The Ending

25 July 2010

This was supposed to be a rest day for our group. But except for one rest day at Manali, we had been riding on all days on this 16 day long expedition. We woke up at 3:30 AM and left my home at around 5 AM. I was very excited to take the Doraha Canal road on my Bullet. I had wanted to do this for long. Now was the time. There was also a slight mist in the air. The air on this route is fresh and crisp. We only had to cover 350 kms today and all of it on plains. That would give adequate time to rest.
Rohit met us at Ambala. We crossed a good 25 kms before finding a suitable dhaba for breakfast. Its surprising how we had to struggle for this long to find a dhaba on this stretch, but it happened. Vihans was still in pain. All varieties of parathas were ordered. Some nice Punjabi music was also being played in the neighbouring shop. We were getting back to our city.
The head is always held high when you are returning. You know that now you are carrying certain experience that few have had. You wave with respect to others you meet on the way. The last stop was at a theka where Gyan would be turning towards his township at Panipat. Vihans was found behind a truck with a chilled water bottle held over the stung area. We had a hearty laugh seeing this. This theka had Kala Teetar beer. Doley and I opted for it. This would be our last stop together. It needed that sort of potency.
We reached Delhi at around noon. Rohit and I stopped at Zaheer bhai's to show him how his work had performed. He was overjoyed on seeing us. Also sad that he could not join us. We reached home at around 1.
A Ladakh ride is must for every biker. It teaches you valuable lessons and make you appreciate things you erstwhile take for granted. Take pride if you have covered it but do not brag about it. Next time, I hope to conquer TsoMoriri and MarsimekLa.