End of a long ride

The velometer reaching 5 digits made it a long ride. The ride is over but there is a lot to be shared. I spent over 6 weeks in J&K and away from internet and telephone at times, which I hardly ever missed. The blog shall remain active in coming future and postings might be a bit regular again.
Entering J&K from Udhampur side, saw me drenching in the rain almost everyday till Zojila. So far there had been some tough rides but Zojila was a different level. It wasn't tiring but the weather made the going difficult. It was a heavy snow fall and I had to stop short of what I had planned; a rare event as of then. The next morning I headed towards Kargil but one slip and there was a scare of any wet road.

 Later on the road till Leh the passes steadily rose ensuring a better acclimatization. On the way I was fortunate to have luxuries of a kerosene heater at times which usually makes one suffocate after a while. Riding becomes difficult after such times.

Srinagar-Leh route has fascinating and varying landscape. One of such extremes is at Lamayuru which is called the moonland. The pictures tell the remaining story (at the end)

Road after Khardung La

In order to get to Nubra and Shyok valleys, there was the first huge obstacle: Khardung la and though there were suggestions to cross it in the first attempt, I took a day off for a rehersal/acclimatization/check ride. There was a headache on the following day as well and Iwas slow enough to take around 3 hours for the last 12 kms of the climb. It usually is a great relief to reach the top after working your heart out. But stories change over 5000m. Descending was time consuming as well. Reason evident from the pic above. The ride till Khalsar showed a terrain which made the experience far more thrilling than that of Lamayuru. (coming up in later posts)

Moonland, Lamayuru

 

 

Ladakh

A post after a long time. It has been NH1 since a long time and continuing still. Kashmir was a green delight but the pics I am posting are mostly from Ladakh :)
Struggling my way through zojila's snow storms and thereafter slipping on some occasions on the slippery icy roads, I reached heaven.

But to reach such a wonder, there was a lot of suffering which later was compensated :)
With my half cut gloves, I had to improvize to protect my fingers in the biting cold. The extra socks helped and polythene over them also made them waterproof and windproof but the very first slip had the polythene gone. Determined to cross the avalanche prone area before the Sun got furious, I decided to walk-jog down the stretch. But it was still slippery. The army had stopped the remaining traffic to Drass that day and I was probably the only person to reach Drass :D

Recently opened Zojila: I still had the patience to take the pic

Summer Migration

Cannondale and I have now successfully migrated to colder land though not avoiding the heat but going through it.
Riding from Amritsar to north Punjab in the cold rain and Himalayan headwind ensured it was a steady transition. Had I taken the eastern wing, I would have been in the snow with my blood pasteurised. But currently the snowline has only come in sight and might be a week before I put my footprints on it. In the pic, the snowline from today's home.

NH1 ride

Heading towards Amritsar on the GT Road. Punjab has lots of wheat farms and with the harvest season going on, I got to eat farm fresh wheat. Switching back to western wing for migrating up north but before that I shall be halting near Atari. Blog to go on sleep mode  next week.

Entry to Punjab

Rajasthan-Haryana-Punjab for today. It was a farm ride. Wheat farms till the horizon and finally finding shade was easy.
As I moved north, I dealt with cross winds which soon will be headwinds from pak. A bit of a dodge here as to which wing to take: east or west. For now, it is time to rest.
present location: Bhatinda

End of deserts

Main course begins... Though the region still seems arid, nearing north is a bit relieving. Carrying too much water makes me feel like a tanker instead of a tank. Reaching bikaner, witnessed a local mela(fare). A glimpse in the pic.
About the ride...another quick one and though not a wildlife sanctuary, the wilderness was well showcased. I was shown an eagle eating his juicy meal and 3 deers hopping across the road. The lizards are almost always active here. Failed to capture those quick creatures.
So where do I go tomorrow?

Golden town Jaisalmer

Too much of rocks and sand to ride on makes me feel I am riding a tank. It was a great decision of not changing to sleeks but going with the 2.1 inch tyres.
Wandered around the desert national park but during the day when only camels and exceptional humans are out. Beneath the shrubs, rodents and birds can be found. Snakes don't dare to wander around in the heat. Will explore this place again in future with a tent.
Riding among the camels in a dried up lake was a great experience. Made me feel like their drill instructor. I am not sure about the 'dried up' part but one must not consider innocent water to be mirage based on past desert experiences.