Just got Leh'd - 4 riders | 15 days | 2,900 kms | 18,380 ft. above sea level - Page 3 - xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community

Aparajith · 07-29-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by falcon

did you use normal mineral oil or you used synthetic oil, and plz suggest in this regard whats best for such type of rides

Thanks

I Used MOTUL 300V Fully Synthetic 5W40. Xinfii was using Mineral. My personal favorite was/has/is MOTUL fully-synth!

diffuser911 · 07-29-2009, 02:53 PM

Nice logs...I spent half my day going thru them

...BTW, what is the thing rolled up at the rear of the bikes? Sleeping bags??

kirosh_03 · 07-29-2009, 02:59 PM

Text: Xinfii

Day 3/15 - Mandi to Manali - 100 kms - 3:30 AM to 6:45 AM

We had no issues having a dreamless sleep. Everyone was that tired and sleepless. It would have been nice to have a few extra minutes, but we had to force ourselves early in the morning to make up for what we hadn't covered the previous day. We were out and riding at 3:30. It was dark outside and I was the sweeper. Since my bike was fuel injected, I had to take extreme care not to let the fuel levels drop down. Doing so would cause my fuel pump to burn out. I therefore stopped by a fuel station, letting the others carry on with their ride. Just after the fuel station, the township ended and I was riding through the curvy roads in pitch darkness. There were no streetlights or opposing traffic for me to have felt safe. I stopped by for a minute to enjoy the moment, and later realized it wasn’t so very enjoyable! I kept rolling through the roads with extreme caution, as I could never guess what was beyond the darkness that surrounded me; it could have been just mud, or a river or even a 200 feet cliff drop.

After about 45 minutes or so, I spotted the rest of the riders waiting for me round a corner to sync up. Shortly after that, we entered a tunnel that lasted close to 3 kms and was fun to ride in. At that point, Apar and I decided to leave the rest of the pack behind and move on with a relatively higher speed. Somewhere close to Manali, the two of us halted by a bridge enjoying the river that was flowing under. The clocked ticked quickly and we were starting to get worried that the other two had still not come. Just about the moment when we decided to head back, we saw the two bikes coming over. Allen was smiling from inside the helmet and shouted, “Dude, I just took a power nap.” Kiran added, “This freaking lad exits the tunnel and all of a sudden stops the bike by the side of the road and just fell flat. Of course not to forget that he asked me to wake him up in fifteen minutes!”

The sun was slowly coming out and people started coming out of their houses. Vehicles started appearing on the road. The first sight of snow capped mountains were such a welcoming sight. We were advised that Manali was the last point to get some cash in the pocket and to source some fuel. Beyond that, Tandi was the only fuel station till Leh. Not having any fuel cans, we head straight to a fuel station to ask if he had one. There was no option of other stores as it was just 6:30 in the morning. We filled up all the bikes, but couldn’t find a can yet. Not left with too many options, we decided to buy 2 liter Pepsi bottles and empty them to create containers. We already had 4 empty bottles, so just bought 4 more to create space for a total of 16 liters. Not willing to waste all the Pepsi, we gave some to the fuel station guy to store it somewhere else and drink it later. Excited by it, the guy replied back, “Sir, do you want a can to carry all this? I can give you one!” This was the same bugger who replied he didn’t have one in the beginning.

Filling the 10-liter can that he gave, we moved on in search of an ATM. Of the 3 ATMs that were there in Manali, 1 was out of cash and the other 2 had technical issues. We were told that they would be back working by 10:30 or so. Without many choices, we found a sweet spot by a dhabha where we parked the bikes and ordered some food to munch. Soon after the meal, we created some sleeping space around the bikes are dozed off. Allen wasn’t reacting well to the petrol fumes and started puking. We thought that he would be fine in a while, but wasn’t showing signs of improvement.

Around 10:30 we sent Apar and Kiran with all our cards to the ATM to get about 20,000 cash, which would help us, manage normal and emergency situations till we got to Leh. The poor fellows came back after a good 1-hour with just 13,000. They told us that they were waiting in the queue in the first ATM that ran out of cash just before their turn. They had to repeat their penance outside another one, and they were not allowed to use more than one card per person.

Meanwhile, Allen’s health had deteriorated and he needed a good sleep and some medicine to get back to normal. We decided to cut out the day’s ride at that point and looked out for a decent hotel to rest. A chap nearby overheard the conversation we had about finding a room and chipped in to give us some ideas. Not long from then, Allen was resting on a comfy mattress, we had dumped the bags, ordered some nice lunch and was waiting for it. Not having slept well in the last couple of days, we took good rest until late in the evening.

