The Setup

I'll start by being honest. I was not most interested in this ride. Most of all because my most frequent long distance tourer, Nilu, was missing from this ride. Then, Nishant was also absent. I was more interested in visiting a new place like Bhutan or Nepal or North East. With the number of tourists heading to Leh increasing heavily, it was not that big a challenge as it used to be. Mind you, its still not easy. But the ride did turn out to be a very memorable one. Quite adventurous.
The final tally of riders included:
Gyananath Moshahari - Hero Honda Karizma
Vihans Gupta - Yamaha FZ-16
Mrinal Doley - Bajaj Avenger
Mrinaljeet Dutta - Bajaj Avenger 200
Rohit Saini - Royal Enfield Electra
Ajit Singh - Royal Enfield Thunderbird
Saurabh Khanna - Royal Enfield Electra
Diptinder Singh Chhabra - Royal Enfield Electra

The tally would have surely been more had we allowed another comrade Aasish Francis to join us, who was traveling with a female pillion. Aasish, I'm very sorry to say No to you. Guys, I'll get back to you someday on this one.
The start was not encouraging. Monsoons had just begun and there had been news of heavy flooding even on NH-1 near Ambala. Moreover, our plan of going via Srinagar was disrupted as news of violence and curfew came from the Valley. Parental pressure was mounting to postpone the trip. We knew that any postponement would mean cancellation of the trip. Even if the trip would somehow happen later, the riders would not be the same and that would not promise the same amount of fun. Our planning was very meticulous. We were to touch all the major points through very adventurous routes.

09 July 2010

So after much coaxing and convincing, shopping trips and many, many discussions later, the day of departure finally came. I escaped from the routine office life at 5 PM. The first loading session is always the longest. It took me a whole hour to pack all the stuff on the Bullet. I was carrying one extra tent, sleeping bag and gum-boots. All the weight amounted to so much that when the engine fired up and the vehicle started to move, it was wobbling. Slowly and steadily, I reached the gathering point at the famed landfill site at the start of GT Road by 8:15 PM. Straightaway, there was a problem. Vihans was having trouble with the self start of his FZ. The emergency was the lack of a kick start option. His mechanic was attending to the bike, but did not find the cure of it.
With crossed fingers, we set off towards Panipat. The road after Alipur border has become very pleasurable to ride, even at night time. We made it to Gyan's home in just 2 hours. Gyan was his usual self, having started beer without waiting for us. Our plan was to leave from Panipat at 4 AM as the following day would see very long distance riding. Easier said than done. Its an insult to reach Gyan's home and straightaway go to sleep. You simply cannot go to bed without having 2 bottles of beer. Still, we did manage to finish everything by 1 AM and went to sleep.

