Manali to Leh on a Bicycle: It is not a matter of Altitude, but attitude!!

Manali to Leh on a Bicycle-It is not a matter of Altitude, but attitude!!

It's not a matter of Altitude, but attitude!!

"Ah keep your eyes on the road, Your hands upon the wheel.

Keep your eyes on the road. Your hands upon the wheel.

Yeah, we're going to the roadhouse, Gonna have a real a- good-time.

Yeah, the back of the roadhouse, They've got some bungalows.

Yeah, the back of the roadhouse, They've got some bungalows.

They dance for the people, Who like to go down slow.

Let it roll, baby, roll.

Let it roll, baby, roll.

Let it roll, baby, roll.

Let it roll, all night long."

-Roadhouse Blues, sung by Jim Morrison from the Doors

This song played in my head whenever I went downhill after a grueling, unforgiving, and undulating climbs. The best part of Manali-Leh trip was the bike journey. Beautiful scenery, landscape changing every moment, mountain ranges of different colors, uphill climbs up to 17,600 feet, extreme cold-dry conditions in cold desert, spending nights in 14,000 + feet heights, where there is no sign of human life, animal life or plant life.

Manali-Leh Highway is a 479 km Road with averae elevation of 4000 meters (13,000 feet)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leh%E2%80%93Manali_Highway

Ladakh is a cold semi-arid desert. It is cold along the highway even in summer (June onwards); the days are warm in bright sunshine but the nights are very cold. The water from glacial melts is ice-cold and one should avoid getting wet in water-crossings on the highway. Light woolens are required during the day and thick woolens at night. There is no rainfall between Rohtang pass and Leh even during the monsoon season in July-September as the entire region lies in rain-shadow. The greenery on the southern side of Rohtang disappears and the mountain slopes on the northern side become brown and arid. However, the mountain peaks are covered in snow and glare brightly in sun.

Just to brag a little -The highest I climbed was 5381 meters from sea level (17,600 feet) about 61% height of Mount Everest-that too on a non-motorized bike. Cumulatively, I climbed 8026 meters in 6 days on bike (almost 91% of height of Mount Everest-but on a lower altitudes)

Well, it was one of most beautiful journeys done by me in very testing environs. While the bike journey was awesome, the stay was painful, nights were cold and windy. One never looked forward to reaching camp site-a very cold, unwelcoming camp with abysmally small tent with dirty unclean mats-where every task was a torture and no place to do morning rituals/ablutions.

We started on September 26th from Delhi and reached Manali after 22 hour long journey due to massive traffic jams en route. But we were not tired as we looked forward to the start of the trip on September 28th. Gagandeep Singh Bhalla ji made us laugh for these 22 hours, so much that our jaws hurt! Here we got names for people like Rajiiv Chadha as "MNC" Multi National Chaddha etc. We had a blast!

Checked in to the Johnson's Lodge in Manali and after a while I heard the door knocked, there was a very charming Ankita Gaur- my running team mate, who I have been interacting for ages, but never met in person.

We got our bikes assembled ourselves, as our designate mechanic had too much at his hand. It was not a perfect job, so the mechanic had to do some minor tweaking to make the bike perfect for riding. My bike had a flat-while it was in the box, so I changed the tube as well. Had an awesome dinner with Malli and Shreyas at Johnson's Café and we kept chatting for hours.

Day 1: September 28

Manali to Marhi

Morning: we were given breakfast in boxes and told to assemble at the start point. We ate quickly and moved to start point. After flagging off we quickly climbed the Manali-Leh highway and reached an re-assembly area where we had some Bead-Omelette , we were hungry! Thereafter, little bit of climb and we reached the Camping Spot for Day 1 at Marhi. Marthi is about 18 km before Rohtang La Pass, at 3200 meters height is a good place to acclimatize. We stayed in an animal grazing field which was full of horse shit, cow dung and other kinds of shits, which was beyond human sensibilities and made living-walking miserable.

We were told by the organizers that this was the best camping place in neighborhood.

Tents looked nice, when lit from inside. Imran sat on that cliff to get phone signal.

It rained in the afternoon and It was impossible to escape without stepping on the Holy-Shit, even in broad day light. Night made it worse, as it rained more and there were million mules hovering around the tents all night, making funny sounds and well, adding more shit to the shit house.Later we put the Shit-House in Flames (Jim Morrison Style), but burning Cow Dung, Dried Horse Crap as a Bon Fire!

The night: we had a nice round of "spirited" introductions, next day I was told that I was "flying". I had good fun interacting with all fellow team mates; I instantly made lots of friends.

Day 1-We traveled 36 Km and climbed 1441 meters. Stayed at 3200 meters altitude.

Day 2: September 29

Marhi-KhokSar-Sissu-Tandi

Started the day, after inspecting the possible place to do the "deed" and one realized that outdoors is the only option, away from eyes of humans will be best place to do it. Well, there is always a FIRST time to do something, if you have not done something before. Because, when you gotta go, you gotta GO! Poor Modi will feel bad about it, if he gets to know-but who cares when you have to go!

