Team Mama's Boys

Thank you all for following our adventures during our two weeks in Sri Lanka! As we wind down from our adventure, I have some big announcements about what you can expect from Team Mama's Boys in the coming weeks and months.

Negombo, Sri Lanka It was 4:30 am and pitch black outside when Kim, Michael, and Kyle met outside of the hotel. It was so early that even the peacocks weren't awake, and the morning was still, dark, and silent. Sleepily, the driver who we had arranged to meet us helped us load our luggage into the back of his car, and we set off along the empty roads towards Matara. One of Sri Lanka's highlights is its rail system, and we had wanted to take a train at some point during our travels on the island, since every guidebook, blog, and person we spoke with recommended it. The views from the train on the Coastal Line to Colombo were supposed to be especially nice. The only problem is that the 8059 train we needed to take is scheduled to depart daily at 6:05am and Matara, where the train departs from, was an hour away by road.

Tangalle, Sri Lanka We've done it! Team Mama's Boys has made it to the Rickshaw Run's finish line in Tangalle! With the click and hiss of three tall ice-cold cans of Lion Lager, we toasted to our successful adventure as we stood on the tropical golden sands of the beach of southernmost Sri Lanka. But let's back up to this morning...

Tangalle, Sri Lanka Michael and Kyle woke before the dawn to have an early cup of coffee on the balcony, watch the sun rise over the dark, misty hills of the Sri Lankan mountain resort town of Ella , and plan out the route for the day. Today was going to be another long day of driving, and after studying the map and a lot of discussion, we decided to try and make the final push to the south coast of Sri Lanka. The finish line is just two days away, and we calculated that with one long day of driving south, we just might be able to make it to Tangalle a day early to give ourselves one final day of relaxation on the beach.  

Ella, Sri Lanka It was a cold misty morning in the highlands of Sri Lanka.  After an early breakfast complete with more than a few cups of strong, hot, BOP-grade Ceylon Tea  to fortify them against the cold mountain wind, Kyle and Michael headed out to the carpark to fire up the tuk-tuk.

Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka Team Mama's Boys is together again! Whilst Michael and Kyle were rattling their way across the island from Negombo, Kim has been convalescing at the Heritance Tea Factory Hotel - complete with a house call visit at the hotel by the local doctor, a course of antibiotics, and a spa treatment.  Michael and Kyle were sad that Kim had to miss the first part of the adventure across Sri Lanka, but we are all excited to be finish the Rickshaw Run as a team.

Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka The morning began in Kandy before the dawn as Michael and Kyle headed downstairs to have an early breakfast. The hotel we were staying at was situated in a beautiful garden with the Sri Lankan mountains all around. The hotel owners also kept a home on the property, and breakfast was to be served at their dining room table. As we ate our eggs on toast and drank our orange juice and coffee, the hotel owner Mr. Upul sat down with us for a chat. It turns out that his daughter is currently studying her PhD at Harvard, so he and Kyle (who also lives in Boston) exchanged contact information with the promise that he would look Kyle up the next time he and his wife make their annual visit to Beantown.

Kandy, Sri Lanka Michael and Kyle awoke in Kandy, the last royal capital of the ancient kings of Sri Lanka. The country's second-largest city is located in the center of the country on the Kandy Plateau and is surrounded by rolling hills and misty green mountains. Today the capital of the Central Province, Kandy is both an administrative center as well as an important Buddhist holy city and pilgrimage site.

Kandy, Sri Lanka Top o' the morning! Today is not only the official Rickshaw Run launch day, but also St. Patrick's Day and we are hoping for a little luck of the Irish to see us through our first day on the road.

Negombo, Sri Lanka We had to have a difficult conversation and make a hard decision this morning. Over breakfast, Kim told Michael and Kyle that she was feeling even worse than the day before and had come down with a bad sinus infection. Even with the antibiotics from the pharmacy, she was feeling very poorly and was running a fever. Sadly, Kim had to make the decision not to join Michael and Kyle from the launch, but instead to hire a driver to carry her on to a hotel in Nuwara Eliya where she could rest, convalesce, and meet them several days later to finish the second half of the Run. We are all incredibly disappointed, as we had been so excited to do this adventure as a family. With heavy hearts, Kyle and Michael said goodbye to Kim for a few days and saw her off before heading to the Kumudu Valley Resort for their second morning of test driving. It's just not the same without Mom, and we are really hoping for a victorious finish together. For now, we are just... Team Boys, but...

