Journey Ahead......

Vallée d'équitation - Spiti Escapade

2011-05-11T02:06:00.000-07:00

In pitch black darkness riding on those slippery, muddy roads with the rains pouring down heavily on us, I was thinking about decision to ride ahead leaving behind the shade of that small Durga temple but all of a sudden the view of the TPO guest house gave us a reason to smile.
Two days back the four of us Asif, Parichay, Deepankar and I embarked on one of our bike trips to Spiti Valley.

Parichay and Deepankar joined us from Mumbai.

We had three beasts to ride us to the picturesque Spiti Valley. Asif’s Pulsar Classic 180, My “Eleanor” Pulsar Classic 180 and the new beast on the block My Pulsar 150 Dtsi.

Day 1: Delhi to Fagu

We started at around 6:00 am on the scheduled day and the plan was to reach Narkanda on Day 1. Parichay and Deepankar were on their first bike trip while Asif and I had done numerous trips together. Our average speed was cut down as Asif and I had to wait for Parichay and Deepu to catch up. This waiting gave us time to click some pics and more rest then required and also the jouney got longer.

The honey bee.....

Smoking Mountain...

Miles to Ride before I sleep...

The other two duos were tired by the time we reached Fagu (22 km from Shimla) and we decided to make Fagu our first pit stop.

Sunset @Fagu....

So, the first day ended without much happening except the feeling of elation which we get riding on those curvy mountain roads.

We stayed at HPTDC hotel (The Peach Blossom). As it was getting dark we stayed in the room, had a chatting session, finished our dinner and went to sleep.

Hotel @ Fagu...

Our small group of luggage....

Day 2: Fagu to Karcham

The morning was bright and sunny and we were happy to relax and stretch our legs in the small lawn that the hotel has. Little did we know that it was going to be the most happening day/night of the trip.

Sailing on the curves...

We started off after having breakfast and reached Narkanda within an hour and had tea at our favorite tea stall which is on the turn from where the road goes towards Kotgarh.

Tea Stall @ Narkanda...

As usual some mountain dogs were having rest there and we enjoyed patting them and feeding them with biscuits. I always had a fear for dogs but the friendly nature of mountain dogs and their cuteness killed that fear.

Asif Trying out the bigger Beast....

In Narkanda we all planned that Asif and I will go on with our pace and will not stop and wait for the other two. Instead once we see some place good for lunch we will halt and then will wait for them to join.

Nature at blooming best...

The journey from Narkanda started and was only interrupted with stopping now and then for capturing the beauty of nature. The road from Rampur was excellent and we were maintaining nice speed.

Welcome to "K" Valley.....

Size does matter...

Too shy to be clicked....

Learning : How to be happy in all situations...

But destiny had other things in store. We were riding in tandem and I felt Asif’s speed dropping and I knew there was something wrong and well it was a flat tyre. We had just crossed Jhakdi and so I decided to go back and check for someone to fix the tyre. There was a mechanic but he wanted the bike to come to his shop, so I went back and we both rode back to the shop. The whole ordeal took almost half an hour and still there was no trace of the other two duos. As decided we went ahead without waiting for the two of them. By the time we reached Jeori it had started raining. We saw a tibetiean border police camp. We stopped and covered our bikes with the “poncho” that we were carrying and thought of waiting for sometime for the other two.

Our eyes fell on a hotel and we thought why not get over with the lunch here only and then proceed further. We took our beasts and parked them infront of that hotel. One on one basis we attended to the call of nature and in sometime the other two also came. We had lunch and started towards the next phase of our journey which was as planned was Kalpa.

We rested a while before starting from Jeori and it was around 5:00 in the evening by the time we reached Wangtu. All of a sudden nice road gave way to muddy road due to some dam work going on over there. With rains pouring on us, muddy and slippery road beneath we were enjoying the wheel spinning and skidding fun.

Beginning of the long Ordeal….

We thought it was just a matter of 2-3 kms that we will have to face this ordeal but well it started and kept on going. The vehicles coming from other direction bore marks of the road on which they have traveled.

It was getting dark and the road was frequented by some really big vehicles carrying building materials. Asif was leading the way with Parichay and Deepu in middle and me keeping a track on the two from behind. More looked in store as there was some noise which came from the Beast that Parichay and Deepu were riding. We got down and parked and started having a look, the noise seemed to come from the chain/sprocket. With night engulfing the light and mud coated chain and other parts, we couldn’t make out any head or tail.

There stood a temple of Durga and the place where we stopped was entry to an Army basecamp. We took the troubled beast near the temple and tried to check it for error but without any success. We decided to camp there in the temple but were told by the sentry at the army base that we couldn’t as it was an army area. Parichay’s bro is in army and after his brother talked to on phone with people at this camp we were asked to go to TPO guest house around 3 kms from there and spend the night there.

We contemplated about riding such late in these conditions and then decided on going ahead to the guest house. My mind was running in all directions and then came the guest house. The army men there were very hospitable and we got two BIG rooms and were also served dinner and tea. We were drenched in rain and so we changed clothes, switched on the heater and went to sleep hoping for nice bright sky the next morning.

@ Army guest house - All drenched...

Day 3 – Karcham to Nako

We were greeted by nice sunshine in the morning which motivated us enough to start our trip early morning. The road was still the same but daylight and sun instead of rain made it easier to handle the conditions.

The P150 was still making that odd noise once in a while and we were a little worried about the same. We thought of getting it checked if we came across any mechanic and as luck would have, near Powari we saw a mechanic shop and got the bike checked. Nothing much to do there was just a screw that was touching the chain and was making that fearful noise.

Beast checkup @ Powari...

Waiting for filling its Pit..

We and our beasts both had out pits filled in Powari and started off with new zeal and energy.

Dhaba @ Powari - We had Rajma Chawal...

Milestone - More to come...

It was a nice ride ahead from Powari and we reached Spilo where we had to get Inner line permit. The person sitting at the checkpost was very nice and was amused to know that one of the bikes was from Bihar (my Native place).

Taking inner line permit @ Spilo...

The road was awesome and we couldn’t help but wring the throttle and once in a while to rest our butts we used to stop at some scenic locations, click some pics and then went ahead with what we love.

It was huge and made a big howling noise...

For the shutter bug...

As we progressed towards Nako the silence engulfed us which was broken once in a while by some vehicle coming from opposite direction.

Colorful Loneliness...

No one was to be seen and both Asif and I were enjoying the solitude together.

Serpentine sliding away....

Solitude....

We decided to stop for a while and wait for the other to accomplices and also click some pics (its difficult to decide what was the priority).

Asif caught relaxing....

For the love of the Beast...

Just when we were feeling like leaving all the urban things behind and starting a new life in the quietness and wildness of the mountains we saw the world chasing us

Here they come all charged up....

And so the beautiful thought was interrupted but for good as some really beautiful landscapes and people were to be seen and met.

Trying to catch a breath and the beauty....

The Riders in arm.....

The sun was going down but we were not worried about reaching our next destination ‘coz we were living the moment of lifetime on those roads with our fellow riders and our trustworthy beasts.

We reached Nako with sunlight to spare and decided to stay at a hotel which was located just next to the famous Nako lake and overlooking the small but beautiful village of Nako. They had rooms as well as tent facility and we opted for rooms as it was damn windy and chilly.

Flocked by goat heard @ Nako.....

Asif, on with his tripolouge....

Slowly the night settled in and we were struck by the beauty of that small remote village of Nako. It was mesmerizing something that can only be felt and not explained.