At start point, I looked for water refill and I was told by Chiro to buy water as "the water was only for emergency" and that riders were "on their own" thereafter-which probably meant that there would be no support/water provided.

Climbed, Rohtang La with a little struggle as the 20 kmph headwinds on 4-10 grade climbs, at times climb grade touching 18%! Once reaching Rohtang at 3979 meters (13,500 feet over sea level) , we found that it was just a plain ground-no snow just a motley set of tea shops. Refilled water, had tea and Choco-Chip biscuits and moved on. I had a different memory of Rohtang La, with lots of snow and Glaciers.

Downhill-on Rohang was screwed. The road was washed away by snow and rain. So I went down one stone at a time 'Eyes on the road-hands upon the wheel" types.

Stopped by at a roadside dhaba at Khok Sar, had Dal-Chawal for lunch. I was told that the lunch bill will be provided by our Tent-Wala guy. Made sure Ankita got her GPS/Strava working and moved on to our Camp Site via a very beautiful Sissu and landing at Tandi. This was a beautiful stretch, I stopped several times to take pictures and had company of Sachin Rastogi, while Malli, Ankita and Akshay moved ahead towards the camp.

Road between Sissu and Tandi, especially downhill section was awfully bad. Tandi has the"Last Filling Station" i.e. no Petrol Pump or gas Station for next 365 Kms. At Tandi-There was no sign of our camp and since no one rider was briefed, struggled a bit to find the camp site, which was at a permanent camping place, 2 km uphill, next to a monastery. This place had make-shift toilets as well. I found a running water tap so, borrowed a bucket and a mug from a nearby house and had a bath in open. Man! It felt so good. Got my stuff ready for the next day's ride and ate loads of Pakoda and drank tea.

In Tent at night, realized that all the soft mats, which are spread in tents, under the sleeping bag were taken. There was just one dirty rubber mat between 2 of us and would be extremely tough to sleep in the tent in "not so clean" conditions. It would have been better if the tent-guys had taken little care to provide adequate number of tents and mats for so many people. So, I went to a nearby Buddhist Lama's house, which was very close to where we were staying, knocked the door and asked Lama if I could take a shelter in house. Lama was kind; he offered his prayer room, where I and Mallii peacefully spent the night.

We rode 75 Km, climbed 1261 Km and stayed at 2800 meters altitude.

Day 3: September 30

Tandi-Keylong-Jispa-Darcha-Patseo

Morning: Nice hearty breakfast and we moved towards Keylong, which is green and beautiful. Here I saw Imran and waved at him. Some other riders-Mukesh, Manish etc. who had left the camp site early and had fixed up with a Hotel at Keylong, to have a hot water shower and to relax a bit. I Started towards Jispa which has a Buddhist Temple inaugurated by HH Dalai Lama. I paid my respects there. Little that I realized that I was going through the Lahaul-Spiti region on HP, which gets talked about on Radio for its difficult climate during winters.

At Jispa-A government official had gathered some village folks and was helping them grow the crops etc and was delivering some gyan on a loudspeaker.

As I was crossing Jispa, the three volunteers- Chiro, Shubho and Shubho's friend-who were there in Car Duster, stopped by to ask, if I needed something. I told them I was fine and did not need help. Later, a quick pit stop at very scenic place called "Darcha" for Dal-Chawal lunch at a dhaba thereafter, again paid by our Tent-Wala guy. It was hot and sunny and we had to climb.

Started climbing with Akshay, Malli, Ankita and I realized that I could not push it as quick as they were as I felt breathless. It was just 4-5 km to go and I was having trouble breathing, it was out of sync, while I reached at 3700 meters elevation (12,200 feet).

There was an illusion that road looked like its downhill while the Garmin continuously showed 3-4% grade climb.

So, I decided to walk. Soon, Imran Syed came along and gave me a pep talk and walked along till we reached Deepak Taal, which is in shape of a Lamp. There was once again, some confusion wrt to camp location, thankfully-Supratim had hung his jersey on one of the Tent-wala's vehicles so that riders could identify the place. Supratim's Jacket was world famous anyways! We reached the camp which was in between river streams and was a very scenic place. Got a warm welcome by Ankita, Akshay, Malli and Soup.

As the sun went behind the hills, it became very cold and scary. But it was very scenic and beautiful. Had a nice round of Punjabi-Chinese Food. Vivian would not agree that it was even remotely "Chinese". Well, that's what we call as "Chinese".

Day 3: We climbed 1430 Meters and rode about 64 Kms and stayed at 3700 meters height above sea level. Quite on the contrary, we were told that we have elevation gain of 600 meters in store while we climbed 1430 meters!

Day 4: October 1, 2014

Patseo-ZingZingBar-Baralachala-Killingsarai-Sarchu-Brandy Nalla

The night before, inside the tent the temp dropped to a zero and 1. There was frost on my foot wear. The water bottles were half-frozen. The temp outside was in negative. Found a spot to 'Go" outdoors, cleaned myself and got ready for the ride.