Kiran and I got up and took a stroll through the market to get a couple of 5-liter cans for the fuel. We found a nice way to tie them on to the 220’s grab rails. Quickly heading back, we had some light dinner and dozed off.

kirosh_03 · 07-29-2009, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diffuser911

Nice logs...I spent half my day going thru them

...BTW, what is the thing rolled up at the rear of the bikes? Sleeping bags??

Those are the sleeping mats. They were of great use for me and Allen.

kirosh_03 · 07-29-2009, 03:13 PM

Text: Xinfii

Day 4/15 - Manali to Bharathpur – 198 kms – 4 AM to 7 PM

The early morning packing took us a while since we had never packed fuel on the saddle. We also had to ensure that Allen stayed away from the fumes. Our target was to cross the Rohtang Pass as early as possible as it generally attracted all the tourists at Manali. At around 9 or 10 AM during the day, it was most common to see traffic jams that took hours to clear. We were progressing well through the ascending roads. A Pass is generally a road that runs through a high altitude mountain, giving us scope to enjoy the beauty surrounding it.

The sun slowly started coming our giving us a better picture of what surrounded us. We saw more and more snow capped mountains, but the temperature was also dropping. We took time to enjoy the beauty and let trucks and other vehicles pass by. It was the first experience of riding through muddy terrain without safety rails exposing drops over few hundred feet deep. We also had the opportunity to talk to a few monks (informally known by us as Buddha-men) when we took a break by a breathtaking valley. I was constantly watching the GPS to see at what altitudes where were at.

We were warned about AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness), which was common among people and affects the person due to lack of oxygen. To help fight it better, we took a tablet each that helped avoid dehydration. However, we had to remember to drink a lot of water though we never felt thirsty. The trick was to try and use the oxygen in the water during the lack of enough oxygen in the air around.

Apar and I were certainly traveling at a much slower pace than the other two, taking pictures and enjoying the beauty. Not realizing that we slowly starting to descend, we proceeded through the muddy terrain to meet with the rest of the gang waiting by a small shop that served Maggi noodles. Allen then told us that the small stone like marker that we had just passed marked the peak of the Rohtang pass. We then realized what to expect the next time we were ascending a Pass.

As we enjoyed the mildly spiced and garnished noodles, a couple of bulleteers joined us. Komal and Ashish were on the way to Leh as well, and agreed to ride with us bringing our total strength to 6. We saw more bikers crossing us on the opposite side; we just waved to them and proceeded. Most of the places we say beyond Rohtang were breathtaking, but the fumes of the trucks that had gone past were still in the air. The mountains had no vegetation or trees to absorb the gases and cycle them. This was quite irritating, but didn’t have much of a choice.

We crossed on of the first Nalas (rivers) during mid-day. It wasn’t very rapid or deep, being quite gentle on us. These Nalas generally seep through the ice/snow as a result of them melting. Therefore, during the course of the day, the water level starts rising making it harder to cross them.

Allen joined the bulleteers leaving us far behind. Apar and I stuck to the end spending a lot of time on pictures. Kiran was the only unlucky guy stuck in the middle without company. I have mention that his bike was now running without an air filter. The altitude and reduction of air density took a toll on the bike and he had to do so to for his bike to try and cope up with the environment. At a place called Tandi, we found the last fuel station, after which Leh is a good 365 kms away. We ensured all our tanks and the fuel containers were filled up.

Sometime mid afternoon, we reached a place called Keylong on the way. We stopped by for some lunch. I tried out a Tibetan dish called the Thukpa. It was a mix of watery noodles and some meat. Man, it tasted real good.

I never forgot my sun block at any point; I was told that we were relatively closer to the sun when at higher altitudes and the sun continues to burn down the skin, though it felt very cold all the time. Back on the saddle, we realized we were falling behind schedule and were pushing it a little hard to make it to Sarchu. This was our planned destination for the day. We couldn’t speed up much through the terrain, so ended up reducing the number of breaks that we took. There was a tough Nala to cross, where I lost the silicone tips of my Bose headset, as I posed by the rocks. I gave it a quick search, but moved on after realizing it would be foolish to be too optimistic at that point.

The temperature was dropping quickly and we saw the other bikers waiting by a rapid Nala. Allen and Kiran were waiting on the other side, asking us to remove our shoes and cross it. Fingers crossed, I entered the stream with the bike and found it hard to balance. Obviously I had to place my feet in the water, and it was a pleasurable experience only for a couple of seconds. Immediately after that, it was like needles poking at the same time, so uncomfortable that it distracted me from balancing the bike and making it across. With a little bit of struggle, it managed to get out quickly. Apar followed me thorough the path, but wasn’t very successful in getting through. He was stuck in the middle, when Allen and Kiran had to step back in to get the bike out.

