This is a three part series. So far this blog has been about my perspective for our family's adventure. The next three posts, all part of the same trip/series are from the Mister's perspective. Literally since most of this is through the lens of the cameras on this trip. He researched, planned, and plotted maps, organized, and finally booked his dream motorcycle ride through the Himalayas from Manali to Leh. In these pictures he will show you his experience.
Welcome Mister as he writes about his Himalayan motorcycle adventure.
Part 1:
Day 1: A view from our Hotel in Manali. We flew from Delhi to Manali and took a cab to Anu Autoworks where we had reserved 500cc Royal Enfields for our trip. First day was spent getting acclimatized and familiar with our motorcycles. We spent a few hours driving around Manali and making sure the bikes worked. A couple minor tweaks, but the bikes seemed fine.
Day 2: Above we are getting our bikes packed up and ready to head north. We also hired a mechanic to ride along with us. Originally, I did not intend to bring a mechanic but if you rented three or more bikes the company required that you hire a mechanic to travel with you.
It turns out the mechanic was a really good idea. We have our first breakdown within the first half of the day. I don't recall exactly what the issue was, but we stopped for a photo op and this bike never started again. Here is the mechanic coasting down hill to trade out the broken down bike for a replacement.
Waiting by the side of the road for the replacement bike. Here, a few water buffalo are being herded down the road. It took the mechanic a couple hours to come back with a new bike. When he returned, we excitedly mounted back up an prepared to head out. Then my bike caught on fire. We made a quick decision to take his bike and send him back for a SECOND replacement bike. We headed up the mountain with our remaining three bikes and one of us riding the mechanics bike.
On our way up Rohtang Pass. The small yellow tents at the bottom of the hill (in the center of the picture) are in the spot where we waited for the replacement bikes.
And then....there was mud. While we were waiting for the replacement bikes, it was raining on Rohtang Pass. We road/pushed bikes through hours of mud like this.
Pushing bikes through mud is hard work. Added stressor was the altitude of approximately13,000 feet. This shot is the mechanics bike standing on it's own, rear tire wedged in mud. One or two of us would get to a decent spot on the road ahead, park, then slog back down through the mud to push whoever was stuck. I think we all agreed it was one of the most physically and mentally challenging things we had done in many years.
Here you see some of the other "traffic" on the road.
Over the Pass! The roads and the view improve...for a while. We continued on and were attempting to make it to a town called Keylong. However, eventually the rain started again, the sun went down and there was a landslide that blocked the road to Keylong. That night is a whole story of it's own. I did things on a motorcycle that I promised myself I would never do. For example, for quite some time I rode without a headlight, in the rain, at night, on a road that barely passed as a trail. On one side of us was a fifty foot drop to a raging river. I have always said it's a fine line between hard core and stupid. Suffice it to say, I think we may have crossed the line that night.
Day 3: This is the view we had the morning of Day 3. After we finally gave up on Keylong, our mechanic brought us to a camp that was not too far back down the road. These tent/cabins don't look like much but it had a dry bed, electric light and a flush toilet. It was pretty heavenly after the day we just had.
Our accommodations just outside of Keylong. The sun came out and we had a couple hours to dry our wet gear before we got back on the road.
Early morning view from the road side.
A river crossing.
Not much traffic out here. The riding on this day was outstanding and just about exactly what I hoped for. The scenery was great and the roads were, at times, pretty good.
A pit stop for our first and only flat tire. (The mechanic pays off again.) The timing was convenient because there was another landslide just ahead of us. Luckily, there was a road crew nearby. It took them a couple hours and some explosives to clear the road. We found a nice shady spot by the side of the road and just hung out for a while. The large container sitting by the road is one of our gas containers. Just outside of Keylong, not far from the spot we slept, was the last gas station until Leh. We had to top off at that station and also bring along some extra gallons to make sure we could get all the way to Leh.
Accommodations for our third night at a spot called Sarchu. High plains at 14,000 feet. It was a tough night of sleep but at least another warm dry bed.
This is our camp's kitchen/headquarters.
(trip continued in Be Our Guest part 2 & part 3)
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