The Calling

Its been a while since I have updated my blog. And like the title of this article suggests, the 'Calling' is back. Steve, my best fried only after my wife :), and I compeleted a ride to Ladhak in 2008, then my dad and I did Spiti valley in 2009, and now its back. I feel the longing for the mountains and thus the 'Calling' is back. My wife Sharon & I have decied that June 3, 2011 will mark the day we respond to the Calling for the mountains. We have planned a 18 day trip from Bangalore to Bangalore. Unfortunalely Steve will not be able to make it because he has just upgraded himself from bachelor to loving husband and during the process he had to exhaust most of his leave. However, I am certain he and his better half will join us next time around.

So where we stand?

I sensed Ladhak calling right from middle of 2010. So this means that I my route was ready by August 2010. Crazy ah! I just can't help it you know. So the check list was prepared right after my short wedding leave and honeymoon. There hasn't been a day that has gone by ever since with out adding details to my excel sheets. Right from places to visit, to distances between towns, to what is to be carried, work to be done on the bike....... and the list goes on.

We are both excited and nervous. Its the first time I will be venturing out along with my wife over such distances. So I am making an effort to prepare for the worst.

At the moment I just finished servicing my bike. Yup! you are right, it is rather early. However, I have decided to service it and get the delhi carriers fixed on the bike for a test ride. The image of the carrier is at the side. I bought this at Sandhyas on J C Road for Rs.1900/- . It is a little steep however it appears to be of good quality. The same onw is available from Delhi for Rs.950/- including courier charges. However I have heard of instances when the carriers have arrived damaged and on some instances the damage was not visible however on loading the our luggage the carriers gives way. So to prevent any situations like this I spent the extra money and played it safe. When purchasing the carrier remember to check if the holes on the carrier are large enough for the bolts to go through. I realised that they were too small much after I bought them. I went back and the guy at Sandhyas had to take them to a leth to enlarge the holes.

The other option is purchase saddles bags for your ride. Cramster is a fantastic brand for riding equipment. Their site is http://cramster.in/. If I discover any issues with the carriers post my test ride, I will not have second thoughts to take them off and go with the saddle bags. The image is at the side. This capacity of this bag is a total of 40lts. It is a very well designed bag keeping in mind maximum loading capacity as well as comfort for both rider and pillion. The strips of reflective lining also makes visibility better at night time. It has pouches to carry bottles, 2 2lty coke bottles can be carried. It is water resistant, so it may not handle heavy rains. So what I do is, pack all my stuff in big lastic bags and then load it into my saddle bags. I remember doing this last in the month of November. I rode all the way from Mahabalipuram to Bangalore in the rain. When I got home my clothes were completely dry.

You must be wondering why I bought the carrier if I already have saddle bags. When I got home it was absolutely dry. So what I am recommending is tried and tested. Of course it could be a failure if the plastic bags you use have holes in them :) The mechanic I work with is Vinaayagam, he works with Agro. He has given me a list of things to change before taking off on the ride. The items are listed below; Accelerator cable Clutch cable Carburetor intake rubber Hose rubber Wheel bearing Bearing distance piece Chain link lock Front & Rear Break shoe Please note that the list of items and model of the items could vary depending on the bike you ride. I am going to do this on my A350CC machismo. It is a 2003 model and has done Ladhak in 2008 with my brother riding her. The bike is in good shape giving a reasonable mileage of 35kmpl. Apart from the list above I have also decided to changes both tubes and carry spares. Carrying a foot pump automatically becomes essential along with the required spanners and tyre levers to pry open the tyres from the rim.

Alright now, I am going to stop talking about the bike for a bit over here. I would like to share with you a little bit about my biking companion. Its is my wife, we have been biking for the last one and half years. The first time we hung out together was over a ride to whitefield. I know what you are thinking, ‘thats not much’. And you are right. All this was when I did not own a bullet. The riding started when my brother left his bullet 535 with me when he left the country for a bit. It was then I proposed we do Mysore road coffee day. My mom and day joined us. Oh ya! Riding kinda runs in the family. I will soon write about my dad. The person who inspired us to travel and more so travel on the bike. He has done some crazy stuff himself. You will need to visit my blog to find out more about him. For now I will continue about Sharon and I :). The ride to coffee day was the start of a series of rides to destinations around Bangalore. Sharon was excited and enjoyed the roar of the engine and the thump of the bike. Not long from then I got myself a second hand machismo, it just so happened that my brother had two bullets and was ready to sell the machismo to me. So that was settled. In February 2010 I got the bike and since then we have ridden to Muthathi twice, Hoganekal, Ranganathitu, Big Banyan Tree, Kanwa, Bylakuppe, Mahabalipuram. And through each ride I just knew that Ladhak was calling. So even before we decided to get married we were talking about going to Ladhak. All I can say is that I have a super companion to go on rides and the ride to Ladhak I know will be the ride of a life time. I cannot ask for more than being in tune with nature and having my best friend with me to enjoy every moment. I have been to Ladhak twice before this, however it is the first time for Sharon. And I can’t wait to show her all that I have seen, and take it in together.

