Day5: Leh Manali

approaching Baralachha La(4890m)

Baralachhala: A wide pass and the final pass on this ride close to 5000m.

Just as I was reaching Sarchu, the valley widened and it looked as if it were to be green then onwards. But just after Sarchu, begins the climb for the final high altitude pass: Baralachha La and the greenery is lost again. But the pass still looks wide and ideal for a snow scooter/ ski. But I had a late start and a flat tyre mid way which made me retire at night around 9. A dark ride.

 The road to and from passes convert to streams during the day time which aren't much of a problem during the day but early mornings when it is difficult to differentiate from ice. The usual 4 wheelers o slow and avoid braking but that trick doesn't help much. Instead one must try and ride perpendicular to the ground with low saddle height.

 Snow on the passes to the south is far more than the ones up north during the early monsoon. These are the earlier passes which the monsoon clouds meet and hence, Rohtang and Baralachha La are the ones that shut of the Leh Manali route. It might turnout to be a different story during the winters.

I expected the ride to be easy after the Baralachha La as the road seemed in good condition and a down hill

Suraj Taal: A broken frozen lake

The ride seemed to speed up and ease up. The Suraj Taal was new stuff to watch. The route had many newly open parachute shelters and anyone on this route(even cyclists) can safely rely on them. They come up as the passes open up.

The melting ice comes down through channels and waterfalls that cut across the road. It was tough riding through such streams on a bullet long back but on the cycle it was a different challenge altogether. The moment cycle entered a deep pit and stopped, it meant a stream bath. The first few I witnessed, I crossed them barefoot trying to keep the feet dry for the rest of the journey but as I realised that this took up a lot of time and the next habitable place was not so near, I started adapting a new skill in riding.
Another such stream:

The flow drops by evening. But the water melting away at this rate also accounted for bigger rivers and valleys. Tree line soon appeared and the smell of shrubs was strong and yet pleasing.

Village Dharcha

River Barai Kade. From such heights riding downhill at a high speed felt like being in a helicopter

Trees look wonderful

Felt great to look down upon human civilisations :P

Keylong was a big town on this route with wider roads and I revised my target to o for Tandi which was only some kms away but it grew dark and then I turned slow. Failed to search my headlamp in the bag at night which further slowed me down.Chenab was then running besides me and the roads were completely deserted. I turned out to be extremely slow in the dark and it did look scary. I finally found some light and shelter thereafter at night around 9.
 This ride was a long one in terms of hours, kms, events and one of the risky ones. The rides on this route had been most eventful and throughout I had been closer to nature though at certain places I was bound by the road. There were rides I wanted to hike, peaks I wanted to scale, detour for hidden lakes but the passes always lure for the hidden valleys. The exploration would continue in later trips. There is a lot I got to see and feel closely and there remains a lot as well.