Hey Rachit! that is truly a wonderful log. Thanks a ton for taking the initiative. Nice pics as well. I will try to pour in my first experience with the hills as soon as I will be capable of doing so...

It's actually hard to maintain it without the thumb..

The trip was actually wonderful. As everybody mentioned, thanks to all the girls for maintaining their pace with us without complaining. It was a pleasure to ride with all of you people. My special thanks to Shivanshu and Rakesh for enhancing my riding skills...

Keep them coming man...

Appreciable effort!

Good interesting log there Rachit. Apparently you people had good fun. I remember Shivanshu discussing the route with me and I'd opined that it would be a trifle rough for the girls. But then they have a way of surprising the boys when least expected to .

I remember having similar reservations before a ride to Spiti with my wife. And she'd surprised the hell out of me not just by the absence of even a single complaint but the fact that she enjoyed the ride more than anything.

Jalori roads have never been 'roads'. Especially near the top. And the gradient is probably one of the steepest for any public highway. Late snowfalls gifted you some memorable views. You people were lucky. But then only those who venture reap the rewards. A ride like this will probably leave you all craving for more!

Great log there Rachit, keep it up, good Day2 log brother. Now I am waiting for Day3 log from you. Beautiful narration of the moments we had experienced in this ride.


MJ you were always a rider, just that these new places helped you to know a bit more about riding. And I was lucky to be riding with you and to help you make these rides a memorable one.

Sir, very true, after discussing with you couple of times and then while going for the ride, these girls surprised us. Yes they were feeling the pain of being a pillion in such a long n treacherous ride, but nobody complained, they were having fun seeing the snow, the waterfall and enjoying the beautiful vistas of Himalayas. As per me, they were very strong and supported us always in this ride, throughout these 4 days.
And yes your advice was very valuable. We got to see all the weather pattern in these 4 days. And we all were very well prepared for it. Thank You Sir

@MJ: Thanks brother. I would say that your rode very maturely and your urge to learn kind of reminded me my days (Not saying that I am complete now). It was really a pleasure to ride with you brother and you are definitely going to be a part of my next ride whenever that happens.

@Old Fox Sir: Sir your post just made my day. I completely agree with you Sir. I never expected the ladies to enjoy this ride especially for my wife as she had just become comfortable on two wheels. But when she didn't complain at all and enjoyed the ride in the hills I was surprised. Since I am a Himachali and we often go to himachal by car so the comparison was inevitable. She said that the ride in hills was better on two wheels as it made her feel the nature more plus she didn't get sick because of turns which in car she does.

@Shiv Bhai: Thanks brother. Its completely my pleasure to write the logs. I always wanted to post a travelogue on xBHP. And seeing Sunny's and OF Sir's comment on our logs makes me really happy and all the more proud.


Okay guys I don't want to keep you waiting for more.

Here is the 3rd day log:

The 3rd day, my eyes opened at around 7.30 in the morning. I looked out of the window and it was sunny. Didnt feel like getting up so kept lying on the bed. Suddenly within 15 minutes I heard noises like it was windy outside. I ignored as how can it be possible as it was sunny 15 mins ago. But the noises grew and suddenly it felt like it has started raining outside. Then I looked out of the window and voila!! it was raining. I was shocked. Even being a Himachali I have never seen weather change so quickly. I came out of the room and boy was I stunned. Thank You God for that lovely dance of clouds in front of our eyes. We all were stunned. It was beautiful.





We could see that it was snowing at Jalori. It made us happy and slightly nervous also because we had to cross it on the way back too. Never mind we were busy looking at the dance of the nature in front our eyes.

Snow at Jalori and surrounding peaks:














Our plan was to wait from sometime so that atleast some vehicles cross this stretch and break any ice on the road that could have been there.

We checking the status of the Jalori from a bus coming from that direction.


Meanwhile there was one more concern "Petrol". All bikes were at half tank. considering the lesser fuel capacity of Yamahas we decided to play it safe and get them refueled. So we went around 15 kms to a place called Banjar to buy petrol that too in black for 70 Rs a litre.




On the way back we brought the famous Pammi aunty's pancakes.



I know they dont look that tempting but that is because they were are supposed to have at once but we actually packed them and brought to our Guest House and that spoiled there shape. They were yummy though.

Finally we decided to move. We left Shoja at around 2 in the afternoon. On our ascend to Jalori we could see fresh snowfall at the sides. Thankfully there was no snow on the road but still it was completely slushy and slippery. Keeping traction and momentum was very crucial as were with pillions also hence most the climb was done in 1st gear.







I have a video also of the uphill climb.

YouTube - MOV01610

Jalori Pass:


Thankfully on the other side of the hill there was no snow and we descended very carefully and very slowly.



One video of the downhill:
YouTube - MOV01611







After climbing down, we slightly increased our pace to cover up the distance. On our way we met some heavy rainfall also although for not very long. On the way back we took a different route which actually ran all along the Sutlej river. The condition of the road was one of the worst that we had encountered and it proved to be a real test of the machine and our back sides.

Some pics of the route:




We trying to fix MJ's stand as it had become loose:







We finally took one last big break for the day:




At this point of time we all were tired but somehow gathered our energy and made a final push towards Naldera. We reached naldera at around 8.30 in the night and took some rest. Then we all started discussing the trip so far and how nobody wanted to go back the next day.

Total distance covered for the day 110 Km. Time taken 6.30 Hrs.

nice pics...

