TheRoyale

SKSy_Biker

Trip log approved

Shivanshu

though I have seen this but still i read the whole intro again.... its beautiful keep them coming.... Uttaranchal has its own beauty

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TheRoyale

Guys, This is a flashback story, which happened some 16 months back.

Day1, 26 SEP 2009: Chandigarh – Paonta Sahib – Yamuna Bridge – Naugaon – Barkot – Dharasu Bend – Uttarkashi
Distance Approx 310 Kms.

It was 5:30 AM on 26 SEP 2009 when I set out for the journey of the lifetime. The happiness within was out of this world. I had got my bike serviced few days back and when I rode onto it after tying the two back packs, I felt just sailing on the road in a disguised twilight. In no time, I Jumped over NH-72 which was leading towards Paonta Sahib. The dawn was just a few minutes away and it was getting brighter as I was riding kilometers after kilometers. BUT… then there was something which i never expected to be so early, the weather started changing and as I reached Kala Amb it was almost dark at 7 am, as son as I took a turn towards Nahan, it started raining like cats and dogs. Though I had started preparing for the ride for quite a long time inadvance, but my experience became a hurdle as I was not prepared for such a rain that too at the start of my journey I had not put on the rain coat, I had not covered my bags and no preparation to avoid my feet from getting wet
At one time I felt that I should stop somewhere, but the rains were not strong enough to deviate an enthusiastic rider. As a result of this enthusiasm, I was drenched at the core of my body. First break came for few clicks at Assan Barrage after crossing Nahan and Paonta Sahib.
One can differentiate the weather at the start of the journey with the one while coming back by looking at the photographs taken at Asan Barrage, that I will post on the last day.


The hiils at the back drop of the barrage are invisible because of the clouds.



Stopped at a roadside Dhaba at Vikas Nagar to have some aloo parathas and tea. Later this place became a regular stop on my rides to Uttarakhand. Enquired about the route with the dhabawala and came to know that I have to cross Tones river bridge and head towards Yamuna bride. As I was approaching towards the bridge, I got confused by getting so many different suggestions from so many persons and that’s why I went towards Naugaon which cost me quite a time while reaching the destination for the day. Though I had prepared my own route but I relied on locl people which proved to be a wrong decision. I am still not so sure about what route I had taken. But it was a ride of 300+ kms from Chandigarh To Uttarkashi.


Near Vikas Nagar

After Vikas Nagar I have started climbing the hills and as I was getting higher clouds were disappearing. I remember at one of the points on hills I just stopped to take a view of the plains from the above, I was just staring though the scattered clouds when I heard a sweet song in Garhwali from behind the bushes and trees on the hills, it was so enchanting and the feeling in the mystic weather can not be described in words. There was a man singing something in Garhwali amidst the pin drop silence.




Before Yamuna bridge


An Abandoned Dam
Riding beside Yamuna river in such a pleasant weather was an added advantage. what a neat and clean blue water was gushing throgh the forests, hills by taking so many strange curves. I was just wandering how this crystal clear blue water becomes all black just in a 300 kms by Delhi. That is a clear example of how careless we are in preserving the resources even we do not know how to use them








Another thing that I was totally unaware of was that I was not prepared for the so many roadside waterfalls and nullahs running over the road everywhere, which caused my feet to be wet all the time which later on got infected. I came o know about the condition of my feet after 5 days of my ride when I was in Badrinath. The infection kept on playing hide and seek with me for approx a year.



Had my lunch at approx 1 pm somewhere and moved ahead. As I was getting further the vistas were also getting better and then the valley opened.
There was a very bad stretch of some 15-20 kms which took me more than 1 hours to cross. I was almost dead after doing this. (did not click any photos there)


Dhabawala’s Kid

Some Vistas en-route:

TheRoyale

I had already wasted too much time in clicking pics, so I had to minimize no of breaks so that I can reach Uttarkashi before sunset, because that time I was really scared of driving in hills in night. Somehow I managed to reach Uttarkashi approximately by 5pm.



I have switched on my headlights just a few meters before the hotel. I forgot to mentioned that Tilak sir had already told me that his group (Delhi Bull Riders) will be staying at Shivaling Tourist Complex which is on the way to Gangotri from Uttarkashi, actually it is just a kilometer away from the bus stand. Not let me tell you that this is one of the finest hotel that I have ever been to. The hotel staff is very polite and co-operative. I approached to the hotel boy (Bhagender) and enquired about the room. I got a wonderful room at just 500 bucks. The room was very neat and clean with TV and Geyser. At the backdrop of the hotel there was a gushing Bhagirathi with beautiful green paddy fields on the banks of it.
I did not click any pics in the evening. The picks which I clicked on the next day.


