born2lead

The Prologue

It starts as a desire, a small wish that sprouts in the corner of your heart and then keeps on oscillating between your conscious and subconscious. Some of these either, in their due time, come true (The Good) or eventually fade away (The Bad) or else just simply keep growing (The Ugly). Like most of us my list of these desires is fairly long, some of them go a long way back to my childhood which I can probably not fulfill anymore, like I wanted to jump on the huge air balloon shaped like Micky-Mouse house or play Contra on my personal TV video game for hours. The ones which grew with time and eventually came true have such fond memories associated with them, like when I finally bought my first bike, or when Sachin Tendulkar broke Anwar’s record and scored his maiden 200* in ODI and then in the recent times India winning the World Cup 2011. Apart from all these are the sore ones which keep growing with time and start to seem much bigger than what they actually are. Your imagination makes them into an elephant in the room and no matter how hard you try, you cannot ignore it. I call these “The Itch”.

Ever since Spiti Ride in Sep ‘2009, when my friends and I had to turn back despite being just 10 kms away from Chandertal lake, visiting the lake became an itch that grew more intense with time. You can imagine how it felt having to ride for 5 days, cover over a 1000kms and then return from being just 10kms away (Classic case of - Haath aaya muh na laga). I spent almost 2 years sighing about it and waiting for the moment. Meanwhile Arjun Thakur actually acted as a pacifier for me, coz not only was he with me in the failed attempt of 2009, he already had 3 previous failed attempts to Chandertal before that and one in 2010. The mere mention of Chandertal seemed to make ants crawl under his skin. Not that I was drawing any pleasure out of his misery but his condition reminded me of the song from the film Amrit, starring Rajesh Khanna “Duniya main kitna gum hai mera gam kitna kam hai…”

I couldn’t really plan a ride earlier, coz past 8-10 months have kind of kept me on toes, first my parents and then my ailing grandparents moved (moving)-in with me, my Sister was in Delhi for few months and I really wanted to spend time with her before she was gone for quite some time and also I shifted to Gurgaon while my office is still in Noida.

A window of few days at the end of June was in sight and I started talking about it to my near and dear ones. Obviously Chandertal was the first destination that tickled in my head that I thought of, but accessibility was still a question. The last thing I wanted was another failed attempt. Looking at Kurt’s Wrangler ride, which in my opinion was fabulous. Despite many disagreeing with this, Abhishek and I started planning for Daranghati. Just 4-5 days before our ride Abhishek got an SMS from his friend in Kaza that Kunzum is open. Instantly we shifted gears and started planning for Chandertal. I called Arjun and as expected he was game.

Before I start with the actual log, here are a few teasers for you guys:

The lake that is not Chandertal


In Search of Chandertal Lake


Finally The Chandertal Lake


PS- Follow the links below:
Day1: Delhi - Gramphoo
Day2 (Part1): Gramphoo - Batal
Day2 (Part2): Batal - Chandertal Lake - Batal
Day3: Batal - Delhi

__________________
I'd rather be riding my motorcycle thinking about God than sitting in church thinking about my motorcycle.
Ride often, ride well, have fun.

SKSy_Biker

Travelogue approved

Shivanshu

Great B2L, after a very long time you started a travelogue and I am sure as always it will be treat to our eyes and a fun journey to read through. Eagerly waiting for the log bhai....Congrats to Arjun for FINALLY doing it and I am sure Abhishek would have enjoyed a lot with you guys

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I dont just ride my bikes, I live with them.
Yamaha RX100 (1987)
Yamaha YZF R15 (2010)
GIRed 2012

Ananth

Aah.. Pleasure to see the log up! And yes, It was worth the wait

Awaiting the full log and awesome pictures as usual!

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Please Wear a HELMET Regardless of what ever Bike you Ride. ATGATT!



My Travelogues:

The Maha RoadTrip | SaddleSore

Leh - Ladakh | Idukki | Coorg - Wayanad - Mudhumalai | Point Calimere | Thekkady - Munnar - Valparai

Solo to Ooty |South Western Karnataka |In Search Of "The God" - In God's Own Country!

daredemon

Nice pics there buddy!!! Total Paradise....

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

torque_ankur

Awesome pics.. now eagerly waiting for the complete write up and more amazing pics.

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You Make Your Choices, And You Don't Look Back

L.P.

I have just one word to say B2L, Awesome and it was fun reading on the updates!

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Spiti ||Binsar || Lansdowne

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Phillip

Hey Born2Lead, mate just wanted to know which is more mesmerizing- Chandertaal or Pangong Tso. Guess you have been to both of them. And what about Tso Moriri?

-Phillip

kurtrules

Magnificent -> Both the narration as well as the pics, Imran!

Crossing Rohtang in the condition it is, the Batal-Delhi marathon, and what not! This ride is category of its own. Respect to the three of you!

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" I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not" - Kurt Cobain

prashantbhardwaj

Great log B2L...
Doing Delhi - Batal is a feat in itself...
For in more details mate..

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The Fastest Indian!!