Each year the event attracts more and more followers, and this year the public is eagerly awaiting the rally. CEMS is also responsible for similar rallies throughout Europe and Asia, including the Rainbow Rampage, the Caucasian Challenge, and the Bus Number 7 adventure race.