I am very slow in the cold mornings. By the time I got ready to ride, most riders had left, so I started alone-slowly-unable to synchronize my peddling and breathing. At ZingZingBar which was just 12-13 km away and came after climbing 500 meters, I stopped at a tea shop for a cup of tea and the tea shop owner offered me "Garlic" which eased my breathing. It just worked like magic.

Soon after that I saw all three Chiro, Shubho and Shubho's friend in Duster and wondered why they did not split themselves in different support vehicles and supported the riders climbing such treacherous uphill. I confronted Chiro with this question and got no answer-instead the organizers got annoyed with me for posing this question. Because, in effect we had 4 vehicles and volunteers/organizers could have easily split themselves and supported the riders at Fixed Time stations. Anyways, they must have a good reason for not doing so.

Soon, after ZingZingBar, I climbed up to 4700 meters (15000 feet) and found Shubho standing in 1 degree temp, with food for us, just before Baralachala Pass. It was very touching to see Shubho do this for us, standing is such cold climate and high altitude.

Took quick Paratha bites with Real Juice and moved to the Baralachala Pass which was well over 4900 meters from sea level (over 16,000 feet). Downhill from Baralachala was as usual, broken and in very bad shape. Somehow maneuvered my way downhill to reach a beautiful site, where workers were busy dismantling a bridge. Crossed over the stream towards KillingSarai where Snow Fall caught us.

I had Sudhir Rawat in the tow, who was scared. I asked him to keep going, because best way to escape the snow is to keep moving and keep our bodies warm. At KillingSarai, I got a 'Thumbs Up" and "High 5s" from 30 BMW motorbike riders who were going uphill from south side of Baralachala. The snowfall stopped. Had garlic flakes and tea, which improved breathing and moved towards Sarchu.

Ride on Sarchu Plains was awesome. The river by the side with huge embankment, reminded me of Colarado River and Grand Canyon. It looked just like that!

At Sarchu, I saw Malli on the other side of the road. Here, me Sachin, Supratim, Sudhir stopped to have a cup of tea and Maggie and rested for an hour. I bought Bisleri Water, drank clean water and while we were preparing to leave, Mukesh and Arjun joined us. We camped 20 Km ahead of Sarchu, next to a bridge called "Brandy Bridge", just before 'Whiskey Nalla" and beginning of Gatta Loops.

Dinner Time, our kitchen served Hot Pizza, Pasta and nice soup. The table arrangement was also re-done by riders in a way that it made easy access for food. Bon Fire at night was good too, because it was not windy. We slept early (8ish).

Day 4 we rode 87 Km, Climbed 1543 meters and stayed at 4209 meters above sea level (About 13,800 feet).

Day 5: October 2, 2014

Gatta Loops, Nakeela Pass, Lachungla Pass

When we woke up, the temp was in negative. After doing morning rituals, we had breakfast and moved to make a start. The water bottles were half-frozen. Hands were numb; teeth were doing kit-kit. Me and Malli found a sunny spot and warmed up a little. The difference between sunny and non sunny spot was between 0 and 8 degrees. +8 Degrees felt so warm! Clearly, there is 10-20 degrees between shade and Sun, depending on time of the day!

Soon, we were climbing Gata Loops, which is nothing but 21 loops of road on same side of the hill, which takes you up from 4201meters (13,800 feet) to 4667 meters (15,100 feet) height. It was fun climbing this. View from here just keeps getting better.

Next after Gata Loops is is Nakeela Pass, at 4750 meters (15547 feet) and then you go downhill (again on a broken road). From Sarchu itself, at the downhill bottom, I saw our Tent-wala's kitchen. I tld myself "Wow the food is just a downhill away". Our kitchen offered us Maggie. Also saw, Chiro-Shubho-Shubho's friend in a Duster at this lunch stop. Refilled emergency water from Duster.and some essentials for the next climb.

Imran came soon after and one could see that he had a bad fall, while on Nakeela downhill. But the strong man got up and rode all the way, again. He has demeanor of a Army Man and never say die attitude.

Soon, we began to climb from 4800 meter valley (15,800 feet) to 5105 meters (16,616 feet) of Lachungla Climb. We saw 100s of Army Trucks moving in opp direction, which delayed me considerably. There was tons of dost blowing due of army movement. Some of the soldiers waved and saluted. It felt good.

After Climbing the LaChungla the downhill (Of course on a broken road) led us to the camping site at Pang.

I was covered in dust and had inhaled huge amounts of sand and dust. Wanted to take a shower and clean myself. But such options in Laddakh are scarce.

At Pang, we were staying at an altitude of 4600 meters (15,100 feet). Where its very dusty and windy, the temperature dips well below zero.

After reaching Pang, I told Shreyas, that once I return, I will burn all my cloths and bike, since its so damn dirty. At Pang- Tent Wala's Kitchen was alive. But they had not pitched the tents. We were told to share a place in a 10 bed dormitory, which is possibly used by truckers and tourists in transit. This had a name 'Paljor's Café" . I immediately remembered my friend Karma, who is from Sikkim and shares the same surname. We had very nice hosts and our Kitchen served food in our Dorm.