Mesmerizing Nako lake....

Our host arranged a bonfire for us along with some nuts mixed with onions and lemon juice and then cup of hot tea.

The bonfire....

We just sat there beside the bonfire trying to capture as much beauty, silence as we could. These are the moments when the belief in the greatness of God come to fore, for nature is something which is never short of surprising you.

Day 4: Nako to Kaza

The day was as bright and sunny as we could expect. Asif saw a trek route just from where we were staying and went up to have a look. Well when he came back he had some nice memories with him.

Morning sun kissing the mountain peaks.....

Small temple at the top.....

Prayers floating all around - a closeup.....

Nako Village....

We sat and soaked in some sunlight and then had our breakfast.

Soaking the early sun.....

It was time to load our beasts and bid adieu to our host. The day started quite nicely with all of us moving ahead with expectations for better vistas and we were not disappointed a bit. We also visited the Helipad at Nako.

Helipad @ Nako.....

One more.....

The turns and twists were getting more and more beautiful and so was the ride.

The road and The river turned in Tandem......

Then came the loops through which we descended down and down and down

Loooooopy......

Down the loops.....

And met our brave army men who were more then happy to have a click with us.

Bravery and determination team up......

Most of the time the roads were very nice but at times we met with dusty road, but well a bike trip to the mountains without such roads is not worth. So we were enjoying the roads and the views to the full extent and then came the doorway to Spiti Valley

Doorway to Spiti.....

We were cruising nicely, but as fate would have it, there was a landslide just 5 kms from Samdo and we came to a standstill.

Landslide ahead of Samdo....

At first it seemed like well why did such a bad thing happened to us but well it was goodness in disguise. First of all we got time to enjoy sitting there in the middle of the road and having conversation with an Israeli couple.

The Israeli couple.....

Secondly we and a bulldozer operator had some fun

Bulldozed.....

Thirdly we saw the first blast of rocks with dynamite with our own eyes and well the bang did make a lot of noise.

Having a Blast.....

And fourth and the last but not the least good thing that happened was we came to know about “Geu” a small village on the border of Tibet which had a mummy around 500 years old whose hair and nail grows and needs to be cut every year.

We were welcomed by a very colorful gate as we moved towrds Gue.

Gate to Gue......

The road to Geu was nice and with river flowing alongside gave a very happy feeling.

The first view of Geu and we decided to stay there but was disappointed to know that it was an Army basecamp and civilians were not allowed to stay.

Look @ Gue.....

The temple was at some height were the mummy was placed

The Mummy temple....

And the mummy.....

The Israeli couple that we met near Samdo were also there on our way from Gue we saw a nice spot to use our shutter bugs.

For the memory....

When we returned back the road near Samdo was cleared and we moved ahead towards Tabo. We had never expected such beauty and were struck by wonder and admiration for what we saw was nature at its best (maybe. ‘coz I haven’t explored entire India yet). We stopped near chango bridge to give a call to our family members and saw a beautiful ornamented gate over there.

Gate @ Chango.....

Just as we entered Tabo we saw a hotel towards our left and decided to have Juice and Maggi over there and relax a bit before moving towards Kaza.

Snacks at 10,000ft....

The way was quite photogenic (just a figure of speech) from Tabo to Kaza. The pictures speak for themselves. Some wonder writing on the mountain wall

Wonderous - Imagine the effort....

Some more for the shutter bug....

I love to call them biscuit mountains

Riding along biscuit mountains.....

The biscuit mountains standing tall.....

The snow laden mountains - at an arms length......

The serpentine river- crawled to the horizon....

On our way to Kaza we saw a live example of population control and family planning

Family planning....

And then again the unwinding river in late evening

The river guided us and accompanied us like a blessing until we reached the gates KAZA

The gate to KAZA....

We went inside the city, Deepu as pillion of Asif and me and Parichay carrying the luggage, Asif was riding infront of as, then he stopped at a Y point and looked behind, Deepu shifted his weight to the wrong side and Asif’s leg was caught under the falling beast and was twisted. First casualty welcomed.

HPTDC’s hotel was shut down as it was off season due to unforeseen snowfall. So we searched for another hotel and it was quite cozy. Asif was given some hot water treatment and then Volini was applied. We had some chit chat session, dinner and then went to sleep.

Day 5: Kaza to Tabo

Next morning we inquired about the local hospital and I took Asif for some treatment.

Returning from hospital @ Kaza....

That day elections were going on in Kaza and so everything was closed. Only emergency was opened and there Asif got his foot bandaged and the nurse and the doctor were kind enough to give us some medicines free of cost. We then went to the Monastery and also played cricket with local lads.

Monastery @ Kaza- top end view....

Monastery @ Kaza - Front view....

Sachin's, Sehwag's and Zaheer's of tomorrow.....

That day we just roamed through the streets of Kaza and our plan to visit nearby villages had to be put on the back burner as we wanted Asif to reach the plains as fast as possible. His feet near the fingers had turned black and we knew it was going to give problem. We decided to go to Tabo and started at around 12:00 from Kaza. It was decided that Asif would be riding with me as pillion.

Some nice fun was in store for us today. We were moving towards Tabo with me riding in the lead and the other two behind me. At one place I saw the river water sparkling under the effect of bright sun and at once I felt like reaching for it.

Call of the Sparkling river.....

I stopped and asked for opinion, everyone was game. The beasts knew what was required and the route changed.

Ride to the river....

Wacthing its rider play...

What a poser....

The foursome enjoying some....

After having some childish fun by the river we started the ride ahead. More was in store as we encountered a herd of mountain deers crossing the road right infornt of us. We stopped and watched in amusement. We didn’t click any piture when they were near as we didn’t want to disturb them, so once they crossed the road and went a bit farther to the mountains they were shot

Mountain deers...

We reached Tabo and stopped near the monastery guest house. I was quite amused by the kid riding a bicycle and couldn’t resist but have a pic with him and with his running nose.

@ Tabo guesthouse gate - the flowing noses....

Cricket fever goes everywhere; even the small monk ain’t untouched

Maybe the highest cricket ground...

Hit it, if you can - The Tabo Express.....

We went inside the monastery and greetings (Juley) were exchanged with the monks. The simplicity of the monastery was amazing.

The Monastery @ Tabo......

Simplicity @ its best....

Asif and me.....

Prayer wheels and the Gate to peace and tranquility.....

The colors of buddhism....

After appreciating the beauty and architecture of the monastery we came to the same hotel which we had visited last evening and took two rooms, while the beasts rested outside.

Resting ground of the beasts @ Tabo.....

We stayed awake late in the night, watching the pics each one has shot and appreciating each others efforts. Goodnight.

Day 6: Kaza to Kalpa

We all woke up early morning not with the intention to start early but with the intention to spend more time at such a beautiful place with our eyes and mind wide open instead of sleeping. After having breakfast and playing with the dog whom we had given biscuits to eat the last two evenings and who was more then eager to follow us, we decided to part ways with Tabo.

Playing with a friend....

Plan was to stay at Reckong Peo that day. So we rode towards the new destination with some breaks for chocolate, water and nature call

All alone and one with the nature.....

Choclate & Water break....

We crossed bridges.....

And some streams by the road.....

And we reached Reckong Peo, but to our dismay it wasn’t as quite as we had expected as it was the main town. So at once the plan was changed and we decided for Kalpa. The road was quite nice and the wind was chilly. But all is well that ends well and the HPTDC hotel (The Kinner Kailash) at Kalpa was too good. We reached Kalpa just before sunset.