It was more of the evening time and we were ascending what was known as Baralachala. It was one of the windy passes we experiences through the trip and it forced us to wear the jackets with the thermal lining. The good thing was that we were riding through more snow and beautiful water mass. The sight of the blue water body with the reflections of the snow-capped peaks was a breathtaking sight. The time was close to sunset and we had close to 40 kms to Sarchu. In such a terrain it would take more than an hour to reach the place. We found a small place called Bharathpur very close to Barlachala. It had a few tents in the middle of a beautiful valley surrounded by snow capped peaks and a lake in between. We checked out the tents and found excellent beds and quilts to make us feel warm. Who would decide to continue to ride on such cases? We obviously decided to take shelter there for the night.

We had a French couple giving us some company through the evening. Dinner was served inside the tents itself. They also sold woolen socks, mufflers and other items that we needed at the moment. They provided quilts that were about 2 inches thick. I used a couple of them as I tried hard to go to sleep in the cold.

To be continued...

ketan_r15 · 07-29-2009, 03:13 PM

Just been through the link posted in first post...
Simply out standing ride it was.. Didn't get the time to read the write up but the pics said it all.. Awesome clarity and a treat to watch pics...

Way to go...! Congrats for the ride...

Praful · 07-29-2009, 03:58 PM

Phew! Im done finally, read through all the 15 pages and saw each and every pic. It was a treat!

Hats off to you guys for always being in lighter moods even in the most demanding of situations.

Keep it up guys, you just had the ride of your life....

julianpaul · 07-29-2009, 04:22 PM

Superb stuff Praveen. Well done!

rennycornelius · 07-29-2009, 04:46 PM

one word for it...

amazing.

niks_devil666 · 07-29-2009, 04:52 PM

fantastic ! makes me wanna do it next year for sure !

07-29-2009, 02:53 PM	#22 (permalink)
diffuser911 Sunil Singh Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bahrain! Posts: 1,162	Nice logs...I spent half my day going thru them...BTW, what is the thing rolled up at the rear of the bikes? Sleeping bags?? __________________ My '08 Suzuki GSX650F Escapade to the Eastern Ghats Orissa 1302 My BlackBull - Bullet Electra 5S

07-29-2009, 02:59 PM	#23 (permalink)
kirosh_03 Out of coverage for a while Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 843	Day 3 - Stuck at the foot hills Text: Xinfii Day 3/15 - Mandi to Manali - 100 kms - 3:30 AM to 6:45 AM We had no issues having a dreamless sleep. Everyone was that tired and sleepless. It would have been nice to have a few extra minutes, but we had to force ourselves early in the morning to make up for what we hadn't covered the previous day. We were out and riding at 3:30. It was dark outside and I was the sweeper. Since my bike was fuel injected, I had to take extreme care not to let the fuel levels drop down. Doing so would cause my fuel pump to burn out. I therefore stopped by a fuel station, letting the others carry on with their ride. Just after the fuel station, the township ended and I was riding through the curvy roads in pitch darkness. There were no streetlights or opposing traffic for me to have felt safe. I stopped by for a minute to enjoy the moment, and later realized it wasn’t so very enjoyable! I kept rolling through the roads with extreme caution, as I could never guess what was beyond the darkness that surrounded me; it could have been just mud, or a river or even a 200 feet cliff drop. After about 45 minutes or so, I spotted the rest of the riders waiting for me round a corner to sync up. Shortly after that, we entered a tunnel that lasted close to 3 kms and was fun to ride in. At that point, Apar and I decided to leave the rest of the pack behind and move on with a relatively higher speed. Somewhere close to Manali, the two of us halted by a bridge enjoying the river that was flowing under. The clocked ticked quickly and we were starting to get worried that the other two had still not come. Just about the moment when we decided to head back, we saw the two bikes coming over. Allen was smiling from inside the helmet and shouted, “Dude, I just took a power nap.” Kiran added, “This freaking lad exits the tunnel and all of a sudden stops the bike by the side of the road and just fell flat. Of course not to forget that he asked me to wake him up in fifteen minutes!” The sun was slowly coming out and people started coming out of their houses. Vehicles started appearing on the road. The first sight of snow capped mountains were such a welcoming sight. We were advised that Manali was the last point to get some cash in the pocket and to source some fuel. Beyond that, Tandi was the only fuel station till Leh. Not having any fuel cans, we head straight to a fuel station to ask if he had one. There was no option of other stores as it was just 6:30 in the morning. We filled up all the bikes, but couldn’t find a can yet. Not left with too many options, we decided to buy 2 liter Pepsi bottles and empty them to create containers. We already had 4 empty bottles, so just bought 4 more to create space for a total of 16 liters. Not willing to waste all the Pepsi, we gave some to the fuel station guy to store it somewhere else and drink it later. Excited by it, the guy replied back, “Sir, do you want a can to carry all this? I can give you one!” This was the same bugger who replied he didn’t have one in the beginning. Filling the 10-liter can that he gave, we moved on in search of an ATM. Of the 3 ATMs that were there in Manali, 1 was out of cash and the other 2 had technical issues. We were told that they would be back working by 10:30 or so. Without many choices, we found a sweet spot by a dhabha where we parked the bikes and ordered some food to munch. Soon after the meal, we created some sleeping space around the bikes are dozed off. Allen wasn’t reacting well to the petrol fumes and started puking. We thought that he would be fine in a while, but wasn’t showing signs of improvement. Around 10:30 we sent Apar and Kiran with all our cards to the ATM to get about 20,000 cash, which would help us, manage normal and emergency situations till we got to Leh. The poor fellows came back after a good 1-hour with just 13,000. They told us that they were waiting in the queue in the first ATM that ran out of cash just before their turn. They had to repeat their penance outside another one, and they were not allowed to use more than one card per person. Meanwhile, Allen’s health had deteriorated and he needed a good sleep and some medicine to get back to normal. We decided to cut out the day’s ride at that point and looked out for a decent hotel to rest. A chap nearby overheard the conversation we had about finding a room and chipped in to give us some ideas. Not long from then, Allen was resting on a comfy mattress, we had dumped the bags, ordered some nice lunch and was waiting for it. Not having slept well in the last couple of days, we took good rest until late in the evening. Kiran and I got up and took a stroll through the market to get a couple of 5-liter cans for the fuel. We found a nice way to tie them on to the 220’s grab rails. Quickly heading back, we had some light dinner and dozed off. __________________ All men dream, but not equally. Those that dream at night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act upon their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. - T. E. Lawrence Kriss, ELD, and Wonderboy, you guys will always be remembered.

