The Dream Unfolds

It was in January 08 when Steve mentioned that we need to do the bike ride across Ladhak. It is surprising to note the number of rides that just seem to emerge out of no real thinking but just from thought that is blurted out. This idea came about when I prompted Steve and Abhi that we need to condition ourselves for a trek through Kumara Parvatha. Poor Abhi mentioned that we should try and do the Himalayas and then he would be able to die in peace. I pity Abhi now; he gave us the idea of doing the Himalayas, Steve takes it a step further and mentions riding through the Himalayas. So right now this is where we stand - Abhi can't make, Steve and I have planned the ride across the great Himalayas. And the anticipation is immense and sometimes almost unbearable.

The Plan

Our tickets are booked to Delhi. We take our bikes with us and take off in a clock wise direction from Delhi. We hit Ludhiana from Delhi, then onto Jammu, Srinagar, Dras, Kargil and finally reach Leh. We set up camp at Leh and then visit Kardunga La and Pangang Tso. Once we are done we proceed from Leh to Manali and then onto Delhi. We leave Bangalore on 1st August and plan to return on the 24th of August. If things go well we intend on riding back to Bangalore. Cutting the landscape right down the middle. Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Sagar, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Pre Expedition Mood

It seemed very far away a while back and now to think that we are about 44days to go before the trip we feel we haven't done enough. Every time we meet we talk about it. We exchange emails about it. We constantly research possible equipment that we will need. We discuss the cost, distance, places, routes, and the list goes on. We have never wanted anything so badly. So right now the feeling is as though the Birde is waiting for the Groom or vice versa. I feel the longing to do this more than ever. I know that we are pushing both man and machine to the limits. And this is an adventure I know I will talk about for the rest of my life. And what is even better is that I will be doing the ride with my only biking buddy Steven. All my rides have been with him and I cannot think of a better biker to do this ride with. His style and confidence, makes him the best rider I have come across and that, coupled with an adventurous spirit makes him the perfect biking partner.

I will leave it at this for now, I will continue my story once we return. Once the Brothers on Bikes, that is what we are called, conquer another landscape. Until then pray for us.

Preparation Time

I know I said that I will continue once I returned but then I just couldn't help myself.
Finally we got down to purchasing all the material needed. I have never spent so much time shopping. It is great to see the reactions of out girl friends when we say that we spent the day shopping. At first they are all excited and then when we tell them that we shopped for cables, tools...etc they get disappointed. They will never understand what shopping means to guys. The same way the guys will never understand women shopping.

Anyways, we spent the morning looking for sleeping bags, eventually through that idea of the window for the time being and proceeded on to other important purchases. We decided to purchase a very nice MPA Arrow helmet. Inexpensive, a little bit on the heavier side. But very stylish and serves the purpose. Once we finished with that we moved on the famous army shops in Shivaji Nagar. After much haggling we bought a couple of Hunter shoes, an air conditioned water bottle and a sweater. As we proceeded out of there we moved on to buying some tarpaulin to cover our lagguage. Shew! by the time we finished all of this we knew that we had to take a break. But not before we pick up all the spares needed for Steves bikes so we stopped by the Yamaha Pacer show room and picked up everything he needed. Then we were off to grad a dosa from a road side vendor on cambridge road. Oh man! It still remains the best dosa I have ever tasted.

From here we thought we will pay our mechanic a little visit. Once there, we had good news, we were told that the bike would be ready 2 days ahead of schedule. We could see the connecting rod all set to go in, we were waiting only for the engine head. Once there we decided to hop across to Balaji Stores to pick some spares for my bike. I never thought things would be so expensive. Anyways, once that was done we headed back home feeling very happy with ourselves.

At the end of the day we did not fail to realize that eventually our excitement will only keep mounting not only with every purchase but with every minute, every hour and every day that goes by. Knowing fully well that this is only the beginning and the true excitement is what we will receive when we are out there, just man and machine on the road and with the Great Himalayas surrounding us.

And now I pronounce you Man and Machine.

Well to is the day. Rohit and Abhi have accepted our request to load the bikes onto the train. So this afternoon by 3.30 we will have our bieks parceled and ready to be loaded on to the train.

The curfew and riots in J&K has forced us make some drastic alterations to our plan. We will be riding from New Delhi to Loudhiana on Sunday, yes the same day the train arrives in Delhi. We would like to see if we could remain a day ahead of schedule. We spend one day driving to Waga Border and then the other day we rest getting minor things fixed on the bikes and purchases we realised that we missed out in Bangalore. Through out our travel we will be keeping a close watch on how the situation in Jammu and Srinagar is evolving. Based on that we either head to Jammu or head to Manali. If we go with the later we plan to get to Leh sooner, from Leh we cover Kardunga la and Pangang Tso. Once we are done with that we head out to kargil and Dras after which we return to Leh. So at the moment we are not sure of anything except for the fact that no matter what road we hit we will be doing them on our bikes.