Kailash Parvat stood gaurd - while we slept.....

With the Kailash Parvat in view and cozy room, we enjoyed some hot water bath and relaxed. Had Dinner and went to Sleep.

Day 7: Kalpa to Fagu

The road was known to be bad as we had tasted it some days back, so we decided to start early. But how could we miss clicking some pics for the memory lane.

Hotel Kinner Kailash @ Kalpa......

Buddha.....

After having a light breakfast of Aaloo paratha, Puri Sabji, tea and coffee we started. As we started approaching the dam area, heavy machinery came in view.

It was Huge.....

Dam Construction on full swing.....

The road conditions had improved as there was no rain and so the mud and slippery part had given way to bit of a dusty road. We came across the same temple where we had taken shelter the other evening.

The Durga temple - gave us Shade......

We reached Fagu without anything eventful and again stayed at the same hotel. After freshening ourselves we went to Shimla for an hour or so.

The famous church on Shimla Mall road....

Good work with the lightning @ Shimla.....

We came back had dinner and slept with a heavy heart that the next day was the last day of the trip.

Day 8: Fagu to Delhi

With heavy heart and slow moving legs we saddled the beasts for the last leg of our journey. The last leg is generally the most uneventful.

Just as we were reaching Parwanoo Asif and I felt that the other two riders who till now were riding just behind us have vanished. We stopped and were waiting for them just then a person on scooter came and informed us that there was an accident and the riders had luggage just like us.

Our heart skipped a beat and at once we were on our way back. The black beast was parked on one side with Parichay sitting on the barrier and Deepu right next to him. We parked near them and we saw Parichay’s bleeding hand.

After washing and putting some dettol I bandaged his hand. The reason for all this was some Rash driving by some four wheeler from Delhi who in the hurry to overtake made them move to the loose gravel where the skidded.

The Bandaged hand....

We stopped at Mc Donald’s for some snack in the late in the day and then rode to Delhi. We reached my house by around 8:00 pm and then it was time to bid adieu to the fellow riders.

Conclusion:

Every ride teaches a lesson or two. This one made me aware of my limitations and made me stronger in handling difficult ordeals. Made me believe that whatever happens happen for a greater good and we should not get perturbed or intimidated by the situation at hand, because our vision is too short.

Every ride to the mountain acts as a fuel towards my burning desire to ride. This one was one of those rides which have made me even more hungry to go on my dream ride. By the time my next rides comes I will have a new Eleanor to accompany me on my ride. The beast will grow even larger and stronger to take me to the vistas that many dream of.

A biker's view

2010-12-12T22:51:00.000-08:00

This write up is to share with people who know of me as an avid bike tourer, the reason for being what i am. Motorcycle touring is not something that i do for fun or as a hobby. It is something that defines me. Two to three months from my last trip and i start craving for more. Every trip is a learning experience of its own. What it teaches me or any other biker is something that is kept with us hidden deep in our heart just like the holy grail is hidden.

Generally whenever i start on or even start planning for my motorcycle trip some of the questions that i always encounter are,

Why should one travel on a motorcycle? Are you mad? Jana hai toh car main ya bus se jao! Motorcycle pe risk bahut hai. (if you have to go, then go by car or bus! Motorcycle is too risky.)

After all a car/bus/train is much more comfortable, you are protected from the elements and at the end of journey you are less tired than you would have been if you had done the same on a motorcycle. These are much safer and at the same time you need not be on a constant state of alert if you are taking a taxi/bus/train.
Then why would any one want to go on a motorcycle, only to reach the destination dirty and tired?
In motorcycle touring, its not only the destination that matters its mostly the time spent traveling. Your vacation starts the moment you sit on your bike and start the engine.

It might not be as comfortable or fast as other modes of travelling, but then again it's not a mode. It's not just a mean to reach your destination; my bike is my constant companion. A cup of tea/coffee will never taste better than the one you will have on small road side tea stall on a cold foggy morning. Even a simple parantha at a road side Dhaba will seem more delicious than an extravagant buffet at a five star hotel, after hours of riding in hills.

A person will only need one tour on a motorcycle to get addicted to it for the rest of his life. A day's journey on a motorcycle will teach more about the world than a month long journey in a crowded train. You won't be locked up in a cage with a small window to look at the wonders of nature. The feeling that you get when you are riding your bike and the early morning sun comes out to from the horizon to greet you is one that can't be explained in words, it has to be experienced. The constant wind on your face and the gush of wind on your chest when you are cruising at a decent speed feels like the nature by itself is giving you a hug reminding you that you are one with the nature. The whole world is your play ground, with new things to discover, new challenges to meet, places to go where very few have gone before.

When you come back from a trip like this and talk to your friends about the things you have seen, places you have visited, there is a sense of amazement in their eyes. Even though they would have been to the same destination as you, but they would have never felt what you were able to feel. They can only dream of doing the same in a metal cage with a view from the window as their outlook to the world.
This, my friend, is the wonderful world of motorcycle touring.
A world where destination is just an excuse for the trip.

A world where less used village roads are preferred to super smooth national highways.

A world where strangers greet you as a long lost friend because both of you choose to tour on motorcycle.
A world where when you get off from your motorcycle suffering from acute mountain sickness and then one look back at the highest road in the world (Marsimek La) and you instantly make a promise to yourself to do the same road again.

A world where you choose the direction to travel rather than a destination!

Original write-up by "Srinivasan Rajagopalan". I have edited it a bit but credit goes to the original writer.

Jalori N Hatu with New Beast and a Pillion

2010-07-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

Riding on these steep and narrow roads of the mountains in the rain with a pillion rider all I am thinking of is to reach the cottage where I will be spending my night as fast as I can so that I can save my Nikon and my handycam from rain. Dark clouds have engulfed us both, the light is diminishing at a very fast pace, the road has become quite slippery and a slight distraction will mean loosing concentration and slipping and going down the valley along with my bike and the pillion. But, isn’t this fun and fright is what makes the adrenaline rush and separates a picnic from a bike ride to the mountains and acts as fuel to the burning desire to again pick up your bike and go to the mountains. Every curve, every pass and every peak is an achievement on it’s own.

Just give a thought as to what will you remember when you are old, your cabin in office, your best presentation, you being appreciated in office and getting a raise or these trips where you came to know about your limitations as a human being, where you learned that nature can never be conquered, where every moment was a new learning experience, where you made such friends whom you had never met and most probably will never meet again, where you faced your true self that changed your life not for the sake of society but for yourself.

Manali - Leh route was covered with 5ft snow and the condition was the same for Srinag-Leh route. I informed Tashfeen (my bro) that it won’t be possible to make it to Leh at this time of the year. Asif and Sushil along with there wives were ready for the trip (on car) to Leh but the road conditions made them change there mind and they too called off the trip.

(Video by bcmtouring)

I was left alone, but with strong determination. Everytime I looked at my new beast, it was like it was telling me to go ahead with the ride ‘coz it like a hungry lion wanted to taste blood. It wanted an ice breaker and wanted this trip to act as starter of our long term relationship that I would cherish, just like I had cherished my moments with my older beast.

(My new beast - P220)

I made up my mind and asked Zeeshan if he was interested and well he was more then eager to come along. Initial plan was to go till Jispa and see what conditions awaited me and then plan ahead from ther, but then leaving behind Asif on a bike trip is not something that I cherish. So after spending almost and hour on the map (Courtesy HPTDC) I changed my plan from Leh to a small town in Himachal called Banjar and after lot of persuasion both the couples were ready to come along.