Thanks Rachit for starting the log.

A month back when i got my new steed, another Yamaha but this time a 4 stroke, i knew this had to happen. But the way it shaped up and the wonderful time we all had, was just unexpected.

After detailed conversations with the team, we finally zeroed in on the decided route. It was Shivanshu who suggested that we take an alternate route while coming back from Jalori to Naldhera, and buy, we all loved it.

But what amazed me was the finesse with which the FZ took on the elevation and climbed up and down with ease (Which i was apprehensive about as i was riding with a pillion). But, every mile made me smile and reassured my belief on Yamaha. (Although i wish i had taken my RX there, it would have been fun )

All in all, a fantastic trip which i am sure will be etched in our memories for a long time to come...

Here are some pictures from my side!!! Enjoy


shivanshu, rachit and MJ chatting during our first break around Murthal.


My FZ... somewhere in the hills!


En-route


Hotel Mamleshwar, Chindi (This place was great but had an uncanny silence...)


Dirty people taking bath...


MJ at his samurai best... (At the satluj river bed)


Jalori... at its snowing best!


Tej Pratap... he fed us all with amazing rajma Chawal, boiled eggs, maggi and tea!


Shivanshu with Tyson



The terrace of Raja guest house played hosts to our steeds!


Shivanshu trying to capture the morning view while i capture him!


Morning @ Raja Guest House, Shoja


My Fz under precepitation!


En-route Naldhera, from Shoja


Me and Mj posing @ Shimla


@ Naldhera



Thank you!!

BI

MJ at his samurai best... (At the satluj river bed)

Correction: that is actually White Crane Kungfu from Wudong mountains..


Shivanshu with Tyson

Or

BISON with Tyson


Me and Mj posing @ Shimla

Salamat rahe DOSTANA hamara



@ BI: Wonderful pics dost and yes! amazing blog as well...

@ Rachit: That video is amazing. That is the one benefit of having a pillion...Don't worry bro, we'll definitely plan something pretty soon. I must say that despite not so sticky tires on your machine, you have handled it very well. Specially at Jalori..

Some more, especially for the daredevil biker aka MJ -

@BI: Thanks brother for sharing your inputs ans some nice pics:
@MJ Bhai I am flattered.

I have one more pic of MJ which I would like to contribute:

Nice trip log guys.
And wonderful pics there. Group riding is best way to go far. I am sure this trip will cherish your relations with your near and dears.

Ride Safe

:-)

@Shiv: Remember the break away?
@Rachit: Bro jus addin a few points!

Guys would like to make a special mention of the short section between Baragaon to Chaba. This section might be a bum breaker but the section is the most scenic road of them all. The thanks goes to KurtRules for the idea...!!

@ Kurt: Thanks bro!

This section is a no road section with a steep mountain on one side and the deep river sutluj on the other! In this section Shiv went Balistic and with the concent of My pillion so did I!!! To our surprise My man MJ stuck to us like as if his front tyres where glued to my rear Fender! So here we had a break away for a streach of 8ms of unadultrated fun!!!

The roads get no crazzier and the ride gets no softer...! roads missing (as in a complete trench leaving 1/4 th of thr road down to the river!) as we where seeing the beauty in the fast lane...!

Shiv thanks for the ballistic lead!!! MJ way to go man....!

This section is a offroaders delight ask Shiv if u wana confirm!!!!

To prove here is the vedio check out the level 4!!!

YouTube - Conquring Jalori Pass

Cheers guys...
Rachit lookin forwrd for day 4!!!

How can I forget this Day in our ride it was Day 3 which bought the real fun in this ride, with ofcourse no roads or broken roads in that stretch, after getting a hang of it for first few kms I got the drift of how it would be. And I decided to Live to and for my ride for next few minutes, hence, I opened up the throttle. The speed would not be mentioned here but yes I was doing good speed, and to my surprise I was able to see Rakesh following me and so was MJ. There headlights was always there in my rear view mirror, and then I thought lets prolong these few minutes to this whole section...and man-o-man what a ride it was. Completely amazing with beautiful vistas, at some patches complete sand without any tarmac, and small stones were there to accompany us throughout this stretch. With Sutlej flowing directly down on right side and mountains on right side, with some amazing speed we lived our life to the edge. And it was amazing.

I would also like if MJ would comment on this stretch as well

nice trip man.........
taking our GF's and/or wife's along has its own advantages and disadvantages.....

congrats to the devil,MJ,BI,Rachit & others--

with little rains it took us some real effort to get down from jalori last year --can imagine what it must be in snow

& yes tej pratap does make up some excellent rajma chawal & omlette

@BI and Rachit: Thanks dude. I owe you guys..

@Shiv and Rakesh: Guys, guys, guys! What you've reminded me?? That was the most amazing ride on my steed since I've got it. I think that it was one of the craziest thing I've ever did on a bike like R15.

As I already shared with you two, I was feeling like Marc Coma cruising on his KTM in the offroad stage of the DAKAR 2011. That was insane...

Only that wasn't enough. I tried to catch up with Rakesh and in one of the such attempts I found myself leaning at the edge of the cliff and it was scary. However, it worked as an catalyst and increased the adrenaline flow in my veins (instead of slowing it).

I was doing somewhere in between 60 - 70 and thought that it was bad. When me, Shiv and Rakesh halted at one place to wait for others, I came to know to my surprise that both of them were in the range above mine...

But guys! let me explain that I've done it only when I knew that I can else I would have never done it..