Our Dormitory was a very cozy and warm place. One realized that Rajiv Chadha was slipping and his health was deteriorating. He suffered severe bout of AMS, and was quickly taken to the Army Base Hospital nearby and was treated. Next morning he was alive and kicking.

That night, I did not eat anything, though our kitchen guys insisted that I must eat.

Keeping 10 men in one room is hilarious. First they all talk 'n brag and when they sleep-they snore. Since I had a peaceful sleep and all other people who slept peacefully-SNORED. The ones who did not sleep early, listened to orchestra.

Every snoring person has different style of snoring. Some run Bikes, Some run Trains some whistle. Person who sleeps last has to hear cacophonous orchestra. 10 snoring men in the room can cause a "SNOROTHON", as Imran would say.

Next morning, I saw that water kept in drums froze at night, even the small streams of water were frozen.

We had covered 57 Kms on Day 5. Did 21 Gatta Loops, Went through 2 Mountain Passes, Climbed 1167 meters and stayed the night at 4600 meter (15100) altitude.

Day 6:

Climb to Morey Plains-Morey Plaiins-Tanglangla Pass and the downhill

We checked Oxygen levels of everyone and were happy to see 85-87% levels at 4600 meters height for everyone and got ready to leave. Supratim had lower level at 55-60% but several readings later-the Oxymeter gave in and showed good Oxygen level for Soup as well.

Once on Morey Plains (4800 meters-15,800 feet) it's a gradual descend to 4700 meters (15,400 feet) spread over 40 km. But remember-there is no "FLAT" in hills. The terrain is rolling at times and does not leave any change to relax. It becomes very windy at times and you may get head/cross winds as well. If you are lucky then you may get Tail wind as well.

After Morey Plains , with 35 km of good road came under construction/broken road. Here Chiro ran a 14 Km run in very clod climate and we took a customary selfie. Stopped at Debering and we had Maggie for Lunch-made by our kitchen and then the most arduous climb of Tanglang La started.

The Climb to Tanglang La is about 20 Km from Debering. But about 16 km road out of 20 km is missing. So basically, I sat on bike saddle and went from stone to stone causing saddle sores.

It was very tough climb. The air was getting thinner, the sun was getting bright and piercing through the my UV protected Oakley's Sunglasses. I overtook a very exhausted Vivian-almost giving up. Soon I reached 4900 meters (16000 meet) and saw Imran. Imran- one of the most sensible persons I met during these days. He would always be calm. He would take short breaks-off the saddle and kept moving. At 47, he gave lots of youngsters run for their money.

Our KOM (King of Mountains) and QOM (Queen of Mountains) Akshay and Ankita had gone ahead.

Malli, Supratim and Sudhir were behind and I could see that they were getting slower and slower. I overtook Bhalla ji at 5000 meter (16400 feet) height. He is such a fun person to be with. Then I saw Mukesh Sharma-relaxing at 5100 (16,700) meter height-taking a breather.

The Duster with Chiro-Shubo and his friend overtook me after asking if I needed something. I gave them my back-pack which had my downhill clothing. At 5200 meters (17,000 feet) Shreyas and Srini were again providing support to climbing cyclists, while their van driver kept poking them to move. On this climb and Morey Plains -Shreyas, Srini and Alok provided very good support and ensured that we were hydrated-which otherwise has been missing throughout the entire Manali-Leh ride. All thanks to the support by the team, I could do a very treacherous climb at a pace, which turned out to be 3rd fastest ever recorded in this terrain.

At Tanglangla, I recorded a small video for my parents, my wife and my son. Thereafter put some -10

degree compliant cloths (which were handed over by Chiro to Alok, who was in a bus) and started descend to Rumstey- where we were supposed to camp.

On downhill I met Chiro-Shubho and his friend in Duster. Shubho's face was swollen. He was suffering from AMS and looked in bad shape. I was told to go to Rumstey, 11 km away. 11 Km Downhill-at Rumsey: As usual, there was no sign of the camp here.

Figured the directions to the camp. while there was still bright light. People who came in later at night had even tougher time looking for camp site. The tents were pitched, but looking at the condition of people our Tent-Walla had arranged for a stay at a Dorm which took about 6-8 people in each room and looked cozy. But there was only 1 -2 toilet for about 30 people. I needed a bath and there was no way to do it.

Ride for me was over. As- it was just a downhill section left for the next day. There was no challenge and I did not want to go through another night of hardship and morning rituals thereafter. I along with Imran, Mukesh, Shreyas had decided to go to Leh and check in to a hotel and have a shower. Waited for Malli to arrive and we did that as soon as Malli reached and I told him of the decision. Malli decided to stay. We decided to move on.