Alright now, back to the ride. Our plan is to start riding from Manali, head to Tso Moriri and then on to Leh. The trip to Tso MOriri will take us two days of riding with a over night stop at Sarchu. The total distance from Manali to Leh via Tso Moriri will be a little over 700kms. We spend 5 days in leh doing a day trip to Pangong Tso(spending the night is recommended), riding to Khardungla, visitng magnetic hill and taking in the other attractions in Leh city. Once we are done with that we leave leh and head back to Manali with Sarchu being our night halt. It is because of the long 700km ride between Manali to Leh via Tso moriri I decided to use the delhi carriers/panniers. The extra petrol can easily be carried using the slots for the petrol cans. This is not an option when using the cramster bags. With the cramster you would be able to carry two coke botles filled with petrol.

Right now, I have completed servicing the bike and fixing the carriers. We are 52 days away from our trip. I will be riding to Yeracud in a couple of weeks from now. Even though it is not anywhere close to the terrain we will experience but it will give me a chance to load up the bike and check for any faults. In the first week of may I will be putting in all the spares that I mentioned earlier in this article. Once we are done with that we will be pretty much all set to hit the road. The only things that are left to purchase are the spare tubes and a foot pump.

My next update hopefully will be when I return. However if I learn anything new then I will update this page. By the way, below are a couple of websites that you may find to be useful when planning your trip. http://www.bcmtouring.com/ http://www.yogeshsarkar.com/

It is 16 May today. I got of the phone with a friend of mine who is atravel agent at Manali. He has confirmed that the roads to Rohtang will take at least another 15 days to clear up. This is cutting it really fine. When I planned my trip I thought giving it a one month buffer should be enough. However it appears that I underestimated mother nature. I was informed to come well equipped as it is unusually cold this part of the year and there is a lot of snow in the higher regions which will be make things chilly and difficult because of the numerous streams the melting snow causes.
If the permits cannot be brought to manali, then we will need to go to Leh and then plan Tso Moriri from Leh post getting the permits. Lets hope all goes well. Will write if there are any changes.

Update no. 1
Alright now, we are just about 14 days away from departure date. Yesterday I got a call from a travel agent friend in Manali. His sources have confirmed that the roads will be opened by 28 May. I tried getting this information from the J&K Tourism website but there were no responses to any of of my calls from any of their office. I tried their offices in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi …etc at least 30 times. You could give it a shot yourself and see if you have better luck than I do. Any if you do get some information please do leave a comment. You will find their contact details at the following link http://www.jktourism.org/inside.aspx?id=93
Ravi Takhur is my travel agent. His website is http://himalayancaravan.com/ his contact details are also available on the website. He is a very good guy, I worked with Ravi on our tour of Spiti in 2009. He was very helpful and arranged a great trip for my dad and I. so this time around also I worked with Ravi. Ravi us capable of working magic. In my case, he has worked out our bus tickets for my wife and I as well as for the bike on the buses from Delhi to Manali and return. To head to Tso Moriri a inner line permit is needed. Since I am heading to Tso MOriri from Manali, Ravi is helping me get the permits from Leh before hand. If your first destination is Leh then you can go to Leh and get any of the permits you need. For Pangong Tso and Khardung la I will get to Leh and then get the permits.
I have been warned that in the higher regions it is still snowing and hence during the day there are more streams running across the road. And the roads are in bad shape, I was asked to come physically and mentally prepared for the ride, since the roads are not the only challenging thing but the place is unsually cold this time around. So my objective will be to leave as early as possible during the day, which will give me enough time to take pictures and get to my destination before the flow of water increases.
Now for the bike, last Sunday I got my front break shoes sorted out, fixed a new battery, replaced all bulbs, the only thing left is the spark plug. As for the gear, I just need to get a baklava and then we will be ready to rock and roll.