It’s 6 in the morning and Zeeshan is no where in sight and so we are already late by an hour. Atlast he is there and we leave by 6:15. A lot of construction work and road diversions act as speed breakers and we reach the famous Zilmil dhaba near Karnal at 8:45. The sun starts to shine at its full glory and it becomes too hot to handle. At around 12:15 we touched the mountains and the same joy which every mountain bike rider experiences, overtakes me. Next stop was “Hot Millions” in Dharampur for lunch at around 1:00. We finished our lunch when Asif and Sushil reach at around 2:00, as they got caught in traffic in Parwanoo (bike Rules). We made some calls and came to know that due to some movie shooting and it being a weekend our most cherished night halt “Apple Blossom” of HPTDC at Fagu (23 kms ahead of Shimla) was fully occupied.

It was decided that as bike has an advantage over the four wheeled cage (popularly called Car), I was to go and get hotel booked at Fagu and if nothing was available then come back to Shimla and get something booked for the night. Fortunately just 1 km before Fagu I found rooms available at “Ras Resort”.

(Mrs & Mr. Asif and Sushil)

It was a decent place but quite costly at 1600 for a double bedroom, but looking at the condition of hotel availability it was ok.

(Me @ Fagu)

Zeeshan and I got ourselves cleaned and went to roam about. We clicked some pics and Zeeshan was quite excited as this was his first trip of such a kind. Asif and Sushil reached after almost an hour. We both came back to the hotel and then the whole team had some snacks, watched Television, chatted, had dinner and called it a day.

Sunny bright morning greeted us in the morning and we started for Shoja from Fagu. We rode on National highway till Sainj and limitation of the new beast came to fore. Everytime I tried to tilt it the main stand scrapped the ground and so my tilting fun was restricted and believe me if you are not able to tilt your bike so much that your knee (extreme case) or your foot rest touches the road the fun is killed by half on these curvylicious roads.

(Love the curve)

After Sainj we came to normal mountain roads, though I can complain about the roads but how can I? Riding alongside Sutlej River which flows like a serpent between the huge mountains is an experience to be cherished.

Zeeshan was proving to be an excellent pillion as he was negotiating the curves alongwith me exactly they way I wanted.

At one point we stopped to have rest and Zeeshan kept his helmet right on the edge of the road and well as fate will have it, the helmet slipped, tumbled down around 50 foot and was sitting right next to the river and looked at us if daring us to come to where it was. The way down was very steep and it was very risky to go down as one wrong step and you would become one with the river. But the helmet had to be brought and so I found a place where there some bush had grown. With my full riding gear on (to save myself from the thorns) I very carefully went down and at last reached Mr. Helmet and took it back to where it belonged (Zeeshan’s Head). The good thing about these moments are that you really enjoy the memories of the risks that you take, not because you want to but because you have to.

The height was slowly decreasing and we came almost at the level of Sutlej. The water running so close by made our inner child to persuade us to take a dip in Sutlej. We stopped at a place where it was almost at road level and the chilly water acted as a great refresher and energised us for the journey ahead.

(Zeeshan in Sutlej)

While crossing one of the villages (which had not more than 15-20 houses) we saw a marriage ceremony going on. We stopped and Zeeshan captured the moment on handycam, while I, shared a small talk with the local kids and gave them some candies which made them very happy.

The best part of the trip was still to come when we were greeted by apple laden trees on both side of the road. It was the first time in my life seeing such a site and was quite excited. We stopped at a farm and were clicking pics when the lady who owned the farm came and enquired as to what we were doing and after she was convinced that we were interested in pics more than apples that she went away.

(Apple laden trees)

(Tempted to pluck one)

Zeeshan wanted to taste the apple but I was in no mood to get caught stealing apple from a farm, so we moved ahead and then by the road side ahead of us I caught a glimpse two apple tress which were standing without any boundary or anything and looked like they have grown just by themselves and were not owned by anyone. I stopped the bike and said to Zeeshan that he can go ahead and pluck one apple, which he did and enjoyed the apple sitting behind me, sometimes praising the taste and sometimes complaining about it (typical of his behaviour).

The trip from Ani to Jalori was a steep rise but the road was quite nice and with trees providing shade was an added advantage. The temperature kept dipping but it was something that we were enjoying after riding in the blazing heat the day before. We stopped some 5 kms before Jalori for lunch though it was almost 3:00.

(Zeeshan having tea just before Jalori)

We also witnesses a very rare pic of loading the sheeps on a bus and I was lucky to shoot the same but not so lucky for the poor sheeps.

We reached Jalori clicked some pics and went ahead to Shoja. The road from Jalori to Shoja was broken beyond repair with and rocks kept making sound on hitting my bike’s silencer and stand.

It was a steep fall and with the road in such condition I preferred to ride slowly and for some distance I even switched off the engine and just put the bike in first gear and rest was done by the steepness of the road.

(Me @ Jalori Pass)

All the rooms in Banjara retreat were booked and so we went to enquire about the next hotel which was also there and rooms were available there but we preferred to wait for Asif and Sushil. They came after some time but with the plan of going back to Jalori and staying in tent. I was in no mood to go back as the next day we had to go to Jalori and then trek to the lake.

(All of us @ Shoja, only bikers stayed)

Zeeshan and myself stayed at Shoja while Asif and Sushil went back to Jalori. We took a room run (350/- per day) dumped our luggage there and went for some sightseeing.

(View at Shoja)

We roamed the beautiful and silent village of Shoja, clicked some pics and came back to our room. We had some snacks, chatted, had our dinner and went to sleep.

Next morning we were greeted by dark clouds which started poring rain after sometime. Having ridden in worse conditions it was not much of a worry also we had one extra day at our disposal.

(Dark clouds at Shoja)

Main concern were the cameras but then I had PONCHU (Oversized rain coat which can give cover to a single person and the bike at the same time) with me and in the worse case scenario I planned that Zeeshan will put on the Ponchu and will keep the camera bag inside it. But God is more merciful then we can imagine and so the rain went away and after having breakfast we started for Jalori.

The road till Jalori was as bad as last day and not gone to worse because of rain, so it was a nice bumpy ride. From Jalori the tent where Asif and Sushil were staying was around 1km.

(Zeeshan @ camp Site)

Asif and Sushil got ready and we started for the lake. Zeeshan while shooting slipped once on the trek route which was quite narrow and I for a second thought he was going to fall in the valley below. But by grace of God nothing serious happened.

(Mrs & Mr. Asif and Sushil enroute lake)

(That was a steep one and narrow)

(Zeeshan busy preparing hs walking stick for the trek)

After around 2 hrs of trekking we reached the lake. The lake was nice but man-made boundaries and structures destroyed the natural beauty of the lake.

(Mrs & Mr Asif and Sushil @The lake)

(A view of the Lake)

There was a man (maybe the caretaker of the temple built recently) who was keeping guard and shouted every time we put foot in water or tried to wash our hands and face. In short he was acting as if it was his personal property. So much for the trekking effort.

We came back after spending sometime at the lake and had lunch which was the spiciest magi that I had ever had. After some rest Zeeshan, Sushil and I went to Jalori to bring Cold-drink and some snacks. On our return we were glad to see that one more family had come to stay at the tent that evening. The person was from Chandigarh and was there alongwith his LOVELY daughter.

The sky was overcast and we had a bonfire, drank tea alongwith some snacks and spent time chatting and then had dinner. I went to sleep while rest of the group stayed near the fire for some more chit chat session.