10 July 2010

Next day, everyone woke up with Gyan's calling. The time was 6:30 AM. Nobody remembered their alarms going off. It was all bright outside. We were terribly late. Just like other times, we decided not to hold drinking sessions at Gyan's place anymore in the future. We set off at 7:30 AM, three and half hours behind schedule. Called up Rohit at Ambala to meet us on the highway.
Ambala was crossed easily with the highway wide open. There was still evidence of the havoc rain had created on the sides of the roads. Rohit bhai caught up with us at a dhaba just before Rajpura after entering Punjab. We were taking a route so that Chandigarh could be bypassed. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, they say. During rides, we follow it to the hilt. The difference is that breakfast becomes the meal for the entire daylight time. Aloo Parathas, Curd, Lassi and lots and lots of butter.
Before setting off, we called up Ajit ahead at Chandigarh to meet us at Kharar. We asked him to pick up some premium liquor too. This was a special ride that deserved some special alcohol. He picked up a Jack Daniels and Black Dog. But before reaching Kharar, we reached another hurdle. The bridge connecting Banur and Kharar was broken. The way across was through a 3 feet deep nallah. This was the first of many nallahs we would face on this journey. This one was deep enough to drown the silencer. Most of us did not want to undertake that crossing, instead preferring to take the 10 kms long diversion. Gyan is the aggressive one. He saw the localites crossing with their 100 cc bikes. This was enough to try out himself. The high silencer position of Karizma helped and he was across. We told him to catch up with Ajit and wait for us.
At first, there was some guilt of taking the diversion. But then riding on that village road amongst the lush green paddy fields, we were too glad on taking that route. The sort of moments that make you proud of your country. Rohit bhai was surprisingly fast on this route. He was so fast that when we caught up with Gyan and Ajit after Ropar, he was still riding ahead. Some cold respite was needed quickly. Ajit suggested Lassi, but that would make us sleepy. Dutta still had it. We later realized the person we were dealing with. This guy is a total, straightforward, out and out rider. When on his machine, he does not get distracted. Just give him the destination and time and he'll get there, even if the others do not.
After Ropar, came the stretch towards Kiratpur. During our last visit, this stretch was under construction being converted into 4 lanes. It was all ready this time and the sailing was super smooth. This road brings out old memories. Ladakh 2007, Lahaul-Spiti 2008, McLeodganj 2009. Nostalgia.
We waited for Rohit on reaching the turn towards Bilaspur. He was still racing ahead in a mood of his own. This was quite unlike him. He was just a few kms ahead. Now the hills started. As soon as the ascent starts, the mountains prepare you for what will be coming next. The pickup drops and you are surprised to know that you've been using full throttle and still no result. Nature is a great teacher.
Now, we were part of the notorious Bilaspur ACC traffic. All of us were covered in dirt. This made us thirsty. We had to take emergency measures. Dehydration cannot be taken lightly. Gyan halted at the first theka and 4 strong beers opened. Rohit bhai feels out of place in such situations as he's a teetotaler. He does not usually smoke, but this time he did.
Refreshed we continued our journey. We reached Sundernagar and stopped for lunch. A very late lunch besides the canal. The next meal would be only at Manali. We stuffed ourselves. The food was great too. Now, it was getting dark too. Time to stick together. Darkness even brings the runaway Gyan together with the group as his Karizma headlamp does not rotate.
We crossed Pandoh dam. Again a brief halt at a tea stall to regroup and then prepare for the final assault. "Assault" reminded us to stock up for the night. Close to Kullu, we picked up 2 Old Monks. We crossed an empty Kullu. All the crowd was at some VIPs marriage ceremony.
After crossing Kullu, on the ascent towards Manali, we saw a crowd rush at one of the local thekas. There seemed to be some scuffle going on. All of us passed the trouble cleanly. But, we faced another trouble only a few feet ahead. Ajit's rear tyre had been punctured by one of the broken beer bottles near the theka(Puncture #1). At that time of the hour, past midnight, there was no help to be found. We had to help ourselves. Vihans was the first to dive in. Others took full advantage of this and just stood to the side. It took us 2 hours to fix the puncture. An extra hour was because the glass was still stuck in the tyre even after Gyan had given it his full hand brush.
Reaching the Manali entry, we stopped to pay the "green tax". I wonder if that money is really put to use. There's no checking in Manali whether they have entered after paying tax or not. Vihans took full advantage and got us across the gates by paying 50%. He's so good at such communication that the guards also stopped a local guide to take us to a decent, cheap hotel. Cheap it was. At Rs 300 per room, it was a steal. Saurabh was somewhat disappointed here. I think he's used to some luxuries. Like it or not, this was going to be our home for the next two days.
After some washing up, we gathered in the main chambers for the holy cleansing. Its useful in making the dash to Manali in one day only as the next day is reserved for rest. So, you can really enjoy the evening in peace. Thats why we all were wide awake at 3 AM and making life hell for the hotel staff. We made him get us anything to eat. He managed to bring egg bhurji and toasted bread. Clean hands or not, everyone dived in.

11 July 2010

We woke up lazily. The day's agenda was mini-servicing of the bikes, buy more stuff for the trip, search for Gagan, the Mr. Know-it-All at Manali, visit Lazy Dog, watch the World Cup Finals. It was a busy day. The group split up into two for faster servicing. All the servicing of our group was done quickly. The other group had to bear with heavier tasks of clutch plates replacement and chain set replacement. Since we had some extra time, we went to Lazy Dog. Unfortunately, the owner Yon was out for that season. It looked like we would be watching the Finals elsewhere.
Gagan was found at his shop after some mix-up. He's a treasure. This guy knows Manali inside out. He gladly came with us for the entire day. The rest of the time was spent in shopping for essentials. It was here at Mall Road that our group had the first fall(Fall #1). None other than the ace faller, Gyan. While walking he missed a step and banged his foot.
Jerrycans were available at Rs 40. With no choice, we had to relent. Torches, woollen socks, paper soaps, Gagan helped us in finding everything. The shopping tired us. Gyan and Vihans opted for tel-maalish. We reached back to the hotel to put the stuff. And then quickly out again to Club 7 to watch the Finals. The place was laid out well. Sofas lined up in front of a gigantic projector screen. It was going to be so much fun. Already the crowd was getting divided over who they were supporting, Netherlands or Spain.
Gagan arrived sometime later and played his magic. Our group was led into a separate lounge area exclusively. But only for a short while though. As the crowd started pouring in, the place was getting short of seats. We got out into another seating area to join the crowd. We didn't mind. Football matches must be watched in a crowd.
The match turned out to be a disappointment. It was slow paced. Most of us were supporting Netherlands, the team that defeated Brazil. The majority of crowd was Spain-supporting. And Spain won by 1-0. The night's adventures were still not over. My Bullet was boxed in the parking by a Maruti 800. Only Dutta, Doley and Gyan were left with me at that time. We had to pick up the car and push it back a couple of inches to make room. After freedom, came stupidity. We rode our bikes into Mall Road. Cops caught us at the end and asked for papers. Whether it was the beer breath or our stupid, smiling faces, we still don't know, but the cops let us go. We had pushed our luck too far and it was time we call it a night.

