Somewhere in Rajasthan, a province in Northwest India, Russ Breckenridge and Pendar Khosravi’s rickshaw began making a loud rattling noise.
Far from home—Breckenridge lives in Columbia Heights, Khosravi in New York—the two friends decided they needed help. After uploading a photo of a major crack in the support beam holding the three-wheeler’s engine to, of all places, ChatGPT, the verdict was discouraging. Dude, you should not be driving this. Nevertheless, Breckenridge and Khosravi forged ahead, careful to maintain a speed under 50 kilometers per hour—which kind-of mitigated the rattling noise.
This was part of the “Rickshaw Run,” in which drivers from around the world spend two weeks taking different routes that can have them bumping across the Indian desert, through the Indonesia jungle, or across Himalayan passes on motorized rickshaws. Breckenridge and Khosravi’s 12-day journey this August began in Leh, a city in the Kashmir region of India, ended in Jaisalmer, in the province of Rajasthan, and along the way crossed over the Umling La Pass, which is higher than Everest Base Camp and the highest motorable road in the world.
Working with a mutual friend, Stuart Murphy, as team Kublai Kai, the duo used the event to raise just under $15,000 for the World Literacy Foundation, which works to expand child literacy around the globe. Two years ago, they raised almost $27,000 while participating. “Because of our efforts, [the WLF is] going to expand into India, and they’re still just trying to figure out what that looks like,” Breckenridge says. “To us, knowing that there’s going to be something lasting and permanent is amazing.”
In addition to raising money for a good cause, the three friends view the Rickshaw Run as an opportunity to experience India in an adventurous and authentic way—starting with their mode of transportation. “When we travel, we want to sort of get out of our comfort zone,” Breckenridge says.
A three-wheeled rickshaw, he explains, is inherently precarious because “you can’t whip it around, because it’ll tip.” They’re also loud and smelly. “You have a jerry can in the back full of gas” he says. “So, it smells of gas. It smells of oil, because the gas is just constantly, like, sputtering out everywhere … we jokingly refer to it as a slightly overpowered lawnmower.”
Lacking doors, windows, and outer walls to separate the driver and passengers from the elements, rickshaws also allow locals on motorcycles to pull up for selfies and high-fives. “What it lacks in sort of like, good vibes, it makes up for, because it feels like you are part of the country,” Breckenridge says.
During this year’s event, Breckenridge and Khosravi were confronted with washed-out roads, thanks to monsoon season in Northern India. “We dealt with road closures, mudslides, rock slides, roads washed out, bridges washed out, literally, rivers running through roads sometimes,” Breckenridge says. “I had to get out and push the rickshaw through water up to my knees. I didn’t love that part.”
There were also some close calls, including one day when police closed Rohtang pass—a high mountain pass with stunning views—just hours after the team had struggled over it. “We got lucky and found the perfect timing, and we were able to make it through fairly unscathed, but, still really, really tough,” Breckenridge says.
The same pass also provided the two friends with some of their favorite moments. At the top, they enjoyed hot chai from a roadside stand. As rain poured down and the pair sipped tea, they watched a herd of wild horses gallop up the hill—then petted the horses and fed them biscuits. When they continued down the mountainside, they encountered a more haunting scene: vultures and dogs feasting on two dead Yaks. “It was out of this world, and that whole pass just gonna be stuck in my brain for the rest of my life,” Khosravi says.
During both Rickshaw Runs, Breckenridge says, he was struck by the kindness of the locals he encountered. This time around, the team also achieved micro-celebrity status, as team Kublai Kai’s Instagram account racked up followers in Northwest India. “We had a family flag us down on the roadway, I mean, just insisted we pull over,” he says. “And we did. They kept saying, ‘we saw your videos online. We saw you on Instagram. We must get a picture with the famous rickshaw team.’”