07-29-2009, 03:13 PM	#25 (permalink)
kirosh_03 Out of coverage for a while Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 843	Day 4 - Optimistic and vanishing into serenity Text: Xinfii Day 4/15 - Manali to Bharathpur – 198 kms – 4 AM to 7 PM The early morning packing took us a while since we had never packed fuel on the saddle. We also had to ensure that Allen stayed away from the fumes. Our target was to cross the Rohtang Pass as early as possible as it generally attracted all the tourists at Manali. At around 9 or 10 AM during the day, it was most common to see traffic jams that took hours to clear. We were progressing well through the ascending roads. A Pass is generally a road that runs through a high altitude mountain, giving us scope to enjoy the beauty surrounding it. The sun slowly started coming our giving us a better picture of what surrounded us. We saw more and more snow capped mountains, but the temperature was also dropping. We took time to enjoy the beauty and let trucks and other vehicles pass by. It was the first experience of riding through muddy terrain without safety rails exposing drops over few hundred feet deep. We also had the opportunity to talk to a few monks (informally known by us as Buddha-men) when we took a break by a breathtaking valley. I was constantly watching the GPS to see at what altitudes where were at. We were warned about AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness), which was common among people and affects the person due to lack of oxygen. To help fight it better, we took a tablet each that helped avoid dehydration. However, we had to remember to drink a lot of water though we never felt thirsty. The trick was to try and use the oxygen in the water during the lack of enough oxygen in the air around. Apar and I were certainly traveling at a much slower pace than the other two, taking pictures and enjoying the beauty. Not realizing that we slowly starting to descend, we proceeded through the muddy terrain to meet with the rest of the gang waiting by a small shop that served Maggi noodles. Allen then told us that the small stone like marker that we had just passed marked the peak of the Rohtang pass. We then realized what to expect the next time we were ascending a Pass. As we enjoyed the mildly spiced and garnished noodles, a couple of bulleteers joined us. Komal and Ashish were on the way to Leh as well, and agreed to ride with us bringing our total strength to 6. We saw more bikers crossing us on the opposite side; we just waved to them and proceeded. Most of the places we say beyond Rohtang were breathtaking, but the fumes of the trucks that had gone past were still in the air. The mountains had no vegetation or trees to absorb the gases and cycle them. This was quite irritating, but didn’t have much of a choice. We crossed on of the first Nalas (rivers) during mid-day. It wasn’t very rapid or deep, being quite gentle on us. These Nalas generally seep through the ice/snow as a result of them melting. Therefore, during the course of the day, the water level starts rising making it harder to cross them. Allen joined the bulleteers leaving us far behind. Apar and I stuck to the end spending a lot of time on pictures. Kiran was the only unlucky guy stuck in the middle without company. I have mention that his bike was now running without an air filter. The altitude and reduction of air density took a toll on the bike and he had to do so to for his bike to try and cope up with the environment. At a place called Tandi, we found the last fuel station, after which Leh is a good 365 kms away. We ensured all our tanks and the fuel containers were filled up. Sometime mid afternoon, we reached a place called Keylong on the way. We stopped by for some lunch. I tried out a Tibetan dish called the Thukpa. It was a mix of watery noodles and some meat. Man, it tasted real good. I never forgot my sun block at any point; I was told that we were relatively closer to the sun when at higher altitudes and the sun continues to burn down the skin, though it felt very cold all the time. Back on the saddle, we realized we were falling behind schedule and were pushing it a little hard to make it to Sarchu. This was our planned destination for the day. We couldn’t speed up much through the terrain, so ended up reducing the number of breaks that we took. There was a tough Nala to cross, where I lost the silicone tips of my Bose headset, as I posed by the rocks. I gave it a quick search, but moved on after realizing it would be foolish to be too optimistic at that point. The temperature was dropping quickly and we saw the other bikers waiting by a rapid Nala. Allen and Kiran were waiting on the other side, asking us to remove our shoes and cross it. Fingers crossed, I entered the stream with the bike and found it hard to balance. Obviously I had to place my feet in the water, and it was a pleasurable experience only for a couple of seconds. Immediately after that, it was like needles poking at the same time, so uncomfortable that it distracted me from balancing the bike and making it across. With a little bit of struggle, it managed to get out quickly. Apar followed me thorough the path, but wasn’t very successful in getting through. He was stuck in the middle, when Allen and Kiran had to step back in to get the bike out. It was more of the evening time and we were ascending what was known as Baralachala. It was one of the windy passes we experiences through the trip and it forced us to wear the jackets with the thermal lining. The good thing was that we were riding through more snow and beautiful water mass. The sight of the blue water body with the reflections of the snow-capped peaks was a breathtaking sight. The time was close to sunset and we had close to 40 kms to Sarchu. In such a terrain it would take more than an hour to reach the place. We found a small place called Bharathpur very close to Barlachala. It had a few tents in the middle of a beautiful valley surrounded by snow capped peaks and a lake in between. We checked out the tents and found excellent beds and quilts to make us feel warm. Who would decide to continue to ride on such cases? We obviously decided to take shelter there for the night. We had a French couple giving us some company through the evening. Dinner was served inside the tents itself. They also sold woolen socks, mufflers and other items that we needed at the moment. They provided quilts that were about 2 inches thick. I used a couple of them as I tried hard to go to sleep in the cold. To be continued... __________________ All men dream, but not equally. Those that dream at night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act upon their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. - T. E. Lawrence Kriss, ELD, and Wonderboy, you guys will always be remembered.

