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Trip Log and Pictorial
INTRODUCTION
Once again the
time had come when the mountains of Himalaya calls for an adventure ride through
her.
It was the perfect time to get away from the blistering heat of Delhi to the
cold mountains of Himalaya. We had decided this trip in just a weeks time as the
R2H [Return to Himalayaz] was over due and planed to leave on 15th June. The
plan was to reach Keylong or Pang if possible. It was just 4 days Trip across
Himachal Pradesh. Lots of people flock to Manali during this time of the Year as
Summer Vacations are on. Most of them reach RohtangLa pass where Snow would
still remain buts for normal people. Our journey starts from RohtangLa pass
crossing over to Spiti Valley towards the cold dessert called Ladakh. Four days
time is less to reach Ladakh and come back, but this was just a week end for us
and we just had to run our bikes to little bit of extremes before we hit the
real deal. Tour to Ladakh in just one months time and our bikes have to be tough
enough to endure the rough terrain ahead.
Trip Log written by: Faiyaz
Sultan
Day 1:
0230 Get the Bags packed and got ready,
called up Crack and asked if he needed anything extra. He was ready as well.
0300 Checked the bike for any problems
and found the front Disc break is way too loose. The breaks were just hopeless
if in case of emergency. Got the tools and tried to fix it but the hydraulic
Piston would not open. I didnt want to risk the left over breaks and decided to
leave it the way it is. Got all the essentials but left Diomax by chance which
nearly cost us our lives.
Speedo Reading: 00662 kms
Tacho Reading: 000 Kms
Reset at the Petrol Pump
0330 Left home and got the nearest
petrol pump but found that there was no fuel at the petrol station. I was
running out of Fuel and had just 1 litre of fuel left on. Also had to get
cash out of ATM, once again disappointment as there was no cash on the
nearest ATM Machine. Called up Crack and asked for suggestion. Near his place
the petrol pump was open and also had ATM close by.
0345 Left to Cracks place and some how
managed to get there with fuel running almost empty. Got the cash out first
and got the tank full on my bike. Crack was all ready for the Tour and very
excited. Informed him about the front breaks and he promised not to over take
me by any chance as it would mean asta-lavista if he did and I would not be
able to break on time.
0400 Started riding the city roads and
started cruising down to National Highway 1. I was trying my best to get use
to the front breaks as it felt much unsecured while I was breaking. Some how
managed to get the best of the breaks in worst case scenario.
0430 We finally crossed over the borders
of Delhi and reached the highway and the sense of Chilling feel of Mountain
was getting into me already. We started cruising at clean & clear roads at 80
90 kmph without any problems. The Traffic was at minimal and was wonderful
early morning.
0500 Cracks first experience at really
long ride was getting him more and more excited as we had crossed 50kms mark
from Delhi and averaging speeds of 75kmph. We took our first break just
before Panipat. We had few cups of Tea and got some mineral water for the
ride.
Early morning sunrise and we started riding at
good speeds. Started noticing some dark clouds as we were nearing Kurnal, we
didnt bother at that time but all of a sudden a huge down pour drenching us
instantly. We stopped at the next Dhaba to get out of this unexpected down
pour from skies above. Sat at the Dhaba for almost an hour before the rain
slowed its fury, we got our selves some Poly bags as our electronic items
were naked without water cover.
0700 Started our ride from Kurnal to
Chandigarh and faced no issues with either the Traffic nor with the weather,
few drops of rain here and there but did not manage to slow us down.
0900 Crossing Chandigarh was not that
easy as there was heavy traffic within the city. First time in my entire
touring experience did I see no traffic police on the roads of Chandigarh. We
stopped at a Dhaba after almost 2 hours of constant ride through traffic &
chaos of the city after crossing the main city. The morning rush hour on
Friday was expected but this heavy, well no comments on it as its still
nothing when compared to our daily experience on Delhi roads. Almost 5 hours
to reach Chandigarh with a good break thanks to Rain is not bad. We covered
approximately 250kms at an average speed of 50kmph.
0930 Had good heavy break fast and tea
and was refreshing. We had few Butter Parathas and few cups of Tea. Started
riding towards Kiratpur Sahib and the ride was a little too lazy. We were
doing constant 60 70 kmph but after that heavy food were feeling sleepy on
the way. We decided to take regular breaks as sleep was catching up. We did
not sleep for last two days.
1000 Finally we reached the bottom of
the hills. That was it for the sleep, bye bye sleep welcome exciting ride up
hill. The feeling of ripping the rubber on turns and accelerating hard on
steep straights to heaven is a feeling which cannot be described. Its just
that you need to feel it with your own ride. No one can show you how to do
it. The feeling of this start is chilling and still reminds me of my first
ride through hills. Not long after we were really racing time now as we were
just enjoying the ride up hill. Crack following me was a little too concerned
about his new bike as he was hesitant pulling the throttle. I understood his
feeling and decided to slow myself down a little as I needed the pump of
Adrenaline in me. Crack had an amazing bike as this is the second bike after
Karizma which could match the performance of Pulsar 180 head to head. Not a
single minute did I manage to loose Crack from my rear as he did have the
talent of riding on hills and also carried loads of AR experience along.
1130 Reached Billaspur after taking a
few breaks for water and tea [of course few fags too]. Ride was enjoyable
with a fellow member who knew exactly how to ride on uphill roads. Little did
Crack know how he would feel once we reach the far reaches of Lahaul & Spiti
Valley and across to Ladakh
1600 Came to a point of exhaustion and
consulted with Crack if he wants to continue. His eyes said it all. He was
all ready to go beyond the physical torture. Pants pinching the skin, butts
almost yelling out loud, hands were giving up and head spinning around.
1630 Crossed Kullu and were over taken
by loud thumping bulls with TN registration on them. Over took them and found
that they were few of my old buddies from SIB [South Indian Bullet Club from
Chennai]. Took a short break and had few cups of Tea along with them. Felt
reunited with old buddies from South. Bikers United from North and South with
one thing in mind, TOURING.
1700 40kms from Manali, the
destination was not too far but those last few kilometers were longer than life
itself. Grilled out of energy we were now on survival mode as our muscles were
now screaming out load and mentally we could take on the challenge.
We managed to reach Manali by 6:30pm and get a room. Our condition was just
unexplainable. I crashed down on the bed and slept without eating and so did
crack as well. We slept like KumbKaran, clueless of outside world. I even forgot
to call up home and inform about my arrival at Manali.
--- DAY 1 ending ---
Amazing riding experience. Lack of Sleep almost
spoiled the fun.
Distance covered: approx
650kms.
Ride Time: 14 hours.
Petrol: Still had huge amount of Fuel left on my bike, Crack also had
enough of Fuel left.
Miles of experience: With minimal of front breaks, managing curves at
high speeds was one heck of an experience.
Pulsar 200 was almost giving around 45 kilometers to a litre of petrol which was
something shocking for me as my bike pulsar 180 was giving me around 40
kilometers after getting her a new Carburetor.
 
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