Biking Trans Himalayan Circle - Indian Saga
It was mid July, a terribly off season for tourism in Kolkata, it was either hot and humid or pouring down like a dripping faucet. Terribly bugged by it all, Pritish and me at Calcutta Walks, decided to take off to cooler climes.
There was this one thing I’d always wanted to do as a bachelor - biking through Ladakh. Now, though no more a bachelor, seemed like the perfect time to do that. Wife was busy with her sister who’d come down, and I had nothing better to do.
So we dialed the numbers of a few people we knew, and voila - the bikes were booked, the trains reserved and our shopping for the trip had started. Another friend, who we hadn’t known so well earlier but became our best buddy by the time we returned, Abhijit Poddar (better known as Poddy), agreed to go to. So here it was Pritish, me and Poddy out to get some tents and sleeping bags on hire and to buy a good pair of sunglasses, a balaclava, a waist belt, etc. which would become the essentials of the trip.
Our itinerary, when we started looked somewhat easy and relaxed but by the time we got through to doing so much we realised that it was quite a fast paced and hectic journey and none of us knew what exactly we were in for. One advice that Pritish would like to give to all the guys wanting to do this trip is that, only take as many use-and-throw things with you as possible. Because in all likelihood you won’t be able to get them back. I agree.
Truly speaking, in a trip like this, everything is put to the test. From your gear to yourself, everything. Therefore, the use-and-throw variety of products, (including yourself ;-) is highly recommended.
By the way we’d also posted the riding dates on the internet and were pleasantly surprised to find that more people from all over the country had confirmed. Among them being:
Sushil Kumar from Nainital - Our buddy till almost the end, until a severe eye infection forced him to catch a flight back from Srinagar.
Rohit Rodrigues from Delhi - The Royal Beast from Delhi, thats what his club was called, and he proved his pedigree by ensuring that he reached each point first and was home 3 days before us.
Ashwin Kumar from Ahmedabad with his girlfriend Reshmi, a Mallu from Bombay - The perpetual laggard, as he was newest to the Bullet, and pensive enough to have replaced Rodin’s thinker. The girl, the only in the group, was easygoing and took care of Ashwin well whenever he wasn’t taking care of her.
Varun Soni and his buddy from Jallandhar - These guys, joined us midway from Keylong, believed in the No-Drink-No-Drive policy and were the only ones who could willingly keep up with Rohit’s speed.
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Congrats- very few Indian do like this.
Congratulations to whole team- it was a winderfull post and we all enjoyed it. May bein future we could have some plans having inspiration. But Indians are least seen on this route as I explored more information about biking in this area.
Once again, I congratulate whole team for such a wonderful adventure.