07-29-2009, 03:13 PM	#26 (permalink)
ketan_r15 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Dadar, Mumbai Posts: 2,371	Just been through the link posted in first post... Simply out standing ride it was.. Didn't get the time to read the write up but the pics said it all.. Awesome clarity and a treat to watch pics... Way to go...! Congrats for the ride... __________________ IBA Number: 42110 SaddleSore1600K - Feb '10 Bun Burner 2500K - Feb '11 Top of the World, Ladakh - June '11 Touring on 2 wheels - Click

07-29-2009, 03:58 PM	#27 (permalink)
Praful Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,051	Phew! Im done finally, read through all the 15 pages and saw each and every pic. It was a treat! Hats off to you guys for always being in lighter moods even in the most demanding of situations. Keep it up guys, you just had the ride of your life.... __________________ LoneWolfRides® Last edited by Praful; 07-29-2009 at 04:03 PM.

07-29-2009, 04:22 PM	#28 (permalink)
julianpaul Modernator! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Kharghar, New Bombay Posts: 586	Superb stuff Praveen. Well done!

07-29-2009, 04:46 PM	#29 (permalink)
rennycornelius . Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Indore Posts: 2,919	one word for it... amazing. __________________ The Magician"

07-29-2009, 04:52 PM	#30 (permalink)
niks_devil666 FZ1 N Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Local Area Network Posts: 1,921	fantastic ! makes me wanna do it next year for sure ! __________________ The Moto Cafe - India's first bike theme cafe @ Chandni Chowk The Moto Cafe video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XztkK4ej2U My Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/niksdevil666

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