It unruffled some feathers-which was totally unintentional. I just could not take the tough part of post ride...defecating in open, not taking bath for several days, not shaving etc. Later that night, we checked in to a 5 Star hotel "Shangri-La" at Leh and had a nice 1-2 hour long shower. Totally deserved it.

As soon as I got connectivity, I called my Mom, called my Dad, called my wife and told them I am fine.

Will I do this trip again?-Probably Yes.

Will I do this trip with such a huge group? - Probably No.

Will I recommend anyone to go and camp in such a hostile situations-Never. Because, living in Laddakh is never easy. Even with best facilities and cozy houses, its very tough. Camping in Laddakh is even tougher. People who provide tent-services are very brave one to do it in such hostile conditions. We, as Delhi-NCR people have never seen anything like this ever.

I would like to thank Chiro and Shubo for putting this together. It took them months to put this together. As I said in the opening remark-It was most beautiful journey taken by me, EVER.####It’s not a matter of Altitude, but attitude!!

“Ah keep your eyes on the road, Your hands upon the wheel.

Keep your eyes on the road. Your hands upon the wheel.

Yeah, we’re going to the roadhouse, Gonna have a real a- good-time.

Yeah, the back of the roadhouse, They’ve got some bungalows.

Yeah, the back of the roadhouse, They’ve got some bungalows.

They dance for the people, Who like to go down slow.

Let it roll, baby, roll.

Let it roll, baby, roll.

Let it roll, baby, roll.

Let it roll, all night long.”

-Roadhouse Blues, sung by Jim Morrison from the Doors

This song played in my head whenever I went downhill after a grueling, unforgiving, and undulating climbs. The best part of Manali-Leh trip was the bike journey. Beautiful scenery, landscape changing every moment, mountain ranges of different colors, uphill climbs up to 17,600 feet, extreme cold-dry conditions in cold desert, spending nights in 14,000 + feet heights, where there is no sign of human life, animal life or plant life.

Ladakh is a cold semi-arid desert. It is cold along the highway even in summer (June onwards); the days are warm in bright sunshine but the nights are very cold. The water from glacial melts is ice-cold and one should avoid getting wet in water-crossings on the highway. Light woolens are required during the day and thick woolens at night. There is no rainfall between Rohtang pass and Leh even during the monsoon season in July-September as the entire region lies in rain-shadow.

The greenery on the southern side of Rohtang disappears and the mountain slopes on the northern side become brown and arid. However, the mountain peaks are covered in snow and glare brightly in sun.

Just to brag a little more-The highest I climbed was 5381 meters from sea level (17,600 feet) about 61% height of Mount Everest-that too on a bike. Cumulatively, I climbed 8026 meters in 6 days on bike (almost 91% of height of Mount Everest-but on a lower altitudes)

Well, it was one of most beautiful journeys done by me in very testing environs. While the bike journey was awesome, the stay was painful, nights were cold and windy. One never looked forward to reaching camp site-a very cold, unwelcoming camp with abysmally small tent with dirty unclean mats-where every task was a torture and no place to do morning rituals/ablutions.

We started on September 26th from Delhi and reached Manali after 22 hour long journey due to massive traffic jams en route. But we were not tired as we looked forward to the start of the trip on September 28th.

Checked in to the Johnson’s Lodge in Manali and after a while I heard the door knocked, there was a very charming Ankita Gaur-my running team mate, who I have been interacting for ages, but never met in person. We got our bikes assembled ourselves, as our designate mechanic had too much at his hand. It was not a perfect job, so the mechanic had to do some minor tweaking to make the bike perfect for riding. My bike had a flat-while it was in the box, so I changed the tube as well. Had an awesome dinner with Malli and Shreyas at Johnson’s Café and we kept chatting.

Day 1: September 28

Manali to Marhi

Morning: we were given breakfast in boxes and told to assemble at the start point. We ate quickly and moved to start point. After flagging off we quickly climbed the Manali-Leh highway and reached an re-assembly area where we had some Bead-Omelette , we were hungry! Thereafter, little bit of climb and we reached the Camping Spot for Day 1 at Marhi.

Marthi is about 18 KM before Rohtang La Pass, at 3200 meters height is a good place to acclimatize. We stayed in an animal grazing field which was full of horse shit, cow dung and other kinds of shits, which was beyond human sensibilities and made living-walking miserable. We were told by the organizers that this was the best camping place in neighborhood.

It rained in the afternoon and It was impossible to escape without stepping on the Holy-Shit, even in broad day light. Night made it worse, as it rained more and there were million mules hovering around the tents all night, making funny sounds and well, adding more shit to the shithouse.

The night: we had a nice round of “spirited” introductions, next day I was told that I was “flying”. I had good fun interacting with all fellow team mates; I instantly made lots of friends.

Day 1-We travelled 36 KM and climbed 1441 meters. Stayed at 3200 meters altitude.

Day 2: September 29

Marhi-KhokSar-Sissu-Tandi

Started the day, after inspecting the possible place to do the “deed” and one realized that outdoors is the only option, away from eyes of humans will be best place to do it. Well, there is always a FIRST time to do something, if you have not done something before. Because, when you gotta go, you gotta GO! Poor Modi will feel bad about it, if he gets to know-but who cares when you have to go!