I was the first one to rise in the morning and when all got up we decided to leave without having breakfast. We also decided to stay either at Narkanda or Fagu or Chail, preference given in the same order based on availability.

I stopped my bike at a location which looked quite nice with Sutlej flowing at road level. We spent few moments there and refreshed ourselves.

(Making its own way - Sutlej)

It was exam time at most of the schools and while on our way, I came to a school (population of village was 120) where almost all the children were standing on the road, maybe waiting for the exam to get started. As soon as I stopped my bike, Zeeshan and I were surrounded by the gang, I clicked some pictures of them with Zeeshan and with my bike.

(Zeeshan with the kids - that's Zeeshan's cap)

(220 being mobbed-looks happy)

We had breakfast at Sainj and moved ahead. It started to rain just as we crossed Sainj and so comes out my dear PONCHU and Zeeshan was sitting wearing it looking like JATAYU (this is what he said).

(Zeeshan - The Jatayu Getup)

It was drizzling and the road was very nice and riding in such a condition was something that I really enjoyed, though all wet but I was ecstatic. It was the best ride of the trip.

We reached Narkanda and on enquiring we got the rooms or better say cottages (Resort, just on the outskirt of Narkanda). Zeeshan and I decided to go to the city; we had tea and then sat on a lonely road and chatted for almost an hour. Zeeshan insisted on going to Hatu peak and so we were on our way to Hatu peak. The road was quite narrow but not broken at any place.

The shooting of the movie “Tere Mere Phere” was on full swing. The cast was Riya Sen and Vinay Pathak (Bheja fry, Khosla ka Ghosla). We clicked some pics but and the sky was suddenly covered by dark clouds and with our cameras and no poncho, we decided to go back.

It started raining and I was riding on the steep and narrow roads of the mountains in the rain with a pillion rider and all I was thinking of was to reach the cottage where I will be spending my night as fast as I can so that I can save my Nikon and my handycam from rain. Dark clouds engulfed us both, the light diminished at a very fast pace, the road had become quite slippery and a slight distraction would have meant loosing concentration and slipping and going down the valley along with my bike and the pillion. We reached safely but all drenched. I was quite happy that though the bag was wet but no damage was done to the camera because Zeeshan had covered it with his helmet and hand.

(Cottage where we stayed at Narkanda)

(View from our cottage after the rain)

(Tried hand on macro shooting)

Rest of the day was quite normal with us clicking pics. For dinner we went to Hatu hotel and had a nice dinner.

Next morning we woke up early and skipped breakfast to start early. I rode continuously for 3 hours (my personal highest) around 140 kms and stopped for breakfast ahead of Kandaghat. Rest of the ride back was normal with us stopping at Haveli restaurant for lunch.

(View of Haveli)

We reached back to Delhi at around 8:00 PM. It was one of those trips where i missed by bike partner and hope to see him on his bike for the next trip and hopefully i will have a new Pillion rider, and the ride will act as hors d'oeuvre for her.

Chail n Back

2009-11-26T04:13:00.000-08:00

Power of 3

Why “Power of 3”? Ok, let me give a snapshot and you decide for yourself…

3 TRIPS - Sarahan, Sariska and Chail

3 PEOPLE - Kalyani, Asif and Myself

3 DAYS TRIP – This trip was 3 day long (25^th Oct ’08 – 27^th Oct ’08) Peppered with

3 FLAT TYRES – We encountered flat tyre on all days (Only My Bike)

It was 5:00am and I was standing at the petrol pump next to my apartment waiting for Asif Bhai, who came in around 5 minutes. As planned we picked Kalyani from ISBT and moved ahead towards Rohru (Our initial plan).

At 5:30am the three of us were sitting on the pavement just ahead of ISBT (Delhi) with darkness covering the entire city. Our vehicles standing infront of us but unfortunately we couldn’t move ahead because my bike had a flat tyre and there was no one around to fix it at this time.

Sitting there we replanned and had two options Rishikesh and Chail, we chose Chail as we could see on the map there was some bird sanctuary and planned to visit it.

At around 7:00 am we got a mechanic who was ready to fix the tyre and at 7:30 am we were moving ahead towards our new destination, Chail. The weather was quite nice and we moved at a swift pace until we met a long traffic jam of around 3 – 4 kms just before Karnal and a lot of time was wasted.

But this is where Bikes score higher then four wheelers, maneuvering the bikes between traffic, going a bit off road and there we were ahead of the traffic jam. We moved ahead stopped for some photo-shoots and then moved ahead.

We stopped at the same dhaba (Jhilmil) ahead of Karnal, that we had visited the last time enroute our trip to Sarahan.

Asif and myself both were relaxed as the destination had now changed to a place much nearer. We had breakfast and started with our “ride ahead“. Unlike last time we didn’t face much traffic, thanks to new flyovers. This also compensated for the time that we had lost in the jam earlier. It was a nice but boring trip until we got the first sight of the mountains.

The happiness that you get on sighting the mountains after a long time ( in our case 9 months) is like….Well, I can’t explain you will have to feel it for yourself, sorry!!! Not only we but also the beast standing here love the curves (of the roads)

The roads were in a bad condition compared to what we had on our last trip but nevertheless, the curves, those boulders of rocks, the hanging trees, the deep valleys and the beauty of the mountains compensated for those small pot holes. The freshness in the mountain air gives some kind of energy and you feel like if you can ever enjoy the ride this is the place to do it, in the mountains.

We stopped once to relax and then moved ahead and stopped at a restaurant at Dharampur. Where Asif tried his hand on a different ball game :-)

and he won

We confirmed the direction and were assured that we have to take a right turn from Kandaghat and once we took that right turn it was a mixed riding emotion that we faced.

The road was not that good and was quite bumpy but the route was very nice, scenery was enchanting and with almost zero traffic it felt like riding in solitude. The ride was really something we cherished on this route. As we had lot of time in hand we took a break around 19 kms ahead of Chail and had a small photo shoot.

We reached Chail and on our way to the guest house where we couldn’t get any room saw a beautiful bird with colors similar to peacock. As we couldn’t get any room at the guest and so we opted for room in hotel Himneel

which is the economic wing of Hotel Palace,

and so all the reservations and everything were done at the hotel Palace itself.

We relaxed a bit and then went for dinner. Smartest of all “me” was not carrying anything warm except my newly bought DSG Nero Jacket and a warm inner and so was at the receiving end in that cold. I wore the inner and a T-shirt on it and was a site to watch. We had our dinner, then a chit chat session and then went to sleep.

Next morning I woke up and went for a small walk and one thing that amazed me the number of monkeys present at the hotel (it was later that I came to know that caretakers use to feed the monkeys every morning and so such a high number).

After sometime the other two comrades also were ready and after gobbling down our breakfast we went out for a day long photo-shoot and roaming around.

We spent a lot of time in photo-shoot and then came to know that there was a bird sanctuary. We went back to the hotel and picked our bikes and started towards the sanctuary, but were disappointed to know that bird watching was possible only in early mornings else one has to be extremely lucky to watch them during day time.

We parked our bikes on the road and were contemplating the next move and then we saw a not so pleasant scene.

The angle holding the silencer of Asif bhai’s bike had broken and it was sheer luck that held the silencer. We tied the silencer with a handkerchief that I was carrying and hoped that it wouldn’t burn by the heat of the silencer.

We came to know that there was a Kaali temple at the top of the hill and decided to visit it.

As we progressed the climb became steeper and it was just broken roads “welcome to off roading”. We stopped at a place as the view was quite nice.