12 July 2010

There had been reports of Rohtang Pass being closed the previous day. Still, we found it better to wait at the pass than at Manali and moved on. It took us about one and a half hour to reach Marhi. There was a huge crowd there. On interacting, most of all by Ajit(he's a very good PR person), we found that some of the travelers had been waiting at Marhi for 3 days. There had been heavy landsliding following dynamite blasts. The road is being double laned. Some of the guys did show us some hope saying how lucky we were that the pass would be opened today. Little did we know that luck would take few more days to come to our side.
We started to move ahead after having a leisure breakfast of egg maggi, the staple food of this trip. We did not get far. Vihans' FZ did not start. We tried everything. We even brought in couple of mechanics of other groups, but no result. There was no going forward. We had to board the bike on top of a pickup and bring it back to Manali. Gagan helped us in finding another cheap hotel. Mangaldeep at Gompa Road. A mechanic checked the FZ completely and fixed it up. He promised that it would go all the way. By now, Vihans was very concerned about the performance. He asked the mechanic to come to the hotel after his day was complete. We were planning to take him along with us. It would be a good insurance policy for all of us.
The tension was evident on Vihans' face. When we reached the hotel, there was very less drinking. The news floating around was that Rohtang got opened in the evening. We had to leave very early if we were to keep up with our schedule. One rest day had already been lost. Vihans was telling us about all the education he had while traveling in the pickup.
When the mechanic came, he asked for an exorbitant amount of money. We declined and let him go.

13 July 2010

So, we made yet another ascent to Rohtang. At Marhi, yet another bad news awaited us. A truck got stuck at 11 PM in the night. BRO had been trying to move it since then. Sensing that we would have to be forward as soon as the way cleared we made our way further up. Not very far though. Just one loop below the blockade point, there was a tricky climb. Many 4X4s were also struggling to climb this point. Several other motorcycle groups were stuck at this point. Brotherhood shows in such circumstances and we helped push each other over the rough stretch. I was cross with Rohit and Ajit at this point as they were not helping, and let them know it. Things were normal after that.
Just a few meters ahead and we reached the trouble spot(hereby referred to as LoC). BRO folks were working frantically to clear the way. The truck could be seen lying across the slope. The front wheels were barely on the road and the whole body was at the side of the mountain. It was a wonder to see how they were still holding it from falling. There was going to be a very long wait. Even if the way got cleared somehow later, the oncoming traffic would get the preference.
Some people were able to bypass the LoC with the help of mules. Then it started drizzling too. Things were getting better and better. We utilized the time by catching up on our sleep. An empty dumper was parked nearby. We spread out the Godrej flex cover carried by Doley, inside it and stretched ourselves. In other circumstances, I would have called it a sweet sleep. But at that time, it was just sleep. Ajit, Saurabh and Rohit laid out their tarpauline on the road itself. When we were done sleeping, well, almost all of us, Vihans was still fast asleep, we got hungry. The only option available was a bread and chhole vendor. He was doing brisk business. He ran out of his ingredients. His supplies were replenished by another stuck vehicle. Necessity is the mother of invention. None of us was carrying any water or water bottle. The only source was a nearby stream. The container we had was hip flask. You get the picture. That water is purer than most of the 20 litre containers we get at home.
The crowd was now getting agitated. It had been hours now and still no result. The crowd now started to push the BRO to drop the truck over the side. The BRO responded by lathi charge(a miniature version, not the full fledged charge). But the mob is a powerful, blind and deaf entity. Meanwhile the truck drivers collected together and managed to get in touch with the contractor over mobile. The owner gave strict instructions that the truck should be brought up by any means possible. The BRO was stuck in the middle. It was going to be another lost day. There was even the news of a crane being brought all the way from Manimajra, miles away. Army cranes could be seen moving up from Manali towards the LoC. It looked like we would have a clear road in the morning. We decided to descend till Marhi and camp nearby. Some of the others also thought of the same idea. It helps to carry tents. The established tents were selling a night stay at Rs 1500 per head.
It was at the camp site that we saw another group. They were owning one KTM 950 cc Adventure and a BMW R1200GS, two bikes at the top of my wishlist. These bikes have the drive-anywhere capability. Vihans was turned off by the sheer height of the machines. Yes, they are quite tall. And then, the KTM owner disrespected his machine by asking for a push. WTF !!!!! These bikes do not require any sort of push. You should commit suicide before asking someone to push your KTM and then kill yourself again as a double-check.
It was here that Vihans had his first fall(Fall #2). On a straight path when he was wearing no protection, he rolled his bike over a stone. As darkness fell, we brought out our second bottle of Old Monk. All of us assembled in the middle tent, eight men squeezed into a 4-men tent. The neighbours would have a tough time sleeping. It was cold. Rum really helps, two-fold. Hoping for better luck the next day, we went to sleep.