At start point, I looked for water refill and I was told by Chiro to buy water as “the water was only for emergency” and that riders were “on their own” thereafter-which probably meant that there would be no support/water provided.

Climbed, Rohtang La with a little struggle as the 20 Kmph headwinds on 4-10 grade climbs, at times climb grade touching 18%! Once reaching Rohtang at 3979 meters (13,500 feet over sea level), we found that it was just a plain ground-no snow just a motley set of tea shops. Bought water, had tea and choco-chip biscuits and moved on. I had a different memory of Rohtang.

Downhill-on Rohang was screwed. The road was washed away by snow and rain. So I went down one stone at a time ‘eyes on the road-hands upon the wheel’ types.

Stopped by at a roadside dhaba at Khok Sar, had Dal-Chawal for lunch. Made sure Ankita got her GPS/Strava working and moved on to our Camp Site via a very beautiful Sissu and landing at Tandi. Road between Sissu and Tandi, especially downhill section was awfully bad. I was told that the lunch bill will be paid by our Tent-Wala guy.

Tandi has the “Last Filling Station” i.e. no Petrol Pump or gas Station for next 365 KMs. At Tandi-There was no sign of our camp and since no one rider was briefed, struggled a bit to find the camp site, which was at a permanent camping place, 2 KM uphill, next to a monastery. This place had make-shift toilets as well. I found a running water tap so, borrowed a bucket and a mug from a nearby house and had a bath in open. Man! It felt so good. Got my stuff ready for the next day’s ride and ate loads of Pakoda and drank tea.

In Tent at night, realized that there was one very dirty rubber mat between 2 of us and would be extremely tough to sleep in the tent in filthy conditions. So, I went to a Buddhist Lama’s house, which was close to where we were staying, knocked the door and asked Lama if I could take a shelter in house. Lama was kind; he offered his prayer room, where I and Mallii peacefully spent the night.

We rode 75 KM, climbed 1261 KM and stayed at 2800 meters altitude.

Day 3: September 30

Tandi-Keylong-Jispa-Darcha-Patseo

Morning: Nice hearty breakfast and we moved towards Keylong, which is green and beautiful. Here I saw Imran and waved at him. Some other riders-Mukesh, Manish etc. who had left the camp site early and had fixed up with a Hotel at Keylong, to have a hot water shower and to relax a bit. I Started towards Jispa which has a Buddhist Temple inaugurated by HH Dalai Lama. I paid my respects there. Little that I realized that I was going through the Lahaul-Spiti region on HP, which gets talked about on Radio for its difficult climate during winters.

At Jispa-A government official had gathered some village folks and was helping them grow the crops etc and was delivering some gyan on a loudspeaker.

As I was crossing Jispa, the three volunteers-Chiro, Shubho and another guy-who were there in Car Duster, stopped by to ask, if I needed something. I told them I was fine and did not need help. A quick pit stop at very scenic place called “Darcha” for Dal-Chawal lunch at a dhaba thereafter, again paid by our Tent-Wala guy. It was hot and sunny and we had to climb.

Started climbing with Akshay, Malli, Ankita and I realized that I could not push it as I felt breathless. It was just 4-5 km to go and I was having trouble while I reached at 3700 meters elevation (12,200 feet). There was an illusion that road looked like its downhill while the Garmin continuously showed 3-4% grade climb.

So, I decided to walk. Soon, Imran came along and gave me a pep talk and walked along till we reached Deepak Taal, which is in shape of a Lamp. There was once again, some confusion wrt to camp location, thankfully-Supratim had hung his jersey on one of the Tent-wala’s vehicles so that riders could identify the place. Supratim’s Jacket was world famous anyways!

We reached the camp which was in between river streams and was a very scenic place. As the sun went behind the hills, it became very cold and scary.

Day 3: We climbed 1430 Meters and rode about 64 Kms and stayed at 3700 meters height above sea level. Quite on the contrary, we were told that we have elevation gain of 600 meters in store while we climbed 1430 meters!

Day 4: October 1, 2014

Patseo-ZingZingBar-Baralachala-Killingsarai-Sarchu-Brandy Nalla

The night before, inside the tent the temp dropped to a zero and 1. There was frost on my foot wear. The water bottles were half-frozen. The temp outside was in negative. Found a spot to “Go” outdoors, cleaned myself and got ready for the ride.

I am very slow in the cold mornings. By the time I got ready to ride, most riders had left, so I started alone-slowly.

ZingZingBar which was just 12-13 km away and came after climbing 500 meters, I stopped at a tea shop for a cup of tea and the tea shop owner offered me Garlic which eased my breathing.

Soon after that I saw all three Chiro, Shubho and Shubho’s friend in Duster and wondered why they did not split themselves in different support vehicles and supported the riders. I confronted Chiro with this question and got no answer-instead the organizers got annoyed with me for posing this question.