We stayed there for sometime and then moved ahead, we saw a lovely resort to the right of us and decided to have lunch there. We had our lunch and started towards the temple.

Well Guys it was Day 2 and time for the Second Flat tyre. As soon as I was out of the resort the rear wheels wobbled and I knew what it was. All three of us looked at each other and were like W.T.H.

Asif decided to go down and get some mechanic, Kalyani decided to visit the temple and I had no other option but to wait there with big bull with flat tyre standing infornt of me. Asif came back with a mechanic after sometime who got down the work. We decided that I would go to the temple and once the bike is done Asif would give me a call and I would return.

It was a nice trekking route to the temple but it was my first trekking expedition and it was real tiring. The view form the top was enchanting, enthralling, serene, calm and what not. It was like we were in a different world altogether. I saw Kalyani sitting silently on the boundary of the temple and went to her. We had some photos clicked over there .

Then Asif bhai’s call came. Kalyani wanted to spend some more time there and so leaving her there I went back to the resort.

We decided that Asif would go to the temple and would bring Kalyani back while I would take the mechanic back and will get Asif’s Silencer repaired and will meet them at the hotel.

I reached the mechanic’s shop and there he got down to welding the silencer. Once the work was over it was quite late and sun had almost set. I started from there and I felt something wrong with the rear brake. I was not able to push the paddle down, now that was quite annoying, but I moved ahead and then saw another mechanic. Unfortunately he was into repairing tractors but fortunately he had the required tools (Thick wood plank and Hammer). Actually when the earlier mechanic fitted the silencer he didn’t fit it well and it was on the upper right side and was blocking the rear brake paddle.

Two strikes by the hammer and the silencer was in place and the brake paddle was moving freely. I gave him 10 rupees (though he was adamant on taking nothing) and was on my way to the hotel room. Asif and Kalyani also reached at almost the same time and as it was quite late we decided to have dinner and call it a day.

We were welcomed by bright sunny day and lots and lots of monkeys the next morning. We had our breakfast and Asif and I went to saddle up our bulls much to the awe of other occupants of the hotel. It is time like these when you feel a certain happiness that you are doing something that people normally do not dare to think about and you love to do it.

The return journey was not very eventful, just a “Day 3 – Puncture 3”.

We didn’t have lunch just to save time and stopped at a restaurant in the evening to have some snacks and this is where we found the second casualty to Asif bhai's bike.

After that it was straight journey to Delhi and as usual we dropped Kalyani at ISBT and then both of us moved towards Noida.

Conclusion:

The difference between a tourist and a traveler is made clear on trips like these. Things even though are planned but are very much unplanned and it rests on the discretion of the traveler to change it at his will and surprisingly nothing changes for him ‘coz it is the travel, the road, the journey that matters and not the destination.

While I started writing this triplouge just after the coming back from the trip but somehow got caught up in daily life routine and it was lying there on the backburner.

I & We went on to do more trips after this one but never did I knew that this would be the last bike trip for us as a trio.

Life never remains the same after these bike trips and this one was one of them...But as they say the Journey Continues and we RIDE AHEAD...

City of Love N Back

2008-06-10T04:24:00.000-07:00

Co-incidence! Is it! Every time when I am moving towards this City of Love I think about what all planning went behind the trip and I find myself looking at a blank canvas which is longing to be colored with the ink of planning, but it will have to wait and I hope that the wait never ends…….

Year – 1999, Date- 1st October, Place- Aligarh Muslim University. I was a fresher who had joined the university to pursue graduation in Mathematics. Intro session (lighter version of ragging) was going on in full swing and to save myself from those terror filled moment (looking back they look fun filled) I and my room partner (Call it co-incidence his name is also Tariq but with a “ue” i.e. Tarique) planned to spend the night outside the hostel roaming about and return back in the morning. We did exactly that and when in the morning we were near hostel gate we came to know about the special intro session that was going on for SMART guys like us who were found absconding last night. Our feet moved 1800 and minds went blank, palms sweaty and cold. In a flash Tarique said let’s go to Agra and we were on our way to Agra in sweaty t-shirt n jeans. That was the first step taken towards cherishing the empty canvas.

Year – 2000, Date – 6th November, Place- Aligarh Muslim University. In my second year of graduation the sessional exams (we had exams in between the sessions) had just got over and I along with Tarique had gone to watch some movie (I can’t recall the name), night show and we returned back late at around 12:45 am to hostel. We were discussing about the movie and suddenly while discussing some scene which had scenic beauty in it, I was like let’s go to Agra as last time we couldn’t enjoy much and so next morning at 7:00 am we were in a bus moving towards the city of love. This time round we hired a camera and clicked some photographs (36 to be accurate) which we really cherished at that moment and still watching them makes me remember those old responsibility free time when the canvas didn’t matter it was just the execution that had to be there and yes we did it with lot of perfection

Year – 2008, Date – 1st June, 2008, Place – Noida. It was around 3:00 pm and I was sitting in a car along with a friend of mine (Mohit) and we had gone to have a look at the site of one of the apartments being built on Meerut road. The weather was quite pleasing with clouds and cold breeze blowing. Mohit simply said that tomorrow he will be going to meet his younger brother and give him some stuff for home as his brother was going home. I was like, ok, go ahead and then maybe we will meet tomorrow evening then. At around 6:00 in the evening I thought what will I do on a Sunday all alone, let’s go along with Mohit and I asked him if I can accompany him. He didn’t object, it was time to throw my next card and I said let’s go on bike and again he didn’t object much to my happiness. We talked at around 11:00 pm and decided to leave the next morning at 6:00 else it would get hot if we delay starting.

I was up at 5:15 and got ready by around 5 minutes to 6:00. Mohit had called up at around 5:45 and to my dismay he had just go up, but he got ready quickly (maybe missed out on some activities….) and was there at my house at around 6:20. We left by 6:30 with Mohit all geared up with a long cloth covering his head and face from eyes downwards. He had his shades on, skins protected with sunscreen and to entertain him he had an i-pod (which I have bought recently) loaded with songs.

We kick started the small journey at 6:25am and rode at a decent speed. The weather was quite pleasing and the cold breeze blowing and hitting my face at 100 k’s was a good feeling to have. My bike had undergone heart transplant and I didn’t want to put too much pressure on it so I kept lowering the throttle to keep the engine from getting too hot. We reached Hodal at 7:30am, a place around 81km from Noida. We stopped to have breakfast of Bread, butter and two cup of tea at a roadside hotel (Dhaba would have been a better word to explain the place though). We started off at 8:00am from there but just after around 4 kms were caught in a long jam of trucks and busses near a place which looked like truck stand or something of that sort. I thought of taking my bike off the road and try to get ahead but last night rains and heavy load of truck had made it too muddy and deep pits filled with mud and water and it was impossible to ride through it unless u were ready to get mud wrapped, which I definitely was not in the mood to. After some maneuvering through between trucks, busses and cars I was able to leave the jam behind and once again was like a free bird flying towards it goal.

We reached outer Mathura around 72 kms from Hodal and stopped at Mc Donald’s to have something though we were not hungry but I wanted to give the throbbing heart of my beast some rest. We had French fries and burger and left for city and reached it at 10:30 am. Mohit had some work which he completed within an hour and I was ready for the ride back as I had some work back home (I had to wash my clothes).

