Wild Hogs

Just saw that movie and I like it. 4 Bikers.. open road and freedom. Wow! I never felt this good while riding even :D. But its a good 3rd angle to what we bikers do. And now I realise that what my brother has been able to do. Creating a group bikenomads which is recognised nationally by bikers and motorcycle companies. Its one huge achievement.

Riding bike on an open road not knowing where you gonna stop, what you gonna do, just open road, 10 days off and few close friends. This is one thing that I wanna do. And I would remember one thing from the movie - “loose the watch”.

Movie Trailer

Leh Lessons.

These points are for basically for me but could come in handy for others who want to go and visit leh.

1. You
2. Friends
3. The Machine
4. Survival stuff

You:
Leh is one of the places where YOU would count a lot. Its a place where health does matter. Your fitness shouldn’t only be good enough for you but be good enough that in case one of your friends need your help - he/she can count on you.

So first what would happen to your body when you go at that altitude?

Once you climb above 10.000ft, you would notice the difference. The lack of oxygen makes breathing hard. It’s not like that you have to take deep breaths but if you run or do some activity which requires a decent effort, you would notice your body asking for more breath - just like what you have when running. But in this case it would happen too soon.
Now if you happen to have been able to adjust to the climate then it’s good else you might feel as if you are feeling nauseatic. Which would be because of the reason that you are not able to digest food because of the lack of oxygen. No digestion means lack of hunger which means lack of power which means… starting of all the problems. But you don’t need to worry too much. A) Because Army is there to help you in case something goes wrong. (You can’t order them but if you talk politely, they would be more than happy to help). B) There are medicines available. Dimox being one famous one among the people. I tried to go on the trip without having one but ended up having it after my health deteriorated.

Friends:
Now if you are going on such a trip and planning on going by bike (motorcycle) or bicycle or trek, go with friends you know. Because if something happens to you - you would need them more than anything else. And to be honest not everyone would be like ok lets help the person… after all everyone is there for their fun and you might find there reaction rather surprising.

Go with people you know or people you know who care or people who are hero types. Hero type means who have in them the energy and guts to help you.

The Machine
If you have your own mode of transport like a bike, cycle, car, 4×4 you need to take care of your machine in advance. What you would need is some extra pair of things that can break or wear out. For instance I on bike took tyre tubes, clutch wire etc. Since I knew that a puncture could happen and a wire might snap.. I was ready with it. I was also carrying engine oil which I would need in case of leak or just simply to change. So its important that you know what extra stuff you need. Now all these tubes or wires would be useless if you happen not to carry tools to use them. I mean come on, if my tire gets punctured how would I blow air in the tube - use lung power - no way. So you should carry tools along.

Make sure that your machine is properly set. Get it serviced and ask your mechanic if it can take toll on it. I took my old CBZ 157cc bike on the trip and believe me - it was sounding crazy when it got back to Delhi. The trip did take a toll on it.

Survival Stuff
Assume that you are half way between Keylong and Leh and something bad has happened to you or one of your friends. Now what do you do? There are no restaurants near by (2010 there would be) and there is no one you can call (no cell phone coverage). So now either you curse your self, your luck or just take it. In any case you would need to survive from cold air, no place to sleep, no food and no water. So what to have with you. Its advisable that you do carry extra winter clothing or tent in this case. Hopefully, more of water proof stuff. We took chocolates and dry noodles along to eat. And a friend Hrishi was carrying stove too.

Its also advised that you take medicines along - for stomach ache, headache, pain and some vitamins too. Water should be there in good amount. I was feeling thirsty every now and then. If you are on bike, cycle you could take the water (Hydration) bag along like [http://www.webmountainbike.com/camelbakmule.html]

How to prepare for the trip on bike

Now if you have decided to go on the trip, its important to know about the place. In India people don’t tend to do their homework because of busy schedules but its advisable that you do.

1. Read articles. Example: http://www.bikenomads.com/wiki/index.php/Leh
2. Watch youtube clippings: These would give you info about how the place look like, I wish I would have done that.
3. Check photographs
4. Talk to those who have been there: I did a lot of talking online but nothing in person. Which I think was a big mistake. Face to face interaction is better.

Back from Ladakh

Hey All!