Because, in effect we had 4 vehicles:

1. Duster which had all three Organizers-Chiro, Shubho and Shubho’s friend.

2. Bus #1: The Tent wala guys which had our tents, cooks and Ration/food etc.

3. Bus #2: This bus used to cross us once in a day. Used to come so close and honk at the poor cyclists and left us startled and at times it appeared that the driver wanted to run over us-or maybe scare us just for fun.

4. Bus # 3: Never saw this vehicle-thankfully. This was used to sweep people and had our mechanic Rizwan.

Despite having 4 vehicles, we had no FIXED support stations. Bus drivers /its occupants/cyclists were not briefed. Location of the camp site was always a wild guess. Even if people knew there was always confusion because the possible camp site kept shifting every time we heard from the organizers. So, in effect people in the lead group never got any support when they needed it.

After ZingZingBar, I climbed up to 4700 meters and found Shubho standing in 1 degree temp, with food for us, just before Baralachala Pass. It was very touching to see Shubho do this for us, standing is such cold climate and high altitude.

Took quick Paratha bites with Real Juice and moved to the Baralachala Pass which was well over 4900 meters from sea level (over 16,000 feet). Downhill from Baralachala was as usual, broken and in very bad shape. Somehow maneuvered my way downhill to reach a beautiful site, where workers were busy dismantling a bridge. Crossed over the stream towards KillingSarai where Snow Fall caught us.

I had Sudhir Rawat in the tow, who was scared. I asked him to keep going, because best way to escape the snow is to keep moving and keep our bodies warm. At KillingSarai, I got a “Thumbs Up” and “High 5s” from 30 BMW motorbike riders who were going uphill from south side of Baralachala. The snowfall stopped. Had garlic flakes and tea, which improved breathing and moved towards Sarchu.

At Sarchu, I saw Malli on the other side of the road. Here, me Sachin, Supratim, Sudhir stopped to have a cup of tea and Maggie and rested for an hour. I bought Bisleri Water, drank clean water and while we were preparing to leave, Mukesh and Arjun joined us. We camped 20 Km ahead of Sarchu, next to a bridge called “Brandy Bridge”, just before “Whiskey Nalla” and beginning of Gatta Loops.

Dinner Time, our kitchen served Hot Pizza, Pasta and nice soup. The table arrangement was also re-done by riders in a way that it made easy access for food. Bon Fire at night was good too, because it was not windy.

Day 4 we rode 87 Km, Climbed 1543 meters and stayed at 4209 meters above sea level (About 13,800 feet).

Day 5: October 2, 2014

Gatta Loops, Nakeela Pass, Lachungla Pass

When we woke up, the temp was in negative. After doing morning rituals, we had breakfast and moved to make a start. The water bottles were half-frozen. Hands were numb; teeth were doing kit-kit. Me and Malli found a sunny spot and warmed up a little. The difference between sunny and non sunny spot was between 0 and 8 degrees. +8 Degrees felt so warm! Clearly, there is 10-20 degrees between shade and Sun, depending on time of the day!

Soon, we were climbing Gata Loops, which is nothing but 21 loops of road on same side of the hill, which takes you up from 4201 meters (13,800 feet) to 4667 meters (15,100 feet) height. It was fun climbing this.

Next after Gata Loops is is Nakeela Pass, at 4750 meters (15547 feet) and then you go downhill ((of course on a broken road). At the downhill bottom, we bund our Tent-wala’s kitchen which offered us Maggie. Also saw, Chiro-Shubho-Shubho’s friend in a Duster. Refilled emergency water from Duster.

Imran came soon after and one could see that he had a bad fall, while on Nakeela downhill. But the strong man got up and rode all the way. Soon, we began to climb from 4800 meter valley (15,800 feet) to 5105 meters (16,616 feet) of Lachungla Climb. We saw 100s of Army Trucks moving in opp direction, which delayed me considerably. There was tons of dost blowing due of army movement. Some of the soldiers waved and saluted. It felt good.

After Climbing the LaChungla the downhill (Of course on a broken road) led us to the camping site at Pang. I was covered in dust and had inhaled huge amounts of sand and dust. Wanted to take a shower and clean myself. But, at Pang, we were staying at an altitude of 4600 meters (15,100 feet). Where the water kept in drums froze at night, even the small streams of water were frozen. After reaching Pang, I told Shreyas, that once I return, I will burn all my cloths and bike, since its so damn dirty.

At Pang – Tent Wala’s Kitchen was alive. But they had not pitched the tents. We were told to share a place in a 10 bed dormitory, which is possibly used by truckers and tourists. This even had a name ‘Paljor’s Café” or something. I immediately remembered my friend Karma, who is from Sikkim. We had very nice hosts and our Kitchen served food in our Dorm.

Dormitory was a very cozy and warm place. Soon after preparing for the next day’s ride, one realized that Rajiv Chadha was slipping and his health was deteriorating. He suffered severe bout of AMS, and was quickly taken to the Army Base Hospital nearby and was treated. Next morning he was alive and kicking.