View from my room



Now, as soon as I got the room banged my body on the bed and complete silence for the 10 minutes. I don’t remember when the hotel boys picked up my luggage from the reception area to my room. The reason was but obvious prior to this ride I have drove a max of 280 kms in a day and the most part of that was on the butter smooth NH-22. so I was tired like anything and needed a satisfying rest.Swithed on the geyser and after a few minutes had a shower to calm my body, musceles and of course the nerves as well. Again talked to Bhagender and enquired about the status of DBRs but no hope so far.
Approximately at 8 pm I felt some fireworks going on a few steps away from my room, it took me just fraction of seconds to understand that it is not the firework but the sound of the mighty machines that can be controlled only by the enthusiastic travelers. These were the Bullets/Enfields of various make and models roaring at the doorsteps of the hotel. I came out and met Tilak sir and he introduced me with the rest of the group members but not all of them could meet me that time because… they were not all of them… reasoned… being a group of 13-14 riders few of them were yet to arrive.DBRs were a little late because they have to go through everything that could be possible on a crazy ride… Punctures, bike issues, accidents (thankfully nobody was injured seriously) blah…blah…blah…

Had a short discussion with them about the next day’s plan, had dinner in the market and came back to the hotel to bade a good night to such a wonderful day. Before going to the bed I sat in the balcony and enjoyed the beauty of the place. There were only 3 things that I could feel, the sound of a roaring river, the breeze and the silence of the night. It was an amazing experience… [OT: and perhaps it was the same thing which attracted me to leave Chandigarh at 3 am in a sleepless night for the place again in February with only two days in hand. I took the same room ]

At 10 or 11 pm, had a glass full of milk to compensate the loss that my body has to go through and snoozed off. Not sure but I felt that it made me lazy, on the next day, can somebody help me ?


The Balcony (shot on Day2)

Day2:
Uttarkashi – Gangotri (110 Kms)

Though departure time was decided to be 7 am yet I woke up at 5:30 out of my excitement of riding to the place which I had heard only in stories and religious discussions; and not to forget in the movie “Ram Teri Ganga Maili”
I was ready by 6:15 and since then I was wandering here and there like a squirrel. I remember I had gone to the bus stand twice in the mean time.

I bought an extra bag from the market last evening so that I can carry necessary stuff for the further ride and leave the two bags at the hotel itself because tying and removing those bags was really a long process and me, being a newbie in such a business was not comfortable at all. After sometime around 7 am the firework started and I thought we are about to leave but it was just to make their machines warm, not to mention that being the end of September, it was quite a chilly night at Uttarkashi. I was really being impatient; each minute of the wait seemed to be so long… Finally we started at approx 8:15AM.

All of a sudden Tilak sir took a left turn to a narrower and bad road instead of the usual one and everyone headed towards that direction, actually he was going to have blessings from his guruji who used to live there on the hill upside, just a few kilometers from Uttarkashi. We parked our bikes as he went a few meters above the road. Until he and his pals came back, we had some water from a natural water stream nearby. Not to mention that the place was really beautiful...


The view from the top

In a few minutes we left for our destination of the day, but the progress of the entire group was really slow as it was a big group and people used to stop so frequently because of any reason… bike issues, photo, sutta break etc. it was great feeling to be in such an elite group, but frequent breaks were the only thing which I was not comfortable with, anyways I asked them to meet at Gangotri and I proceeded further, though few of us used to meet very now and then.


As we were getting higher natural beauty around us was increasing manifolds. Let the pictures give you a glimpse of that, only a glimpse because no camera can capture the real feeling that one can have at that place:

















There is an under construction Hydro power plant which has made the ride a little tiresome otherwise rest of the stretch is quite in good shape. But you will not regret because there is a lot that the Mother Nature has offered here.

Now let me tell you that the ride between Uttarkashi and Gangotri is the best ride that I ever had. And the best of the best ride is riding near Harsil or Dharali. It was a bright sunny day and I had to negotiate with the harsh light effects very badly while clicking with my digicam, whatever my cam was presenting to me, I was not satisfied at all because the place is out of this world and showing such photographs to anyone is nothing but underrating the place.

As I was approaching Harsil, I got a glimpse of snow capped mountains for the first time in my life. And then I felt a very strange feeling within which I just can not describe, as if it was calling me for the ages and now I am there though so late but still at the right place... perhaps this was the moment when I fell in love with Himalayas. Words will not do the justice; let the pictures unleash it as much as they can:

TheRoyale

The huge river bed of white Sand and Snowcapped mountains in the backdrop, just awesome:


My Bike parked away from the River




























To Be coninued...

rawpower_87

Awesome set of pictures!! Too beautiful!!

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Lonely Rider~
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HeroHonda Splendor(2000)

daredemon

awesome pics......

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Ride Hard !!! Ride Safe!!! Enjoy every moment on your machine !!! Cheers....

krish2778

Wonderful trip, im spellbound. Really amazing..!! and the pics are a treat in itself and you say that the pics dont do justice to the real sight so i can only imagine how beautiful it will be in real life. I'm hopeing that someday i can travel through these areas, though its a far fetched dream. !!
Kudos to you man !!

Ride safe
cheers

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When I go riding, that's when I am truely myself.

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