We started at 11:40am. While overtaking at some places I could feel that something was wrong and my beast’s horn was not going to last too long and this was what happened after I drove over some small pit holes. The horn went silent and with no rear view mirror and moving at high speed it was a bit risky overtaking and I didn’t want to take high risk with a pillion rider. I was riding but now a bit more cautiously. We reached Hodal and planned to stop at a good restaurant to have lunch but to our dismay we were not carrying enough cash and they didn’t accept card, so we had our lunch at a small roadside dhaba which we see on highways.

But well there was something more in store for us. We had our tummies filled but what about the beast which was doing all the hard work it also needed something to keep it going apart from my love for it and it was petrol which had gone in reserve some time back and the needle was going even below the red mark now. We thought to get the tanks refilled at the next petrol station, but, it was no where in sight and with every milestone passing the tension mercury was rising. I was lost in my thoughts of pushing my P 150 to the next petrol pump in case the tank went dry and just then a Innova overtook me and at that speed the sound of it gave me a jolt and I was at once out of my thoughts. After around 15 kms we came across a petrol station and much to our delight (pun intended) they didn’t accept any card, Mohit had 50 bucks with himself and I got the petrol for that much and Delhi was still a good 30 kms away. The last part of journey was uneventful though quite hot and we reached home at 3:30 pm and I went to a nice sleep to wake up again to wash my clothes……

Conclusion:
Knowingly or Unknowingly the Canvas has been painted with atleast one plan which will always be etched on my mind and that is to carry cash whenever I am traveling. See, the canvas looks so happy with the green color of money on it.
We may think that what we are doing is unplanned or maybe just a coincidence but actually it is all planned and planned much in advance by the greatest planner of all, who has planned even the movements of an amoeba to the minutest detail and the execution, well, it has always been flawless. Another observation that I had from this small trip of mine is that though I took this trip accidentally but I could find something missing and the introspection told me it was nothing else but those rising heights, those massive block of rocks, those hanging trees, those blind curves, those deep trenches, those cliffs and if I put it in one word I missed the MOUNTAINS.

The hors d'oeuvre.......

2008-02-08T23:18:00.000-08:00

Day1: Noida - Delhi - Karnal - Ambala - Panchkula - Kalka - Dharampur - Shimla

The trip was planned in a jiffy with Asif moving to Mauritious and wanting to take to the road agian before leaving the beautiful landsacpes of India. As per our initial plans Rekong Peo (Himachal) was where we wanted to touch on our Bikes, BUT, the temperature started dipping and news started coming that the way to Rekong is closed due to heavy snowfall....... first shot in the arm???? Nah.... with a Master Planner like Asif and me with Determination of Steel, snowfall don't come in way.

A man has to do what a man has to do. Replanning was done and it was decided that lets hit the road and as far as we could go we would go. We decided to hit the roads on the very first day of February (1 feb, 08), the day when the mercury was forcasted to hit "0 degrees" in Delhi.

We planned to leave Noida at 6:30 am for which i was expected to reach Asif's house at 6:15 am. I got up and reached Asif's house a Little Late at 6:40 am. Asif was downstairs standing near his P180 with saddle and turtle bags well fitted on his P180. He helped me with my saddle bags on my P150 and we were raring to go. We reached ISBT at 7:15 am where we picked Kalyani who was also planned to be a part of the tour and tell you what her experience of the Mountains was of great help to our trip.

Kalyani was supposed to ride as Pillion with Asif and i had her bag on my P150 tied with a rope. I got my tank filled and now it was time to say goodbye to Delhi for some days. It was 7:30 am and we were on our way and in some time we had hit the highway, the road was good so we were moving on swiftly at speed of around 90 kmph. We reached Karnal (130 km) from delhi at around 9:10 am and moved on without stopping. It was cold and we were also getting a bit hungry so we decided to stop at a hotel around 26 km ahead of karnal at 9:30am.

We started to feel the chill once we stopped our bikes and then we knew that the gloves that we were wearing were not up to the mark. We ordered breakfast of Bread-Omlette and tea (though i do not take tea but it was need of the season). With food in our tummy we strated off at 10:30am and with sun up there in the sky it was nice riding at around 90 kmph when you could feel the cold breeze and warm sun both at the same time.We stopped after around 90 Kms between Ambala and Panchkula at around 11:58 am to check the route in our Map. We started off and reached Kalka at 1:15 pm and that stared our journey ahead on the curvy roads of mountains. This was the first time i was riding a bike on such road and was a bit conscious but Asif was going ahead at a speed which was good enough for me on those roads and at times i was left behind a bit, but after some time i started to feel comfortable and then i started enjoying the ride.

We stopped at Dharampur at 2:15 pm which lies enroute to Solan to have lunch. We ordered a preparation of Mushroom, Paneer, Naan and Rice. After having our tummies filled we started for our first day destination.... Shimla. Around 20 kms before Shimla we spotted ice on the side of roads and it was getting chilly. My hands were as cold as ice. We reached Shimla at around 4:30 pm. We got two rooms booked at Hotel Victory near the Bus stand.Hotel was not as good as we wanted it to be, but it was getting dark and chilly, so we didn't want to waste our time searching for a good hotel.We had a little talk and then got ready to have dinner. Dinner was ordered at 7:45 pm as we wanted to sleep early to have ample rest for the journey ahead.

Day 2: Shimla – Kufri – Devimordh – Narkanda – Rampur - Sarahan

I woke up at 7:30 am the next morning. Bright and Sunny and Chilling Morning welcomed us the next day but Asif had caught cold and had blocked nose. But he is not someone who is going to give up b’coz of these small things we decided to move on. We both checked our machines for engine oil and it didn’t need any replacement. We decided to take breakfast later and so were ready to leave. Asif was taking his bike downhill from the hotel and he applied rear breaks but………the bike didn’t stop. He applied front breaks and we got back, the rear breaks spring was very loose almost at the edge. We tightened it and moved on, it was 10:40 am.

We got our tanks refueled and started moving towards Kufri and then we saw frost at the edges of the road. Kalyani told us to be careful and not ride on frosts as then bike will skid. Asif as usual was driving ahead of me and I was just behind him. The water from the rear tyre of his bike was coming on me and at one turn I tried to evade the water from his bikes and forgot all about the frost and the next thing I knew was that I and my p150 were both taking rest on the road. Kalyani saw me fall and Asif stopped we picked my p150 moved to the footpath. I was all wet but thankfully Kalyani had brought toilet paper roll which I was using to clean myself and my clothes and suddenly my helmet which was on my bike’s seat was rolling and was right there on the middle of road. Asif ran to pick it up just then a truck came out of one corner and a sumo from another we shouted and by the grace of God Asif reached the other side of the road.
We went ahead a bit more cautious. There was water in my Gloves and my left hand’s fingers were so cold that I couldn’t move them. The sun was bright and strong and the gloves started drying and I felt a bit comfortable. We reached Devimordh enroute Narkanda at 12:30 pm and stopped at a dhaba for filling our tummy and ordered Aaloo paratha and tea. We also had a small photo session.

We started from there and stopped at some places for taking pics.

We reached Nakanda at 2:30 pm. Ahead of Narkanda we could frost on the road and so it was going to be a slow ride form there onwards. We stopped and map was consulted to decide on as to where to we should proceed. Asif made some calls to know about the places where we could go to. After some discussion we decided to move towards Rampur (Not the one in UP).

As we had thought of the whole road was filled with frost and we had to move at a very slow speed of around 15 kmph and at times even at a speed at which a person on foot would have left us behind easily, but that was the best way to keep ourselves and our two transporting machines in one piece. This condition was there for around 6 kms but after that the terrain was quite good and the roads were also nice.