Negombo, Sri Lanka Today is the day we finally got to meet the rickshaw that will (hopefully) carry us across the country! We will be staying in Negombo for a few days as we finish preparing for the official launch of the Rickshaw Run on Sunday.

Negombo, Sri Lanka Today was our final morning in Colombo. Michael and Kyle have been rising early to get the most out of their mornings before breakfast and to enjoy the cooler temperatures. Kyle, who is Catholic, really wanted to attend Mass to see what it's like in Sri Lanka. Michael is not, but agreed to go with him.

Colombo, Sri Lanka Today is our final full day in Colombo. We arrived in Sri Lanka a few days before the Rickshaw Run events begin so that we could get over jetlag and get our bearings in a new country. The last few days have been fantastic, and we've gotten to see and do a lot of the major things that we had wanted to in Colombo. Today, we wanted to take it easy. We know that the adventure ahead will be rough at times! After a leisurely breakfast, we took a tuk-tuk to the Lotus Tower, one of Colombo's newest and most iconic landmarks.

Colombo, Sri Lanka Today was the first day that we noticed a true sense of feeling at home as we began to understand the culture, pace of life, and vibe of Colombo. We are glad to have decided to spend a few days in the capital before beginning our Rickshaw Run adventure. The time to adjust has been really helpful and has given us a lot to love about this beautiful country. We feel as if we are starting to find our sea legs... or our "Sri" legs, as it were. Michael and Kyle were up early once again with strict instructions from Kim not to bother her until the planned 8:30am breakfast meeting. Michael and Kyle decided to take an Uber tuk-tuk to visit a Hindu temple and take an early morning walk in the cool air.

Colombo, Sri Lanka Good morning, Colombo! We awoke long before the dawn. Due to a combination of jetlag with having fallen asleep at 7:30 the night before found Michael and Kyle wide awake at 3:30 in the morning with a long wait until breakfast which, by the way, was phenomenal! All three of us ordered the Sri Lankan Breakfast plate, which came with a serving of chicken curry, dahl curry, and coconut sambol to be eaten with soft milk rice cakes, thick and chewy roti pancakes, and "string hoppers" (rice flour dough that is pressed through a mold to form thin noodles that are woven into discs and steamed).

Colombo, Sri Lanka After many hours of traveling, we have all met up in Colombo, the sprawling city of 1.8 million and the capital of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

In Episode 2 of the Attempt Adventure Sri Lanka Special, Michael Desrosiers, his younger brother Kyle Desrosiers, and their mother Kim Desrosiers prepare for their upcoming Sri Lanka Adventure. In this episode, the team takes care of some important logistics, begin making a packing list, and learn and perform a Sri Lankan song as the fulfilment of a promise we made to our supporters. Make a donation If you want to support us, you can donate to our official team charity, the Save Elephant Foundation and the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand! this is an ethical, no-ride elephant sanctuary that rescues and rehabilitates elephants who have been abused by the cruel tourism and logging industries. If you'd like to donate to charity to support their cause (and get some merch, shout-outs, and more), you can head on over to Fundraiser for Elephant rescue and rehabilitation in Thailand (gofundme.com) . *Please note that 100% of donations will go directly to charity* Teacher Nayana...

In Episode 1 of the Attempt Adventure Sri Lanka Special, Michael Desrosiers, his younger brother Kyle Desrosiers, and their mother Kim Desrosiers sign up for the Rickshaw Run, a wild auto rickshaw race across Sri Lanka. We know absolutely nothing about what we are getting ourselves into...

We’ve got something big coming in 2024 - a full season of adventure Attempt Adventure Podcast host Michael Desrosiers, his brother, and their mother take on the Rickshaw Run: Sri Lanka! The entirety of Season 4 of the Attempt Adventure Podcast will be a mini-series adventure special documenting our Rickshaw Run adventure in Sri Lanka. You can expect more episodes from us soon as we begin preparing for our big adventure! Listen on attemptadventure.com , Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever you get your podcasts.

Fort Worth, Texas, USA 90 Days to Launch Day One of the most important things we need before heading to Sri Lanka is an International Driving Permit. It's required for anyone who plans to drive in Sri Lanka, and without it, our adventure would be finished before we even began! Yesterday, Kim and Michael drove to Fort Worth to apply for an IDP at AAA.