I am back from Ladakh after covering some 2,500 plus KMs on my motorcycle.

Leh'd

Start Point: Jammu 29th June 2008 Evening

End Point: Delhi 14th July 2008

Passes Crossed: 10 (one on a 4 wheeler)

The map:

Map(Click to zoom)Nalin Bakshi on CBZ

Ladakh remains one of the few places far away and luckily unspoiled by humans. Riding at heights of 13,000ft to 18.380 ft makes it a challenge in addition to the bad roads which gets worse as you go higher.Few memorable moments in the ride:

1. Riding from KeyLong to Sarchu: The hight altitude sickness kicked in (I didn’t take the pill) and I was trying to reach Sarchu as soon as possible. After crossing two passes, I was no more in a mood to take pics and was just riding my bike as fast as the terrain would allow. The milestone meant a lot to me. All I could think then was Hrishi (who had started early) waiting there in a tent. I just dropped in the tent as soon as I reached there. It was only after I woke up that I realised that what a beautiful place I was in.

2. Taglala Pass: Bad health and no sighn of good roads. We had to do the some 280 odd KMs to leh. With not performing good, Tangla for me became a crucial pass. Unlike most - I had to rev the bike hard to keep climbing.. and I should I was ripping there. Once on the top the view of the valley below brought a big smile and the thought that despite bad health, I had done it.

3. Racing on the way to Khardungla: Me and Sravanth racing on the Khardungla road - Highest motorable road in the world. This was fun. Neither was ready to pull down. But I needed to take a leak so I had to stop short, Sravanth won.

4. Hrishi and the bu gal- And the farting sound it made: We were in the Leh bazaar when I asked to use the long pipe. I wanted to know how good it would sound and then came the loud farting sound from the instrument pooooo.. hehehehehe.

5. Pangong Tso: Worst dressed guy ever. Of all the things, I think I was the worst dressed rider on one of the most beautiful places in the whole trip.

6. Riding down from Leh to Kargil: Wast plains, dry cold air and descending down slowly. The clearly more breathable.

7. Kargil War memorial: 1999 Pakistan had taken some of out unused bunkers. The memorial which is just below the mountain range is a must go for all Indians. And those who doubt what the men in green are.. this is one place they must see. A very touching experience.

8. Jwahar Tunnel: With 2 meter visibility in the tunnel and 2.5Kms to pass - it was hell.

9. Udampur to Pathankot: Riding 4 and a half hours in rain and then two huge water crossings. My hope of doing Srinagar - Chandigarh in one day were trashed. My Rs 4k waterproof gloves were totally wet.

10. Chandigarh 70KM: Finally reached. The milestone reading “Chandigarh 70KM” and the thought finally meeting good old friends was a feeling that can be only felt not told.

Reflection

The leh trip - 01

So finally I am all set to leave for leh next week! One of the few places which remains away from the reach of average human. Leh - so whats special about it? To be honest, I don’t know. For me its part of the big hype created. One of the things that I am looking forward to is the “Pangong Tso” lake.

If you happen to have “Google Earth”, then I suggest you search for it and see it in 3D.

The other thing that I am excited about is riding in the hills. Taking curves is what makes biking different from a drive and we are going to have lots of those once we reach there. And the best thing about leh ride more than anything else to me is a much needed vacation. Far from office and far from pune.

I was talking to my dad about it and realised that how we people have changed and call things adventure when they are nothing but a result of boring lives we people (people in cities) have started to live. If its anything different than the ordinary and the risk factor is slightly more, we call it an adventure. While I am too curious for what to do, my dad sits there and says “You boys are talking as if you are going for a war, but the fact is that its nothing but a ride”. And it really is. Adventure would be had I done the same some 20 years back. I met a person yesterday, relative of mine. He said “Oh yes! I have been to leh.. it was 97 or 96″. That is 11 to 12 years back.

Initially the trip started pretty well with more than 15 bikers willing to go. And then one after the other the number of people participating in this kept falling till it got to 5 riders. And then in a few days time two more dropped out. And now its just three bikers Me, Sravanth and Hrishi. Tomorrow we are sending the bikes to Jammu. So I think the other two won’t be turning back and I am sure that the others would be thinking the same.