We skipped lunch to save time as we wanted to reach Rampur as early as possible. We reached Rampur at 4:30 pm. We stopped just at the point from where the city started and as we had enough time left before it got dark we planned to reach Sarahan which is 38 kms from Rampur. Without wasting any time we took off and started to move towards Sarahan. It was getting cold as sun had set and also we were getting tired due to the treacherous ride ahead of Narkanda in the day earlier. We reached Sarahan at 6:00 pm.
We took hotel of HP tourism. It was a very nice hotel with good rooms which were around Rs. 1200/- per day, but as at this time of the year they rarely get any visitors so they gave us a good discount. The things that I liked about the hotel were they had a very nice person attending us, service was good, food was good and the two of the best things were heater and Geyser with Carpeted floors.
The first thing that we could think of was food and at once we ordered Paneer Pakoda, veg. cutlet and tea. We watched Television for around two hours and then ordered dinner at 9:00 pm of boiled eggs n tomato soup. After finishing we watched some more television and then went to bed at 11:30 pm. I was feeling dehydrated due to the heater and drank a lot of water. Lying in the bed I thought of how the day went by and slowly the sleep engulfed me and I was lost.

Day 3: Sarahan – Sarahan

The most uneventful day of our trip………

I had a nice sleep and got up at 9:00 am. It was foggy outside and it was the first time that I was seeing snowfall.

The whole area was covered with snow .I decide on taking a bath and with geyser working I could not resist myself. I took a warm bath and got ready. I headed towards Asif’s room and found him down (but not out) with back pain maybe some muscle pull. We ordered breakfast of veg cutlet, paneer cutlet and tea.

We were watching TV and Asif was doing some stretching to make his back fighting fit for the ride. Now another decision to be made was regarding the return route because we have come to know that Narkanda was blocked due to heavy snowfall. The person who was attending to us provided us with a more detailed Map of Himachal in which other routes were well defined.

We had lunch at 3:20 pm of rice, mushroom and paneer pasanda. With the day passing by without any activity we decide to go out and have a look at the road and also enjoy the snowfall.

It was snow everywhere and all the nooks and corners were like covered with snow. We clicked some pics and then decided to go back to our hotel rooms but a new challenge had creped into our minds……….the frost filled roads on our way back which was a downhill way but it had to come tomorrow so for today relax and enjoy………

With nothing more to do we watched TV for the rest of the day. We ordered dinner at 9:00 pm of roti and shahi paneer and then we had some tea. We went to bed at 11:00 pm with the plans being chalked out in our brains for the journey way back……

Day 4: Sarahan – Jeori – Sainj – Luri – Basantpur – Dhami - Shimla

Got up at 7:30 am and was welcomed with bright, sunny and cold morning. The scene outside was breathtaking.......

Got ready and went to Asif’s room and had a breakfast of veg cutlet and tea.

Went outside and cleared our bike which were completely covered with snow. We thought it would be difficult to get them started but two kicks and they were ready to zip zap zoom. We started at 10:50 am, they way as expected turned out to be quite a treacherous one. We were moving at a very slow speed and sometime we had to move on foot to avoid skidding on frost filled road. But……… frost had it’s way and i skidded thrice and Asif once on the way to Jeori which was 6 kms from Sarahan where we reached at 12:22 pm. 6 kms in one and a half hour????? You have to be there to experience the wheel spinning fun.
We reached Rampur ar 1:15 pm and went to a HP tourism hotel and ordered for lunch of Egg Chowmein.

It was a good view with Sutlej flowing next to the hotel.

We planned our way ahead from there and Asif called Nikaram our company’s (ISHIR Inotech) driver who is from Himachal to inquire about the way. He warned us against taking the Narkanda route as it would have lots of frost due to heavy snowfall.

We started ahead for Basantpur via Sainj. We reached Luri and took the “Other Road” which was quite a ride. We could find only small stretches of road rest was all broken path of what would have been once a road. We reached Basantpur at 5:00 pm and stopped to plan what next to do as Nikkaram has asked us to stay there at his inlaws place if need be. In an around hour it was going to get dark and none of us had the experience of driving in mountains at night. But we unanimously thought of proceeding to Dhami where the have a PWD guest house and at this time of year we ahd a good chance of getting accommodation there. We reached Dhami at 6:00 pm and it was already getting a bit dark. We reached PWD guesthouse but our dismay it was closed as it was under repair, we did not have any choice but to move ahead for Shimla.

It was quite dark by now and we had the headlights switched on. We were heading towards Shimla though dark but no frost so we were quite comfortable but around 8 kms ahead of Shimla we saw FROST and with traffic and darkness also being there it was quite nerve wrecking for us. At one place there was no frost and the road was almost dry but I couldn’t make out and thought that it was frost and was moving very slow then I put my foot on the road and felt g a good grip and I smiled on myself and increased my speed though still cautious. We reached Shimla at 7:00 pm and all was dark and chilly.

At around 7:30 we got a room reserved in a 4 star hotel of HP tourism “Peter Hoff” and paid a good amount of money to stay there but the room was worth the money.

We were starving and so we ordered dinner of Butter Nan, Paneer tandoori, egg curry, matar paneer and chicken tikka, which was served at 8:15 pm. After that we had Gualb Jamun and tea and then after a little chit chat session and watching TV for sometime we went to sleep.

Day 4: Shimla – Kalka – Ambala – Karnal - Delhi

We woke up at 9:00 am and were relaxed as most of the jpurney today was on plains, so, driving in the night was also easily acceptable to all. We had our breakfast and were ready to leave. After paying the hotels bill we bid adieu to Shimla and were moving swiftly with new energy after a nice last night rest. We were near Dharampur when the most experinced mountaineer of us all, Kalyani, forcasted rain and even before we could think, drops from far above started to come down and left us with no other option but to park our bikes at a motel. It got chilly but thanks to the boy at the Motel he brought Angithi for us and the three of us got the much needed warmth. We had tea and started discussing whether to go ahead or take a halt for the day and move again tomorrow.

Nature was with us and in some time teh rain stopped and we decided to move ahead. We moved ahead cautiously as the road was drenched with water due to rain and we didn't want to take any undue risk, also the later part of the journey was going to be in plains so there was no issue in travelling even if it got a bit late. Rains didn't come back thankfully and we cruised ahead easily.

We took break twice and finally stopped just before Panchkula as Asif's wanted the breaks to be checked and also we had to get the engine oil checked. So, we stopped in Ambala at a repair shop but the mechanic was nowhere to be seen. On arrival he declared that he can't change the engine oil so we moved ahead and got the oil replaced (which had almost dried out).

We stopped at a restaurant just after Ambala for eating as we hadn't eaten anything. During the whole trip every place where we stopped for eating we had taken our luggage off our bike but this time we decided against it as we could watch the bikes frrm inside. We filled our tummy and Kalyani bought some chocolates (Yummy!!) and we were again ready to move on.

We were moving at quite a good speed as the roads were good. Our next stop was around 50 kms before Delhi. We reached delhi at around 7:30 pm and after Seeing off Kalyani at ISBT, I and Asif moved towards Noida. Near sector 29 Asif and I bid adieu to each other and Asif Zipped past me with a roll on Wheelie and i reached home and was welcomed by Rafique..........

Conclusion:

Looking back on the whole i feel it has made me stronger believer on the saying "In Life What You Resist, Persists". This was an ice breaker and so i feel there won't be any hitch now in taking to the roads again. The appetiser has worked well and the fire to move ahead and farther is burning at full strength.............. So, Watch out for more updates..........