Keeping 10 men in one room is hilarious. First they talk and brand and when they sleep-they snore. Person who sleeps last has to hear cacophonic orchestra.

10 snoring men in the room can cause a “SNOROTHON”. That night, I did not eat anything, though our kitchen guys insisted that I must eat. Because of which, I had a peaceful sleep-which means all OTHER people who slept peacefully-snored. The ones who did not sleep early, listened to orchestra. Next morning Imran told us his woes.

We covered 57 Kms. Did 21 Gatta Loops, Went through 2 Mountain Passes, Climbed 1167 meters and stayed the night at 4600 meter (15100) altitude.

Day 6:

Climb to Morey Plains-Morey Plaiins-Tanglangla Pass and downhill

We checked Oxygen levels of everyone and were happy to see 85-87% levels at 4600 meters height for everyone and got ready to leave. Supratim had lower level at 55-60% but several readings later-the Oxymeter gave in and showed good Oxygen level for Soup as well.

Once on Morey Plains (4800 meters-15,800 feet) it’s a gradual descend to 4700 meters (15,400 feet) spread over 40 km. But remember-there is no “FLAT” in hills. The terrain is rolling at times and does not leave any change to relax. It becomes very windy at times and you may get head/cross winds as well. If you are lucky then you may get Tail wind as well.

After Morey Plains , with 35 km of good road came under construction/broken road. We had Maggie Lunch at Debring-made by our kitchen and then the most arduous climb of Tanglang La started.

“All the other kids with the pumped up kicks

You’d better run, better run, outrun my gun

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks

You’d better run, better run, faster than my bullet

All the other kids with the the pumped up kicks

You’d better run, better run, outrun my gun

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks

You’d better run, better run, faster than my bullet”

-From Pumped up kicks by Foster, the people

The Climb to Tanglang La is about 20 Km from Debering. But about 16 km road out of 20 km is missing. Sitting on bike saddle and going from stone to stone causing saddle sores.

It was very tough climb. The air was getting thinner, the sun was bright and piercing through the my UV protected Oakley’s Sunglasses. I overtook a very exhausted Vivian-almost giving up. Soon I reached 4900 meters (16000 meet) and saw Imran.

Imran-one of the most sensible persons I met during these days. He would always be calm. He would take short breaks-off the saddle and kept moving. At 47, he gave lots of youngsters run for their money.

Malli, Supratim and Sudhir were getting slower and slower. I overtook Bhalla ji at 5000 meter (16400 feet) height. He is such a fun person to be with. Then I saw Mukesh Sharma-relaxing at 5100 (16,700) meter height.

The Duster with Chiro-Shubo and his friend overtook me after asking if I needed something. I gave them bag which had my downhill clothing. At 5200 meters (17,000 feet) Shreyas and Srini were again providing support to climbing cyclists, while their van driver kept poking them to move.

On this climb and Morey Plains -Shreyas, Srini and Alok provided very good support and ensured that we were hydrated-which otherwise has been missing throughout the entire Manali-Leh ride.

All thanks to the support by the team, I could do a very treacherous climb at a pace, which turned out to be 3rdfastest ever recorded in this terrain.

At Tanglangla, I recorded a small video for my parents, my wife and my son. Thereafter put some -10 degree compliant cloths (which were handed over by Chiro to Alok) and started descend to Rumstey-where we were supposed to camp. On downhill I met Chiro-Shubho and his friend in Duster. Shubho’s face was swollen. He was suffering from AMS and looked in bad shape.

At Rumsey: As usual, there was no sign of the camp at Rumstey.

figured it hard way while there was still bright light. People who came in later at night had even tougher time looking for camp site. The tents were up, but looking at the condition of people our Tent-Walla had arranged for a stay at a Dorm which took about 6-8 people in each room and looked cozy. But there was only 1 toilet for about 30 people. I needed a bath.

Ride for me was over. As- it was just a little downhill section left for the next day. There was no challenge and I did not want to go through another night of hardship and morning rituals thereafter.

I along with Imran, Mukesh, Shreyas had decided to go to Leh and check in to a hotel and have a shower. Waited for Malli to arrive and we did that as soon as Malli reached and I told him of the decision. Malli decided to stay. We decided to move on.

It unruffled some feathers-which was totally unintentional. I just could not take the tough part of post ride…defecating in open, not taking bath for several days, not shaving etc.

Later that night, we checked in to a 5 Star hotel “Shangri-La” at Leh and had a nice 1-2 hour long shower. Totally deserved it.

Call my Mom, Called my Dad, Called my wife and told them I am fine.

Will I do this trip again-probably yes.

Will I do this trip with such a huge group-probably no.

Will I recommend anyone to go and camp in such a hostile situations-Never.

I will probably do this trip again with like minded friends and stay in lesser hostile places.

Nonetheless, I would like to thank Chiro and Shubo for putting this together. As I said in the opening remark-It was most beautiful journey taken my me, EVER.