14 July 2010

Another lazy wake up. We could see from the camp site that the truck was still dangling at the LoC. It would be a long wait. As we began to wrap up the tents, Vihans had his second fall(Fall #3) in the same fashion that he had done the previous day. At that time I laughed. Soon, I was the victim as I was turning my fully loaded Bullet and miscalculated the slope(Fall #4).
The news was that the pass would definitely open today. Grabbing some beer from the nearby theka(Carlsberg at Rs 90, naturally cooled) and tea for the others, we sat down at our regular dhaba with the maps. We had met a group of 4-5 bikers from Tamil Nadu the previous day. They had opted to take the Spiti route to the other side of Rohtang. Word had also reached us from Nishant that two of his friends were already in Leh after taking the Srinagar route.
The Spiti route was discounted as it would be a diversion of some 700 kms that would leave us with little energy if we ever reached Leh. Then also, we would not be able to explore anything. We began to calculate how long it would take for us via the Srinagar route. Gyan's analysis showed that it was the same situation through that route too. It would have meant 4 days of relentless riding with no scope of rest. So, we just waited.
As we lounged around, Rohit went for parajumping. He had been wanting to do that since long. The rest of us passed the time by being a part of the curious crowd gazing at the latest Akshay Kumar - Aishwarya Rai starrer movie being shot close by. The Rohtang effect had long reaches. People were struggling to get a view of the stars. No problem for us as we were all armed for the occasion. Vihans had brought binoculars and Ajit had a very powerful zoom lens. We considered lending out the binoculars @ Rs 10 for 5 mins. There was ample business opportunity. Funnily, many honeymoon couples had also lined up to get a view. I might not have the experience but isn't honeymoon time for a couple to be devoted entirely to each other? Why do you want to line up to see a couple of strangers? One of the onlookers even rushed through the security covers in a bid to hug the hero. The cops took him aside and gave him a whack. Served him right. I hate people who idolize other people.
Rohit had had an adventure of his own. He fell down while landing from the parajump(Fall #5).
After a heavy lunch of dal-rajma-rice, news began to pour in of the pass opening up soon. Quickly, we got dressed and reached the point where a couple of BRO people were stopping the traffic. The pass had truly opened. The oncoming traffic was allowed to cross first. There were loud cheers as it passed the ongoing crowd. Only a few vehicles later, we were given the go ahead. There was a long, long line waiting to cross. Heavy vehicles were to move on later. Taxis and motorcycles were allowed. Slowly we reached the LoC. The truck was still over the edge but it had been somehow stabilized. The path however was one gigantic slush-pit. The non-Bullets of our group crossed first. The heavy laden Bullets needed a push to get across.
FINALLY, WE WERE THROUGH. It had taken us 4 days to cross this 10m long piece of land. All were jubilant. The only way was forward. Strange enough, there was no signage at Rohtang Top, marking the summit. We rode non-stop till Koksar and stopped at the first dhaba. It had gone quite dark. Keylong was still 45 kms away. We did not want to cross the pagal-nullah at nighttime.
The dhaba owner, Tsangpo, was a jovial one. A drunkard too. It was an apt time to open Black Dog. Tsangpo gave us good service. However, the ladies were not amused. We were keeping them awake. The bottle was quickly empty and we went in for the meal. Tsangpo offered us shelter @ Rs 40 per head. There were no blankets though. Ajit missed that statement and went to sleep in his sleeping bag topped up by one of the lying blankets. One of the ladies was calling to him to return her blanket. But he was fast asleep. We had to take the blanket forcefully. The night was really cold.